jadite salt shaker

Paca score of the century! Well, not really but, I'm pretty cized on it. I've been pining for an old jadite salt shaker forever. I spook them on etsy all the time and they are always way too pricey for me but, I've kept up hope that one day I'd find an affordable one. Look no more I will (Yoda voice).

I found this one for Q5 yesterday...that's less than a dollar and I didn't even bargain on the price!

It's already washed, dried, filled with salt and in action.

Ohh, it's the little things....

And don't you think it'll be the perfect salt shaker for our little farm? I do.



Broad beans for a favour.

I had the pleasure of shelling these beautiful Fava Beans aka Broad Beans. A couple of days ago my honey-bunny, Zach, helped a dude & his son carry his 2 huge costales (think modern feed sacks) full o' beans they'd grown & harvested. They were all on a bus together going to the market in San Francisco and the bus did not indeed drop them at the market as they said they would but, a ways away, downhill from the market, no doubt. Anyhoo...Zach got some great cardio in (hah! I think he about killed himself carrying that 100 lb.+ bag of beans.) For his very kind hardwork he got a 'free' bag of beans that he brought home much to my delight, they are one of my very favourites!! We eat them about twice a week. I will peel the ones in the picture one more time. I usually cook them like this: saute them for maybe 5 minutes with olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt then, add water or stock and let simmer until tender! We eat them just as they turn out or I'll mash them and I add them to soups, stews and pasta dishes too. Yum!

stumbled upon...

...a new trick! Well, not really a trick per se but, a handy discovery that I will put to good use. The other day it just so happened that we didn't have any fresh towels so, I grabbed one of my vintage linen tablecloths that I am so fond of. Turns out this table cloth functions way better than any towel I've ever used. It absorbs the water swift and gentle. It's miles softer and thinner making it easier to maneuver than a towel and it's so big I was fully wrapped. And on top of all of that it dried about ten times, if not more, faster than a dang towel! Oh, there is one more great thing about this: it rolls up even smaller than a towel making it the perfect on the go 'towel'. I have to just add one more thing, even though I have all vintage towels that I think are so pretty, I think the vintage linen tablecloth is just gorgeous. Mine aren't just tablecloths any more! I got this one here in Xela at the pacas in Minerva...love the pacas here! <3.

potato face.

Pretty awesome eye & eyebrow for a tater.

That ain't all, this spud has two awesome eyes & eyebrows!



With a cute lil nose too....what a face!



i dreamt about pyrex.

These are my absolute dream pyrex dishes!!! They are rather extraordinary, don't you think?? The colours are delicious and the pattern just blows me away! I've tracked down a few pieces online but, they are in far away countries with the most ridiculous shipping costs....looks like they are going to have to remain a dream for a little while longer. Best thing about them is: they go with the mixed up set of dishes that I am currently putting together so, when I do find a piece or two, they'll fit right in. If you happen to have some of these that you are willing to part with, please do be in touch with me.

backgammon

Backgammon is a game I played as a kid and then didn't play for many many moons until this year. My mom gave me an adorable travel set earlier this year that she totally scored on at her local Flea Market, Howard's* for 2 bucks! I can't even begin to say how far that $2 has gone and is going. We play almost everyday and it's so much fun! We one day aspire to figure out and use the doubling cube. Haha!

This game lives on our kitchen table. We play almost everyday. It's so much fun because we are even-steven on skill level and that makes it all a matter of 'luck of the dice'!!

*Howard's Flea Market in Homosassa, Florida is where Mike is from. He was all by himself and that is one of the most precious days of my lives; finding that little guy. What a firey little blessing he is. Talk about a flea market find!

growing my own spices

There's nothing like have herbs and spices to cook with! And there's nothing like not having herbs and spices to cook with. While there are many wonderful ingredients to be found in the markets here in Xela....there are a few things that I have grown accustom to cooking with that are not to be found! My solution? Grow them! Mustard seeds are something I incorporated into my cooking while living in Portland, Oregon some years back. I was going to traditional Indian food-themed pot lucks. I discovered a couple of dishes that influenced my cooking still to this day and probably for my ever. One of the dishes I made that had a huge impact on me was Bombay Potatoes. You start the dish by frying a bunch of spices...YUM!

