Flea Market Finds, a Lesson Learned and a List

We went to the Long Beach Flea Market this weekend.

We went specifically to look for lights for our kitchen.  We have those terrible florescent lights on the ceiling and they have got to go.

As is so often the case when you are looking for something specific, we could not find what we wanted. But we did see a lot of other great stuff.

Like these thermoses.  Aaron has quite the obsession with thermoses.

When you visit the flea market with small children, you can be assured of visits to all the vintage toy booths.  James is developing quite an appreciation for vintage toys.  We're raising that boy right.

I just saw a spread in Ready Made magazine about a couple who collected tin doll houses.  I had never seen them before and thought they were pretty great.
They are.  Here is one I found.  Good thing it was too rickety to be played with, or I would have wanted to bring it home.

It was hard to get a good picture of the inside of each room, but you can kind of see how each one is decorated differently.  Look at the kitchen, bathroom and nursery.  So cute.

I always like to get a vintage gift for my new babies. For $12 this was a good find.
And please don't send me emails about the lead in these blocks and how I should not let my baby play with them.
Don't worry.  They would be for decoration only, not for chewing on.

Here's one of my obsessions.  Don't you love that red orange color?  I think I am ready to expand the typewriter collection in this house.  I'm now on the lookout for #2.

There is furniture too.  Check out this table top.  I love it.

Being married to Aaron has made me notice and appreciate things like this font.  And the rusty, worn wagon it adorns.  And also words like atomic and rockets are a direct Aaron influence.  The man has warped me.

I think everyone should have one of these hooked to their tvs.
Except that most everything you turn on would make the arrow go straight to the red.

This was one of my most favorite finds of the day.
A tin, wind up cuckoo clock.
How very cool is that?

But the coolest find of the day was the vintage, roll up map of California.  
I have wanted one of these maps for ages.  
They are hard to find.
And expensive.
This was one of the best prices I have seen.
And it was beautiful.  The colors were perfect for our house.  
But we waffled.
And when we came back, it was gone.


I almost cried.  I know.
Lame.
I learned my lesson.
If you see something at the flea market that you have wanted forever and it is a good price, just go for it!


Also, make a list.
It can be overwhelming to look through all that stuff and inevitably, you will let things slip by because amidst all that stuff you can't remember the things you are always looking for.
I began composing my list on Sunday afternoon and will keep it in my wallet for when I go estate saling, garage saling or flea marketing.


Here it is thus far:
Molded plastic chairs like this
Vintage pottery for my patio like this
Type writers
Vintage camping equipment
A pole lamp for Aaron like this
Vintage state glasses
Red Bakelite bracelets
Danish Modern wooden candle sticks like this
Melamine dishes, especially for a tea set like this
Vintage rotary phones
And, of course, vintage pull down maps.


I will add to my list as things come to me.
What would be on your list?


Love from,
Greta
PS.  That cuckoo clock is now sitting on my bookshelf giving me quite a bit of pleasure.
My husband surprised me.  He is sweet like that.

On Growing Things

I can't help thinking about growing things.

It isn't that it has felt like much of a dark and dreary winter around here.

It has, in fact, been one of the most sunny and warm Januaries and Februaries I can recall.

It's just that I am thinking of spring.

I want to plant sweet peas.

I want to watch things grow.

Have you seen the latest issue of Martha?  

It is chock full of planting, growing and eating inspiration.
Also, these posters.
I adore these posters.
This one is my favorite.  Big surprise, right?
I want to hang it in my kitchen.

And if this is the year we finally get to plant a garden, I will hang this one too.
Hoping against hope!

You must go to this Etsy shop to see all of their wares.  They are very, very cool.
And visit the website too.  Support them and remind yourself to eat yummy food at the same time.


Because there are few things in life more satisfying that harvesting your own food. 
(wrote about it here)
Case in point:

Our orange trees.
How many pictures have I posted of our oranges?  
Are you sick of them yet?
Sorry.
But each time we pick them, cut them, squeeze them, drink them , or eat them, my kitchen fills with the wonderful smell like nothing in a bottle could ever match.
And their color is brilliant--each one different.
There is no grocery store orange that can compare to the taste to an orange picked from your own tree.

Or a plum or tomato, or cucumber.
This is why I can't wait for spring and planting and growing.
And then summer and eating!


So while we are planting fruit trees and trying to figure out how to use our one sunny spot for a garden, I will be planting some sweet peas and nasturtiums out front.
Eventually I want a front yard that is full of a lot of these kinds of plants:

(doesn't that succulent wall planting make you green with envy?) 
(image from Apartment Therapy)
But in the meantime, I am letting no more springtimes pass me by without sweet peas.  It's been years since I've had a spot to plant them.
They'll look beautiful until the succulents and California natives come in.


For more on growing things, visit my other blog, Lilly and the Brothers.
Love from,
Greta

Road Trip: Mt. San Jacinto and Pines to Palms Highway

Being in the San Jacinto mountains this weekend reminded me how much I love them.

I may not get to visit my most favorite mountains in the world, the Alps, but these are a bit easier to get to and really quite wonderful.

One of the things that makes them so amazing is the difference between the 2 sides of the mountains.  

On one side you have pines.

On the other, palms.

And there is a road that takes you between the 2.  It's called the Pines to Palms Highway (CA-74).

Aaron and I drove it this summer and if you are a fan of beautiful drives I highly recommend this one.

There are a multitude of ways to approach this drive; it doesn't have to be Pines to Palms.

It could just as easily be Palms to Pines.

In fact, we enjoyed it so much that we took it both coming and going.

The benefit of starting at the top of the mountain and dropping down to the desert floor is watching the landscape change so dramatically and taking in the views.

So we'll take it from the top.

