Swoon Worthy: A Turquoise Typewriter

OH. YEAH.  

I got one.  

A typewriter.  

A turquoise typewriter.

And you know how I feel about turquoise.

Last Sunday, Father's Day, I sent Aaron to the Long Beach Flea Market.  That was his Father's Day present.  The man is ridiculously hard to shop for, and since he just had his birthday, I could not conjure up another gift idea.

So I suggested he go pick one out for himself.  

And a few hours spent browsing through aisles of vintage treasures, sans kids, isn't so bad either.

He came home with this.

For me.

He rocks.

I didn't send it back.

It was put to use immediately.  And my suspicions were confirmed.

We are going to need a few more of these bad boys.

All day long I hear the clickety clack, the thwack, the ding, the glorious sounds of that turquoise typewriter in use.

James is typing signs, letters, he wants to write a whole book.

What a great way for him to interact with letters.

Lilly uses it.

William uses it.

I use it.

It is sitting next to our favorite phone and we play office with them.

So now the hunt begins again.
Did they make red typewriters?  Orange?  Pink?
Can you imagine a whole shelf of brightly colored typewriters?
Swoon worthy indeed.
I need to start saving up.


Happy Monday friends.  I'll be back later with some of my finds from a great craft show I went to yesterday, Patchwork Long Beach.
Love from,
Greta

I Need a Tutor

All I wanted to do was make my pictures bigger.
That led to me trying to change the HTML code in my blog, which led to things getting lost and I couldn't find them, which led to me making a new page for my blog, which led to a header picture that didn't fit, which led me to resizing pictures on Photoshop, which led me to stay up trying to figure it out until 1:30 in the morning and I am still stuck with a header picture that does not fit!
ARGHHH!


The good news is that my desperation caused me to go into Photoshop and teach myself how to do something.  
I don't know Photoshop.
I don't know any photo editing software.
I take pictures, download them and them put them on  my blog or what have you.  I edit when I shoot.
Beyond the basics of typing, emails, searching the net, downloading photos and blogging, I am a complete novice.  Hey, I was a literature major, we read books!  We only typed papers on the computer because we had to. 


But Aaron keeps telling me I need to learn Photoshop.  That there are so many things I could do there beyond color correcting.  And that it isn't that hard, and that I could teach myself.
Well, I 'm not so sure about that cause you see that header picture is still the wrong size.  
But at least I tried.  That is a big step for me.  I am not intimidated by much, but some of this techy stuff intimidates me.  And, I have to admit, I am a bit lazy.  I have such a limited amount of time to spend working on the computer each day, that I'd like to spend it all writing, not learning Photoshop, or Illustrator or any other program that I need to know.


But I am getting the feeling that a whole new world might be opening up for me if I step outside my comfort zone.  It's like when I finally got my digital SLR camera.  All the pictures I had taken in my head for years, I could finally take in real life.  MY 35 mm point and shoot just wasn't able to do what I wanted to.  And now, well I can take almost any picture I have been imagining.
Now I need to learn all the designery stuff I have in my head so I can leave my husband alone and do it myself.
I'm tired of being a client who has lots of ideas but no know-how.


So. I think I ma going to be spending some time on the computer not writing, but fiddling around with some if these things.
And I am sure you've noticed there has been a serious shortage of posts around here.  My limited free time has been cut even shorter by later summer bedtimes and a little girl who is making the not so easy transition to a big girl bed.  
I am exhausted by 9:30--well, before that really, but so much so by then that it is all I can do to tidy up the house and go to bed.


But it is summer and I am cutting myself some slack.  I may not be here everyday, but check in a few times a week for something new.
Maybe one of these days that header will be fixed.
But I'm not making any promises.  At least not until I get a tutor.  
Any volunteers?


Happy weekend everyone!
Love from,
Greta

Estate Saling With Kids--Some Advice & Some Treasures

Friday mornings are made for estate sales.  I don't know how I missed this valuable information all those years I had summers off as a teacher, but I am still rather torn up about it.  When James was a baby, I ventured out to a few, but just never got into a groove.

Again, a sad loss.

I didn't even try with 2.

But then I had 3, and I have found that with more kids comes more courage, or insanity--you decide-- and so now, I hit the estate sales with 3 little ones in tow and people look at me like I have lost my mind.

