Turquoise Or ???

Happy Sunday evening! Above is the jewelry lot for this week. The liquid silver necklaces, the two pair of turquoise earrings on the left, the claw ring, the four-stone dangle earrings and the ring on the right have sold, the remaining items are available. I have found that turquoise is by far the most popular with the online venues but they like the liquid silver as well. Liquid silver is not popular in our area so I save it to sell online. It is interesting how tastes differ in different parts of the country but it makes sense - the really Western-style items such as pins, bolo ties and belt buckles are way more popular online. There are not too many cowboys or cowgirls in Chicagoland! I have a couple of beautiful vintage belts, one has a very detailed Navajo-made buckle and a leather belt from Mexico and the other has gorgeous sterling silver stations throughout. Normally I do not polish the vintage Native American pieces because most collectors prefer the patina but in the case of the belt I am going to have it professionally polished. It is tarnished and the copper loops that hold the pieces to the black leather belt have leached some verdigris onto the front of a couple of the stations. It is valuable and I think it will look way better polished. Below is a photo of the buckle with leather belt, this is an example of gorgeous patina which only comes with decades of age.

This week involved more eating out than usual but I got right back on the wagon today. On Wednesday I took Mother to Fausto's Italian Kitchen in downtown Arlington Heights, she has been there quite a few items since she moved to town to carry out Italian food from their case. We got chicken parmesan which included penne pasta with marinara sauce and Mother got sausage and grilled vegetables for another meal. We each got a loaf of foccacia bread, I have not had the chance to try it yet though it looks good. I liked the meal, I steered away from other offerings such as the pesto pasta salad because they looked like they were sitting around in the case a long time. Mother hated the chicken meal but liked the other meal the next day. I wish their food was better, it is not inexpensive and in my opinion not worth the price. It seems it suffers from not enough turnover which is unfortunate. The idea of having a nearby place to carry out from is a great one though. Avanti Cafe in Mount Prospect is terrific but it is not as convenient as it is far as possible from my house while still being in the same town. I will bring Mother there sometime so she can compare the two. I am looking forward to the exciting new offerings which are supposed to be coming to downtown Mount Prospect this fall including a Caputo's grocery store and an upscale restaurant which is going to offer carryout options. I have not heard anything about it lately so hopefully they are still on track.

On Thursday I needed to take Mother to her haircut so afterwards Kuochun went down the street to Station 34 and picked up dinner for all of us. I decided to get something different, a skirt steak panini. I am not usually a beef eater but I do like skirt steak. This version had mozzarella cheese and onion straws on it. My choice of side was tater tots. I have been eating differently so the meal felt heavy. The bread had too much butter and was very greasy. I love onion straws but they really were not needed on this panini, it just added more grease to the mix. Regular grilled onions would have been just fine! Overall I do really like the food at Station 34 and definitely recommend it. They have an extensive menu so there is something for everyone. Kuochun just loved his fajita bowl, Mother would have liked her burger but did not eat much because she did not know it had spicy peppers on it. My particular choice just felt too decadent so I will happily go back to the pasta choices.

Melinda has been wanting us to get together for dinner with her friend Frank who works with us occasionally so we went to Kilcoyne's Redwood Inn for their Friday Fish Fry. It is a big favorite of Melinda and Frank and she had not made it there yet. We ended up having to eat outside because a large group had just come before us and filled up the dining room. We were the only ones out there! I was afraid Mother was not going to be able to breathe because it was pretty hot but she did well. Kuochun just loves fish fry so he, Melinda and Frank all had the all-you-can-eat perch. Mother and I are not fish fry people so she got a BLT and I got a grilled ham and cheese with ham off the bone. Side order - tater tots again! Both sandwiches were deluxe, they were very generous with the meat but mine was very salty. Kuochun thought the fish fry was OK, he actually likes Culver's cod fish fry dinner better. Mother has always said perch makes the best fish fry so it was my fault, I encouraged him to the get the perch instead of the cod. I am not sure that he will go back again but if he does I would not mind going. It would be better to go when we could dine inside and not while the fish fry is going on. They have an Irish breakfast on weekends but it is 7:00 AM-9:00 AM which sounds interesting but is too early for this night owl!

Saturday Mother needed to go to the grocery store but when I arrived she had a real hankering for some diner food. I said let's try T N T's Snack Shop on Campbell Street just a few minutes away from her house. I have always wanted to try it, long before Mother moved to the neighborhood. I did not know anything about it but thought it looked cute and seemed to be a diner. I used to go to Arlington Cake Box across the street, sadly they closed last year after more than 70 years in business. Mother has Vivi groomed at The Grooming Lodge which is across the street as well. They do an excellent job on Vivi!

I highly recommend T N T's! From A to Z, all of the staff we encountered were super nice. We attempted to sit inside in a booth to stay cool but unfortunately they were too tiny for us. We ended up on the patio in much more comfortable chairs. There was a couple next to us with the most darling baby with big chipmunk cheeks! She was so well-behaved, her father said she is not hungry or tired. I said "then it's all good!" I got the hotcakes with sausage patties and a side order of breakfast potatoes. Everything was delicious. I usually prefer shredded hash browns but these were just crispy enough and did not taste mushy like this type of potatoes usually is. Mother ordered a cheddar and sausage omelette with a side order of breakfast potatoes and whole wheat toast. She ate 95% of her meal which is unusual as she is more of a nibbler, she really loved it. I have L&L Snack Shop right near me which is on Northwest Hwy in Des Plaines which serves similar food. They are good too but I really enjoyed my experience at T N T's and I would like to bring Kuochun there sometime soon. I will let my body recover from all the eating out first though!

This past week I booked a wonderful sale in Long Grove, just a stone's throw away from the largest sale we have ever conducted in our history which believe it or not was nearly six years ago! Our long-time customers will remember the amazing property which the owner purchased fully furnished but decided to start over because the decor was a bit too formal for her. Kuochun still uses the Royal-Pedic mattress I got for him from the sale which he just loves. It is the brand England's Royal Family uses! She made so many people happy by giving them the opportunity to purchase those wonderful furnishings and it is the same case here!  Mark your calendars for this sale, it is filled with great furniture and decor which complements this home so well. CLICK HERE for the details!

This 10,300 square foot home is situated on 17.4 gorgeous acres of land. It is a contemporary home built by Orren Pickell Builders, who are the premier Lake County custom home builders. When I was looking to live in Lake County, the dream was to have them build a home for me but alas it was out of my budget. I was very happy with my Vernon Hills home though, I was one of the original owners in Grosse Pointe Village and it was so much fun going through the building process (except when I nearly threw a sample kitchen cabinet at my former husband because he refused to choose anything other than what the model home had.) It really sparked a passion for design which is just as strong thirty years later.

Well I am going to get this posted while it is still Sunday. See you next time!