For the Love of Vintage Photos!

One of my fav from my collection
I believe this type of photograph is called
a "Carte de visite". This type of photography
was used prior to Cabinet Cards.

My love for antiques has always included photos, but I just recently began an antique photograph collection. My boyfriend and I went to Santa Cruz back in May which is were I found my first vintage photograph. There is a great Antique shop in downtown Santa Cruz called Mr. Goodie's Antiques & Collectibles that I have to visit each time I'm in the area. You could really spend hours in this store as it's packed with all kinds of antique goodies most of which are in great shape considering how old some of the pieces are. There are a ton of old photos at this shop, but this one in particular captivated me when I first saw it and I just knew I had to have it.

First vintage photo from my collection

I didn't really plan on collecting old photos after my initial purchase, but today I found a few photos that I just couldn't leave behind and I had to share! Enjoy! :)

I believe this type of photograph is called a
"Cabinet Card"

Up close shot of the mat

Back of the above photo, because almost the
entire back of it is covered with the photographer's
information I believe this photo is from 1888-1900.

"Jan. 57"

Looks like the CA State Capital
Believe this photo is from the 50's as well.

Aerial Shot

Aerial Shot

Island Life

Hope you enjoyed the photos as much as I do! :)

Until next time friends...Cheers!!!

<3 Noonie

I am participating in the following link party, so stop by if you can:

 Distressed Donna Down Home

Sleep No More

I've had the pleasure of experiencing "Sleep No More" the play which takes place at the McKittrick Hotel in Chelsea.

If you haven't heard of it, you should! (Especially if you live in NYC)

Essentially, Sleep No More is an interactive play in which the audience is part of the production. It takes place in a 5+ story building, and the entire building is the stage. You, the audience, are free to frolic about the building at your whim and are encouraged to be bold and do what you feel in the moment. The actors are in these same spaces and act out the play Macbeth. You may be standing in a room and in run the actors who subsequently perform their scenes. You can react, follow, or disappear... Whatever tickles your fancy.

Recently I had my second experience of SNM, and might I say the second time was more fun than the first! I saw rooms I'd not viewed the first time, and scenes I had missed before. However the best part for me was involving personal skits with the actors. In this performance actors will grab members of the audience and act out a unique skit with them in a private room, and I was lucky enough to do it twice! 

I felt so honored. 

On the way out Gallow Green handed out fresh fruit pop cycles, which were both delicious and a surprising treat!

A few tips for your evening, should you choose to embark on this journey...

- grab a drink at Gallow Green (before or after)

- wear comfortable shoes

- separate from your friends

- be bold

- be adventurous

- be curious

End of Summer Potluck aka A Recipe Packed Blog!

Bean Salad
Recipe can be found below :)

This past weekend my art projects had to be set aside as I got the house ready for a little get together. My boyfriend and I had not hosted a party for friends at our place since we moved here and I wanted to have an end of Summer BBQ/Potluck and so that is what we did. I really enjoy hosting get togethers, from the planning of it, to preparing the food etc.. I thought it would be fun to host a Potluck so there would be a variety of food, all from various peoples' kitchens and thus different recipes outside of my realm.

There was a variety of delicious dishes at the get together. We had barbecued hamburgers, potato salad, hummus and all kinds of other yummy food. A couple that really stood out to me were the spinach dip and a delicious bean salad. My boyfriend's dad made the spinach dip which was served in a sourdough bread bowl it was so good and a huge hit as an appetizer. My boyfriend's dad was nice enough to give me the recipe as it follows below, I can't wait to make it for the next get together!

An advanced "shame on me" for not getting more photos of the food! 

Best Spinach Dip

Prep Time: 

15 Minutes 

Chill Time: 

6 Hours

Ingredients:

*1 Cup Mayo

*1 16oz Sour Cream

*1 1.8oz Package Dry Leek Soup Mix

*1 6oz Can Water Chestnuts, drained & chopped

*1/2 10oz Package Chopped Spinach, thawed & drained

*1 1lb Round Sourdough bread

Directions:

*Mix all ingredients together (minus the bread of course)

*Chill for 6 hours

*Remove top of sourdough bread, fill with spinach dip 

*Use removed bread for dipping 

As for the bean salad, it's not only pleasing to the eye but it also tastes great! It's a very simple and filling salad and made a great side! I didn't get the exact recipe from my friend's fiancé, but have a rough idea of some of the ingredients. This salad can be made into many different variations..experiment! 