It isn't easy.  I started about 6-7 months ago.  And even though I was completely exhausted after my first sale, I was also hooked.  Oh the finds!  So I went back for more.  And I got wiser to the whole scene.

Here is what I have learned.

You can't use a stroller.  

So be ready with a big, sturdy bag to hang over one arm and to carry your toddler in the other.

No one is going to be happy to see you taking up so much room in the halls of a small house with 3 kids + yourself.  

So just be ready with a smile and a little bit of sass to push your way through.

The kitchen is a great place for small, light, affordable and often vintage items.

So go there first.

The garage is often a treasure trove of dusty, overlooked beauties.

Don't overlook it.

Don't look at everything just for yourself--think gifts, dress up box, that kitchen tool you don't want to buy new from William's Sonoma.

I have been in need of a citrus reamer--got one for a quarter.  A vintage Fisher Price puzzle will make a great birthday gift--50 cents.  Save money and get creative at the same time.

Keep your kids next to you.

Estate sales are often run by the same people and they won't mind you coming back if you keep an eye on your kids.

Stop for donuts on the way.

I just discovered this trick last week.  We got donuts on the way, and once there, I sat them in the back yard, out of the way, gave them their donuts and dashed in and out of the house looking at things and checking on the kids continuously.  I know that contradicts the previous advice.  But this was a trial run and it worked marvelously.  

*To clarify this point (due to some complaints regarding this advice) my kids were never out of my sight.  I was in the living room, a few steps from them, not in some back room pawing through boxes of old sweaters.  I would never leave my kids in some place full of strangers where I could not see them, or get to them right away.  And I am certainly not advocating that you do so.*

So with those in mind, if you have a spare minute tomorrow, find and estate sale and just look at what you might find!

Vintage green and white cups.  4 for a $1.

Perfect for tea parties on the back porch.

 
 

Vintage salad spinner.  I love the orange inside.  The top is brown.  So 70s.

And so much cheaper than buying a new one--which I have been in need of. $3

 Favorite find from the garage--vintage afghan.  

It is just perfect for a little girl who is now sleeping in her very own big girl bed.

This afghan is a match made in heaven for her rickrack pillowcase and her crochet bunny.

And again, much cheaper than buying a new comforter from Target, or IKEA and much, much cheaper than Boodalee.  (although I admit I would love some of their bedding)

And really, isn't it fun to know you found something totally unique and even handmade for a song?  Now she's sleeping in a flower garden!

I hope you get to hit an estate sale, garage sale or tag sale this weekend.  If you can't make it on a Friday, go Saturday.  You're still sure to find a treasure.

Happy hunting!

Love from,

Greta

PS.  Any friends who use Blogger out there?  I could use your help.  I switched my post editor to be able to easily make my pictures larger, but now it cuts off the horizontal pictures.  Grrr.  And, when I tried to switch them back down to a smaller size, the will only be left justified.  Double Grrrr.  Anyone with great techie skills have advice for me?  I need it!  Thanks.

Salmon Nicoise Sald--The Very Best Salad for Summer

Summer's officially here! That means it is the perfect time to share my favorite summer salad with you. (I got the basic idea from Martha, but added my own touch and I think mine is actually much better)

Salmon Nicoise Salad.

One of my favorite things about summer is the food. Fruit and vegetables are at their best and I can have ripe fruit for breakfast, lunch and dessert. For dinner I like salad. There is nothing better on a hot day, when you don't feel like standing over the stove, and you need something light and refreshing, than a really good salad.

And this is it.

A really, really, really good salad.

When I make this salad for dinner Aaron gets the way some men do about steak, or a Laker championship. He is stoked. I know, I am lucky to be married to a guy who considers salad a meal. Once you try it, you'll be sold, too.

So let's get started with the ingredient list.

Ingredients:

1 salmon fillet large enough for 2 people (I use frozen, wild salmon, boneless, skinless)

3 small cucumbers (Persian are my favorites) or 1 large cucumber

1/2 a pound of fresh green beans

1/2 pound of baby red potatoes

4 eggs

1/2 a large avocado or 1 small avocado

cherry tomatoes

Roasted red peppers (jarred, or if roasting your own, 1 red pepper)

Nicoise olives or Kalmata olives (DO NOT use regular black olives)

Blue cheese

Romaine lettuce (I like to mix mine with arugula)

To Make:

Begin with steaming your potatoes. Cut them into quarters and steam until fork tender.

