My toilet box of treasures.

We had a bit of a hootenanny at the shore house this weekend. A friend of M's from college was in town (who, by the way, has an open invitation to stay with us whenever he wants. He walked the dog, like, three times in one day. Have I ever done that? Hmm...er...bad doggie momma. Bad!) and since he lives in sunny California now we wanted to gather the troops to visit. Plus there are quite a few folks who haven't "met" the house yet.

Imagine my surprise when one couple arrived toting this:


Now, I've heard of B.Y.O.B. parties, but I've never heard of B.Y.O.T. I quickly assured our friends that we had toilets they were welcome to use (har, har). And as much as a brand spanking new Kohler toilet would have been a great gift, here's what we did get:

WOWZA! Could I love this stuff more? (Answer: Not really.) Some of it is West Elm goodness, and those cork mats will be fabulous for al fresco dining. I don't think you can tell in the photo above, but the candles are a rich, rust color and perfect - along with the fabulous candle pillars - for an autumn display I'll work on this weekend. The silver sand dollar found a home by the next morning, on my nightstand (my grandma's spindly leg table that my godmother recently passed on to me).

I almost forgot to take a photo of this "box within a box" since I immediately stashed it under the chair in my bedroom. (Ed. note: Wow, this digital camera makes my floors look clean.) I think it will be a great spot to store cards and photos and other supplies for my little projects.

Lastly (can you believe there's more?), this amazing baking book (Deb knows I love me some baking books!) was a belated birthday gift (Jeez, I need to see my friends more! Let's just say my birthday was a while back.). I can not wait to dive into some of these recipes!

They're all amazing additions to the house, and I am flush with excitement that we have such wonderful friends in our little world (get it...toilet...flush...).

A little e.l.f. told me...

…that Nordstrom is NOT changing the logo on their makeup packaging, and not responsible for clearing out all inventory of "their" (not their) e.l.f. cosmetics line for $1. That's the rumor that started (re)circulating this week. BUT -- everything is available online at e.l.f. for a buck (apparently always a dollar online, per my commentor Marie. Thanks for that, Marie!) and I will say this...I own e.l.f. tweezers (I paid more than a buck. $3 or $4?) and they are very good (I'm a little brow obsessed). So I'm not feeling bad about buying 5 pairs today (yup; obsessed :-) and some face blotters. And when I entered “CAROLINA” in the area marked for coupon code I had $7.50 knocked off my bill. That part is for real.

So, regardless of where you choose to buy your facial supplies, the timing may be right to treat yourself to a tube of glossy lip stuff. A while back I learned about the “lipstick index” – a cold economy warms lipstick sales. Why? Big-ticket purchases get shelved, but women turn to a colorful tube of lipstick as an affordable luxury that will enable her to feel like all’s well with the world. I guess if we’re going down the crapper we may as well look good for the trip, right?

This dress has my name all over it.

Literally.

I am totally digging the new "Laura" dress from J. Crew. However, I'm not sure I'd be digging the "hammered silk" after more than 10 minutes wearing it. Sounds like one big wrinkle waiting to happen. Plus it's only online so no chance of testing with a quick romp around the dressing room.


We have a "swanky event" to go to on Saturday, and as is typical I've only shopped for the house and not for Laura. So unless I (a) fashion my bed linens into a retro evening dress of sorts or (b) find something in my size at, say, a yard sale Saturday that is black tie appropriate, clean and ready to wear same night, I'm kind of in a bit of a jam.

I do have fancy black shoes, though. Maybe that will detract from the duvet muumuu I'll be wearing.

Dewey Readmore Books

Today I watched the most adorable segment on CBS Sunday Morning (which really was CBS Sunday Afternoon here in New York, pre-empted on the tele for the Tunnel to Towers Run). It was about Dewey Readmore Books, the resident cat at Iowa's Spencer Public Library. Dewey (named after Melvil Dewey of Dewey Decimal fame) became the library's mascot after being shoved in the overnight book return by some heartless {very nasty word redacted by author} on a very cold January night. Dewey not only brought smiles to visitors' faces in his 19 years, he took a vested interest in their literary selections and often swatted at the titles he'd prefer to see them read. Can I get an, "Awwwwwwwww....."?

So now that summer's officially over here on the east coast, I thought I'd share my summer shore house reading. I used to read a LOT more, but less commuting and responsibilities of the new home (along with a subscription to the New Yorker...which just keep coming week, after week, after week...) have whittled down my books to just a handful. I should be logging these on Good Reads like my friend the voracious reader does, and I promise j. cro I'll get around to it one of these days!

