Movie Monday, or not.

Last week I said I would start a Movie Monday tradition and post a quick re-cap on all the movies we watched the previous week. My apologies, there was no time for a Movie Monday post due to our last-minute-hurry-up-were-goin-to-the-Tribe-game decision. Yep, we went to our first Tribe game of the season! It was completely last minute. We were out running errands and Rick has had the Tribe itch for weeks (he keeps saying, "allllllright, lets go to the big yard honey" - in that Pho voice we all know and love), so while listening to the radio, he kept dropping hints about blowing off our errands and get downtown to support the Tribe. So despite the massive Thunderstorm that was rolling in, we decided to rush home, grab the parkas, and go support the Tribe (rain or shine). Turns out there was an hour rain delay which complimented a pit-stop to Bar Cento for some Table Frites and a juice. Perfect.

Bleachers were sold out so we splurged on $44 tics and sat along the 3rd base-line. Long story short - we sat in the pouring rain (the parkas were a life-saver), Rick ate two Sugardales, we juiced, watched a group of boofs heckle the Red Sox left fielder and watched the Tribe beast out another W! It was a great game and the rain actually added to the fun.

I forgot how much fun the Tribe games are and with tickets starting at $8.00 - how can you pass it up?!

Table for Two: Lelolai

Good news. I mentioned here that Lelolai on 25th was closing and since we didn't see any "We're Moving Here" signs we were afraid they might be closing shop for good. But...I just received a notice that they are re-opening their cafe in the Old Arcade! All I know is it's coming soon and we'll still be able to get those nicen sandwiches!


Opening Soon
Old Arcade 401 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
216-771-9956

Porch Progress

When we started our house hunt, one of the items on our must-have list was a screened in porch. And since we moved in during the Fall we were only able to enjoy it for two short months, during which we did nothing in terms of decor. So...as soon as the weather started to turn we jumped on the opportunity to do a 1-2 and get functional & fancy (or "elegant" as our neighbors Patty & Charles have described it).

It turned out to be a full days work, starting with a massive scrub down. Hose and all.

Followed by the removal and addition of window hardware. There were a lot of these hooks so I diligently turned and twisted these suckers out while Rick hung our new outdoor curtain rods (which was NOT an easy task, a lot of m'effing and we definitely got into a little spat but that is the norm around here when hanging things).

Then the fun stuff. We started by hanging the street signs we bought in Ireland. Kinsale & Galway are two of the four towns we went to. The plan is to hang all four but we haven't located Dingle & Dublin since the move. Rick was pretty pumped about drilling into the brick with his new drill-bit.

A new rug.

An old plant hanger spray painted oil bronze - looks brand spankin new!

Some lanterns.

All the curtains hung.

The La Jolla - our very expensive still-feel-sick-about-it lounge love seat.

Our old iron side table.

And a few decorative pillows.

Progress!

And a sneak peak at the semi-final product:

We still have a lot to do. We are on the hunt for a two-top table & chairs (Paris bistro style, good luck!), change the drapes to the hook and ring style so they can glide easily along the rods, possibly add bamboo blinds along the side wall, plants (not sure if I want a pot or a hanging fern but we need something live out there), something to hang on the chimney, a mat by the door into the house, change out the light fixture and add a dimmer, twinkle lights?, coffee table of some sort to put our feet up on, repair small holes in screens, long term-paint the floor, and long term-hunt down the roll up panels that hang on the exterior for bad weather. I know, looooong list for a little room!

But for now, it works and like I said, we've had a lot of compliments from our neighbor ("best this porch has ever looked" - mind you, they have lived next door for 30+ years, "this looks so elegant", "looks like its right out of a catalog")  Of course I'm lovin that all the hard work went noticed. That night we were able to enjoy it too, the weather was gorgeous, we posted up with the ipad to watch a show with a couple drinks, snacks, the dog, and a breeze. Heaven.

Double Up, Double Up

It's show time folks. I'm starting a new GM blog tradition: Movie Mondays!!! Who doesn't need a little Movie action to start off the week? We have a saying, "Double Up, Double Up" (and no, it's not in reference to Double Cheeseburgers). It's what we chant say as we're walking out of the theatre after we just saw a show and then we decide to turn back around, walk right back in, and go to another. Double Up, Double Up. Two movies, back to back. Strange, I know.