Trim the green beans and steam until just tender. Don't overcook. They should still have a firmness about them. Plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking and retain bright green color.

Hard boil the eggs and when they are cool, remove them from their shells and slice.

While the potatoes, beans and eggs are cooking, prepare your salmon. You can cook it using your favorite method. It is good grilled, pan fried, or baked.

I drizzle a little olive oil on mine, squeeze some fresh lemon juice over it, sprinkle it with dill and broil it until it flakes easily onto my fork. It is perfect every time.

Now prepare you other ingredients.

Peel and cut cucumber into small chunks.

Slice the red peppers into thin strips.

Peel and core the avocado and cut into small chunks.

If the cherry tomatoes are large, slice them in half.

Once your salmon is cooked, you can begin to assemble the salad.

I know it looks like this is a lot of work, but really, this is a quick dinner. It is about the assembly line.

I usually make 4 salads. 2 for dinner and 2 for lunch the next day.

Yes, it's that good.

To Assemble:

A large shallow bowl works best for this salad. If you don't have one, use a plate.

Cover the bottom of your bowl with a layer of lettuce. It should not be very thick.

Divide your potatoes into 4 equal portions and place 1 portion on top of the lettuce. Do the same with the remaining portions.

Divide and place the green beans, cucumber, tomatoes, sliced red peppers, avocado and egg in the same way.

Keep each ingredient together for the composed salad look.

Add a small handful of olives, blue cheese and then place the salmon on the top.

I like to use just a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper to dress my salad. There are so many rich flavors in the salad I don't think you need more. But if you have a favorite dressing, try it and see if it works for the salad.

The great thing about this salad is you can make it far in advance and keep it until dinner. Cover it tightly with plastic wrap and place in the fridge.

It travels well and is especially good for an evening concert at the park, or lunch on the beach.

Or, you can just make it in the morning when it is still cool enough to cook and then relax away the hot afternoon with a cold drink and a good book.

You don't have to worry about a thing--dinner is done!

Enjoy this one tonight, or at least very soon.

Happy summer eating!

Love from,

Greta

________________________

PS. Thanks for all your great ideas for my bedroom! I am really excited by the things you have suggested. I now have some great new ideas and I can;t wait to test them out. If you didn't get a chance to comment, take a look here and give me some feedback.

Lastly, take a little peek at what I got this weekend. I am so in love! I sent my husband out to get himself a Father's Day gift and he came home with this:

More pics tomorrow and some other great weekend finds. See you then!

Bedroom Makeover: Before Shots and some Inspiration

I mentioned that I am beginning to think about fixing up our bedroom. It's time. All the other rooms in our house are done(ish), or at least as far done as they can be at the present time. But nothing has been done to our bedroom. Why do we always do our bedrooms last?

I have been pondering the space a lot. One of its biggest problems is that it is small. Not the smallest bedroom I have ever lived in to be sure, but still small. (In our tiny beach bungalow, the bedroom was so small that I could not get on one side of the bed during the later stages of pregnancy. Bed making was a challenge.)

The good news is we are pretty much working with a blank slate. There is almost nothing going on in there. Here are some shots I took this morning so you can have an idea of what the space looks like.

The Tour

Windows: No window coverings--just roller shades. I want something that can be sheer enough to let in light during the day, but adds some softness to those roller shades.

Bedding: I love our bedding. I bought new when we moved in. It's Dwell from Target. Our previous bedding was 8 years old. When I buy something for our house, I tend to make it last. I like the bedding a lot and the color will play a part in the design of the room.

Bedside tables--Side view: I bought these at an estate sale a long time ago. I love the shape of them. They are really too small for our bed, but I like them so much I am keeping them. They are however, quite thrashed and in need of some tender loving care.

I can't decide if I should paint them or sand and re-varnish. Thoughts?
Front-view: See, they really are a great shape. So modern and Heywood Wakefield. I especially like that roll of toilet paper in case someone needs to blow their nose in the night. We're nothing if not classy.

