Homemade Kettle Corn

I like kettle corn but at the farmer's market it's now over $10 for a small baggie. I remember the days when a huge bag was only $10 and that would last me at least a few days. It's always been in the back of mind to make it at home. 

I really like tender white popcorn, which I have a lot of. Use to make popcorn all the time so have a ton of it around. It's not the brand that they suggest you use but I went for it anyways. Overall it went well if you don't count all the very hot kernels flying out of the pan. You have to let the steam out so the lid has to be kept open a little bit. Even with that small gap they shot out like rockets! On top of having to keep shaking the pan while dodging the kennels was a challenge! The one thing I didn't expect was the fried oil smell. So if I where to do this again, I would use the side burner on my outdoor grill. 

 

Life of a Reseller - labels

I really like my portable label printer, which has been a game changer for me. One of the things I hate most in reselling is having to tag everything. It takes a long time to do besides being very boring. Buying the replacement labels isn't easy either. I hate it so much that I did a bulk buy this time around. Hopefully I don't have to order more for a few years. I now have over 6,500 labels. I haven't ever kept track of how many I use, but I hope this batch will last me a few years!
 

Getting Organized Again

This past week, I decided I would like more flat work space. When I moved in I kept the big sectional sofa that was already here because Posey (the big chocolate lab) was use to napping on the sofa. Now that I've been here for awhile, she comes in to visit but doesn't use the sofa anymore. I made space out in the garage last week to move the biggest section of the sofa out there to store. I can't get rid of it as it's not mine and Matt doesn't throw anything away. So now my place looks like a bomb went off. In moving the sofa I also decided to reorganize all my crafting supplies and all the tubs filled with stuff I didn't want to deal with. Finding all these parts to cards I made years ago, I decided to finish some of them. Moving boxes and furniture all day, my back tells me when I need to stop and do something fun. The cards aren't big sellers but at least my card rack looks full. :) 
 

Chop Wizard - country style hash browns

I've had this Chop Wizard for awhile now. It isn't something I really need in my kitchen. It does work but you really have to slam the top down to cut anything. Since it's marketed for people who can't use a knife, I wonder how they would have enough strength to push the top down. Yes, it's a gadget but it does make quick work when making country hash browns. You still have to cut the potatoes with a knife to get them to fit into the wizard. It a lot of fun slamming the top down! I think at some point it will break but for now it's a kitchen toy I like! 

I've looked in adding a induction cook top to my place but I would have to upgrade the electrical. Wasn't worth the cost just to get an extra burner.  Then I found out after using the portable one I got for the the beach house, not all of my All Clad pans will work! Couldn't understand why I kept getting an error message with some of my pans, so I looked it up. Got the magnets out and sure enough my newer pans won't work. It was a WTF moment! At least the mystery is solved. 

 

Decorating on a budget of 0

Slowing getting my son's place looking like a place I would feel comfortable visiting. Between work and golfing, he's not home much. Spending any money or time decorating just isn't high on his list. 

The picture is a vintage mirror/photograph I found at a Goodwill a few years ago in Reno. It was tucked away in the very back corner of the store for only $20.00. I've never seen another one like it, so I'm guessing it was custom made. The side board was something we added this year. He needs more storage as his kitchen is very small. Picked it up on Facebook Market place for free. The round table came from a friend who was updating her kitchen table. Trust me, it's 100% better than it was. 

Lobster Purse ?

I've been sort of following this whole TJ Max beaded bag trend. It spilled over from all the online content about what's at TJ Max and HomeGoods for Halloween. I'm trying to figure out do these creators really buy this bags or just post finding them. Is anyone actually buying them to use as a purse?

Saw this lobster purse and thought it's cute but not cute enough for me to drop $40+! You can't get anything inside it other than a chapstick! With cell phones and watches, do woman really need to carry a purse anymore? I'm I showing my age in thinking a purse should be some what  useful and not only decoration? 

