monday night chat

I started this post by uploading some photos this morning, but severe back pain hit and I wasn't able to write until now - nighttime. More on that later in the post.

Wow, did I ever have a great weekend! My sister and brother-in-law invited Brian and I to a Blackhawk's game. Brian and I have never been to a live Blackhawk's game. We had a blast. I was a little worried ahead of time about my knee, with all the walking and going up and down the stairs in the stadium, but I did fine.

I love hockey. It's the only sport I enjoy watching. Must be the Canadian in me. My dad was Canadian...and I was born in Canada, though we moved to the States when I was three months old. My dad was a semi-pro hockey player back in Canada, and when I was growing up, he coached kid's hockey games (I went to a lot of these games with him) and he also took me and my sister ice-skating on a huge pond every winter. 

Brian and I spent the day in Evanston on Saturday. It's one of our little day trip go-to places. While browsing in Stumble and Relish, I was eyeballing these handmade earrings. I thought they were pretty cool and I love handmade jewelry, especially by local artists. Brian asked if I wanted them and I told him I wasn't sure; that I'd think about it. He insisted on buying them for me. :-) 

Of course, a trip to Evanston wouldn't be complete without a stop at our favorite antique store, Secret Treasures. I brought home this vintage pottery planter, which was only $6. Not sure who the maker is - it's only marked USA on the bottom. Now I just need to buy a little succulent to put in the planter to make it complete.

We decided to try a new-to-us restaurant for lunch and at the suggestion of a store clerk, went to a casual Mexican place.

Brian's tacos look good, right? He said they were...though I was a little disappointed in my fish tacos. It was one piece of fried fish, almost like a fish stick. And there was a sauce in a little jar on my plate that went on the tacos. The waiter neglected to warn me that the sauce was very spicy. My mouth and lips were on fire! I also had a "real" guava margarita (not made from a mix) but was in a very small glass that was filled with mostly ice. Needless to say, in general we were disappointed with this place and won't be going back.

 We also visited one of our favorite independent bookstores, Bookends and Beginnings where we purchased a couple of used books and also had a nice chat with the owner. I didn't take any new photos, but here's one from a previous visit. This is the cookbook section - they have a fabulous selection.

No photos, but on the way home we stopped at a Mediterranean grocery store and picked up fresh pita bread, hummus, baba ganoush, dolma, and a block of paneer cheese so I can try and make one of my favorite Indian dishes, Palak Paneer. It's basically cubed cheese in a spicy spinach sauce. A few miles up the road, we hit a Jewish deli for corned beef, pastrami, tuna salad, chive cream cheese ("schmear"), and bagels. One good thing about living in the Chicago area, is that we have access to just about any kind of ethnic food we desire. A foodie's heaven!

 We stayed home on Sunday and got a lot done around the house. At one point, we were outside picking up some of the twigs and branches that have fallen into our yard from all the storms and when I bent over, there went my back. I immediately started having horrible back spasms. I wasn't totally surprised. I had noticed a couple of times since my knee surgery, when getting up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, my lower back would lock up on me for a moment and have one of those spasms.

This morning, my back was in slight pain and I'd get those spasms if I made a sudden movement or bent over even in the slightest bit. I took a slow, gentle walk to the channel down the road. The fresh air and movement felt good, even though it was - surprise - another gloomy day with rain moving in.

 When I got home, I took a warm bath with Epsom salts and lavender oil, then did some gentle stretches. I was feeling better until this afternoon, and then the pain started getting worse. I normally don't take ibuprofen, but by 3:30, I couldn't stand it anymore. I had to take something. That only took the edge off the pain for a couple of hours. The pain and spasms got bad again. I spent a lot of time with the heating pad on my back, which felt really good.

 I Googled about pulled muscles in the back + remedies and one thing I read said to try using a tennis ball. So I took a tennis ball and put it between my lower back and the wall and moved around to try and get some of the tight muscles loosened up. Guess what - it worked! I'm not pain free by any means, but it helped a lot. I'm supposed to be going to physical therapy tomorrow, but I don't know if I'll be able to. I'm pretty bummed about that possibility. I was making good progress with my knee in PT and was halfway through. If I miss a session or two, I'll be going backwards. 

 (my clematis coming to life!)

And now it's time to feed the cats and get ready for bed. 

Here's to a better tomorrow.

a whole lotta this and that

 This past weekend when hubby and I were out and about in one of our favorite towns, we stopped in a new french bakery. I thought it was really clever how they had vintage kitchen tools and milk bottles displayed in box frames on the wall.

Don't these croissants look delicious? I had a cup of coffee and...not a croissant, but an eclair. It was different from what we're accustomed to here in America. It was more of a skinny, dense pastry filled with the richest, creamy chocolate I'd ever tasted. Being on the FODMAP diet, I wasn't supposed to have this (gluten; milk chocolate). Silly me thought I'd be OK, especially since the eclair was small. (Justification.) It was delicious going down, but an hour later my stomach was in so much pain, I was almost doubled over. Boy, did I learn my lesson on that one. Definitely not worth it!

   

 We also stopped in one of our favorite vintage and "treasure" shops. It's a consignment shop that will buy your things right then and there and pay you cash. I didn't make a lot of money this go-around, but just enough that I was able to turn around and use that money to buy a few things in the shop. ;-) One of the things I bought was this beautiful necklace...

 and I also found a pure wool plaid blanket in perfect condition. I'm allergic to wool, so I can't use this blanket, but for now it looks nice hung over the chair in Tim's room/the guest room. I'll admire it for a little while, then pass it on to my mom. She was with us while we were shopping and really loved this blanket.

