This primitive style oak secretary desk (without a door) needed some love. I used Fusion Mineral Paint and then applied wax gilding. The gilding provides framing for Re·design with Prima floral transfers. I then applied a matte top coat over the entire piece.

The finished piece shows surface "imperfections." In one of the close-ups, you can even see where a door hinge used to be. For me, imperfections and markings tell the story of a piece, and I love honoring that history rather than trying to make something look brand new.

​Except for the open work lace, my mother made all the items shown in the above image.

​This is the reverse side of the monogrammed linen hand towel shown on the middle rung of the first picture. Her stitching was so exquisite that it was beautiful even on the wrong side.  She made this in the early years of marriage, back in the 1950s.

This is the linen bread basket liner she made, shown on the top rung in the first picture. I've folded it to compare the right and wrong sides. Her hem stitches are invisible. Her drawn work is pure art. ​I believe she made this in her teens.

While packing for my recent move, I found a beloved recipe for "torta Mendicrim" written down by my mother decades ago. Mendicrim was an Argentine brand of soft, creamy cheese that became extremally popular when the company published an easy recipe on the container lid that used ratios: for example, one container of Mendicrim, one container of sugar, one and a half containers of flour. Mom's recipe is more of a reminder to herself, without much detail because she made this cake countless times. I remember how delicious it was, especially after school at the kitchen table, sharing slices of warm cake with Mom in our little house in Ciudad Jardin in Buenos Aires.

Mom's recipe:

Torta Mendicrim

1 small container Mendicrim (or cream cheese)
2 eggs
1 container sugar
Vanilla extract

MIX AND ADD

1 1/2 container Blancaflor flour (or self-rising)

Low oven