From where ever you are in LA, Orange County or San Diego, you end up on the 10 East, headed toward Palm Springs.  When you reach the tiny town of Beaumont (worth driving around for their great signage) you exit the freeway and head up the mountain.

Soon you are taking in vistas like this:

And this:

As befitting a mountain landscape, you'll find towering pine trees,

Moss covered rocks,

and lots of the Manzanita tree with its smooth, red bark.

There are plenty of good hiking trails just off the highway as you drive through.  It feels good to stretch your legs, even if you are huffing and puffing from the altitude.  You are, after all, at 6000 feet.

Here are some links for hiking trails: here, here and here. 

If you worked up an appetite, you can stop in the little town of Idyllwild for a mid- morning snack, if you started early enough, or for lunch, if you slept in.
I haven't actually eaten in Idyllwild, but there are plenty of places to try and I did find a pretty great used book store.  It's worth the stop.

Once you've fueled up and took a break from the car, hop back in and head out of Idyllwild, towards Palm Springs.  

You'll catch CA-74 also known as the Pines to Palms Scenic Byway.

You'll notice the landscape change quickly.  

Gone is the verdant green moss, replaced by hardy desert vegetation.

Very different but still very beautiful.

The highway snakes you down the mountain on a very steep, very curvy road.  It's the kind of road my mom hates and my dad loves. He looks out at the views while she tells him to keep his eyes on the road.   If you are prone to car sickness, this part may be a challenge to you.

There are plenty of spots to pull out and take in the desert spreading out before you.

Once you've reached the bottom of the hill, you can drive into Palm Springs.
I highly recommend stopping at the ACE Hotel for lunch.  The food is very good and they have a photo booth!  (see more about the ACE here)

I love Palm Springs and can find lots and lots to do here.
If you like thrift stores and vintage, read this post to see some of my favorite picks.
If you like art, you can visit the Palm Springs Art Museum.
Or do some hiking on the desert floor.
You can visit the Palm Springs zoo and botanical gardens.
You can even ride the Palm Springs Ariel Tram back up to San Jacinto Peak for a whole new Palms to Pines experience.


Whatever you end up doing, you'll find it hard to tear your eyes off that beautiful mountain.
Whether it's covered in afternoon shadows,

or bathed in morning light.

For the drive home, you can head out of Palm Springs on the highway and hook back up to the 10 West, or, you can drive back up the mountain for the Palms to Pines version of the drive.
The views are spectacular that way too.

If you live in Southern California, or are here for a visit, I hope you'll give this little road trip a try.  We're going to do it with the kids this month or next, before the sun really warms things up.  What a great way for them to experience mountains and desert in one day.

I'll be sure to tell you all about it.

Happy travels!

Love from,

Greta

What's For Breakfast: Leek and Goat Cheese Tart

I got to take a little trip to the mountains this weekend with some of my girlfriends.

It was fabulous.

Lots and lots of talking, laughing, crying (me) and food.

We split up the meals and I chose breakfast.

You know how I am about breakfast.

I brought the ingredients to make one of my favorite breakfast dishes: leek and goat cheese tart.

It is easy but more importantly, it is completely delicious.

Even my friend Rebbecca, who promptly told me, "I don't like goat cheese," ate it and liked it.

Apart from my son William, the pickiest eater on the planet, eating it, you couldn't ask for a better recommendation.

Here is the lame-o picture I took of it.  Don't ask me why I didn't get a shot of the whole dish.  I think I was intent on everyone getting their food and not saying, "hold on a minute, let just take a couple pictures."

The recipe is from my favorite gal, Molly.  It was published in Bon Appetite magazine in the column she writes there.

I have made it enough times now that it feels like one of my go-to recipes.  I can trust that it will not fail me and be well received.

I am giving you the link to the recipe here.

My Notes:

She calls for aged goat cheese, which I would like to try sometime.

However, that always requires and extra trip to a different store.  And thus, regular goat cheese has been used every time with very good results.

Also, she gives you the recipe to make your own pie crust.

If you have the time, I highly recommend that.

If you don't, then go buy a pre-made one at the store.

One of my life goals is to master making a great pie crust.  I am not there yet and didn't intend to use this weekend as the time to try, so I used Pillsbury.  

See, sometimes I take the easy way.

Lastly, you will have some of the leeks leftover.  They are delicious heaped on toasted baguette, saved for lunch and put atop a salad,  for dinner with salmon or roasted potatoes, or saved and served in scrambled eggs for tomorrow's breakfast.

Seriously, those leeks are so very good.  

Don't you dare throw away the leftovers.

This tart, kind of like a quiche except not as heavy, is great served with simple fruit, baguettes and some bacon like we had for breakfast.
But you could also have it for brunch, lunch or a light dinner.  
And, if your husband had not left it in the cooler overnight, it would make a great breakfast the next morning.
Not that I was annoyed or anything when that happened to me.


So, you have almost a week to get groceries for breakfast this Saturday morning.
You'll thank me when you taste it.
Love from,
Greta

More Old Signs: Chinatown

I took the kids to Chinatown this week to explore and to learn a bit about Chinese New Year.

It was my first time visiting.

It was a photography heaven.

Especially the signs.

Here are some of my favorites.

I am not a shabby chic person.
You won't find it in my house (at least not intentionally.  there are many shabby things waiting to become chic.  but not the 2 together.)
But I love the way so many of these signs are worn and worse for the wear.
I love the fonts.
I love the neon.
I love the colors.
I love old signs.


From the loud silence on my last post, it seems I am nearly alone in this love affair.
Take a closer look at what you are missing out on.
If you want to see the rest of our trip, go here.


Off to bed to dream of signs.  Or who knows what else--I have the weirdest dreams when I'm pregnant.
Love from,
Greta