Harvesting mustard seeds is fun but, a wee bit tedious. Thank goodness I've found a huge bag of mustard seeds (the dark ones) in the market...at a pet food stall. They are fed to birds. Who knew? Not me!!! Out of all the plants we had room to grow we only got about 2 tablespoons of mustard. It was a fun project and I've never regretted growing anything!

Mike even loved the plants and helped out, of course he did, he's a very good boy!

fresh herbs....nothing like em.

There are so very many things that are fresh and amazing about Guatemala; fresh herbs being one of them!

Mind you it's really hard to find fresh Basil and that's a bummer but, this bunch of fresh Cilantro is what you get for Q1 (which is about 1/7 of a dollar). ...you can not beat that!

Fresh herbs are so healthful to eat and now I can easily eat them up with every meal! It's a good thing as you know who would say. Oh! And they are grown organically......sweet!

lovey plants from the market

I ran into these little dears for sale by an even more enchantingly dear lady from Chajul. She dug these plants up out of her garden, nestled them in a leaf secured with another plant fiber and brought them all the way to Xela. I of course could not resist purchasing one of each from her. The grassy plant I'm told will have beautifuly scented white flowers! And I'm a total sucker for succulents. I have to say I love love love the packaging. The cheese I buy at the market comes wrapped in leaves as do a few other things, I think it's rad!


Here's a map (below) showing where Chajul is in realtion to Xela (Quetzaltenango). It's a hellva chicken bus ride, a beautiful one no doubt but, it's a haul! Bless her dear darling heart.

I've never been in love with a peoples or place like I am with the lands and folks in Guatemala...I have immense love for Mayans of their ways and attitudes of life...it's a beautiful thing.

mexican jumping beans!!

Those three cute little things that look like tiny mummified wooden owls are MEXICAN JUMPING BEANS!!! My boyfriend saw a gal with a box lid of them jumping all around for joy on the street in the market. He knew I would love them and thoughtfully got these for me (3 for Q7).

They do indeed jump all around! It's so much fun to watch the little squirrely things. They aren't beans at all, they are seed pods that have a larvae living in them, supposedly they 'jump'

because the lil larvae is rolling over looking for a cooler place. That's the only reason for them 'jumping' that I can find online as of yet. And I'm sorry but, I'm not buying it! It's cold where I am and those critters can't be hot!

Aren't they cute? (That little clay house is currently one of my favourite things.)

LOOK!! I caught one in action jumping !!

darling little glass bottles.

I just adore these little glass bottles I found at the market today. I was really happy to stumble on a whole pile of them; it's the only reason I was able to walk away with just five. Rather often I find myself in need of a small brown glass container for a potion or tincture or something I either want to split up to carry a small amount of or something I am making from scratch. They are perfect for traveling & I'll find endless uses for them around the house. Best of all, they are only Q1 a piece!! I'm getting bigger ones next time....like tomorrow.

homemade natural deodorant

Living in Guatemala has changed me in many ways. And I wasn't about to let these changes (such as not having access to the lovely Weleda products I've been using for years) make me stink so, I had to find a solution and quick! Just kidding about the quickness part but, I am super stoked to have found a super simple solution. I have used and love Weleda Sage spray deodorant for a while now. It's light and airy and effective. I love that it's a simple refreshing herbal spray and I didn't want to compromise by using something un-natural. I won't even talk about stick deodorants...gross!

Well, after a tiny bit of research and thought, Rosemary is really the only fresh herb I could easily find here that I wanted to use. All I did was stuff in a bunch of fresh clean Rosemary in my empty deodorant bottles& fill with quality Vodka. They have been sitting in the dark for a week; I shake them everyday & they already smell really great!!!!