We are definitely not Ebert & Roeper and what we like, may not be your fancy. But the one thing we do is see a wide variety. And, since getting our ipads and our online TV, we've been excessively "netflixing" & "blockbustering" everything (as anyone who uses netflix online knows, the Instant viewing options are as random as can be, so we've been watching a lot of things we might not normally). I actually watched a foreign sub-titled film the other night.

Anyways, don't worry, Movie Mondays will be short and sweet and we won't bother with too many details. And I'm sure there will be times as soon as you read the title, you'll shout - Seen It!

So here it goes, the first Movie Monday in no particular order (which is jam-packed since it rained all weekend in Cleveland).

Sleepers
How have I never seen this? Disturbing but GREAT flick. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend. The cast alone is worth it. Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro, Minnie Driver, Kevin Bacon, Dustin Hoffman and a slue of others.

Inside Job
Persuasive documentary about the 2008 collapse. It won an Oscar for best documentary but I actually fell asleep. I guess if you're in the dark on the ins and outs of what happened it would be worth seeing.

Bridesmaids
In theatres now and worth going to. I thought it was funny.

Justin Beiber Never Say Never
I had to beg Rick to rent this one. I can't help it, I'm a sucker for documentaries. This one is definitely not for everyone. I'd save it for the night you have to babysit your tween niece.

Full Metal Jacket
Although I had never seen this movie before, I could quote it (thanks to a song by 2LiveCrew). Rent it.

We Fancy: Fiskars Reel Mower

Sam, this one's for you! We have a friend (Sam), who I knew would make fun of me for this blog. And sure enough, just a few short days after sending out the link, it started. He left a vmail for Rick that sarcastically said, "can't wait to hear what you fancy this weekend". Zeroing in on the word "fancy".

Sam, it could be worse, we could say "We Heart" or "Our Favs" (I'd have to make fun of myself if that was the case).

Anyways, Sam is hilarious. H-i-l-a-r-i-o-u-s. Mind you, he calls the blog Growing UP Maplewood - not sure where he got the "up" part?

So, in the spirit of things "We Fancy" - Sam, this one is for you! And, it's a double whammy because it's green! You'll love it. (Side note, Sam thinks recycling is pointless and that global warming is a conspiracy).

We Fancy: Fiskars Reel Mower

Yes, they do still make push-mowers. And yes, we've had several neighbors stare, make comments, and even ask if we would like to borrow their gas mower. It's actually been kind of funny, we're wondering if they think we bought this because we couldn't afford a gas mower? Even my own family thought we were joking.

Although it is a lot more affordable, that wasn't why we bought a push-mower. I wanted to be green. I'm definitely not a green-freak or an expert but I do have fun trying. And it's also great exercise so we figured, what's the harm in trying? I know it's not for everyone but we love it and as long as we're able, we'll take on the extra effort.

Speaking of effort, we put an entire day of effort in the yard a couple weekends ago. Proof is in the pudding pictures. 4 bags full of grass...twigs...weeds...creepy dead lambs ears...

And the tools to prove we didn't hire a service. ;)

This pic below stinks but I wanted to show our progress. We still have a loooong way to go (hang the lanterns from the trees, plant more privacy trees along lounge area, save for dining furniture and more lounge furniture, new light fixture on front of garage, plant our garden, lay down more pebbles, get an outdoor trunk for storage & hide behind garage, start a compost, diy a coffee table & side table, add fence behind garage to keep Harley in, etc...) BUT progress is progress and if you live in Cleveland you'll know we haven't had many dry days so I think we're doin just fine so far. You'll see we finally found a sunny home for our Gronomics planters (read more here and here). Can't wait to start our garden later this month. AND...can you find our little pig dog Harley?

Yard work is always more fun while juicing so we had our fair share but an EXTRA big thanks to KD (our friends Mom) who dropped off homemade Ham & Bean soup. We definitely worked up an appetite and had zero energy left to make dinner so it worked out perfect to have her amazing (and healthy) soup. Thanks KD!

Sweets for Breakfast

Am I the only one that craves sweets first thing in the morning? If I could, I would eat a cupcake for breakfast. Don't judge. BUT, I've found a solution that is completely acceptable.

