Estate Sale Finds

When Lindsay & Jordan came home before Easter, we went garage-sale-ing, and found some really nifty stuff. I forget why I didn't post this entry earlier, but here it is! : )

Linds took these dishes back to Tampa with her. Sadly, it wasn't a complete set, but we loved them, and they suit her needs.

I love this mini jar (Instant Coffee, too 70's!) and put my Truvia packets in it by the coffeemaker. The bowl is the Pfaltzgraff one I put my avocado pico in earlier this month. So wish there would have been more like it!

These are apparently Imperial Candlewick juice glasses, worth about $10 apiece. We got them for a quarter!

I don't know if these are anything "special", but they are so pretty! There were 5; Linds got 4, I got one!

These are Imperial Cape Cod glass ware. These folks had a ton; if I had somewhere to keep it in the house, I would have brought it all home! Jack liked it, too.

"Teahouse Rose" Japanese china. ♥ I also found some luncheon plates with matching tea cups!

The back says, "Hand decorated, detergent & oven proof, MADE IN AMERICA!" Amazing!

Now on to the real reason I was "hunting": to make CAKE PLATES!

Deb gave me this beautiful gold with violets china plate she found at a garage sale. Plate #1!

Making another. Just glue (with glass epoxy) to a base, this one being a Cape Cod dessert cup!

This three-tiered one is my favorite! The bottom plate is the one I found, and the other two are also from Debbie. She's always looking out for me! : ) See the Candlewick glasses?!

It was actually easy to line the plates up to the glasses; just measure and pencil mark. I later found a glass-look knob that I glued to the top.

Another view. I know, it's an obsession.

It was really interesting, but sad at the same time, to walk through the home where these pieces came from. So many meals eaten, and so many stories shared over these dishes. We'll make some memories with them ourselves ♥

Up for the weekend: a visit to Chucktown! ; )

(a/k/a Charleston)

 

It's an Obsession...

Lately, my almost-daily Facebook post shares the day's "holidays": National Apple Cobbler Day, Pizza Party Day, Miniature Golf Day, Limerick Day, Lost Sock Memorial Day...you get the picture. But today's holiday tickled me so much, I just wanted to say a quick word about it on here: it's National Sea Monkey Day! (yep, that's right, National!)

The very familiar (to me, anyway!) ad from my Archie comics back in the 60's and 70's. I remember thinking, "They're so cute! I have to have these! I'll take such good care of them!" These little friends would be way cooler than my pet rock, and even cooler than the actual fish I had in a bowl, because these fishy friends have hair! And crowns! Yay!

Sadly, they looked like this. But the ad promised "real-life time travelers that were existing in suspended animation, waiting for ME to bring them to life"! So where's their hair?! Which one's the Mom?! And most importantly, where are their crowns?!

*sigh* That was so long ago...

Today, in honor of National Sea Monkey Day, I read the "official website", and it's a riot.

http://www.sea-monkey.com/html/aboutsm/whatarethey.html 

I'm not the only one who remembers sea monkeys; I found lots of other bloggers reminiscing about them as well. They continue to be popular, believe it or not; there are sea monkey gift packs, cartoons, Halloween costumes, video games, YouTube videos...you name it!

Ok. I got that outta my system.

By the way, there are some super fun holidays coming up, but I REALLY can't wait for May 25....c'mon, you know me....

IT'S NATIONAL WINE DAY!!! ♥

Momma's Jewels

I've wanted to put some of Mom's jewelry on the blog for quite awhile. Since Mother's Day is tomorrow, I couldn't think of a better time to take out her much-loved belongings, touch them, wear them and have a good cry. It was a cathartic exercise in preparation for tomorrow, so now I'm OK! This "sample" of items is literally a smattering of the collection that Mom had; I'm sure not many pieces are worth much, monetary speaking, but the sentimental value is truly priceless.

Mom kept every piece that we had given her. Every Mother's Day, birthday and Christmas, she got jewelry, and she wore it all, making sure each piece got their turn to be seen : )

This locket was a favorite, engraved on the front with a script "W". I love that she kept her nametags, I do, too! She so enjoyed her job at Arby's in the mall in the 90's (where she made so many friends!), as well as her volunteer career at Hanover Hospital, but those two jobs represent just a few of the many positions she filled. I'm not sure who gave her the wooden rosary from Jerusalem, but it's one of MANY rosaries that she treasured.

This charm bracelet was my Grandma's, filled with a ton of us grandkids. Hey, how did my charm get in the front? ; )

Connie made these sachets for Dad's funeral. I like it to stay with one of the (thousands, probably) cedar crosses that Dad made and gave away. Mom loved silver, and always wore bangles or chains every day. I really can't remember a day when she didn't always look her best, and have her jewelry on.

I'm pretty sure this necklace-watch is from Mary, and it was one of her favorites. The Swarovski crystal bracelet is the MS Bracelet of Hope that she wore everyday for Tom. Her charm bracelet had just a few charms on it: a California state & airplane charm from visiting Patti, a sailor hat for Tom & Dave, the caduceus for Tom, and a space capsule from her visits to Florida. She also loved brooches, and I wish I had kept more. The rings pictured are: her favorite spoon ring (she had a few), my favorite ring to play dress-up with when I was a kid (the purpley one; it's actually a clear, and turns colors), the silver band that served as her wedding ring in later years, and her heart band and "O" ring that she wore everyday. The standing gold band bears the engraving "J.W.G. to C.J." which I think was my Grandma's. It makes me sad that I didn't pay better attention when Mom would tell me the stories behind so many of these things, but we'll talk about them all again one day, together again.

