Mid-Century Mom Unpacks the Groceries!!!

Hello, my dear readers. I apologize profusely for my long absence. Winter has come in like a lion here in the Northern Virginia region, as has a minor kerfuffle at the house, so dinagideon's alter-ego, Mid-Century Mom had to take a whole month off.

Finally, though, dinagideon got her act together last Friday and said "enough is enough...time to don the pencil skirts and pearls again and get to some household tasks." Mid-Century Mom is back, and with a smile, of course. ;)

My task was three-fold. In my most lady-like grey fitted sheath dress and heels, I needed to attend a parent/teacher conference, go to the grocery store, and unpack the groceries. I am happy to report all three went off without one bit of issue. Since I didn't think bringing a camera into the parent/teacher conference (even for the sake of this little blog of mine that could) would be appropriate, and since I have already done a post on grocery shopping, I knew that the third task would be my "Mid-Century Mom" post this week (let's forget that it has been a month)--so let's go unpack some groceries.


Image of housewife unpacking groceries courtesy of Getty Images. Yet again, a fantastic image from a very well known stock image company.

I do appreciate the care with which this lovely lady is approaching her task of grocery unpacking. Not only is she placing the cans of yummy soup and other goods on the counter just so (ready to be put away when the time is right--but out of the way so her children can't get to them), she is checking her receipt to make sure that everything she has purchased was placed in her bag. I suspect if there was an error, she would be able to get the item they missed without any issue.


I don't know if I, as Mid-Century Mom, have risen to the level that the beautiful housewife in the Getty Images has in this chore, but I think the little leg kick and Mona Lisa smile at least has me on my way there. I would say that the beginning of this task was fairly pleasant. After all, Mr. Mid-Century Mom *did* bring the groceries upstairs for me...which allowed me to focus all my attention on getting the foodstuffs where they belong!


Would you look at that? Cheese grated for you? Carrots washed AND cut down already? These little conveniences will make my life as a Mid-Century Mom much easier...prepping to cook will be virtually non-existent with these lovelies in my life.


Ooh, this bag is a bit heavy. Had I had to bring up these myself, I could have done it (after all I carry a forty-pound toddler on a regular basis), but it was sure nice to have someone else do it for me. In fact, I would say that Mr. Mid-Century Mom was more willing to help me because he didn't want my pretty outfit to get ruined. So sweet...


The one thing that Mid-Century Mom wants more than anything? A full-sized pantry. For a kitchen the size of ours, we have very inadequate space for our food. It is actually sort of shocking! Our old house, which was much smaller than our current house had far more room. But I do best with what I have, and of course, I always do so with a smile!


Last but not least, the refrigerated stuff must be placed in the proper position to ensure proper temperature control. Do not put the meats and fish in the door, it is far too warm for them there, and they will spoil. And no Mid-Century Mom wants to have that hanging over her perfectly coiffed head. Gastrointestinal illness is no fun, no matter what decade!

Final Thoughts: I enjoyed this chore. Even when I am not Mid-Century Mom, I find the process of unpacking groceries and putting them in their perfect place a lot of fun. Doing so in heels and a sheath dress just took the chore to the next level. And hey, Mr. Mid-Century Mom happily brought the groceries upstairs!

Ease of being a mid-century mom: 3 out of 5 (5 is the easiest to be a mid-century mom). Not the easiest, especially when I needed to get down on my knees and put the groceries in the lower cabinets and the fridge. It may have been uncomfortable, but it wasn't difficult. Try it sometime, ladies, you may find you like it! (And if you have a large pantry, you may enjoy it even more so than I did!)

Hopefully, I will speak with you all sooner rather than later!!! Have a very lovely and a pleasant time the rest of this week!

Mid-Century Mom Shops for Christmas Dinner!!!

Howdy, All!!!

Sorry for the two week absence, but things were busy in the Mid-Century Mom's life. Between crazy snow (which I did not shovel in a dress or heels, I am not crazy), last-minute Christmas shopping, and cleaning the house, something had to give...

But I am back, and I am proud to say, I took Mid-Century Mom on a field trip to the grocery store to do some Christmas dinner shopping.

The store was just about to close on December 24, 2009, but Mid-Century Mom found a way to make what could have been a stressful, time-crunched outing into something delightful. It even included un-ruffling the feathers of a certain Mid-Century Dad who was sure that as soon as the clock in the grocery store struck 7:00 p.m., the whole of the mid-century family would be incinerated by the evil forces of the grocery management. (Definitely did not happen, as Mid-Century Mom predicted while gently feeling the winter squash for any imperfections. Mid-Century Mom loves her husband, but is a voice of reason in unsettling times. Just like a good housewife should be...)

We took thirty minutes in the store to purchase the makings for dinner including ham, sweet potatoes, squash, pearl onions, butter, green beans (in a can), brown sugar, and pecans. There was also a little tipple in the basket, some very nice white wine.


I found this image over at a BRITISH newspaper, the Daily Mail, and thought it was perfection. This experience we had was very similar in feel to this photo. I even made sure to wear gloves, heels, and a hat. This may be one of my favorite mid-century images, ever. :)


We had started in produce, but as I said earlier, Mid-Century Dad was having a melt-down about the closing time and flatly refused to take a photo. After my little "speech," he acquiesced and decided the images would be fun...especially since Mid-Century Mom made such an effort (look at the gloves, I know it was cold out, but I wore leather gloves with a RUFFLE at the hem...points???).

Here I am with my son checking out the green beans in the can. We were on our way to my dad's for Christmas Eve dinner and he mentioned he needed more green beans (for the yumminess known as Green Bean Casserole)...so I picked a couple up for him. (The rest of the things I mentioned getting earlier in this post were for CHRISTMAS dinner at our place, with my dad and brother as guests.)

Even when I am not Mid-Century Mom, I always check for dents on my cans. Why? I really don't know. I think I heard once that dented cans can leach metal into the ingredients, but that probably isn't true. Still I check every single can...probably a bit of OCD kicking in...


Found!!! Two cans that are perfect. Apparently Mid-Century Son (Rex) has spotted something ominous in the racks...


And there they go, into the buggy. Doesn't Mid-Century Daughter (CW) look thrilled?


Yes, Mid-Century Mom, her buggy, and her heels took extra care at this wet floor (I suspect it was dry by that point, but you can never be too careful).


And in good Mid-Century Modern Family fashion, one MUST take a waltz down the chilled aisles of the frozen food section. Food that stays good AND yummy for months? Lovely!

Final Thoughts: This was such a nice outing. I truly felt special walking down the aisles of the local Safeway in this outfit. (Can you imagine a time when all people dressed like this to go out?) It wasn't even that difficult. I am already tall enough at 5'8", but those extra 2" that the heels gave was helpful with grabbing some things from the very top shelf. I had an extra spring in my step because there appeared to be something magical about wearing a well-made silk taffeta shirtdress to the store. I felt like the skirt lifted to life in motion with the wheels of the buggy. I suggest all ladies give this type of an outing a whirl.

Ease of being a mid-century mom: 5 out of 5 (5 is the easiest to be a mid-century mom).

Talk with you all later...must update my other blog with this outfit's information (in case any of you are interested in those details).