Lalo's Famous Cookies
Courtesy of Gwyneth Paltrow's Cookbook: My Father's Daughter (read more here)

As mentioned, we are cooking our way through this book. And after reading Gwyneth's description about these cookies, they had to be our first recipe:

"They are incredibly good for you - I even let my kids have them with breakfast - not a bad ingredient in the bunch." - GP

Cookies for breakfast, YES! If Gwyneth does it, why can't I? So I did. And...they were amazing. Even Rick (who always craves salty in the morning) gave into the morning sweets. They were extremely easy to make and they are about as guilt-free as you can get for a cookie.

You have to try these so I included the recipe below. Keep in mind, this makes about 50 cookies so you might want to cut in half, although - we just kept ours in the fridge and we're still eating them (a week later).



Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Lalo’s Famous Cookies (from My Father’s Daughter by Gwyneth Paltrow)

• 4 cups barley flour
• 3 cups raw whole almonds crushed in a food processor (about ten 2-second pulses)
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1 cup real Vermont maple syrup (I used a local Ohio real syrup)
• Your favorite Jam (blueberry, raspberry, apricot) We used Raspberry

Combine all of the ingredients except for the jam in a large bowl with a wooden spoon. Form into tablespoonful balls and space them evenly on cookie sheets. Use your index finger, make an indent in each cookie. Fill each indent with a small spoonful of jam. Bake until cookies are evenly browned, about 20 minutes. Let cook before eating.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!

I don't think it was a coincidence that I was born on Cinco de Mayo and my absolute favorite food is guacamole, not to mention I love margaritas. My mom also tells me that all she ate while she was pregnant was Mexican. It was meant to be. Yes, today is my birthday and I love that I was born on this patriotic celebrated Mexican holiday. And in the spirit of guac...I'm sharing my favorite Mexican restaurant in Cleveland: Momocho

For years Rick and I have complained about the lack of good Mexican food in Cleveland. But then we met the guacamole at Momocho. Every time we go, we love it more and more. They have a terrific Happy Hour (Tues - Friday 5:00 - 6:30) 1/2 off golden margaritas (which I can confirm are good, especially with the red salt), 1/2 off Tecate, and 1/2 off Taquitos (which is the best thing on the menu!).

I could go on and on but just go and try it for yourself (if you haven't already). My recommendation is to start with a juice, the traditional guacamole, and either split a taquito with someone or have your own. And then most importantly (I can't stress this enough) - get the Capirotada for desert. I'll let the before and after pictures do the talking on this one:

BEFORE

AFTER

Good News, I'm not Sedentary

Read more here, but my final count on Friday was.....



Get Steppin!

The company I work for started a Get Fit challenge. For those that wanted to participate, they sent a pedometer (to measure how many steps you walk each day) and a log book (to record your daily progress in the competition).

Did you know....
You should aim to achieve 10,000 steps per day? I didn't. Here is the breakdown of activity level based on steps per day: (Sources: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Step Index from the American College of Sports Medicine)

How depressing is the word Sedentary for your activity level? I'm so afraid that I'm going to be Sedentary! So today is my first day wearing the Pedometer and as of 11:00 am, I'm at....

Do you think I can hit 10,000? Stay tuned.

Cleveland Scoop

No, this post isn't related to the Mitchell's ice-cream I ate last night. But I can confirm that their seasonal Peanut Butter Chocolate Covered Pretzel yogurt is AMAZING. Did I mention Mitchell's is in walking distance of our house? Ugh....

This is actually much more exciting than ice-cream. While getting my haircut yesterday, I got some scoop on Cleveland - specifically West 25th. I knew about most of these but all the chatter got me really excited so I thought I'd share for those that weren't in the know.

Coming Soon!!!
Market Garden Brewery & Distillery
Same owners as Bier Markt, Bar Cento, & Speakeasy so you know it will be good. Supposedly, it's going to be similar to a traditional Beer Garden (like in Germany). Basically an open-air area where beer & local food are served. The rumors are flying and I hear it might have a retractable roof? Probably a smart idea for a Cleveland Beer Garden. Location: 1947 West 25th Street (right next to the West Side Market)

SOHO Kitchen
Chef Nolan Konkoski (same Chef as Tartine Bistro, which we love!) is taking over the former Lelolai Bakery (which is actually very sad, because they closed after 10 years and that was one of our favorite lunch spots). But, I'm excited about SOHO (short for Southern Hospitality) which is supposed to open by late summer. Who in Cleveland doesnt' want a little Creole and BBQ?!?! Location: 1889 West 25th Street

