Amazing Gold Cigarette Case

On Friday I met the gold and silver guys at the store. We had a shoebox of broken silver that we were willing to sell for scrap. Long story of drama about being able to to that. 

These guys pay 85% of whatever spot price is that day. That is the highest amount of anyone who's willing to come to you will pay. I set up an appointment because there are a few other volunteers who want to sell off silver and feel safer doing it at the store. That morning the guys got a call  from an estate clean out person that they had a lot of gold. This vintage cigarette case (it was tested via a scanning machine) is gold. About $18k worth of gold! Best guess it's Russian. It's was pandemonium at the store. The guys wanting to keep our appointment but also having to go to the bank to make the wire transfer and dealing with all the random questions the ladies kept asking them.  A lot of wheels spinning for everyone involved! Still very cool find for the guys!

 

To sell or not to sell - cast iron 101

I had one of those reseller moments of indecision with some Wagner cast iron pans I picked up at the auction house. I actually got a high end kitchen lot for the $$$$ metal Atlas pepper grinder. I just wanted to see what the hype was all about and why someone would pay $200 for pepper grinder. The pans just happen to be in that lot. The plan was always to sell them to cover the $65 auction bid. I don't think there's a lot difference in vintage cast iron pans so long as they were taken care of. Now with the new imports, the surface does make a difference.

I sold the #8 pan (10" surface) for $40, which is at the low end for a Wagner. I debated for awhile if I should hold out or just take the offer. It was marked as the other ones in the lot aren't but I know are Wagner. The pan didn't pass the spin test so it wasn't perfect. I should have tested it at the auction house but I was more interested in the pepper grinder. 

Spin Test - A cast iron pan should not spin, wiggle or move when on a flat surface. If it does, it's warped and will cause hot spots. Even the smallest movement it would get rejected to those serious about their pans. 
 

Tea Leaf Salad

My tea leaf salad recipe is coming along very well. I'm tweaking it to fit my taste pallet so it's still a work in progress. Taking the best parts of several recipes and seeing if they work together. 

It is something you have to plan ahead as the dressing has to ferment for two days. I know that sounds weird but it does mellow out all the strong tasting ingredients. 

I didn't have any tomatoes this time but I did add some chicken just because. The tomatoes do add to the salad but vine ripe is the only way to go. 

I'll be eating this salad for the next few days which is fine with me!

 

Mod Podge Fail

Not all my creative projects turn out the way I think they will. I picked up this home made flower press for the boys. At some point another child had scribbled on it and not in a cute way. So in my mind I thought I would Mod Podge this napkin over the top of it. I've not used Mod Podge before but how hard could it be? 

About 5 seconds into the project I knew it wasn't going to turn out well. So now do I sand it all down, leave it as is or keep adding to it hoping to make it more artistic. :)
 

Tomat Sauce with Butter & Onion by Marcella Hazan

Finally made the famous Marcella Hazan recipe"Tomato Sauce with Butter & Onion" in the Food52 cookbook "Genius Recipes". 

 The onion is suppose to be thrown out but I just couldn't do that. Not really sure what the onion did for the sauce but with the first go around I follow the recipe. I put it over rice because I was to lazy to make the gluten free pasta. Working with limited number of burners, things have to be done in stages. Long gone are the days I had massive six burner Wolf range. The recipe is a good base to add the other things. I know next time I'll add sausage and garlic to the finish sauce. The next day I made fried rice with the leftover onion and rice. 

Staffordshire Spill Holders

I'm a night owl by nature so my most productive time is when most people are asleep. I've been cat sitting for the last two weeks and still have one more week to go. Haven't gotten a whole lot done around the house and things are starting to pile up! Had to force myself to clean off my desk and get it organized. 

I picked up these Staffordshire "spill holder" on MaxSold this weekend. Back in the day these would be on your fireplace mantel holding scraps of rolled up paper to help start your fire. I thought they were interesting enough to place a low bid. Was a little surprised I got them for $7.00. Getting tagged today and boxed up to go to the Cottage Crafts. 

Santa in May 2026

This Santa plant holder was in the lot of metal fish sculptures I picked up at the auction house last week. Being a Santa fan, this just had my name all over it! Now I have to decide do I go with poinsettias or green pine. Real (yes, I have real ones) or fake?

It will go on sale during the holiday season but for now he's out in my garden.
 

Mochi Pancakes for Posey

Gluten Free Pancake Mix

Today is Posey's 10th birthday so I made her very favorite snack - mochi pancakes. 

This mix is from Costco and I've had it for awhile now. It calls for milk which I don't normally have in the house. In my failed attempt to use almond milk in my coffee, I still have a whole carton in my refrigerator. Not wanting to waste it and thinking Posey wouldn't really care, I gave it a try. Turned out pretty good and so much better than the breadfruit one. Posey beelined it to my door when she came home from her morning walk. Didn't even say good-bye to her dog walker. :) 

Booth Make Over 2026

I always forget to take a before shot but here's the finally make over of my booth. Doesn't look like five hours worth of work but it did take that long. I did try three times to get the display cabinet I picked up at auction to work but it just wasn't working. Moving all those smalls takes a lot of time. I still have to go in to marked down several things that will go into my sale booth. Things I pull from my sale booth I will donate to another reseller. Nice guys who is always happy to help with the heavy lifting or cleaning out the spider infested sheds at my estate clean outs.  

All of the metal artwork I picked up is getting used in the store so that should help cover costs of my last auction adventure, at least I hope it will. :)

 

Upcycle Display Piece

Before

That's my one and only coffee mug that I've had for over 20 years. It's a big mug but fits nicely in the cubbies. I think it's funny that I drink coffee every morning but only have one mug and I don't even use it for coffee. :)

I'm sure this cabinet was used for CDs back in the day as those fit it as well. I've had cabinets like this before and they do make nice storage displays. I paid up for it, $100 so I won't ever get my money back. Those extra auction fees really add up! Going to use it in my booth. 

At the end of the auction I started chatting with another reseller. She and I were both looking for display pieces. She is getting ready for a street fair in Watsonville. I could tell we had the same taste in the "look" we wanted for a booths. It was very nice that we could chat and not get upset that we out bid each other. Now that I know her, I'll go over my list with her before the next auction. We can sort out what really is important to us. This is a big no no at auctions and I've only done it one other time many years ago for something I personally wanted. 

Update: Spent five hours redoing my booth and after trying three different ways, it just wasn't working. So it was used in another part of the store. Tami (store owner) was a good sport handling all the auction stuff I dragged in and finding places for everything. 

After

Howard Kron - MCM Siamese Cat Lamp

Total lot was $226.80

This is what put me over budget at the auction house this weekend. I didn't put my bidder number down fast enough. From what I was told there was a lot interest in these lamps. 

These are TV lamps from the 1950's and 1960's. Back when TVs where in big boxy cabinets. These would help diffuse the light and glare in the room. They are fun pieces but not big money makers. Hopefully I'll be able to get my money back on them. The auction premiums really add up fast!

 

Another Auction Score - Wooden Jewelry Box

Handmade Jewelry Box $31.50

This little box was the reason I went to local auction house this past weekend. It was in jewelry section and what was in it was trash. I can't even say junky, it was that bad. I can only guess it went up for auction before and the good stuff was taken out. Then it was consigned it back to the auction house. Yes, dealers do that all the time. Either way it was a good deal for me because it didn't get a lot of attention. I'm always in search of handmade boxes to add to my collection. Fits nicely on the very top!

As always the art has to speak to me and of course be in my price range. :) There were three piece of sterling silver in the box but still not worth a whole lot.

Inside the box