I started Woody Guthrie: A Life in the spring...and it literally took me months (pick it up; put it down; repeat) to read. No two ways, Joe Klein did his homework when writing this book (and I felt like I was doing mine reading it!) -- it is well researched, well written, and proof that there were rebels in music who knew how to rock and write long before Bob Dylan. I really did enjoy this book...it's just the level of detail packed into its 48o pages *maybe* could have been edited a small bit. (This coming from someone who has the attention span of a gnat, so take it with a grain.) The flip side is that the book provides an amazing look into a time in America's history that they just don't teach to kids today ("kids today"...I sound like someone's grandmother!).

I wanted to like I Was Told There'd Be Cake more than I did. The subject matter of the short stories -- woman "coming of age" in New York...her experiences giving it a go on her own -- and the comparisons to David Sedaris had "Laura" written all over it. Maybe the stories were a little too "young" for me; maybe I'm just too jaded (no quote marks there -- I'm pretty jaded!). I liked it. Quick, fun stories to read on the beach. But not the gut-busting laughter I was hoping for across the board. Although the story about being cast as the Virgin Mary at summer camp was one that had me laughing out loud.

Wow is right! The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao was this year's Pulitzer winner, and I was a bit surprised. Kind of in the same way I was a bit surprised when No Country For Old Men won Best Picture (The language! The violence!). But this dark and gripping novel is incredible -- the sharp language, the vivid imagery, the shotgun-like delivery of the narrator's Spanglish-laced tirades. I've read quite a few books (fiction and non) that deal with the American immigrant experience, and this is one of the best.

This is a good, good book. Sy Montgomery tells of how her life changed the fateful night she rescued the runt of the litter from one of her New Hampshire neighbors. "The Good Good Pig" almost read like a journal, and I loved how Montgomery wove in pieces of her life as a well-traveled nature writer into her stories of home life with Christopher Hogwood (yup; that's the pig's name). Full disclosure: I became a vegetarian shortly after reading Charlotte's Web as a kid, so this book sort of catered to me. :-)

I'm just finishing this up and I'm totally enjoying it. If you liked Eat, Pray, Love, you'll like this, too. Author Kathleen Flinn finds herself in her late-30s, laid off from her job overseas, and no prospects (career or otherwise) on the horizon. An acquaintance reminds her she's always wanted to go to the famous Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Paris -- wouldn't now be the ideal time? Each chapter journeys through another lesson -- in the kitchen, and in life -- with recipes ending each (seems to have "book club" written all over it). The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry is the sweet story of one woman's journey...and I'm dangerously closer to packing it in and studying to be a pastry chef with each page I turn.

Busted.

Remember when I blamed the squirrels for eating my corn?

Stone. Cold. Busted.

Red Bank or Bust.

A big thanks to Black Eyed Susan’s Kitchen for reminding me (via her comment in last week’s flea market post) that both Red Bank and Oceanport had town wide yard sales this weekend.

So with Susan’s reminder, it was up and at ‘em for me for on a Saturday for a change. The man knew something was array when I was tucked in the car with my travel coffee mug at an hour when I’m still typically sleeping off Friday Night Margarita Mania (that’s not an officially sanctioned event; just something that takes place on our front porch rather regularly on Fridays).

Now, the difficult thing about a town wide sale in “towns” like these….is that they’re not one horse towns by any stretch. They’re HUGE. Red Bank’s sale even came with a complicated road map that I figured – best case scenario – would have taken me (with a car) five or six hours to get through if I went to every house.

Oceanport was first on my drive, and since I really wanted to get to Red Bank I decided to hit just one cul de sac where nearly every house had a sale going. It’s where I wound up making my only purchases of the day, and while they’re not very exciting I took a picture for full blog disclosure. :-)



Nothing special, but at a grand total of $4.60, not too bad.

The globe was $3. I have no idea why I bought this. But today I saw Rhoda “Queen of the Yard Sale” (of Southern Hospitality fame) used one quite nicely on her entertainment center so I’m sure I can find a suitable home for it.

The framed oil seascape was $1, and I thought I would pop it out of the frame to hang au naturale. But there’s something charming about the faux bamboo (but real wood) frame. There’s a good chance this painting may not make the cut but for a buck I figured I’d give it a shot. Could be destined to be the next blog giveaway…

The basket in the top photo was 50 cents, and I’m using it to make a “cocktail hour basket” for a raffle donation.

The win of the day: That box of mismatched red and silver ornaments for…10 cents! A dime! Suddenly my dollar bag from last week’s flea market doesn’t seem so cool any more. The seller had tons more, but I’ve maxed out my holiday ornament needs.