Crop Bistro (is moving to W. 25th)
As listed on their website:  
It’s official, Crop will be open through the end of April on West 6th Street so that we can focus on getting ready for our next chapter. Thank you to all of our customers and friends  for just shy of four great years in the Warehouse District.  We truly appreciate your unwavering support that has made us successful. Please check back for details about our opening in Ohio City later this summer.  
New Location: 2537 Lorain Avenue (on the corner of W. 25th & Lorain, across from the West Side Market)

West 25th has so much goodness already, I can't wait for these spots to open up. Talking with my friend Chris (Cleveland native, Temporary NY'er) he said, how great would it be to have juices at the Beer Garden & walk over the bridge to the Tribe game? Yes, please.

Can't wait!!!

Happy Easter!

This is the only thing the Easter Bunny brought to Maplewood this year. A White Chocolate Easter Bunny from Malley's. Rick's childhood favorite.

And I think this is the first Easter I didn't have a Reese's Peanut Butter Egg for Breakfast. My childhood favorite.

It was a pretty quiet Easter morning at Maplewood, we opted to hang shades in our bedroom vs. exchange Easter baskets. Thanks to F&ML (my parents) who hosted us for Easter dinner, otherwise, it would have felt just like any other Sunday.

I couldn't resist sharing my niece Lucy Marie. This is at my parents house and that's my mom holding her while we all sit around waiting for her to say doggy & Harley because she's so darn cute when she does!

We Fancy: Hitachino Nest White Ale

It's about that time, when we switch from Guinness & Three Philosophers to Modelo Especials (in cans of course) & Holy Moses. Cut the limes, cut the oranges, the birds are singin, the sun is out and what's summer without good cold juicers?

We definitely have our summer favorites but a recent discovery took Hitachino Nest White Ale to the top of our list. We stumbled on this one at Bar Cento and later discovered it was noted in our "Worlds Best Beers" book.

Here is some background according to Worlds Best Beers author Ben McFarland:  The Kiuchi Shuzou company was established in 1823 in the tiny hamlet of Kounosu (Nest) as a producer of Japanese Sake. But in 1996, the company branched out to brewing beer. Having won numerous international awards, its range of bottle-fermented beers and bottles adorned with a funky looking owl, have developed a strong following in the US. It's a refreshing mildly hopped Belgian style Saison brewed using coriander, orange peel, and nutmeg.

How good does that sound? Trust us on this one, give up the Corona Light (if you're still seriously drinking those) and try it!  And...how cute is the bottle - love it!!!

The challenge is, it's not easy to find. We order ours from Grady's on Lake Road but they only order them in 750 ml bottles, approx $10/each. Whole Foods also carries Hitachino but only in individual 12 ounce bottles.

We are beer lovers, not experts so this is all personal preference. And we definitely recommend Worlds Best Beers for those that want to learn more (great gift too!)

Cheers!

 

Baked

I'm a wannabe baker. The challenge is, I don't have any patience. And baking requires exact measurements, slow pouring, sifting, all sorts of things that take precision and time. With that said, I love sweets and baking at home is actually much healthier than buying baked goods at the grocery store and/or your local bakery. I like to know exactly what ingredients are used and I love that my baked goods don't have extra dyes or extra ingredients to help shelf-life. I'm definitely not the next Carlos of Cake Boss (love that show) but I am getting better and the best thing about it is...practice makes perfect so guess whose sweet tooth has been getting a lot of action lately?

Knowing that I'm a wannabe baker, Rick bought me BAKED Explorations for Christmas. I was a little intimidated at first because my experience with baking cookbooks has been overwhelming but I quickly fell in love! This is truly the easiest cookbook to follow and these guys are foodies, can't you just tell? I love their witty writing and they don't make you feel like you need William Sonoma as your kitchen. In fact, they say in the Kitchen Tools & Equipment section that their kitchen once "overfloweth with useless, discarded, and unnecessary kitchen tools & utensils".

I've vowed to bake every recipe in the book (I've got two under my belt, one in the works) and rather than pressuring myself to do a certain amount of recipes in a certain amount of time, I just wait for something to come up (a brunch with family, Easter, a birthday, a Sunday night sweet tooth) and I pick what I feel like.

So far both the Double Chocolate Loaf and the Maple Cupcakes have turned out amazing! Double Chocolate Loaf being my favorite of the two (without the frosting, it was amazing just plain).

