What a Great Week for Thrifting!!

Disclaimer: This is a pic heavy post.

We're a family of thrifting. It all started with my brother, Curt. Many years ago, we all became jealous of his fantastic Goodwill/Salvation Army/"wherever" finds and the obsession began for us all. This boy even "found" a Big Green Egg that someone had dumped--it served us EXTREMELY well for years in Mother's backyard until he busted it into a gazillion pieces while trimming tree limbs a few weeks ago. We're really going to miss that smoker. Did I get off track already?? Okay, I'm back.

I am so very exited to share with y'all all the treasures we discovered during Father's Day week. There are quite a few so I'll jump right in.

After a lovely Father's Day "linner" (lunch-dinner) with the gang at in Griffin, we decided to drop by Goodwill. Now I really should have been driving to Mother's, but I couldn't resist the call of thrifting. So off we went all 7 of us, including MiniMe (3 year old great niece and first girl in the family since me), and we managed to purchase a few things.

The first (and best) deal is a 58 x 58 table for Nephew #2 (aka My Son/Reggie). He has been searching/waiting for the "perfect" dining table (his mother, Riley, has been teasing him for months claiming that she was gifting him with her current dining room furniture, but that hasn't quite happened yet--and it doesn't need to now!!).

Since I'm a junkie for dishes, kitchen gadgets, antique-ish items, I rushed to the homewares section and the first thing I spotted was this:

This stainless steel fish poacher was only $6!! It's missing the rack, but I can envision so many more uses for it without the rack. A beautifully roasted pork loin with all the trimmings, a nice serving of root veggies and herbs just waiting to be devoured or a pan filled with just-grilled meats. I could go on and on about my new treasure, but I have more goodies to share.

Next I found this stainless steel tray/boat. I'll use it for cookies, nuts, tea lights display (with sand or salt), after dinner mints, etc. Well worth the $2 investment.

Speaking of cookies, I picked up a set of tins for 69 cents. Just the perfect size for a few dozen treats making them oh so easy to transport. I'm actually using the square one to transport sushi and spring rolls to an outdoor concert this weekend.
My friend, Smiley Eats, loves vintage bowls, so I was happy to find something for him as well. A whopping 65 cents (I think)!!!
My final find was the cutest little pitcher, which I'll use for syrup. Isn't it adorable?
MiniMe discovered a Tonka fire truck, a Winnie the Pooh almost as large as she is, and a bracelet that she selected all by herself. So now, I'm on a roll for more finds during my visit with Mother in the country. We took a little trip to Dublin on Monday, so I just HAD to go to Goodwill and immediately scooped up the following items:

Desk lamp - $4

Cabinet hardware - 29 cents - 99 cents

I wasn't quite done, so I drove to Vidalia on Tuesday and stumbled upon these beauties for 69 cents!!! I already own a dozen so I decided to get them for Riley (my sister). Knowing how much I paid for mine (at a discount), I was simply giddy with delight to have found these!! When I checked out, I discovered the darn things were HALF OFF y'all!!! These bowls were 34.5 cents each!!! An absolute steal for $1.48 total!!

Now of course, on my way back to Atlanta, I made a stop at the newest Goodwill in Macon. I was determined that I wouldn't leave empty handed. An Amco stainless steel napkin holder for $1. This will be very useful for patio dining.

I just returned from donating a few items at the Stockbridge Goodwill and I'm now the proud owner of these mini brulee dishes and the perfect little holder for homemade popsicles.

Thank you for allowing me to shove a bunch of pictures down your throat while sharing my little treasures. Next time you're looking for something unique without breaking the bank, don't overlook thrift shops, consignment shops, garage sales, estate sales, and everything in between. You may be surprised by the things you'll discover.

Sheila Denise

Icy Treats for Summer Heat - Popsicles

Although summer didn't officially begin until last Monday, here in Atlanta, we've been enjoying/suffering through 90+ degree temperatures for a few weeks. I took this shot on Friday afternoon. As one who's not a friend of the scorching heat, I've inhaled more cold liquid concoctions than I can count, but hydration is key, so if it's cold, I'm all over it.

While at the Peachtree Road Farmers Market yesterday, my foodie bud, smileyeats decided to brag and shared a photo via Twitter of a delicious looking Cucumber Mint popsicle he was gnawing on from Fresco Pops. He commented that is was quite tasty, his exact words were, "It was AWFULLY tasty - not too sweet and the cucumber was very cooling". I'll admit, that I immediately became envious...I wanted a popsicle too!!

So, I dashed to the kitchen to discover the only things I had on hand were a watermelon, a mango or two and several limes, so I decided to combine mango and lime. So I got to cutting, zesting and blending and voila--I had enough concoction for four popsicles! I took this photo on the patio in honor of the very spot I'd be in when I indulged in my goodies.

Well this afternoon, I was ready for my little taste test and let me tell you...this is the perfect combination for my jealous little tastebuds. Just the right amount of everything--mango, zest and juice.

