Brunch, antiques, Indian Food, and "Milk"

Sam, Jane, Henry, Mani, and I all met up for brunch at Blueberry Hill in LaGrange on Saturday, which was wonderful.



Then we girls let the boys go off to do their own thing (which included riding the carousel at Brookfield Zoo), and we headed to the antique mall in LaGrange. They were having a sidewalk sale, but Sam and I weren't too impressed this year. So we went inside the mall, and I did find some cool things, like...



this charming sheet music




this lovely teacup

We stopped at Starbucks for some coffee, then headed to Trader Joe's, Borders, and a few boutiques on the way to the car. Afterward, I took Sam to the Honda dealer to pick up her CRV, and we headed over to another antique shop, where I found...



this pretty magazine

I parted ways with Sam after that to fetch Pete (who was at home without wheels) and headed back to Sam's house. Mani and Henry were back, and we all went to Khyber Pass in Oak Park for some delish Indian food.







We all had the buffet, and I tried some rose milk, which was utterly wonderful.



I must learn how to make it at home....



Anyhow, then we headed back to their house and watched "Milk," which was pretty good.



Everywhere we went, people were fussing over Henry and Jane. They were quite the little charmers and enjoyed the attention.



I plan to frame the sheet music and magazine as I've framed others in my house (the framed Life magazine is my favorite so far).




And the teacup is going in my growing collection. All in all, I didn't spend all that much, yet I still got some great vintage finds to add to my happy home.

(Some images from Blueberry Hill, Khyber Pass, LaGrange Park Antique Mall, Kitchen Tantra; image of Jane by Nicole)

Lovely snapdragons and such

I know I'm constantly singing the praises of Trader Joe's, but there's a reason for that. One big reason (besides their wonderful pretzel bread) are the gorgeous flowers. Every time I go there, I find a new selection to choose from. I've gotten everything from irises to carnations, and have never been dissatisfied with the quality. Plus the prices are great—these snapdragons were $5.59 per bunch (I have a bunch of white and a bunch of pink here). Most of the flowers run around $5 a bunch, and even the pricier ones, like lilies, are still a deal at $7 and some change per bunch.



And yes, that's this print...



...in the background on my living room wall. I love looking at its pretty colors whenever I walk in the room.



And I just finished placing an order at Michael's for this print (above) to be custom framed as well. It's going to look like this.



It's an odd size and large, so unfortunately I can't just grab a frame and mat off the shelf and do it up nicely.



These lilies were on my display table for over a week, but were starting to lose petals, hence the purchase of the snapdragons. But then I realized there were a few flowers that hadn't opened yet and the lilies had some more life in them, so I just swapped the lilies over to the tv stand, and the snapdragons to the display table.



And of course these mums were on the tv stand, so they had to move upstairs to our bedroom. Pete probably wonders why I've gone so flower crazy, but they're cheap and pretty and I have lots o' vases for them.



But I couldn't resist this pretty iridescent vase from Target. The color in the very first photo in this post is more accurate. It's normally a $40 vase (which I would never spend on a vase like this) but it was marked down to $9.98. Quite a bargain, eh? And the custom framing job on the black and white image was half off. Oh yes, I am forever finding great deals on the clearance shelves at various stores, as well as having become a coupon-weilding fiend!

Addicted to pretzel bread

Izzy and I are currently addicted to Trader Joe's Soft Pretzel Sticks. We can't seem to get enough of them, and every time we bite into one of the mini loafs, we both moan aloud with pleasure. They're ridiculously good and fairly inexpensive ($.99 each), so we tend to snarf them down a lot whenever we can.



Oh, and we wash 'em down with some yummy Trader Joe's Refreshers, either in Pomegranate or Tangerine. They're $4.99 for a case of four. Yum.

Cool finds at the antique mall

Sam and I had a great time at the antique mall yesterday. We had lunch at the Corner Bakery, then went to the mall where I found lots of neat things. Then we stopped over at Trader Joe's where I bought some gorgeous peach blossoms (only $7.99!). And we topped it all off with some coffee at Caribou Coffee.

Okay, so this is what I got:

I scored these red wooden folding chairs, which are perfect for extra seating in a pinch, and which Max seems to like. (The chairs are next to my daybed, for which I'm FINALLY getting a mattress tomorrow when Matt comes over.)



I also found these pretty (and inexpensive) vintage tea cups to add to my growing collection.



This old Kenmore fan/heater still works, and looks really cool too.



Finally, I found this awesome telephone table and chair. The chair is attached to the table, and swings out for a handy little seat if you want to have a long conversation. When folded up, it makes a nice little side table.



Now I just gotta get a cool telephone to go on the table. Or in it—there's a neat little storage area that's revealed when the chair is swung away from the table. Love it!



And displayed on my table are those dainty peach blossoms, which I arranged in the gorgeous vase given to us for our bridal shower. I will absolutely be going back to TJ's for more blossoms, once these die out. They are so pretty!



I'm so pleased with my finds, and Pete isn't grumpy about me buying lots of crap to fill the house. And the prices were wonderful. There's a sidewalk sale on Saturday, June 6th, which I most certainly will be attending.

Mmmm...sushi

I'm not sure why, but I've had a real addiction to sushi in the last few weeks, eating it four times in one week once. And it's not the cheapest food around, but I've found some really good yet inexpensive sushi at Trader Joe's. This party tray only cost $6.49 and is more than enough for one person. Yeah, it's designed for a party, but it's a perfect size for me, with several rolls always being left over. I had some at work a few weeks ago for lunch, and it was wonderful. Yum!