Without typing another couple hundred words on the topic. I have to just quickly mention that while in NY for St. Patty's day, I insisted that we visit the BAKED Brooklyn location - well worth the long walk over the bridge and can't-find-a-cab-catastrophe, the whoopie pies (which are next on my list) were amazing!!!

If you're looking for a gift for the baker in your life - this is a good one that won't break the bank!

We Fancy: Goop & Gwyneth

We definitely fancy GOOP!

If you haven't checked out Gwyneth Paltrow's website GOOP, you are missing out. She shares recipes, personal travel notes, advice, and so much more. You can sign up for a weekly newsletter or just check the website for new posts.

Although there are some neat recommendations for hotels, restaurants, and clothing - we like the recipes best. Most all of them are healthy and the ones we've tried are delicious!

Be sure to check out the following:
Do it Delicious
The Halibut over spinach is silly easy, healthy, and tasty.

Lunch Box
Wild on Chicken & Sorry Charlie are SO good.

Vietnamese Salad
This one requires a lot of ingredients and takes some time to prepare but it's super healthy and really good. It's my favorite salad.

We also did both of her recommended Detox programs. The first one is only 7 days and it wasn't easy but we learned a lot about ingredients and fell in love with the smoothie recipes. We actually have them for breakfast all the time. The second one is called CLEAN, it's a 21 day detox and it was amazing, highly recommend it!!! It's strict but both my husband and I lost weight and I haven't felt that good in a long time. If you think you're up for the challenge and want specifics on how we survived our 21 days - shoot me an email growingmaplewood@gmail.com.

By the way, is Gwyneth popping up everywhere these days? Goop, GLEE, Country Strong, Music Awards, New Cookbook? And yes, I definitely bought her new cookbook. Is it weird that I want to be her? Ha! Anyways, we are cooking our way through it (Julie & Julia style) and we'll be posting our absolute favorites, stay tuned.

Look what Rick built!

Who's kidding who, Rick can't build things. These are our new Gronomics planters (read more here) which all we had to do was take out of the box and slide the wood together. No nails, no hammers, no saws, no tools at all! I think this might be the easiest project we've done so far.

Since we haven't been paying attention to the sun patterns in the back yard, we're not sure where we're going to put them yet (for now they are behind the screened in porch). They are great quality and I'm hoping with a little Cleveland exposure they'll take on a weathered look. The plan is to start our Organic garden in May which should be interesting since we have no idea what we're doing.

Diaper Cake

I was wrapping a present last night for our friends who recently had a baby and it reminded me of a diaper cake I made for a baby shower last year (with the help of my Aunt Char - who showed me the best technique using round cake pans). I had SO much fun making this thing and it was super easy. What cracks me up is they actually sell diaper cakes online, some cost $50 plus! I can't remember exactly but I'm pretty sure I made mine for $15 or less. If you're hosting a shower, it's not only a great take home for the Mom-to-be but it's also great decoration. I used mine on the desert table.

This shower happened to be hosted by one of our single guy friends so I jumped in where I could to help make it baby and not bachelor. I strongly suggest if you're hosting a shower to give the diaper cake a try. I picked up the white cake plate from Marcs for $1.99 (again, thanks to my A.Char) which was a nice touch and again, the Mom-to-be can take that home.

Gronomics

No, I didn't make up that word. Gronomics is where we bought our planter boxes. One of the reasons we moved home from the city was because we really wanted a backyard with a garden. We also wanted it to be organic and since it would take years to adjust the soil in our backyard, we opted for planter boxes.

Right now they look like this:

Hopefully we'll get some good weather and Rick can get building. The plan is to fill these with our favorite vegetables. We are definitely new to gardening but we've been reading a lot and Rick's mom is a gardener so we have her as a reference when we need it.

I'll definitely post any and all lessons learned. I did read that it requires patience, which I don't have so this should be interesting. We also learned that squirrels are considered "thugs" in the gardening world. Funny, because I had already tagged them as my enemy when they had their way with my pumpkins last fall.

We Fancy: Wendy Kromer

It was a butter cream-sweet surprise today when I received the below email from Wendy Kromer who did my wedding cake.

Hi Katie,
I hope this find you, and finds you well!

Quick question...would you or your Wedding photographer have a digital image of your Wedding Cake? The NY Times requested images of cakes that I thought were interesting, for a Wedding Cake story they're doing. There is a quick turn-around time, so this is rather time-sensitive. If you can help, that would be great.

