Our weather here can be so strange! We had this lovely cool Summer, which seemed to be leading into a perfectly timed Fall.

Then out of nowhere it's 111 degrees outside. Awful! We almost never get temps that hot here. That was the beginning of last week. On Monday we swam and sat by the pool eating popsicles, after school. Yesterday all we could think about was curling up under a blanket eating kettle corn. It was 58 degrees and raining and today seems to be bringing the same weather. Within a week the weather took a complete 180.

Mmmm! Kettle corn is such a great treat, and SO easy to make! I also wanted to show off some of the awesome glass pieces I scored this week! I am beyond excited about my new (old) glass treasures. Those forks and butter knife are absolutely wonderful too. As far as I can tell the silverware was made in 1912, from "Extra Coin Silver Plate."

Kettle Corn:
1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
1/4 - 2/3 Cup White Sugar
1/2 Popcorn Kernels
A pinch or two (or 3) of salt

Heat oil in a large pan. When the oil is hot, add the popcorn kernels and sugar. Give it all a quick stir. Put a lid on the pan and shake gently over the heat until the popping has almost stopped. Be careful not to let it keep going til the popping has stopped. The popcorn with burn easily. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool. Sprinkle with salt. Stir to break up and large clumps.

Eat it right away! Because it's way too yummy not to! Yum!

XO,
Danielle

PS- D has decided he is going to be a ninja for Halloween. Mama needs to go find a pattern and fabric!

Halloween is right around the corner! And my boy has no idea what he wants to dress up as......

Doesn't it seem like kids always know waaaay ahead of time what they are going to be for Halloween? Well my boy is facing a little dilemma..... he has no idea what he wants to be!

Hello! Mama needs a little time to get a good costume pulled together! Last year he was a spy. I found a vintage trench coat and he wore a plaid fedora I had picked up in the garment district. He looked super cute! We've bought superhero costumes before, but I AM NOT A FAN. I'd much rather make him something original.... something special!

We are in serious need of costume ideas for a really cool 8 (almost 9) year old boy! What if we make it a contest?! How 'bout..... if D picks your costume idea I will give you $15 toward any purchase at Second Wind Vintage?

Sound good?

Email me or submit your ideas as comments. The winner will be announced as soon as D settles on a costume idea. Even better if you can link to a picture of you costume idea!

Thanks!
XO

Usually the short fig season is over before I can think of things to do with them. I wait all year for the beautiful green figs to ripen. They come, I eat a couple, and then they are quickly devoured by the birds and Japanese Beatles. That's that.... and so another year I wait.

However, this year I decided I'd pick as many as I could and quickly, before they disappeared. What the heck do you do with that many figs though?!?! Make jam!

So now I have delicious fig jam, but another question begs answering. What the heck do you do with that much fig jam? Haha!

This week I loaded the shop up with pinks and pretty feminine florals!

Although pink isn't always my favorite color, I like it a lot better than I did 12 years ago when I was still an emo high school kid. I've come to terms with pink. While I'll never be a frilly pink girly girl, pink is more than ok here and there.

 I love this dress.... and if I have too long to think about it, I might end up keeping it!

Usually on Friday afternoon I take a minute to sit back and look over my haul of vintage treasures for the week. For some reason I'm über tired today (i did wake up before 8am for the first time all summer). I picked up a couple pretty cool things today, but you're going to have to stayed tuned to the shop to see them. Sorry!


As I sat here blankly staring at my computer screen, I thought to myself.... Am I the only one who wonders what other bloggers look like as they write their posts? Is that weird?


I kinda like what my crazy air dried hair is looking like right now. Wanna see it??

Do you know about my new baby vintage shoppe?

Pumpernickel Toast is open for business on Etsy! I'm finding and adding new things all the time!

I'm just loving hunting for these wonderful baby things! It's so much fun! Too bad my baby is 8 and a half......

This treasury made me smile.... and so I had to share it. What an original theme, right?

Thanks MiriMoMo for creating such a fun and lively treasury and for making my shoes a part of it.