 Speaking of jewelry, Brian surprised me with these earrings the other day. We had been at a friend's Halloween party and her daughter had a bunch of her handmade jewelry there. I was looking through the stash and commented that I thought these earrings were pretty. The next morning when I got up and walked into the kitchen, these earrings were propped up next to my laptop on the kitchen table. I was super surprised because Brian usually doesn't do things like this. He's more of a gift giver for birthdays or Christmas.

 Isn't this a pitiful sight? Leaves all over the ground and patio furniture; hostas drying up. Patio weather is officially over. Cushions are now stored away in the garage and the furniture is bunched up against the house. We'll be covering it all with a tarp as soon as all the leaves are done falling. Brian cleaned out the gutters this weekend and I did a lot of sweeping and leaf-blowing. It's a never-ending job in the fall...it's like shoveling while it's still snowing.

Remember my neighbor's gorgeous maple tree that I've been documenting in photos all fall? This is it today. Almost bare. Another sad sight. And look at that gloomy sky. I think the sun will now be few and far between and gray skies and rain more the norm.

It's been a long time since I've had any red meat and I'm tired of chicken...and seeing I can't have legumes on the FODMAP diet (which I miss very much, especially since I ate mostly vegetarian), I decided to try a pot roast tonight. I smothered it in carrots, parsnips, celery and onion. Onion is another big no-no on FODMAP, but I'm hoping that with picking out the big chunks of onion and eating everything else, my tummy will be OK. The experts say not to even eat anything that's been cooked with onion - not even onion powder! - but I just couldn't see cooking a roast without it. Onion adds so much flavor. I had my meal about 1-1/2 hours ago and so far, I feel fine. 

 Thanks for visiting ~ have a wonderful week!

thrifting treasures ~ part two

This is a picture-heavy post ~ you've been forewarned!

I've really been on a thrifting roll lately.

And I like to sometimes show not only what I found, but where I'm using those finds, too.

So settle in with your feet up and your beverage of choice - I'm drinking Yogi Green Tea Kambucha - my new favorite.

It was hard to photograph this glass bird - he looks more like a penguin

in the photo! He's much more handsome in person.

 He now nests happily on a shelf in my office, along with that pretty 

little floral oil painting I found the other day ~ which was featured here: 

hit the thrifting jackpot - part one

Thought this was a cute box...it now holds an assortment of teas on the kitchen counter.

 

 Even the side of the box is cute...

Another pretty little painting...

 

 which I used in grouping on the kitchen wall. And instead of putting more nail holes in the

wall, I used those trusty 3M Command strips.

When I stand back and look at the wall, it seems to me that it now needs some kind of

horizontal something-or-other to top off the grouping. Maybe a white ornamental piece?

 

I was thrilled when I found these sterling silver candlesticks!

Only $4.99 each. They'll be so pretty and shiny when I remove the tarnish.

 

 Here's the original price!

 I bought a set of six of these gorgeous Lefton dishes.

They're for my mom. Not sure whether she's going to keep them or try to sell them on eBay.

If I had a dining room (I only have an eat-in kitchen), I'd be keeping these lovelies.

The sterling silver coyote earrings are for a friend of mine, as she loves

jewelry like this. The funky pin is not for me to wear, but I could picture her on

a bulletin/inspiration board or pinned somewhere fun...

like on this vintage fan.

 

When I came home with this big basket and set it on the kitchen counter,

Monkey immediately jumped into it and had to investigate!

When I was carrying this basket out from Goodwill to my car, two women

in the parking lot commented on it. "Ooh, I want that basket!" And, "Someone found a great basket!" 

Household stuff...a two-slice toaster (which will make my son happy - we only had a four-slice

toaster which was too big to keep on the counter, so every time he wanted toast or waffles, he'd

have to drag the toaster out from storage, which wasn't exactly convenient); a Chef'n salad Emulstir (I make our own salad dressing and just kept it in a jar, but we'd have to shake the jar or mix

the dressing with a spoon every time we'd use it, which got messy); an onion chopper (was so happy

to find this, as my mini food processor broke a little while ago); and kind of out of place here...a lime green vase to go in my living room.

 

So here's the lime green vase - on the hanging window ledge display. I like how it picks

up the green in the picture above it.

Aren't these Swedish candlesticks beautiful? Found them for 99 cents each and the

candles for 49 cents. 

 

 Tchotchkes...loving the vintage bud vase (guessing that's what it is; I was drawn to the hand);

a little trinket box with lid; and the cutest little dish with a cat on it. I know I've seen this dish

online before and I'm thinking it was from Anthropologie, but I can't find it online now.

Anyone recognize it?

 Speaking of that little trinket box with lid, I am hoping someone can help me with this.

What exactly IS this thing? It has a slot in the side. I'm wondering why.

The bottom is marked Stowell.

 

Woo-hoo, another stack of books!

 

Oops, more books! Yarn Harlot is for my same friend that is getting the 

coyote earrings, as she's a knitter - and a reader.

 

Cute 99 cent bracelets for a friend's little girl, and a couple of $1.99 necklaces.

Not too sure about the beaded one on the right - it's not like anything I normally wear.

I'll try it when I'm wearing a plain black or blue shirt and if I don't like it, one of

my aunts who likes bold jewelry will be getting a little prezzie.

 

Pretty pink and silver bracelet. Just needs a little cleaning.

 

14k gold hummingbird earrings for a friend who adores hummingbirds and delicate earrings...

 

 Whew, that does it for now! I also found a few shirts for myself and a red Tommy Hilfiger sweater for my husband, but I didn't take pictures of those things.

 I would tell you that I'm going to stay away from

thrift stores for awhile, but a friend of mine asked me to go to Goodwill and

Savers with her next Monday. Do you think I said no? ;-)