Raspberry Muffin - Sweet Rhea

When I was at the Carmel house I stopped by Sweet Rhea cookie shop. I found out they only do gluten free cookies on Friday. :( So I went for a raspberry muffin, which was really good. $3.50. I also tried the Mexican chocolate cookie which was also very good. It had a hint of cinnamon which was a nice touch. On another day they had coconut, macadamia and pineapple muffin but I'm not a fan of coconut flakes so I passed. :(   One thing I like about the shop is they change up their specialty cookies / muffins everyday. Their muffin base is very good so no matter what they add it will be good.  I just don't like the texture of coconut flakes.

 

Fire Alarm Chicken Soup

May not look pretty

I've been wanting to make a chicken bean soup for a while now. Normally (well the way my daughter makes her soup) the soup is blended before adding the chicken. I forgot that about that part (I like chunky soups) when I added the black beans and celery, which I didn't want to blend. 

The reason I call this Fire Alarm Chicken Soup is because I set off the smoke detectors. I roasted the chicken, garlic and jalapeño peppers and when I opened the oven door, I needed a second pot holder.  The few seconds it took me to grab another pot holder was enough to smoke up the house.  I added a lot of spices to the soup and I think it turned out super!

Vintage Glass Vase

I went the one of the thrift store that's out in the middle of no where and right next to the Monterey dump. Last Chance Mercantile benefits homeless veterans. They don't have much but what they do have is usually very over priced so I don't shop there too often. What they do get (sometimes) is estate artwork by local artists. With the weather being so nice and I'm suppose to be on an art retreat, I decide to make the drive. I mean looking at artwork counts, right?

While I was there some women were looking at this glass vase. One making a comment it was vintage (which it is) and maybe there other friend would like it. I could tell even from a distance that it had a purple tint, meaning it was made with uranium. It does glow but it's not super bright. It was on the rack with the all the cheap glass vases and marked for only $5, so I picked it up. I walked right passed it an would not have even seen it if I didn't hear the ladies talking about it. :) 

I also found a pyrex baking dish for $5. I'm slowly replacing all my  lower case Pyrex baking pans with the old ones that have all capital letters. The new ones (lower case) can shatter if exposed to high oven heat. I've been waiting for some to come into the store but so far no luck. 

Card Donation

Before the pandemic I donated cards to an online card maker friend who started a card rack at her church in memory of a friend who passed away. The money supports one of the outreach program they both were involved in at the church. I wasn't sure if it was a program still going until Susan posting asking for more cards. Last week I sent off 75 cards which didn't even make a dent in the cards I have for sale at CCB. Even I was surprised how many cards I had! 

I plan to send one more box once I'm back home and have time to get my extra cards put in clear shelves. 
 

Trying to get in the creative groove.

Since I'm suppose to be here at the beach house for an art retreat, I found this book at my favorite thrifty bookstore for $2.  Thought it was appropriate for those times when I'm just sitting around not doing anything, which is most of the time. :) 

I did stop by the Safeway thinking maybe they have fresh crabs. I heard they're now in season around here. They didn't look too good so I asked the butcher if they were fresh. He gave it a really good sniff and said, it's gone south. I thanked him for his honest opinion and just brought popcorn.  

Low Tide and Crafting.

Little Sandpipers at low tide

I couldn't decide if I should spend the money and come back down to the Carmel house. The super low tides are happening in the afternoon, which is my favorite time to walk the beach. I went back and forth about it when I decided to call my trip a crafting getaway. This was something I would pay for back in the day.  I loaded up my some of my art supplies and plan to do some rock and water coloring painting. I have to say it was a perfect day to walk the beach and get my 10,000 steps in less than an hour. :) It's also the big golf tournament (don't know which one since I don't golf) at Pebble Beach so I'm guessing it will be crowded in town all week. 

 

Lasagna Finally

 

Not the best photo but I've been wanting to make a gluten free lasagna for a while now. With everything packed away it's been challenging. I was hoping a pyrex pan would come into the store but no luck so far. I'm house sitting, really it's more a retreat away from my tiny place. My friends are gone for about a month and I have full access to their house. They have a wonderful kitchen so no more excuses in not making a full size pan. Most of it will go into the freezer as part of my meal prep plan. Next up is my sewing projects. :) 

Lucite Candles Worth It?

Lucite candles are a thing in the resale market. Don't ask we why, I think it's right up there with plastic fruit. The candles (copper flakes) and copper candle holder came into the store this past week. It's the first time I've seen a pair in the wild. There was a debate on pricing it. I voted (insisted) we go almost full retail at $75.00 as all the big Youtube resellers go crazy when they find the candles. So I'll test the theory they know what they're talking about. 

 

Pin Cushion Workshop

Went to a pin cushion workshop at FabMo today. It was so much fun as we had access to a warehouse of fabric! A variety of containers were provided and after the first test run using cotton fabric it was game on. I liked the look of velvet but it was a little too thick but I went with it anyways.  The linen and silk were easier to work and with all the samples there was no limit to how creative you could get. My container was on the big side so I could use bigger prints. My project looked like a royal crown when I added a lace doily and some pearls. :) 

Beach Time

Where I find peace is walking on a quiet beach looking for treasures. Maybe it's all the negative ions floating around but it's my happy place. 

While the boys were here we collected a lot of beach treasures, mainly rocks. I started make dioramas and Christmas ornaments. 

Now that I'm back home I have to decide what to do with all the "treasures" I have. 

I think I will need some more beach time to help my creative mojo to kick in. 
 

With patience I can find almost anything.