If you have included anything from my shop in your treasury and would like me to possibly feature the treasury here, on my blog, please let me know. This could be a reoccurring blog feature.

For a while I've wondered if I would feel better if I cut glutens from my diet.

No, I'm not allergic to wheat and no, I don't have Celiac's or anything. Just done a tiny bit of research and really do believe that as a culture, we might over consume glutens.

Anyway..... back to the reason for this blog post. Last night D and I were heading to some friends' house to hang out. I decided I'd whip together a desert we could all share. Then I remembered my friend doesn't eat gluten (but her kids do). Shooooot! I really had to think for a minute if there was something I could make that we could all eat and enjoy. Fortunately I had a bag of Red Mill Gluten Free Flour sitting on the shelf in my pantry!

With a quick internet search I discovered Gluten-Free Girl's blog! I took her recipe for gluten free blueberry muffins, and used it as a guideline for my.......

Gluten Free Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins!
I used this recipe as a guideline, Blueberry Muffins with Lemon Zest, by Gluten-Free Girl.

Instead of her flour suggestions, I used 1 cup white rice flour and 2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour. There was no yogurt in my fridge so I used 1 1/4 cups sour cream mixed with 1/4 cup milk. Instead of blueberries, I added 1 cup fresh raspberries and about 1 cup chocolate chips.

The truth is I could give up glutens if all gluten free foods tasted as good as these muffins! 3 out of 4 kids approved and my gluten-free mama friend was happy too! As far as the 4th kid.... well I promised that cute little blondie chocolate chip cookies. She specifically asked if I would make them with "real flour." But of course!

I have a pretty cute collection of shoes in my shop right now and they are totally in the spotlight this morning!

These beauties popped up in the loveliest Etsy Finds article today. If you haven't seen the Storque today you should look! It's one of the prettiest ones I've seen and I just had the added bonus of being featured.
The rest of these sweet shoes have just had a lot of lookie-loos this morning. And I don't mind at all! Go ahead and take a look!

A couple weeks ago I made a yummy savory zucchini bread, but that only put a couple zucchini to use..... We have a dozen coming up everyday. I love 'em and I hate to see them go to waste.

So what I need from you is suggestions, recipes, and links to blogs with inspiring and delicious ideas for my abundance of zucchini.

I plan to start here......
I think I'd like to make a frittata, a sweet and a savory bread, maybe a zucchini chocolate cake, and some zucchini cake donuts.

I was starting to list this cute little romper and realized it might fit me. So I tried it on to get a better idea of the size..... and well..... it's not getting listed now.

I have no plans for changing out of this anytime soon. However, I really wish I had some yellow sandals! If I get a picture of myself in it today, I'll add it for you to see.

There are new summer things in the shop. Be sure to check them out!

Have you heard about the Notebook Journey?

If you haven't heard about it, well I'm going to fill you in!
A friend of mine, Lauren from SomeWhineWithCheese, had this brilliant idea to put together a notebook and find contributors from all over the world to fill its pages. The concept is quite simple and the possibilities are endless.
The notebook arrived at my house looking pretty cute. I was the 8th person to receive it, and it has already been all over the US and out of the country once! This little book is quite the jet setter! For some reason I thought that once it was in my hands I would be inspired. No such luck....... so what I did was bring it with me on my little weekend get away. With 6 hours to drive in each direction, I would surely think of something!

My friend Erik is certainly a talented pilot. He was truly put to the test last night!



So glad he's safe. I had to share!

I have a secret (or not so secret) spot I like to go to. It's a small beach with protected tide pools. The most people I've ever seen there are about 10 other groups (usually there are no more than 10 people total). My son and I have seen all kinds of amazing and fascinating things there. We even saw a whale spouting once!

Awesome summer pieces, coming to the store!

Do you ever wake up in the morning and think to yourself, 'holy crap, the last 10 years have just flown by!'

I think that sometimes.

This morning I woke up smelling of stale perfume and wearing last night's makeup. I know, I know..... sounds hot, huh?