My Go To Meal Prep Dish

Being single and having a gluten issue I meal prep at least once a week. Sunday being one of the days I cook up a big batch of something. I buy the chicken tenders at Costco which I know I'm paying a premium for but it works for me. They cook up fast with little to no mess. I heavily season the chicken with almost everything I have in my spice cabinet. Make a pot of rice with chicken broth and chopped up whatever vegetables I have that are also heavily seasoned. One small packet of chicken makes about 6 meals for me. Not having a regular schedule anymore meal prepping is the way to go.  The other plus side is I only have to run my dishwasher once a week. The rest of the weeks I use it as a drying rack. :) 
 

New Jewelry Display 2025

Sunday is my domestic diva day. I tend not to go anywhere as the stores are crowded. I like to leave space for people who can only shop during the weekends. One of the many projects I tackled was cleaning off my very large coffee table that came with the place. It's a beast that just attracts all my misc art projects. :)

One of the many things on my to do list is making a new jewelry display for my booth at Cottage Craft. It's a vintage metal lap tray I got at the thrift store. I reduced down my jewelry section to only the more interesting pieces and sold off the rest in bulk. I think it highlights the jewelry a little better even if it takes up a lot of space. The master plan is I will do the display in themes. I've had all the parts (magnets, backings etc) of awhile now but just didn't take the time to sit down and put everything together. Hopefully this will boost sales. 

Morning Coffee Routine

Last of the lactose free milk

Nothing more cozy than drinking a warm mocha mug of coffee in your big fuzzy bathrobe!

Since I can't get chocolate oat milk from Trader Joe's anymore I decided to make it myself. I only shop at TJ and Costco so I was going to have to use what they had. Oat (milk) beverage from Costco and coco power from TJ.  It's not rocket science, just have to get the portions right. 

I was thinking this morning would I go to all this trouble if I still had young kids at home? Heating the water to the right temperature, grinding the beans, heating the milk, adding the coco, whisking it all to get the foam and doing a pour over.   
 

Mini Scrapbooks 2025

Working with my binding machine in getting the settings correct for something that is not a standard size. The machine was made for 8.5 x11 paper so when working smaller it's a challenge to get the holes lined up. I made this little 5x5 scrapbook out of a 12x12 scrapbooking paper. You can get 4 covers out of one sheet so that determined the size. One advantage of spiral bond books is you can add pages. If I decide add captions it will make the book thicker. Not sure who designed the paper as it came into the thrift store opened with no cover. It's a perfect pack for junk journals so I picked it up. I made these little books for my grandsons, (Henk & Mees) knowing they will get trashed. They won't stand the test of time in the hands of a 4 and 5 year old. Just some random pics when they were here for the holidays. 

Early morning surprise!

Very nice surprise this morning! I've been watering this tree all summer while the automatic sprinklers are being fixed. I thought it was a lemon tree and was waiting patiently for them to turn yellow. The tree is just loaded so I decided to cut one open and to my surprise it's a lime tree! I haven't lived here long enough to know what all the trees are. 

Now I have to go get some ginger beer and make a Moscow Mule Mocktail. A few months back I wanted to see if using a copper mug really made a difference. I was bored and there was a lime tree right outside the door of where I was staying. We get them into the thrift store all the time, that should have been my first clue. Since I don't like the taste of alcohol, I left that part out. I did like the ginger beer (which is non alcoholic) and at the time Costco was stocking it. Then my supply of limes ran out and Costco stopped carrying it, I haven't had it since. 

 

Perfect looking Coffee this Morning.

 

Pretty cup of coffee

A perfect looking cup of coffee, IMO. I think because it looks like a big warm cup of chocolate. :)

I like the smell of coffee but not so much the taste. I also enjoy testing out all the new coffee gadgets that come out, most of which are a total waste of money. I pick them up when they come into the thrift store so I'm not paying a lot but there's a reason almost new gadgets get donated. I've also been trying to find something to replace the Trader Joe's discontinued chocolate oat milk, which was a favorite. I'm using lactose free milk now (being Asian, I can't handle milk) so I dug out my frother wand which works well. I'm working on adjusting how much milk I need as just a little bit of milk foams up to a lot! That was the first mistake I made. Still it doesn't mask the taste of coffee enough, so the search continues. 

