Monday, July 23, 2012

Cash on the Side


I had a really fun chat with the guy today who was selling this super sweet Coca-Cola sign at the antique mall in our neighborhood. It's 48" of patina wonder. We started talking about how he got into the business back in the 80's by selling signs to Leo Burnett and his huge prop department. Made more money picking than with job as a photographer for the AP. And of course he was college buddies with Mike Wolfe from American Pickers. If he hadn't seemed so authentic, I would assume he was making up all of his stories. 


Anyway, he was pretty encouraging about the picking business as a way to make some good extra cash (unprompted by me - perhaps he could just sense that I've recently put myself on a budget!) as long as you have a "good eye." Which, obviously, I do. Hah. And he had some good tips, as well. 


I had already planned to be the first on the scene for at least one garage sale this Friday. What's the good of having Fridays off during the summer, if not to get the best stuff from garage and estate sales?? But now I'll be checking them out with more fervor. 


As my initial venture into this whole retail situation, I have listed my very first eBay item for sale today. It's a nice maternity dress I never wore. We'll see how it goes! It makes me want to list all the items I have ever considered selling, but I feel like I may learn a few things from this first round. So I will hold my breath and wait. 


Wish me luck! Flash in the pan thought for the afternoon, or new business direction? Only time will tell. 

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Moofins

My latest culinary success has been mini-muffins. With Organics to You deliveries and buying fresh fruit/vegetables for Oliver, it seems that everything gets ripe and ready at once!

So I made some banana bread muffins with a bunch of very ripe bananas - and Oliver LOVED them. Next I tried zucchini bread muffins. Success. And half zucchini, half carrot bread muffins. I can't miss! Helps having a baby that will eat anything, but I hardly doubt there are many babies that would pass on the carb-filled wonders. But I also make sure they're tasty and edible for grown-ups, too. I added a few chocolate chips in place of nuts (no nuts for babies!) to the zucchini/carrot muffins and it was the best batch of all!

The healthy options I've gone with - using whole wheat flour, replacing half of the oil or butter with applesauce, using a smaller amount of brown sugar and using a Silpat mini muffin tray so there is no need to grease up the pan. I leave out any nuts and honey from the recipes to make them safe for babies. And I've learned the more spices, the better! My friend made some with a little strudel topping, which sounds delish!

Happy Eating.

10.5 Months

Oliver turned 10 months old on the 8th.


His top two front teeth finally popped through last week. He looks like a hippo! But we had a few rough nights of sleep and finally pulled out the infant Advil. It was worth it.

One of his new things is falling asleep on his belly while playing.





His latest talent has been waving goodbye. He's been putting smaller toys into boxes and larger toys. He's started feeding himself more. And he's getting tall. We're upgrading to his big kid carseat as soon as we get around to installing them! And he's been making good new friends at Stroller Strides and Swimbabes. Lots of fun - and lots of 1 year birthdays coming up soon!