This is the popsicle mold I used for making my icy treats. As you can see, the stick/drip holder is attached. You don't have to get all fancy-smancy--paper cups and popsicle sticks will do just fine, but regardless of how you choose to make them...MAKE THEM!!! The flavor combinations are absolutely endless. Juice, pureed fruit, a splash of tequila/rum/vodka, yogurt, pudding--you get the idea.

Happy summer y'all!

Sheila Denise

Flip It Again (by Guest Blogger SmileyEats)

Hey y'all. I have my VERY FIRST guest blogger!!! I'm sooooooooo excited that I can hardly contain myself! I had the honor of spending an afternoon with a very special foodie friend and we did a mini stroll from Star Provisions to Flip Burger Boutique on Howell Mill Road. Initially , our purpose was to attend a "biscuit tasting" at Star, but to our dismay, the biscuit lady had done run outta biscuits, so we "settled" for a quite tasty Maple Bacon Doughnut (similar to the photo below, but with larger chunks of bacon). Both being bacon lovers, we momentarily died and went to heaven...salty-sweet combination at it's finest. Our plan was for both of us to to blog about out excursion, but since he beat me to the punch, I asked if he'd be my guest blogger and he was gracious enough to accept. Isn't he a sweetheart?? Oh yeah, I'm the "someone" he mentions below. *giggle*

I must mention that I tweeted that we missed out on the biscuit tasting and received a nice apology from at Tim at Star Provisions, so all is well with the world after all.

FLIP BURGER BOUTIQUE

1587 Howell Mill Road

Atlanta, GA 30318

404.352.FLIP

www.flipburgerboutique.com

Yes - the entire city is stuffed with burger joints. Yes, the foodierati are all voicing their "I'm so over it" disdain.

I don't care - I LIKE fancy burger joints.

After a quick trip to Star Provisions earlier in the day, a friend and I (someone I can always count on for a hey-let's-go-here-and-order-lots-to-taste meal) decided to head up Howell Mill and hit Flip Burger Boutique.

As I made mention earlier, we order quite a bit and then treat it sortof like a tasting menu - a little from here, a little from there. Today's choices were:

Fried Okra and Confit Duck Nuggets - the okra was good but a bit too salty and the duck nuggets were SPOT ON TASTY. Shredded duck, breaded, deep fried, served with blood orange dipping sauce (which had a bit of a kick to it).

The burgers - the Southern, the Butcher's Cut and the Thai Chicken - we both agreed the best of the three to be the Southern, with its layering of almost-pickled pickles, pimento cheese, green tomato ketchup and a deep fried patty, but we were torn on which burger ran 2nd and 3rd.

Both were really good - the Butcher's Cut, with its blue cheese and red wine jam was a bracing taste departure from the sweetness of the Southern. And the Thai Chicken patty (served between two iceberg lettuce leaves - pointless, IMO) was fresh and bright and had just the right amount of cilantro and vinegar.

Onion rings

Ok - so the onion rings were an afterthought brought on by watching the couple next to us eating theirs. They just looked so good - and were! VERY onion-ey. Light batter, I believe it was vodka batter or something. All in all a great ring.

Thank you Rodney for being my first!! ;-)

Sheila Denise

Back in the Saddle...Soon

I hang my head in shame, as I sit here and be brutally honest with myself. I have a confession to make--I've been a bad, bad blogger. I'm not really even sure that I can refer to myself as a blogger anymore. I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm ready to end this dry spell, so never fear, my trusty followers, hope is on the horizon.

I'm participating in both Buckhead Restaurant Week (March 6-14) and Inman Park Restaurant Week (March 8-14). I have a date with a dear fellow foodie to dine at Sotto Sotto and I'm REALLY looking forward to enjoying a wonderful meal with someone who is as obsessed with the wonders of food and drink as I am. Hopefully, I can squeeze in 3 or 4 dining experiences during the upcoming Restaurant Week(s), so stay tuned for lots of photos and feedback.

A very special thanks to The Broke Socialite for posting the Buckhead Restaurant Week info. Sad thing is, my office is in Buckhead, but I'm out of the office more than I'm in so, I guess that's how I missed it. Y'all need to drop in on Ms. Socialite--she's absolutely adorable and has officially made a place for herself on my "bloggers to meet" list.

Sheila Denise

Ranger Cookies (courtesy of Rotnee Pooh)

I recently discovered the blog of a friend Rodney (affectionately called Rotnee Pooh by me and only me). While drooling over his photos and finding myself a bit nostalgic and giggly as I read his blog, I stumbled upon his entry "One Helluva Cookie" and I stopped breathing for about 10 seconds as I read the ingredients--all the things I love!! You can find the recipe here: Smiley Eats! I'm a complete sucker for a good cookie, among other things, so I wasn't going to be happy until I made them.

Well, here they are in all their glory. I even poured a glass of milk for the photo op. I don't actually drink milk--I use it as an ingredient for many things, but the cookies were begging for a partner.


I'm indeed a happy camper and I've only eaten one cookie. Thank you Rotnee Pooh. This one's a keeper!!


Sheila Denise