Happy 4th Of July

I wish a happy and safe holiday weekend to you all! We are a very small family with three people and two dogs locally so we celebrated with some Wisconsin favorites. After picking up the supplies from our Mundelein sale last Wednesday, we stopped by Woodman's in Buffalo Grove. It was Kuochun's first time to go to this Woodman's location. We picked up Johnsonville brats, Sprecher's cream soda and Rhinelander ripple potato chips (two bags per box.) The potato chips in the box are a real flashback to both my childhood and Mother's. Kuochun could not wait to try them. I said "don't get too excited, they are just regular potato chips." He loved them though! My grandma used to buy certain items which are cemented in my childhood - 5-quart buckets of ice cream, 2 pound tubs of butter, ham patties, chocolate covered marshmallow cookies and potato chips in the box, among other things. Looking back, nothing healthy in this mix but that's what grandparents are for, to treat and spoil their grandchildren. Every moment with them was special.

The cheese selection at Woodman's is amazing, I would say as good if not better than Mars Cheese Castle. I am trying to steer away from processed foods and plan to buy a nice cheese grater from Amazon and grate my own cheese. I heard chemicals are sprayed on pre-grated cheese in order to keep it from clumping and also to preserve it longer. I picked up a hunk of mozzarella as well as white cheddar with tomato and basil, medium cheddar and goat cheese. It was difficult to narrow it down! I could not find kringle but we substituted with three different kinds of bakery cookies from Thompson's. Growing up in Park Ridge, we had a Thompson's grocery store and for me it is heartwarming to see that they are still baking. We fully loaded the cart for less than $200. It is well worth the trip to Woodman's and I am glad we do not have to travel as far to experience it.

Late last year I took the plunge and invested in a Brava smart oven. It was like buying a new iPhone, I am making payments for a total of two years but it has been worth every penny. I have started a Friday pizza and salad night, it takes no time at all to assemble a homemade pizza and only seven and a half minutes to bake it in the Brava. No preheating necessary! I have been pairing the pizza with fresh lettuce from the farmer's market, lemon poppyseed dressing, a salad topper with cranberries and pecans and a sprinkle of goat cheese. By the time I am finished with the salad, the pizza is ready. Now I need to expand my horizons and learn to make more items in the Brava besides pizza, chicken breast, grilled ham and cheese and reheating food. It can do so many things like make meat and vegetables at the same time, sear, toast, bake, reheat, air fry, dehydrate, keep warm and more. A slow cook feature was just added which should be great to try in the fall. Things on my short list to try are eggs in the muffin tray to make breakfast sandwiches and some baking. But it will have to wait until estate sale paperwork and taxes are complete.


Now for the jewelry update for this week - I was able to post three lots. The photo above represents the lot I posted last Sunday of mostly Mexican vintage silver jewelry featuring brown tones. The three-piece set from Taxco, the tiger's eye and malachite native pin / pendant and the long pendant which represents sand, sea and sky have sold but all of the other items are available. There are wonderful unique pieces in this grouping, several are paired with 14K or 18K yellow gold.


On Wednesday, I posted this lot of vintage Mexican sterling silver pieces. I have heard pieces like this described as "naked" because they have no stones. Surprisingly the only piece which sold is the fish pendant. There are amazing pieces in this lot, they are all wonderful but the graduated bead necklace is a standout. It is in such wonderful condition that I am not sure that it has ever been worn. This jewelry really stands the test of time, it never goes out of style and is a great investment. I am sure once these pieces hit the online store that they will find new homes.


The third and final lot for the week was this group of reasonably priced Native American items. Since I switched to a new posting schedule, I have been saving Native American items for Friday evenings. However until I receive some more, this is the last of my current inventory. The concho bracelet with black leather strap is from our upcoming Arlington Heights sale July 16-19. At this time it is available and if it does not sell, I will send it to the sale. The two pair of sterling earrings at the left, the fetish bird necklace and multi-strand liquid silver necklace, the slab earrings (but I have another pair which is a little shorter,) the round concho earrings and the flower pendant are spoken for, the other items are available.

Last week I mentioned that we have an angel looking out for us - we feel my Dad is coming to us in the form of hummingbirds. He just loved hummingbirds and at my parents' Northbrook home, a hummingbird often came to their back patio to visit. Dad called him HB (short for hummingbird.) When Mother and I went to Arizona this winter, we were driving with some acquaintances through a shopping mall parking lot. I was in the front passenger seat and Mother was in the back seat. The driver paused at a stop sign and all of a sudden a hummingbird came out of nowhere and went right to my window, fluttering there for a good 15 seconds. Then he took off as quickly as he came. We were all amazed because there was no vegetation around, we were literally in the parking lot. Our companions said that was definitely your Dad. The week before last, Kuochun and I brought Mother a quick breakfast and a hummingbird came to us then as well. Mother had never seen a hummingbird in her yard before. We would like to think that Dad is our angel looking out for us. It has given us a little comfort since losing him last September. Mother is now looking for a piece of Native American jewelry with a hummingbird theme to add to her collection. The Zunis make some gorgeous inlay pieces but they are very expensive. Definitely something to consider. I've got to get back to estate sale paperwork now, until next time!On Wednesday, I posted this lot of vintage Mexican sterling silver pieces. I have heard pieces like this described as "naked" because they have no stones. Surprisingly the only piece which sold is the fish pendant. There are amazing pieces in this lot, they are all wonderful but the graduated bead necklace is a standout. It is in such wonderful condition that I am not sure that it has ever been worn. This jewelry really stands the test of time, it never goes out of style and is a great investment. I am sure once these pieces hit the online store that they will find new homes.