Anyway, Mom, happy Mother's Day. Thank you for the beautiful memories. I love you. ♥

Hurry! Run to Publix Before Thursday!

How is it that "gallo" is pronounced "guy-o"? (every time I see the word, all that comes into my head is "Gallo" wine, but that's not unusual for me!) Anyway, Publix has an awesome special on avocados this week (10/$10), so I loaded up on them and made this yesterday, as part of a belated Cinco de Mayo dinner. Verdict: fabulous! Jack even liked it, and he doesn't care too much for avocados!

The bowl color is weird with the color of the avocados (as is the background of the blog), but I love it; it's an old school Pfaltzgraff bowl that I bought at an estate sale last month : )

Avocado Pico de Gallo

2 medium ripe avocados, cut into chunks

1 ripe tomato, seeded and coarsely chopped

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded & finely chopped

1 small red or sweet onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

juice of 1/2 to 1 fresh lime

kosher salt

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients, tossing gently with a spatula. Cover and refrigerate up to 4 hours* (modified slightly from the original recipe on delish.com)

*In reality, I ate some today as well, tossed with a little chopped chicken from last night's dinner, stuffed into a half pita for lunch, and it was still just as good!

Enjoy!

One Last Stop...

Costa Maya, Mexico. We hadn't really heard of this place, or know anything about it. The fellow at the excursion desk told Lee that beyond the port was is the Mayan Jungle, and he wasn't kiddin' (I know, I know, we shoulda taken an excursion). Another tourist village with lots 'o folks to sell ya stuff. Again, the water is truly blue and beautiful, and I'm sure that the snorkeling is pretty cool!

Ship views! Looking to the south, it looks a little barren...

Beyond the "city", there are mostly small farms. 

Looking north. Wow, where is everybody?!

This pic was to capture the water color again; it was just off the pier.

Jack says these guys are just "Homeland Security"!

Looking down the pier toward the "Pink City".

Amongst the shops, is tourist haven: Señor Frog's! This one even has a pool! Unfortunately, you have to buy something at the restaurant to be able to use it...

We picked up a few souvenirs and made our way back to the ship. It was HOT already; Costa Maya in July would be a scorcher!

One last day at sea included: some verrry funny comedians (a highlight of the Dream), spicy pineapple chipotle cosmos (YUMMM!) in the Ocean Lounge, shrimp ceviche & basa fish (double prime rib for Jack), a cute "Newlywed" style show in the theater, and one last bask in the sun on the "adults only" Serenity Deck.

Thanks for coming along, I hope you enjoyed your cruise! (I need a job saying that! Hmmm....)

Wahhh, back to work! 

A Tropical Paradise!

I'm at home today with what seems to be a work bug...blah! But no worries with that, let's get back to cruising! It probably seems crazy that we didn't take any shore excursions, but they all seemed to be so lengthy, and we really thought we could see things on our own (we were wrong). But Roatan proved to have scenic views beyond the touristy port, with a small beach for cruisers. We were lucky enough to be the only ship in three of four ports that we visited this trip, so that was a real bonus!

The view from the ship! The first place we had seen with hills! Now THIS is what I'm talkin' bout!

I see my beach chair from here! We headed back to the cabin to don bathing suits for our stay on the island, even though the weather wasn't looking too promising.

As I zoomed in for a closer pic before we left the ship, I saw the nets up around the perimeter to keep out sea creatures...now I'm REALLY happy! And it's brightening up a bit : )

Lovely! The port shops had lots of things made from...yep, mahogany! Go figure!

We took the "Magic Chair" lift from the shops to the beach. Sure, we could've walked, but since we didn't buy any excursions, we figured this was kinda close. Hey, Lee & Bev!

Ahhhh, look at all those empty chairs! There is such an advantage to being the only ship in for the day!

Time to try the locals! Well, you know, not "try" the locals, I'm sure they put up with plenty...we just wanted beer! These were good!

So were these! There's not many beers that wouldn't taste great served right to your deck chair on the beach, right?

Soaking up the...ultra violet rays, pretty much. The sun was trying so hard to stay out, but just couldn't.

Uh oh, this doesn't look good. But look at that beautiful blue water! I added a rock from here to my collection. (Thanks for the fabulous idea, Linda!)

Lee got this fantastic pic of the storm "rolling in"! Too late, we got soaked!

Now we could have any chair we liked! This was under cover at Fat Tuesdays, just like the one in Cozumel. And Costa Maya. And probably ever other tourist port.

 We grabbed some grub, and I think this was the best chips 'n salsa I've ever eaten (coulda been the beer, though). The pico de gallo/salsa was really good, though, Jack actually drank what was left in the bowl! He's fun : )

Time to Magic Chair-it back to the ship. Errr, maybe this was on the way there...anyway, we took the ride back, and the view was still lovely, even in the drizzle.

This was our last formal night. Aren't they an adorable/handsome couple?!

These two on the other hand.... We love dressing up. And taking pictures. And eating yummy dinners. And having cocktails. Aww, heck, what's not to love?!

One more day, then we're back home. *sigh*