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Paris Flea Market

There is a monthly event in my town called The Paris Flea Market. It is generally held the first weekend of the month from Thursday evening through Sunday. I have been probably half a dozen times in the five years we have lived here and the selection and prices are always good.

It is held in a ware house and is staffed by the vendors who each work one shift per weekend. Recently they started adding booths in the parking lot on Sunday.

And if you ask me the set up is brilliant – for both the vendors and the shoppers. I sometimes think it would be fun to have a booth in an antique shop but I know that it would be a full time job to keep it stocked.

But I think it would be doable to collect enough items or refurbish a couple of pieces of furniture for a weekend event. Rick is forever finding great furniture pieces on Craiglist for cheap that would be easy to paint or refinish and then resell for a profit.

I've thought of starting up an Etsy shop to sell lovely vintage things and actually have one set up (without anything to purchase).

I took all these picture with my cellphone so apologies for the hurried snaps. I always feel so weird taking pictures in public.

I read an interesting article about not having all your income come from one source. Of course most people earn their money that way. You get a job, you work it and collect your paycheck. All your eggs in one basket. The article said to consider what would happen if that one source dried up. You should have alternate sources of income. Like a side hustle. :)

When I was a teenager I always had multiple jobs. During my senior year in high school I had three.

I do believe if you are going to do something outside of your full time job it should be something fun.

It's something to think about.

Laundry day – part 2

Long time readers may remember a post I did about etching an old jar so I would have a nicer container for my trusty box of Biz. That jar has served me well for nine years but it was hard to get the lid on and off. It just didn't want to line up properly so I reconciled myself to either going back to the box or finding a new container that would work better.

Somewhere along the way I broke the sweet little china mug I used for a scoop.

If you aren't following Sonja from @ourcraftsmancottage on Instagram well I'll just wait a minute while you go fix that. Her pantry is the the thing of dreams. I love her green lidded canisters and always assumed they were vintage. Then she posted how she color matched her bread box and painted all the lids. Once I realized they were new they couldn't have been easier to find doing a quick Google search. They are Anchor Hocking Montana jars and they come in a variety of sizes.

Rather than etch the word Biz on the jar I painted it on using an oil paint Sharpie pen in white. I printed off the word Biz using the font Thirsty Script and then taped it to the inside of the jar and traced it.

Then I painted the lid in my favorite shade of green. I had a bit of an issue finding the color I usually get (Americana Mint Julep Green) but found Craft Smart in Sage Green which is almost an exact match. It's the bargain brand Michael's carries and you can tell. I had to apply three coats (after spray primering the lid) to get rid of the streakiness. I also coated it with a clear coat of polyurethane.

For a scoop I polished up a vintage silverplated baby cup and it is the perfect size and way prettier than the green plastic scoop that comes in the box. There's no risk of breaking it either.

It was an easy project but it is such a nice little touch in my laundry area. I wish I could figure out some pretty way to store the liquid laundry detergent. I wonder if I decanted it into one of those beverage jars with a spigot if Rick would go for that?

Friday Favorites

Spring – Cows in the Meadow, 2. View #9, 3. Morning sun, 4. landscape2

Isn't this a pretty Airstream? I am so over camping but I wouldn't mind parking this in some lovely location and roughing it for a few days.
Queen Majesty Hot Sauce – this is the best tasting hot sauce. The sweetness of the ginger balances out the heat so it's not overwhelming. I am a bit of a hot sauce wimp and I don't find this to be too hot. Speaking of hot sauce – does anyone watch First We Feast Hot Ones challenge? It's a guilty pleasure. The premise is they invite a celebrity on set for a hot wings challenge. Each wing gets progressively hotter until the end when the heat level is a bajillion scovilles. Something weird happens to people when they eat progressively spicier food – they can't edit themselves
Do you think this copper flower charm would really work to keep your cut flowers fresh? Or does just changing the water every few days do the trick?

Happy Friday! I had one of those "cram a week's worth of work into four days" kind of weeks. Anyone else experience this? You think that it's going to be a chill four day work week but in reality you have 13 meetings scheduled for one day and you are expected to be at all of them. Shoot! I forgot to pick up the winning lottery ticket too!

We don't have much planned for this weekend. I'm watching my granddaughter Saturday so her parents can celebrate their third anniversary. I'm going to try to go early so I can hit up Ivy's Porch in Scott's Valley because it is such a fun place to poke around.

I hope you have a lovely weekend!

The light is changing

The temperatures were in the 90s yesterday and we are still running the A/C on the regular but there is a definite feeling of the seasons changing. I just love it. The light has such a pretty, almost melancholy feel to it. Or maybe it is just me. I have always felt a little melancholy in September. Probably from being a child and having summer ending and having to go back to the routine of school.

Now I am happy to say goodbye to Summer.

Those lavender are fake, by the way. I can't keep real cut flowers down low because the cats want to eat them. I generally oppose faux flowers but what can you do.

What? Me eat your flowers?

We live on a very walk-able street and the girls like to perch in the window and watch people go by.

I posted this picture (below) in Instagram but thought it deserved a spot here. Aren't the colors of those hydrangeas gorgeous? They are definitely fall appropriate but not your typical oranges and reds (which aren't my thing).

I hope your Wednesday is going well. We are halfway to the weekend!

Apple Spice Cake

I'm kicking off the fall season with an apple recipe. Okay I know it's not technically fall yet, and won't be for a few weeks, but to me September is fall and apples especially are fall.

This is a simple apple spice sheet cake with cream cheese frosting. I have no idea how it tastes because I don't eat cake but Rick assures me it is good, although maybe could have been a bit apple-ier.

I will say the whole house smells fabulous. Since I've been eating low carb I rarely bake. I am starting to slowly add carbs back into my diet and while I don't think I'll be binging on baked goods anytime soon I think the occasional small treat won't derail my efforts.

I may or may not have eaten a spoonful of cream cheese frosting while making this cake…

Apple Spice Cake (adapted from The Baker Chick which is adapted from Martha Stewart)

Ingredients

2 large Granny Smith (or other tart apple) apples peeled and cut into small pieces (about 3 cups)
1 tablespoon of butter
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, divided
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1⅓ cups vegetable oil
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat over to 350F. Oil and flour a quarter sheet pan and set aside. If you don't have a sheet pan use 13 x 9 baking pan.
In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter and add the apples, 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice, and 1 tablespoon of white sugar. Saute for 3-5 minutes, until the apples are slightly soft.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, remaining pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine vegetable oil, sugar, and eggs; mix on high speed until the mixture is fluffy and light. Stir in the vanilla extract.
Gradually add the dry ingredients while mixing on low speed until just combined. Add in the apples and gently incorporate.
Spread batter in the sheet pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Cool before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time until creamy. Add the vanilla extract.
Frost cake in the pan and serve. Refrigerate any leftovers.

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