Red Bank, for me, was a bust. It was so spread out, and by the time I wound my way there I think anything good was gone. There were tons of kids’ toys and clothing, neither of which I have a use for. And I seriously started to get a headache from the road map I was trying to follow, so I think I lost focus. I’m curious if my other Jersey Girl commenter Lauren was able to pack her CRV this go ‘round. :-)

I did wind up in a part of Red Bank I’d never been before, and was totally loving the big Victorian houses. I took pictures so I’d have something to show you…

All things considered, a pretty full day cost me less than the price of a fancy latte so I guess it wasn’t a total bust. Did anyone else go on treasure hunts this weekend?

"Stay away from the honey bear."

Fabulous photo from Life is Special's Etsy shop.

I've had an incredibly hectic several weeks, so decided to reward myself with a "Honey and Cheese" class last night at the delightful Murray's Cheese whose little cheesy (in a good way) seminars I highly recommend. Nothing says "Calgon, take me away!" better than a plate of cheese and a couple of glasses of wine at the end of a long day. And...you say you're adding honey to the mix? Hello.

Zeke Freeman from Bee Raw Honey was a pretty fascinating guy. Bee Raw produces single varietal raw honeys, which basically means his honeys are super fancy and actually quite rare (re: expensive). When one of his honey bottles is labelled Orange Blossom honey, those little winged buggers are put on a truck, taken to an organic orange grove in Florida, and kept at that one special grove where all of the honey is then produced. Raw and unfiltered, then bottled. "We take it out of the comb, and put it in the jar. That's all we do," offered Zeke.

So, no; this isn't your supermarket honey bear. Zeke was quick to let us know that we should, "stay away from the honey bear" and all of the processed junk that goes into it. It's basically like choosing Aunt Jemima over Vermont Maple Syrup, I guess (with apologies to Aunt Jemima, who seems like a swell lady).

Does Bee Raw do anything to the honey at all, like, strain it?

"Well, we strain it just enough to get things like wings and other bee parts out."

I really, really wish I hadn't heard that.

Anyway, the honey made interesting pairings with the artisanal cheeses selected. A very pungent, crystallized buckwheat honey was made more palatable by the soft, almost sweet, ricotta it was matched with. We even got a quick lesson on how to make fresh ricotta, but that's not likely to happen in my kitchen any time soon when there's stuff as good as this Calabro Fresh Ricotta to be had. And, wow, did I love Cowgirl Creamery's Red Hawk. It's a brine washed cheese made from organic cows' milk and vegetarian rennet, using sustainable and environmentally friendly practices. Yee haw, cowgirls! Your Red Hawk cheese rocks the rodeo, and sounds like you ladies do, too.

I was pretty excited to be sent on my way with a glass tube of cranberry honey as my parting gift. I tucked the sweet elixir into my palm and got myself on the subway. For some reason, people on the train were looking at me odd. And, come on, it's New York City. I'm certainly not the odd (wo)man out here. Then I thought, "Oh, no...do I have cheese on my face? Honey dripping from my chin?"

It quickly occurred to me that the precious vial of honey I was holding (to avoid it spilling in my bag) looked suspiciously like a vial of urine.


Which is almost as gross as bee wings being strained out of honey.

Almost.

Flea, glorious flea.

Well yesterday I hit a doozy of a flea.

My brother was staying overnight and when we rolled out of bed (dirty stay outs) we rolled over to the Atlantic Highlands Historical Society Flea Market. My expectations for the flea were low, but I love that my brother didn't even bat an eyelid when I asked if he wanted to go. In fact, we flea quite well together...I can't think of a better person to hit the asphalt with.

Things started out looking unpromising. While I was pretty happy with the antique postcards I snapped up at the first table we actually stopped at...


...I was feeling a little down when the bro walked away with 20 postcards for the same price as my five just two tables away. D'oh! At the brother's "jackpot table" I admired a dainty rocking chair, and bought an old green glass insulator (which has no use whatsoever but I've always loved these things) for $3. When I got home it joined my kitchen window vignette.

While my brother stayed at the table to patiently sift through a huge box of postcards, I meandered around. And that's when the magic happened.

It was later in the day so the Historic Society marked their table down substantially -- everything you could stuff in a bag for $1. I looked around at the table and figured that may be impossible...five hours in to the day, it was pretty picked over. But I poked around and pulled a box out from under the table. And, oh happy day, there was a box filled with vintage Christmas balls. I bought a bag and started scooping them in, only to quickly be boxed out by a nimble, well dressed woman eager to add to her busting-at-the-seams grocery bag. Had I not been hot and a little dehydrated, I might have had it in me to fight back. But truth be told I didn't need any of these ornaments so no big whoop. Here's what my bag looked like when I walked away:

Not too bad for a buck, right? Look inside...

