A blog about nothing

Well, it's really not about nothing... but it's not very exciting.

So I've been collecting early to mid-century pottery and cookware.  Since my house was built in 1939, I feel I should stay true to its roots.  Mostly it gives me an excuse to buy old people's stuff :-)  So I love thrift stores and estate sales.  I've found some awesome Bauer pottery pieces (a pottery company based out of LA) and some other great finds.

So I scour Ebay and Etsy for fun finds... oh boy... so many goodies out there!  I love pottery and glass.  There's another company called California Pottery that did LOTS of mid-century stuff.  Dip/ relish trays, planters, plates, bowls, etc etc.  Fortunately most of the stuff is a little too 50's/ 60's for my taste.  I have to draw the line somewhere!

I recently came across artichoke plates.  I'm pretty sure the only reason I grew up knowing how to eat an artichoke is because my mom grew up in LA.  When I met Jeff he had never eaten an artichoke (the boiling and peeling the leaves way).  We eat them frequently when they're in season.  We put them on our plates, I give each of us a small bowl for the butter and then we throw the leaves in a big bowl.  Then I discovered the most fantastic plates.

Whittier Artichoke Plates

I was hoping the iridescence would show up.  Nope.  I'll take a pic of the plates with food on them at some point.


You put the artichoke in the middle, the hollandaise (I use garlic butter) in the smaller compartment and the leaves go in the big compartment.  I had seen a few small ones in thrift stores (7 inches or so).  Pshaw.  Too small for the monster 'chokes I get!  Then I saw some on Ebay that are 9.5 inches.  They are the most beautifully made plates by California Pottery.  Lightweight and they stack well.  I got 4 from Ebay and 2 from Etsy so I have 6.  Just in case.  You never know.  I could have a horde of artichoke eating friends over at some point.

Williams Sonoma also made a set several years ago.  They are not produced anymore, but you can find them on Ebay.  You can also find plates from Portugal as well.  I really like the California Pottery ones.

Two days after I got them (not kidding) I happened into a random Goodwill in a shopping complex I sometimes visit when I'm out that way.  How that for a run-on sentence?  I found 3 Whittier iridescent plates.  They are even bigger at 10 inches, but they don't stack as well and are a bit bulky.  At $3 a plate I bought them.  I've learned that if you even think you might be interested in something at Goodwill to just BUY IT.  Seriously.  Even if you only use it once and put it back out for Goodwill you've gotten value out of it.  Most stuff is SO cheap.  Some stuff not so much, but those are the nicer things anyway.

Our library was yarn-bombed.  Too cute!

Hydrangeas from my garden

Jeff and I went to Laguna Beach last Sunday for the Pageant of the Masters.  It's pretty amazing.  People become works of art.  Think of a work of art with people in it... The Trevi Fountain in Rome, The Last Supper, anything you can imagine.  The people are real but everything else is a prop.  Crazy cool.  It's obviously 3D but they set up the lights just right so that the "paintings" look 2D.  Well, the Trevi Fountain was obviously still 3D.  I was super glad that Stacey and I trudged all over Rome in the heat with my PH to see all of the sights.  Thanks Stace!  Next time we go to the Pageant I'm bringing binoculars or renting some.  Since Jeff is the bestest hubby ever we went super early so I could browse the 3 art fairs :-)

Of course he had many beers (smart art festival) and we stopped for some Margaritas.

The view from the Mexican Restaurant.  I guess it's popular for weddings.

I made a hot pot tonight!  Jeff is on the boat so I needed some dinner (eating hummus and seed crackers for every meal was getting old).  It was good.  Not great.  But I'm learning!  Needed more flavor (and salt! who the heck would have thought?).

I tell ya, just keeping up with my garden is a full time job.  I have to spend almost a full day a week preparing and freezing the goodies from the garden.  Sure hope I'm glad I did it in January.

Looks good!  I used way too much wakame (seaweed).  It grew much more than I expected.
Note to self: read the package. 1 tsp would have been plenty. I used 2 tbsp. Oops.

After cooking!  Not too shabby.

And because I'm sure you're wondering what I got in Laguna Beach, here is the Deruta pottery piece.  I have been wanting a Deruta piece for years.  There is an Italian store in Laguna that has the most beautiful stuff.  Like $400 for a serving bowl in the super intricate geometric patterns.  There are some cheaper lines, but I don't want those of course.  That's why I hadn't bought anything years ago.  But then I found this... on sale in my price range!

How gorgeous is this?  Every time I walk by it I gaze into the swirls of color... mesmerized...

It's 11.5 inches and is a fruit bowl.

Well, I hope I've managed to kill some time while you're putzing around on the computer.  I'll keep you posted with more meaningless dribble!  No health news to report... waiting... waiting...