 

Vintage map and Aki's pink guava cake

I'm always surprised what type of art my son likes. At the last estate sale I did, this map was there. I sent him a picture and to my surprise he said yes. It's a good thing I have a big car because it barely fit. I'm driving it up in the morning after I pick his favorite cake the famous Aki's pink guava. We plan his birthday celebration around when I can get the cakes. :) 

Experience VS Google

 

The prep for this week's estate sale went pretty fast. The family didn't leave a lot in the house. It's not really enough items to make it  worth doing a sale. Estate companies make money on what is sold, so there has to be enough there for people to buy.  They had already filled a dumpster and a storage unit.  Plus they had already donate away a lot of little stuff. 

The furniture that was left was really nice but the resell value for dark wood is limited. All the original artwork was also very nice but I could tell they went with a color palette that matched the furniture. Still very impressive but limited market for oversized artwork. The flat file cabinet in the garage is super cool and I hope it finds a new home. If I had the space for it, I would dragged it home! 

Side story. The gold and silver guys stopped by to check out the silver. They check it out and confirm what it is and then make an offer, 75% of spot.  If it can't be sold at the sale for more, she will sell it to them. I really don't like that she's using the guys to test the silver and get a baseline of the value but then not selling it to them. OK rant over. 

One of the guys saw what he thought was dutch silver (didn't know that was a thing) on MaxSold. Since you can't actually see it in person it's a risk. The sellers listed it as silver plate because they also didn't know what that mark meant. He took a chance got it for $32. It was what he thought it was. Scrap value was over $800!  Really wish I had a picture but it's already been processed. Experience (not Google) knowing what your looking at does make a difference!

Estate Sale Kit

At the last estate sale I cut my hand on a piece of broken glass. Couldn't find a bandaid anywhere. A customer came up with an unopened first aid kit from somewhere in the house and said I should take proper care of my cut. I decided then and there I would put together a kit with all the stuff we need at a sale. Gloves, trash bags, pens, tape etc...  Before as we're setting up, things are all over the place. If we're not paying attention, things we need get sold!

Accidental Halloween Decorations

These are solid brass candle sticks that haven't been processed yet. While I was "buzz fly" cleaning my printing table in the garage, I put these pumpkins on top of them to just get them out of the way. Thought it looked cute so I hot glued them together. After the holidays I'll peel off the glue and sell them off. The weight of the candle sticks will keep them from blowing over. 
 

Side tracked - tea leaf salad making

What do you do when you have an empty jar?  Well, I make tea leaf salad dressing. It's one of my favorites but you have to let the dressing ferment for two days. Today I was doing what I call the "buzz fly" cleaning technique. It's not the most efficient way to work, but it does get get you moving. Start something in one room but when you walk into another room you start a different project. :)

I was emptying the dish washer and when I saw I had a jar that was the right size for the dressing. While everything was simmering, I moved things around in the garage, making more space for my bleach and sun printing. Doing back to back estate sales and auctions, things started piling up on the table. I have a string of witches hat out on the front porch waiting for me to hang them up but first I have to get the giant spider down from the attic. Neighbors think it's way too early to put up Halloween decorations, which I agree with. Going up and down the narrow attic stairs is always scary and I need to psych myself up to do it. So I just went for it. 

 

Life of a Reseller

Last week I dragged this cubby to the store right after the auction. I mean I drove it directly to the store as is. Dusty and museum gum all over it. It was cleaned up and used in the Day of the Dead display before the store even closed! I really like the mirror backing as it keeps it from being too dark. If the store wasn't going to use it, I was going to fill it with handmade coffee mugs or all those cut crystal pieces I got at the auction. I'm always looking for display pieces for my booths that I can actually lift and move myself. When I want to change up my displays, I have to be able to sell them off. 

This latest display piece is for sale higher than I would normally do because we want it around until after the holiday season. I know at some point it will get replaced with something different. Have to keep my booths looking refresh!