Bean Salad
(Pictured above)

Prep Time:

About 15-20 minutes

(I have yet to prepare this myself)

Bake Time:

N/A

Ingredients:

*Can Kidney Beans, drained

*Can Black Beans, drained

*Can Corn, drained

*Avocado 

*Tomato

*Cilantro

*Olive Oil

*Various herbs & spices

Directions:

*Dice the tomatoes, avocado and cilantro

* Mix all veggies and beans in a large bowl

*Add a little Olive oil and your herbs, mix and serve

I wanted to try a few new recipes myself for this special get together so I hit up my Pinterest board "Grub" and got a few ideas. I wanted to make a quick to prep appetizer and a dessert as well. I decided on mozzarella stick bites served with a marinara dipping sauce for my appetizer, and a Jello poke cake for dessert; neither of which I had made before. 

The mozzarella stick bites required very minimal prep time which made them ideal to make in the middle of our get together. I would suggest to only make as many as you will eat in one sitting, as I found out the hard way they don't reheat very well at all.

As for the Jello poke cake, I had never heard of this type of cake before until a couple of months ago when my boyfriend's grandma brought one over for a family dinner. Jello poke cakes are super easy to make and a good variation on the typical cake. They are very moist and have a lighter taste to them compared to a typical cake with frosting.

Easy Mozzarella Stick Bites

Prep Time: 

5 Minutes or less

Bake Time: 

10-12 Minutes  

Ingredients:

*6-8 String Cheese Sticks 

(Depending on how many bites you'd like to make)

*1/4 Cup Milk

*Bread Crumbs

*Spaghetti Sauce or Tomato Sauce

Directions:

*Cut the string cheese into 1''-2" size bites

*Dip cheese into milk

*Then dip cheese into bread crumbs

*Place on cookie sheet

*Bake @ 325 for about 10-12 minutes

*While bites are baking warm up some spaghetti sauce

 to use as a dipping sauce for the bites.

Jello "Poke" Cake

Prep Time: 

5 Minutes for the cake

5 Minutes for the Jello

3 Hours for the cake to chill

Bake Time:

23-28 Minutes for the cake

Ingredients:

*1 Box yellow or white cake mix

(+ whatever ingredients are necessary

to make the cake)

*1 Box Jello

(Flavor of your choice)

*Whip Cream

(Optional)

Directions:

*Bake the cake as directed on the box

*Let it cool for about 15 minutes once it's done baking

*5 minutes before the cake is done cooling, 

make your Jello mix using only boiling water, omit the cold water 

*After cake has cooled use a toothpick or fork and

poke small holes into the cake

*Once the Jello is mixed and ready pour the Jello

directly on to the cake where it will seep into the holes

*Set in refrigerator and let the cake chill for 3 hours

*Once Jello has set, your cake will be ready and can be served as is,

or can be topped with whip cream

Not only was the food delicious, but everyone had a really nice time catching up. It was great to have some of my closest friends all under one roof enjoying each others company. After we stuffed ourselves full we decided to enjoy a fire in our fire pit. It wasn't something we had planned but I do enjoy spontaneity! Enjoying a beautiful night outside by a fire was the perfect way to end the night with our friends and family, and I can't wait for the next time we get to do it again! 

Until next time friends...Cheers!!!

<3 Noonie

Roasted Veggies

In terms of cooking, these days I have similar sentiments to that of Noonie (as can be seen here), also you might have gathered as much via some of my previous posts.

The past few months I've been learning to cook at home again, and been figuring out how to do so whereas not to take up too much of my free time.

One of the best ways for me to save time and eat healthy throughout the week is to roast veggies and have a grain, rice, quinoa etc. While roasting veggies can take upwards of 1 hour, they will last in your fridge for 3-5 days, and be readily available to pack in your lunches.

What I do is cook a pot of a grain: rice, quinoa, farro, spelt, wheat berries, you name it. I cook these simply in water with a little salt, let them cool down, transfer into tupperware, and store in the fridge. At the same time I will roast some veggies; just grab something that is in season, cut them up, throw them in a pan with some olive oil, salt, and pepper and place in the oven for 30-60 minutes (depending on the veggie). The good part about cooking both of these is they are easy, you can start the process and walk away for 30-60 minutes. I often prepare these while also doing homework, and I get up and check when the timer goes off. This way it doesn't take away too much of my 'me time.'
Once finished I do the same: let them cool, transfer to tupperware, and store in the fridge.

Now, for the easy part.
Each morning as I prepare for the day, I grab a to go container (tupperware or my favorite: recycled glass jars), I grab a spoon, and I put some of the grain into it and top it off with the veggie, occasionally i'll throw a bit more olive oil on top if I feel it is necessary. This will last you most of the day, or at least through your commute. Its easy to assemble each morning (it takes 2 minutes or less) and it tastes good re-heated or eaten cold.