I loved your cake!
Thanks,
Wendy Kromer

I was tickled (to say the least). So of course I jumped into our Pictures folder and started digging. As I looked I was reminded of how much I truly loved my wedding cake and the entire experience. Although my Mom and I didn't see eye to eye on much during my wedding planning, one thing we both agreed on was the cake. We wanted classic, simple, beautiful, and to-die-for! And that is exactly what it was.

We cake-hopped about 3 different shops and one step into Wendy's, I just knew, this was it. She was amazing to work with and she truly gives you a custom cake. My invitation was the inspiration for my cake and she nailed it.

Keep your fingers crossed, maybe the NY Times will feature my cake!
Click on this link to check out the pictures I submitted.

http://gallery.me.com/amburgey/100005

Sorry Charlie

We love to eat fish as long as it's wild and in season but sometimes (especially during lent) we resort to the can, as in canned tuna. But not just any canned tuna, we only buy American Tuna (sold at Whole Foods), it's definitely on the pricey side but it's worth it. As stated on their website, the difference compared to the other brands is the taste and quality, the high levels of Omega III, low mercury levels, no fillers, no broth, or water added, "once cooked" in its own natural juices and much more. We love it!

It's good enough to just sprinkle with salt & pepper and eat plain but we always like to doctor things up so I'm sharing our favorite tuna salad recipe, courtesy of GOOP (one of my favorite sites).

Sorry Charlie Tuna Salad
Note: the recipe calls for fresh tuna boiled but we use canned tuna and it's delish.

• 1 lb Tuna
• 1 small Red Onion
• ¾ c. Chopped Celery
• ¼ c. Chopped Dill
• 2 c. Mayonnaise
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 2 Tbs. White Vinegar

Boil water with salt, ½ onion – add tuna (cut 1/2" thick slices, no skin). Cook 20 to 25 minutes until tuna is cooked through. Once cooled, tear the tuna into small pieces and mix with the remaining ingredients.

My First Estate Sale

I just got back from my first Estate Sale. I found out about the sale after a recent visit to Mitchell Sotka. I pop in Mitch's store at least once a month or as often as I can because he always has one-of-a-kind pieces. I learned (the very hard way) that if you like something, buy it on the spot because the chances it's there next week is slim to none (I'm still upset about these vintage cocktail glasses I loved and went back a few weeks later to buy and they were gone). With that said, there is a mirror that I stalk and it's been there for almost a year. Every time I walk in the store I say...."just here to visit my mirror". Mitch actually lowered the price one time by a couple hundred dollars (I think we both thought it might be enough for Rick to give the ok) - wishful thinking. Fortunately (for me) it hasn't sold yet but I know it will and when it does, it will be the "one mirror that got away".

Turns out Mitchell Sotka was hosting this particular Estate Sale so I put my name in and signed up to attend. Ironically, it was at a house just a couple doors down from our very good friend, C Monster. I had NO idea what to expect and Rick wasn't the happiest about getting dragged along but turns out we both had a really great time and we each left with our own purchases.

Our ticket totaled $24.00. The three ladies ahead of us were in the $400 - $600 range. Here are some pics from Mitchell's site pre-sale. Although there was a lot of neat stuff, it just wasn't our style so our purchases were more self-fulfilling/buy-it-cause-it's-cheap type of thing.

My first grab was this $10 blueberry wreath. I have a thing for wreaths and typically can't find one I like for under $40 so although it's not amazing, I thought it might work in July (after I add some details of course) - or who knows, maybe I wont even use it all and it will end up in the garage sale this summer.

Then we found the library (thank goodness, something to occupy Rick) - he spent the entire time here rummaging through hundreds of books. Rick loves books and for only $1.00 each, he couldnt resist a handful. I myself found a book, Book of Interior Decoration copyright date 1954. I thought it would be fun to compare the styles of today and the 50's. Again, for a $1.00, why not?

We searched the kitchen, hoping to find an old cast iron pan that had 50 years of seasoning but no such luck. The upstairs was filled with art, mostly of different animals but nothing that suited our style. Somehow I landed on a box of six small birds nests. I guess the thought of Easter being a few weeks away got the best of me because for $8, I had to have it.

Like I said, we didn't leave with much but it was a really neat experience and we're both definitely up for doing another one.