Oh yeah, and we really need bedside lamps. Maybe wall mounted?
Bed Frame: Our bed is a vintage wrought iron bed. It was my mom's before she and my Dad got married. She gave it to me when I was in high school and she and my dad finally upgraded to a queen.

That's right, Aaron and I sleep in a full sized bed--through 3 pregnancies and my always gigantic belly. Now there is often a kid in our bed at some point in the night.

We need a new bed.

I am emotionally attached to this bed and I will save it for Lilly. I dream of getting it powder coated a bright pink, or turquoise. It doesn't really go with the aesthetic we want for our room. Even though I do believe you should mix things up in your home and decorate with the things you love, not just what is "supposed" to go together.

We are not in the place to get a new bed right now though, so this one will be around for a while. It will have to be a part of the design element too.

Empty wall: That empty spot at the foot of the bed is pretty much the only usable space in the room. But it is quite narrow, so it need a small piece of furniture. I'd like a dresser or vanity of some sort.

Small wall space next to closets: see above and below. These are just two, narrow strips of empty wall that can be hung with different types of art. I would like the art to be calming and still fun, inspiring and creative.

So that is what we've got. Not much.

Oh, and our budget is not much either. Like practically nothing.

I plan on trying out a piece of furniture I already have up in the garage for the empty wall, cheap curtains from Target spruced up with some IKEA fabric and paint for the furniture. I think we can come up with some cool art too, although there are a few pieces I have my eye on from Etsy.

Inspiration:

I found this book at the library yesterday and it is great! I am getting a lot of good ideas. Mostly I just feel inspired to spruce up our bedroom.

Here are a couple images I like:

Even though we're not getting a new bed, I am beginning to think about what kind we want. Maybe we don't even need a frame. I kind of like the simplicity of this.

I also like this small, narrow bookshelf. I love how each cubby is painted a different color. I also love the legs. That works as a foot board for the bed quite nicely, I think.

What do you think of this wall paper? I LOVE it! Faux bois but in that lovely blue color. I am actually considering doing something like this on the one wall behind our bed. Look below to see it in a room. You can find it here.

Lastly, I was perusing the web for vanity ideas. I stumbled upon this blog, which I like and this image, which is sort of the idea I am going for. A smaller mirror and more color, but I like the vintage chair and the petite, clean, modern look.

So that is where I am right now. Just thinking about it. I'll give you updates as I get going. Don't expect things to start happening at break neck speed. I have a limited amount of free time to work on projects. If I could have the bedroom mostly done by summer's end I would be really happy.

I remember the days when I could begin a project and end it in a speedy amount of time.

Sigh.

Why didn't I make better use of those day?

I'd love any ideas you have for our bedroom or books and our sources you love. Please share with me!

Love from,

Greta

I'm Back.... With Some Goodies to Share

Hi friends. I hate being gone for so long. But it's been a whirlwind around here. A birthday, an anniversary, closets to clean and kitchen cupboards to reorganize.

Even though they still aren't painted inside, they still make me happy when I open them up.

And all that busy, plus more that isn't really that interesting to talk about, leaves me wanting to sit down on this and swing for a while.

Yes, it is probably the coolest porch swing I have ever seen. And for only $750 it can be yours. Don't worry, it's on sale.

I do love DWR, but sometimes their prices are almost comical.

We are planning our dream backyard and a porch swing is on the list. This is the prototype. I'll let you know how it goes.

I am thinking about art for our bedroom. It is a sad little place right now and I am finally going to tackle it--the last room in the house to get a makeover. These posters are pretty great.

You know how I love anything map or travel related. This is one of the places we stopped on our honeymoon, so this one has a warm place in my heart. Go see more here.

Here is another poster, map related in a way. James liked it a lot. He identified it right away. He thinks it would look nice in our schoolroom and I am inclined to agree with him. They also have one of the brain. See them here.

But this one is my hands down favorite. I mean, who doesn't love Paris? I dream of going back there all the time. Until I do, I'll just look at this. (there are 2 more here) I lover her art and have mentioned her on this blog before. Go visit her Etsy shop and look around. Really, really great stuff.

And if you are feeling ambitious this week, here is a simple and useful project for you. It's a dry erase board that isn't horribly ugly. In fact, it's awfully cute.

