Long Beach Antique Market

Once a year my dad rents a spot at the Long Beach Antique Swap Meet. I usually go with him to help but haven't actually brought items to sell until this year. It was a lot of fun! We packed the truck on Saturday and woke up at 3AM yesterday to get in line. The swap meet opens at 5:30 for the early birds. I walked around and took a few photos with my phone to share with you guys. How cool is that orange lamp in the first photo?

Below is a look at our spot. Some of the Please Note paper goods even made an appearance!

If you're in the Los Angeles area, I highly recommend checking out this swap meet. It's the third Sunday of every month. Try to go early before it gets too hot, but if you can't beat the heat, they sell ice cold beer at the concession stand. You can't beat that!

Words of Wisdom

This quote, by Anthony J. D'Angelo, has always been one of my favorites. I probably think about it at least once a week. So... I made this recently for the hell of it and just realized I never shared it with you guys. Feel free to pin it if you like it!

An Impromptu Stones Concert

Yesterday when I woke up to go to work, I had no idea that I would be in a luxury suite at the Stones concert later that night. How does that even happen, you ask? Well, my friend and coworker received two tickets and her boyfriend was unable to go. She knows what a huge fan I am, so she asked me! I couldn't believe it! I doubt that I will ever have the chance to not only see the Stones again, but to watch any concert from a fancy suite. This was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity that I will remember forever.

Oh... and just for good measure, here's a ridiculous photo of me pretending to be cool before the show.

New Business Cards

I designed and printed some new business cards a few days ago and wanted to share them with you guys! I loved my old ones but it was time for a change. Designing these cards inspired me to make a few changes to the blog layout. Stay tuned!

Thumbprint Cookies

As a kid I was convinced that fruit and dessert should remain separate. Now that I'm older, I'm beginning to appreciate the combination. Needless to say, this was my first time baking thumbprint cookies because I've never been a huge fan. Not only is this recipe (found here) simple, but the cookies are delicious, especially right out of the oven.

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 cups flour
• your favorite jam (I used boysenberry)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream the vanilla into the butter.

Add the powdered sugar and then the flour. Mix until smooth dough forms. I wanted to make some of the cookies chocolate so I added 1 tablespoon of dark cocoa powder to half of the dough.

Roll the dough into one inch balls. Place the balls on a cookie sheet about two inches apart. Press your thumb into the center of each cookie. Make sure that you don't press all the way through.

Spoon a little jam into each thumbprint but don't let them overflow.

Bake on the highest rack of your oven for 12-15 minutes or until just slightly brown. Enjoy!

Cuckoo Clock Makeover

A while back I found this little plastic cuckoo clock at an estate sale. I've been meaning to paint it since then and today I finally got around to it. My current favorite color is yellow so I decided to go with that.  I love how it turned out!

I put some tape over the little bird and my dad had the idea of covering the circular clock part with a spray can lid. It fit perfectly!

Now... time to find some open wall space.

Mother's Day Gift Guide

Mother's Day is in just about two weeks! It's the perfect time to order something cute for Mom online so I've put together a gift guide of some items she's sure to love. How do I know? My Mom owns a few of these things (like the apron and the Essential Pepin cookbook) and loves them!

1.) Cooking Guide Apron 2.) Essential Pepin 3.) Enamel Plate Jewelry Stand

4.) Painted Garden Infinity Scarf 5.) Poco Dolce Chocolate Tiles

6.) Freesia Kitchen Tea Towel 7.) Chevron Clutch

Chocolate Coffee Rice Krispies Treats

I have a confession to make. I've never made rice krispies treats. I've never really liked them very much because they usually aren't chocolatey and if I'm going to eat something sweet, it pretty much has to be chocolate. So when I found this recipe for rice krispies treats loaded with chocolate and coffee via Shutterbean, I knew I had to give them a try. Ohhhh man, these are delicious! I'll definitely be making them again.

Ingredients:

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter
• 2 bags (10 oz. each) mini marshmallows
• 5 cups rice krispies cereal (I used the generic brand to save money, it really doesn't matter)
• 2 teaspoons ground coffee (not instant)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips (I crushed up a chocolate bar because I didn't have enough chips)
• cooking spray

Melt the butter over medium/low heat. Add half of the marshmallows (one bag) and melt. Remove from heat.

Stir in the rice krispies.

Add the chocolate, coffee, and salt. Stir together. Lastly, mix in the remaining bag of marshmallows.

Line a 9 inch square pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Spoon the mixture into the dish and press into an even layer. Let cool completely. Cut into squares to serve.

Be careful! They're hard to put down!

On taking a break...

If you've followed the blog for a while, you might have noticed that I don't post quite as much as I used to. During my first year running this blog, I posted just about every day. Every single day! I can't even fathom that now. I did some thinking a while back and realized that the blog had turned into another job. I stressed myself out trying to think of something new and interesting to post each day. I took a step back and thought about why I'd even started it. The answer was clear... for FUN. I started the blog to share photos and recipes and projects for FUN, and to put it simply, I wasn't having any.

Now that I don't post as much, I tend to wonder if my readers think I'm just lazy or if I don't like the blog anymore. The truth is, I like the blog more now. It's so refreshing to post whatever I want whenever I want. 

My reason for writing this post is... if you're a blogger and find yourself in the same creative rut that I was in a year ago, take a step back. Think about why you're blogging. If you're not having any fun, what's the point?

I'm pretty active on Instagram so feel free to follow me there! Also, check out what Kewpie's up to every day with my 365 day project. 

Coachella 2013

I'm still recovering from this weekend. I have a ton of bug bites and blisters. My legs are ridiculously sore. I haven't managed to comb all of the knots out of my hair. And I have two words to say about it all... WORTH IT.

This was my second time going to Coachella and I can't wait to go back. I didn't bring my good camera (with good reason... it was very windy and dusty this year) so my photos aren't the best but that's alright. You get the idea.