Carnival Glass Swung Vase

This carnival glass swung vase is what I picked up on MaxSold this week. Paid $20.74, that includes all the taxes and fees. It's a little more than I wanted to pay after you figure in all the extras. The resell value isn't too high, maybe around $25, so after the store fees there isn't a lot of profit. I still think it's a cool piece and will look good in my booth.

We had a discussion if people bidding on MaxSold think about all those fees you have to pay at the end. The auction premium of 25% plus the 10% in taxes. As a reseller that can kill any profit you may make. I've seen a lot of newbies make the mistake of not doing the math while bidding, especially at auction houses where the fees can add up to 50%! 

Artwork I missed out on 2025

These were two pieces of artwork I was bidding on this week. Sadly they went way over my budget. The water color is of Ano Nuevo State Park, a place my family has gone to for years. The sea lions come into shore every year to mate. Massive animals that is something to see. The artist Trevlyn Williams is very well known in the area. The second one is also a local artist from the Bay Area, Yan Inlow. I'm learning more about the art of hand embroidery, which is just amazing! I was hoping to add the crows to my collection but again went over my budget. Still it's good to see their work is appreciated. 

 

Simple Book Binding Practice

I've been working on simple book binding techniques. Things that can be taught in a two hour class. I do the classes at FabMo for fun and to use up my massive craft stash. :) 

I have two of these comb binding machines (use to have 3) because you can pick them up for free most of the time. This is one of those things Google lens isn't going to be accurate about the price. I picked this one up down in Carmel for $5 (things are expensive there) and the other one as it was headed to the dumpster. It has its limitations for the any paper crafter. It was made to bind standard size paper and has a height limit. Found out my chip board is too thick. A lot of trial and error before I got the holes punched where I wanted them to go. Making little memory books for grandsons for my practice rounds. 

 

Another MaxSold Buy - Mugs

I didn't really think I would get this lot of handmade mugs on MaxSold last week but I did. It only works out to $1.87 for each mug (that includes fees and taxes) so hopefully an easy flip selling them for $6.99. They came from an estate of a local potter who back in the day did all the high end shows. I don't think this was her best work but I can appreciate the time and skill. 

I plan to take them into Cottage Crafts today and make a whole wall of these mugs. It will add a little more interest to my booth (fall theme) and give that handmade vibe. 

One of the side benefits of getting this lot was I got to chat with seller who's an estate cleaning guy. There weren't a lot of people picking up when I got there so he had time to show me some things coming up of auction. We chatted about some artwork that couldn't be easily found on Google. They do try and be as accurate as they can, but you can't always tell when something is behind glass. I've been on the search for interesting local artwork for my son's place up in Lake Tahoe as I've filled up all my walls. I buy original art that speaks to me. The only piece I have that isn't an original is an almost full size Picasso. Copies of an original artwork can't be the exact size, something has to be different.

Found the perfect planner

I know using a paper planner is old school but there's something about writing something down. During meetings I'm still faster looking up my calendar than those using laptops. :) 

I'm not into doing all that sticker stuff, I just need the bare bones. I'm getting booked out for next few years so finding a three year one was perfect. I know down the road the cover will get beat up but I can alter it or even replace it completely. 

Mini journal book 2025

 

On Labor Day I decided tackle the book binding project I've been saving up all the chip board for. After moving all the armoires into my bedroom space, I finally put together a crafting corner. My paper cutters are huge so I needed a big flat open space. It was a fun day of working on several projects at a time. :) 

The fabric is a sample square of linen from FabMo. I think I got it from the free room but if I didn't it was only .25.  If I'm careful I can get two mini books out of one 12" square.  Making the book part was easy but adding the pages was a challenge. So many different ways to add them. This project will at some point be a workshop for FabMo. I'll have to make several more before I'm ready to teach. :)