Patience isn't a virtue of mine but I've learned I will always find what I'm looking if I'm patience.  When people ask me to look for something, I always say I will find it at some point if they can wait. I'm now being super patience looking for a new place to live. 

I follow a watercolor artist on Youtube and she said "the artist way" was a must have book. I asked the book person at the HD to keep an eye out for me. It's an old book and I think I had a copy years ago. Anyways, a few hours later the very last book she took out of a box of donation was "the artist way"!  It's a very old copy with the paper all yellow but that means it was free. Now I'm looking for "writing down the bones" which people think inspired the artist way's author. 

 

Restaurant Ware

I'm a sucker for restaurant ware. Do I really need it, no. All of my kitchen stuff is packed up and living with no bowls it's just a little inconvenient. While I was down in Carmel I found these at the Branches Thrift store for $1.75 each. It was a little more than I wanted to pay but I don't find them too often. 

Good Luck - Moon Rising

The moon coming through the big oak tree in the backyard of the Carmel house. I've been visiting a lot of open houses while here and I have to say all the homes have been show stoppers. I was asking Henk if he would buy a "sprinkle" house here when he got older. He said yes, he loves sprinkles. I'm sure he thinks we're talking about donuts.  :)

It been a very good week for me. Starting the week off  with find another rare item I love,  the perfect beach weather with the low tides and a bakery that doesn't cost an arm and leg. I like to think about my full moon rising is making it happen. :) 

Sweet Reba Bakery Is It Worth a Visit?

I was told there was a new bakery (new to me) in the Crossroads shopping center down here in Carmel, Sweet Reba. They gave it rave reviews but they are very positive people and love everything so I was skeptical. :)  

I stopped by to check it out as soon as I got into town.  They had three gluten free items which I picked up to review. In my world if you can bake something GF well, you know what you're doing. I then ask for them to pick something, knowing it was going to be reviewed. Being that they mostly have cookies, I was surprised they picked a slice of chocolate cake. Their prices are fair for being in Carmel and a tourist town.  It's a very friendly shop and worth a stop if you just want a little something sweet that doesn't break the bank. 

Peanut Butter Cookie - $3.50 It was good but with only a few ingredients I would expect to be good.

Lemon Bar - $3.50 Sorry I had it upside down in the photo, it was much prettier in person. It was the best of the bunch. Chewy and lemony.  Had a nice powder sugar icing. 

Carrot/Spice? Coffee Cake Muffin with a Cream Cheese filling. - $3.50. This one was interesting and different from the normal GF offerings. It was good but not to my taste.  Happy I tried it but I won't get it again. 

So to the Chocolate Cake  Slice - $5.00 (?) The cake part was good but the frosting and filling was just a little bit off. This wouldn't have been what I would have picked to be reviewed. The frosting also had chucks of something (maybe cream cheese?) that wasn't blended well or that's their style.  You can sort of see in the picture.  And yes my stomach said it was a really bad idea to sample the cake. I can normally tolerate one slice of cake but this one sent me over the edge. It's not the bakery's fault as I knew I was taking a risk. 

Perfect Beach Day

I wasn't planning on spending the whole weekend at the Carmel house. I couldn't get all my stuff back home after the holidays. This week opened up so I came down. When I found out the extreme low tides were happening in the afternoon. I decided to stay a few extra days.  I love walking during low tide as it's easier and most people for some reason don't walk that far out. It was the perfect combination of warm sunny weather and a low tide. On one of my walks, there were a ton of seagulls on the beach. I've never seen this many on the shore before let alone on a busy weekend. Lots of people and dogs. I was able to get really close (not afraid of the people) when I thought it would be great if they all flew up at the same time. Out of no where a small dog took care of it. 

 

When it was meant to be.

As I was packing up to move a few months ago, I decided to sell my Dresden Petite Choses Holiday Wreath. I had found it at an auction house in a junk lot several years ago. It had cheap green garland wrapped around it so there wasn't much interest in it from other dealers.  I was sad to let it go but with all the packing I had to do, it was time to sell it. :(

One of the things you learn when you're a picker is not to show any excitement over things, because it will draw too much attention for other resellers. While I was at the HD getting ready for intake (when donations come in) this wreath was sitting on top of the pile. I let out a little squeal that made my co worker look up in surprise. I squirreled it away until the end of the day. It just feels like it was meant to be in my life, that it came back to me. Not sure if this was the one I sold or a different one as these are very hard to find. 

No more WiFi

As soon as I got back home from Carmel, I went to babysit Sumo for a few days. When I saw this hat at the HD, I just had to get it for him. I send pictures to his family just to let them know things are going well. Overall he's a good sport about letting me dress him up. The video is even funnier. 

I decided to cancel my wifi when it almost double in price. Since I'm rarely home and don't sell on WhatNot anymore, I didn't see the need for it. .  So far I haven't missed it too much. Blogging and watching movies is pretty much what I can't do at home. Right now I'm down at the Carmel house (again) picking up what I couldn't pack in my car after the holidays. 

Soup Making and Beans

My daughter is really into making soup (bean soup) and it's one of the few things the boys will eat without making a fuss. So that means I ended up with a lot of soup making ingredients! Think Costco size of everything. I tackled making a jalapeño and white bean soup. Now that I have an immersion blender, it makes it much easier. I would have taken a picture of it as it turned out very tasty but it's a dish that doesn't photograph well. :)

I'm still unpacking from Carmel and trying to get things organized. There is a flicker of hope I may have found a place so for News Years, I ate a lot of black beans. It's a Japanese thing for  good in the upcoming year.