They'll be piled up in a big glass apothecary jar that's holding seashells right now. I also stuffed these two lovely and delicate vintage floral pieces in the bag.

I mean, they were practically free (they were part of the "everything in a bag for a buck" deal). I'll likely use them as gift tags. They're a good size, so will dress up a package pretty nicely:

After my buck bag victory, I went to look for my brother and spied a covered glass cake dish. For $3! Quicker than I could say, "I'll take it!" that bad boy was bubble wrapped and tucked under my arm. I think it's a deal, and will be great for cupcakes and cookies, and maybe even mini pumpkins for a festive Halloween display:

The brother tipped me off to a vendor selling some vintage New Jersey bottles (the ones in my kitchen window are all NJ-based). I honed in on three small pharmacy bottles ($1 each) from my great state, which I'll put in the downstairs powder room. In the future, we're hoping to give the loo a "make under," so these will look great on the future vintage looking sink. Whenever it is that we get to that.


I was pretty much loaded down like a pack mule at this point, so we started to head out. I walked past that rocking chair that I had my eye on earlier (at the table I bought my insulator from), sort of strategically to see if the guy would come down on the price. It's a wee little chair, and we are not wee little people so I'm not sure I really need it (do I really need any of this stuff? Suze Orman would have my head.). But I figured I'd see what his "end of day" offer was (I'm not a haggler, so the haggle has to come to me. I know this is a little backwards but I'm just not good at asking people to knock money of their prices.). And when he said I could have it for $15 (!) that, too, got tucked under my arm. Check it out:


It is a bit small...here's a photo of it near a bed for scale...

...so it might wind up going to a friend with a little girl. But it's in fabulous shape (from the 1930s, I think -- and it has been re-caned) so I know it will find a great home, if not mine.

Final tally:

Assorted old postcards: $10 (Budget buster. Alas.)

Bag of glass ornaments and vintage floral pieces: $1

Insulator: $3

Cake dish: $3

Pharmacy bottles: $1 each ($3 total)

Rocking chair: $15

TOTAL: $35

Euphoric drive home: Priceless.

Today, there are no words.

Just quiet reflection.

Well traveled.

I haven't traveled for work in a good long time. But I did this past weekend, and quickly remembered that when I'm squirreled away in a hotel room by myself at night my TV watching taste becomes even more questionable than usual (this coming from someone who inexplicably found herself watching Rock of Love at home. More than once.).

So this past weekend it was kind of no surprise to me that I spent a Saturday evening watching a Suze Orman lecture on public television. And boy do her followers hang on her every word. Start to finish. Through tears they asked questions about fixing their situations, like the woman younger than I who had $8,000 in credit card bills, $60,000 in student loans (she decided to recently go to grad school) and a mortgage that she was defaulting on. Now I'm no financial expert, but when Suze said something to the effect of, "Um, I think buying a condo wasn't your best idea," I kind of agreed.

Suze's whole shtick is, "People first, then money, then things." Which, in general, I agree with. But I think she'd spontaneously combust if she saw this "thing" I bought last week:



I just couldn't leave this "thing" in the cute vintage store in Asbury Park. Flying Saucers is a great little hidden gem (downstairs in the Shoppes at the Arcade, so you can't see them from the street) with oodles of fun mostly kitchen stuff, old and new (but the new stuff looks old, and is fabulous). They had a smorgasbord of vintage juice jars like the one I recently bought, and I have a feeling a collection of these "things" could be in my kitchen's future. My friend bought herself a fantastic cobalt blue Fiestaware salt and pepper shaker set (new) on sale for $10, and I just saw them for a lot more online.

The sign appears to maybe be a salesman's sample, possibly? From the 1950s? The small label on the front reads, "Gunn Outdoor Advertising, Co." and I can't seem to find anything online about them. I love it in all of its chippy splendor and have never seen anything like it.

So in getting back to Suze, I guess my mantra would be, "People first, then money - and don't forget to save some of that because too many people spend more than they have, then things - but buy the things you want within your means. Because sometimes things, especially simple silly things like a miniature vintage billboard, can make you really quite happy."

But I guess my mantra doesn't roll off the tongue as easily as Suze's.

Hanna, how could you?

So I leave town to work for the weekend, and come home to find out Hanna stopped by (uninvited, I may add).




Granted, we really only got hit with bucket loads of rain, so it could have been a whole, WHOLE lot worse. Unfortunately, the event I was working on was outdoors, so I got to spend some up close and personal time with that bit--, er, lady myself.