I have shied away from dry erase boards because of the ugly factor, even though having one would be useful. I think this is the answer to my problem. I found it here, but the tutorial is here.

And yeah, that typewriter helps the cute factor. Totally.

If you don't know about it already, one of my favorite blogs is having a a special week of guest posts and giveaways.

Go visit Heather over at Blessed Little Nest and see what's going on. You'll like it there. You should poke around a bit and you'll like Heather even more.

And lastly, I have these beauties sitting on my counter. Fresh, fragrant apricots from my parents' tree. Oh they are intoxicating.

I really want to make jam. I do.

But I can't stop eating these.

I had 7 today.

Is that bad?

I've never made jam and want to desperately, but it doesn't appear it will be apricot jam.

Anyone have any good jam recipes for a jam novice? I am willing to do it the old fashioned way with boiling water and sugar and a big, old, hot mess.

I'd love tips if you've got them.

Whew! Well, that ought to keep you busy for a while, right? After you head out there to visit all those fun spots, I'll see you back here.

And now, I'm off to write my love story. It should be fun. There are old pictures included. I've been laughing all day.

Love from,

Greta

Urban Foraging and Blackberry Crumble

We went blackberry picking last week.

Not out in the country, or on a u-pick farm, but right in the middle of the city. Orange County, suburban sprawl, next to 405 and John Wayne Airport.

It was great.
If you don't live in southern California, you might be thinking, "so what? I can walk out to my mailbox and pick berries any time I want to."

I know all about you, you Pacific Northwesters. You and your roadsides brimming with berries. Aaron and his family drove to Alaska when he was a little boy and one of his favorite memories is how they would stop in the morning to pick fresh berries from the side of the road and his mom would put them in their pancakes.

It sounds pretty nice. OK, it sounds stinking amazing!

But we don't have that here.

Or at least I didn't think we did. Turns out we do. You just have to look for it.

This is where we found these berries. It is a lovely place to pick, even with its close proximity to the city.

There are other places too. In fact, there is a whole movement of people who are interested in finding fruit that is otherwise not being eaten and taking full advantage of it.

It's called Urban Foraging, and you can read an article about it here.

I have always wondered about trees laden down with oranges that no one is picking. Apricots falling to the ground. Loquat trees full of fruit that no one seems to want.

What becomes of all that fruit?

I'll take it.

When we were kids we always did. Anywhere there was fruit that wasn't in someone's yard was fair game. There was a street in Fallbrook, the town I grew up in, lined with pomegranate trees. It was called Pomegranate Lane and people went there and picked them by the bagful. There was a giant loquat tree just up the hill from our house. Oh how my brother and I loved those ripe loquats. They're the ones with the big shiny seed in the middle. No one else seemed to eat them.

That is the idea behind urban foraging.

Rather than let the fruit go to waste (or to the birds and squirrels) pick it and make something like this:

There is a distinct pleasure in filling your bucket with berries you've picked yourself, adding a bit of sugar, oats and butter,

slipping it into the oven and enjoying it with a bit of ice cream.

Urban foraging? I'm all for it!

If you don't live near our blackberry spot, take a look at this site to see if there are any good fruit picking spots near you. You can even take a walk through your neighborhood and if you see fruit laying on the ground, offer to pick it in exchange for keeping some yourself. Urban foraging requires you to be a bit bold.

Or, if you can bear to share any place you know and love, do tell. I'll even keep it a secret if you want me to.

Happy picking!

Love from,

Greta

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The Crumble

To my understanding, the difference between a crisp and a crumble is all in the use of flour or oats. A crumble uses oats. I think. If I am wrong, please correct me.

Our crumble could not have been easier. It took James and I about 3 minutes to make. Now that is my kind of dessert.

Directions:

Spread berries in the bottom of a buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with a bit of sugar.

Choose size according to amount of berries you have. We didn't have a lot, so we used a small dish and had a single layer of berries.

In a bowl, combine 1 and a 1/2 cups of oats, half a stick of butter cut into small pieces, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, a teaspoon of cinnamon. (If you have more berries, make more oat topping)

I used my hands to blend the butter into the oats.

Crumble oat topping over berries.

Bake in a 350 degree oven until the berries are bubbling and the oatmeal topping is crisp and golden, but not getting too brown.

Top with ice cream and enjoy the fruit of your labor!