***UPDATE***
I should have removed the Rosemary at about 10 days in or less. It smelt great and was a very effective deodorant. I left the Rosemary in too long and it turned on me. Maybe it's because I used fresh Rosemary instead of dried. Nothing like learning things the hard way!!!!

pickling peppers

One of the things I miss the absolute most of my home country is simple pepper sauces and Louisiana style hot sauces. I have, after a year, decided to try my hand at making my own. I started with the simple one first. After buying 3 types of varying heated peppers at the market, I consulted my Southern Momma and she gave me the simplest of instructions:
wash peppers
put in jar
boil vinegar
add a little sugar
pour over peppers & cover in jar
put on lid
let sit for 2 weeks & enjoy!!

I can't wait two weeks!!! Wahhhh! They look delicious!

**UPDATE**

The pepper sauce tastes good at 1 week, tastes a million times better after 2 weeks and tastes freaking glorious after 3+ weeks! Tastes exactly like my grandmothers! Woohoo!

ovenless/stoveless and happy!

Moving into the warehouse spurred us to come up with our very own kitchen. I don't have a stove and didn't choose to have one. My kitchen consists of a large stainless steel sink that drains into a bucket (we water our garden with the water), an electric kettle, an electric wok, an electric grill and a crock pot. This was mostly the set up that just happened and we are super content and happy with it. The wok especially! The funny thing is thinking about standing in the thrift store and inspecting these kitchen 'appliances' and really asking ourselves if we should splurge the six bucks for a wok or a grill. We just love both of them. Every night we steam greens in the wok and almost every day we make our tortillas on the grill. Perfecto!

I rinse our veggies outside and let the water run directly into our garden.

It is so nice to do kitchen tasks outside!

Mike is a fantastic helper!

Huge leaves of Mong Toi.

Lovin' it!

a great summer snack!

Pineapples are so affordable right now! And they are so refreshing on these super hot Florida days!! We've been buying them whole, last time we were at the bodega they were 2 for $3!! Zach cut them up for us today. We squeezed fresh lime and liberally sprinkled hot red pepper flakes all over the chunks! So sweet and delicious!! Yum!

We took it in the car today for a snack on the way to the thrift store.

i love you. i love you too.

I am the first one out of the house in the mornings and I get a big kick out of leaving little notes and stuff for my Boo. Last week I was in a hurry & jotted those 3 little famous words on the papertowels...

......and this is what I came home to! So cute and we used the papertowel so, really, it was a very eco friendly notepad after all.

my very own little pila from guate.

I just plain fell head over heels in love with the pilas in Guatemala! We found this little clay pila in Santiago on Lake Atilian and it's the only time we saw them at all. I am so happy I acquired it! I use it by my kitchen sink to hold my rings while washing dishes. Super cute!!!

a freebie from the thrift store

This beauty was given to me for free as I was admiring her in a thrift store....the owner of the shoppe was by me and said if you like that junk you can have it! After I gasped at that comment, I was all, ok! Even though I noticed that one of her hands was broken off I really wanted to keep her and put her somewhere nice. So, here she is in a plant in front of my casita!

a sweet & simple birthday

This year for my birthday my wishes were simple: to sleep in and to go for a nice walk through the woods with my Boo and dog, Mike. All wishes came true! AND....as we strolled along the boardwalk at one of my favourite Tampa parks (Lettuce Lake Park) we noticed lots of very large amazing empty snail shells laying around. My very sweet Boo took off his shoes and socks and jumped down in the muck to collect this basket of beauties now dubbed: my birthday snails!

I have big plans for these shells too! I'll keep it a surprise and post when they come to fruition. Can't wait!!

***UPDATE***

It's almost 2 years later and I've moved a few times and out of the country on top of that! I still have a few of those snail shells and I tresure them dearly! <3!

little things

for as long as i can remember i've coveted small things. i've always collected them. some have been with me most of my life. lots come and go without me remembering them at all. it's interesting to see this far along in my life which ones have stuck around.

here's a mix of a few favourites.