Once home, I assessed the damage and tied up the plants as best I could. I noticed the corn cobs were....missing! Most of them, in fact. Had they blown away in the storm? Had someone (gasp!) stolen them?

I looked around and found the answer.

Freakin' squirrels.

Even the ears still on the stalks look a little picked over.

In fairness, I didn't actually *see* the squirrels, so I shouldn't blame them. Could be raccoons, or opossums, but whomever did it is on my you-know-what list.

Well, at least the corn stalks looked kind of cool in front of the house. It's almost time to cut them and let them dry out to create a festive fall display for the porch. Thankfully the man doesn't read this blog or that last sentence may freak him out ("You're going to do what with the corn stalks on our porch?!").

There is one giant beauty (about 9') that was just starting to bloom Monday morning. I'll be back at the house Wednesday night to see how she's held up.

As for some of the sunflowers that couldn't be saved, I decided to make a festive bouquet to cheer myself up.

I have a lot to catch up on. While I was on blog sabbatical, hundreds of unread blog posts queued up in my Google Reader archives, and one of my favorite bloggers even announced she was expecting a new little blogger (congrats, Courtney! :-). Thank you to ALL of the amazing folks who stopped here from The Inspired Room's Fall Nesting Party. Many of you were new to me so it's been great to see your blogs, too, and to read your thoughtful comments. Mahalo.

I've picked up some super cool little bargains over the past couple of weeks (the thrifty gods have finally smiled on me!) so I'll be sure to post them over the next week.

I fall for baking.

The arrival of fall means back to school for some. For me, it means back to being able to fire up the oven. Buh-bye excessive humidity! To celebrate the knobs on the stove once again turning to the “on” position, and to play along with The Inspired Room’s Fall Nesting Party, I figured I’d share one of my favorite ways to nest during the autumn season: Baking and eating!

I’ve worked pretty diligently in the laboratory (re: apartment’s kitchen) to perfect a biscotti recipe that would be worthy of my partner’s Italian heritage (and his gastronomic stamp of approval). This is the formula that stuck…

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Spread ½ to ¾ cup almond slivers on a cookie sheet and pop them in the oven for 8 minutes or so (until fragrant) while the oven is heating. Remove and let cool.

With a mixer, combine:
½ cup sugar (I use organic raw sugar…and I really think the raw sugar makes quite a difference)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
2 large eggs (or equivalent)

In a separate bowl, whisk together:
1 cup spelt flour (you can sub in all-purpose but I just love spelt flour)
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Slowly blend the dry ingredients in to the wet until just combined.

Stir in the almonds, and ½ to ¾ cup dried cranberries

I line my cookie tray with parchment paper (you can use a silpat mat if you have) and form two (definitely imperfect!) logs, like this:

Try to keep them a compact width (I’d say about 2” – 3”) and about a foot long, but as they bake you’ll see it’s pretty forgiving. (NOTE: If the dough is feeling super, duper sticky and not holding its shape, you can toss in up to 1/4 c. additional flour.)

Bake for 35 minutes.

Don’t freak out if it looks like your logs have flattened out a bit more than you’d like: When you slice just sharpen the angle to give your biscotti some extra height. Let the logs cool about 10 minutes when you remove from the oven, then use a bread (serrated) knife and slice on a sharp angle (the sharper the angle, the longer the biscotti):

Place the slices on the cookie sheet and back in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove; flip around, and toast the other sides for another 10 minutes. As the biscotti are cooling, melt a 6 ounce premium white chocolate bar (I use Ghiardelli, either in a microwave or over a double boiler (the wrapper will have melting methods). I use a mixing bowl over sauce pan of gently boiling water.

Now it’s time to channel your inner Jackson Pollock. Spoon the melted chocolate into a pastry bag fitted with a small round piping tip, or simply put in a small sandwich bag and cut a tiny hole out of one of the bottom corners (voila! Instant pastry bag. Try to use recycled bags to offset the indiscretion of wasting the bag on melted chocolate. Though is melted chocolate ever *really* a waste? :-)

Go bananas and pipe the melted goodness randomly across your tray of biscotti.

After they’ve dried for a while (when the chocolate firms) store in an airtight container. Since I was gifting mine, I bought oversized canning jars at a store in Manhattan called Surprise, Surprise, where the surprise is that there's a store in NYC where stuff like this is affordable (the larger jar was $3.25, I think). I whipped up some fancy labels (well…not fancy. They’re just done in Word and printed on clear shipping labels), and it’s off to the harvest party! (Or, family reunion as the case was here.)