Wednesday, March 19, 2008

In Search of Goodies...

I've been bringing around a tin lately while I'm out in case I find something small and inexpensive that might be fun to put in there and want to check to see if it will fit. Thought I'd also take my camera today to Central Market(my fave grocery store, mentioned before) and show a quick tip for shopping for candy for your gift tins(plus a few other random fun pics I snapped).
Wherever you may call home, I hope you are blessed enough to live near a store that carries a great selection of bulk items! I love all the choices and being able to buy exactly the amount you want to eat or need for your recipe. This pic shows just ONE of SIX aisles in CM's amazing bulk department(which also has spices, flours, cereals, nuts, snack mixes, etc, but this row is my favorite). ;) That's William with the balloon(ready to grab some peanut butter and chocolate malt balls.

Some of the bins have scoops, this one has a "pour". I loaded it straight into my tin! Fill 'er up!Exactly enough to fill it, but not too much that I can't close the lid. All the candy* I need for this for only $1.25. (I dumped the candy in one of the Ziploc bags to weigh it, though, for printing the price label, because, ya know, the weight of that tin could have added another 8 cents or so!!) :)
Now a few pics just for fun: when I showed my husband this next picture after uploading on the computer, he said, "That's not real!" He thought it was one of those pics from a "forward" of silly stuff!) But I took it, examined this pepper with my own hand! (At first it may look like the orange color is being reflected form the peppers next to it, but it's not, look at the others!) This just really struck me funny, that these two peppers of different colors are butted up next to each other and the green seems to be taking on the other's pepper's hue! I think I'll call it "Blushing Pepper Kiss!" or "I Melt with You"? or "HOT PEPPERS!" or "Mixed Marriages"? or "Vampire Pepper"? or...leave your clever title in this post!) What do you think? Is this pic funny enough/good enough to warrant circling the world 8 times through email??
I also took a few pics of some magnets I saw at the checkout, two good quotes here:
"always make new mistakes." Now THAT'S a good rule for life! (I don't even want to think about how much of my life I've spent making the same OLD mistakes!)
This next one (sorry it's blurry, my turn came up, had to run!) says: "Good friends are like Stars. You can't always see them, but you know they're always there" I wanted to share this because it really applies to all of you in my online/blogging life. I'm so excited about all the relationships I'm making with people I most likely will never meet (although I'll be seeing a few of you in May-at the swap-yeah!!) but your personalities shine through your comments and blogs and creations in a such a way that you are all becoming as real to me and as treasured as the close friends I see on a regular basis. (It's been hard for me the last few years to stay in touch with people, even family members, because it is so hard to find time for a phone call or have a conversation when taking care of little ones. I'm so glad for the time I can find to blog in the middle of the night to tell you what I've been doing, and so grateful for everyone who I know I can always call "friend" even when time passes and we are out of "touch".) Thanks for checking in; I love hearing what you're up to! :)

Starla asked(on my ipod post):

ok.............what vitamins, food, yoga do I need to take to get a creative mind like yours? PLEASE help me!!

Lately, Starla, it seems to be driven by caffeine, sleep deprivation and a NEED to do something other than work 100 piece puzzles/watch Dora/listen to The Wiggles!(my son William's FAVORITE things) ** (The last few months I've been too busy lazy to do the vitamins, healthy eating thing, but that would probably help.)

And also, I guess just really looking around and being open to inspiration, which is, I think, being curious about everything, looking for beauty/humor in anything (like the things in these pics were speaking to me today. I like to think of the "bell pepper incident" as a little prank God left for me to find. He's got a sense of humor, ya know! the best!;) Upcoming stamp sets I plan to release have come from some of the most unlikely places!) And lately I've been trying to remember to pray that He would "open my eyes" to these gifts each day (not only to apply to my creative life, but just to delight in HIS creation. )


Have a terrific(and funny!) day!

TIP: If you are shopping for gift items and forget to bring your tin with you, a driver's license or credit card from your wallet can be used as guide to show you what will fit based on the length and width of the card.

*These are chocolate covered sunflowers seeds, with a candy coating like m&m's. The seed gives it the nicest little "bite" and makes this treat a little more healthy! I highly recommend! They're so tiny and crunchy and fun to eat, though, they'll be GONE really FAST!

**It probably doesn't hurt that I'm also SUPER motivated to make you want to buy a couple stamps sets, either ;)

15 comments:

  1. Ohhhhhh.....I wish we had a store like that here!!! Okay, we have similar.....but not with quite that much selection!!!

    LOL I told my dh exactly what you said the other night when we were shopping......."Melanie said a credit card will work to compare sizes since I forgot my tin!!".....LOL.....he knows just to hand it over and not ask any questions!!! AND he knows who "Melanie" is when I talk about you!!! LOL You sure ARE a good friend!!!

    I've got some more ideas for these adorable tins.......and I can't wait to see what stamp sets you've got in the works!!! Hugs!!

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  2. Melanie,
    I LOVE LOVE LOVE Central Market but can't afford to shop there for all our grocery needs, so I just go there for the stuff I can't get anywhere else and fresh herbs. Isn't it amazing? I fell in love the first time I walked in there.

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  3. WOW... great looking store!

    Love the peppers! ... I share my love with you....

    I appreciate the way your mind thinks/creates. I'm challenged in that area , but I can copy what I see ! LOL

    Thanks for all the kind, compassionater and humorous posts!
    Hugs!

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  4. YOU want US to buy stamp sets? Really? Come on - I thought you were just taking us on a tour of your city. LOL

    LOVE all the treasures you found and can't wait to order your 2 newest sets...I'm always behind...but I'll get there.

    :)

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  5. Really cool store. We don't have one quite like that around here. Six aisles of bulk? Wow! Those sunflower seeds sound yummy. I hadn't heard of those before. I'll have to be on the lookout.

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  6. LOL! I totally understand where you are in life~~my youngest left that stage not too long ago....now we are onto "DS games, bionicles (can I just say...how many different bionicles do two boys need?!!) and the oldest is entering those tween years (Ipod....daily requests (and refusals) for a cell phone.

    Ok....no special vitamins, yoga classes huh?! (sigh) all right. I will just have to change my mindset and consider other projects as a stepping stone to creativity. :)
    Starla

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  7. Chocolate covered sunflower seeds??? YUM! I wish I had a store like yours near me, or maybe I don't! I tend to be compulsive when it comes to new/exciting/fun things. I immensely enjoy your blog. I visit every day without fail, and you never cease to inspire and impress me. I really love your new tin stamps, and I can't wait to start playing with them. I am also looking forward to your tip sheet!
    Karen

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  8. Wow, Melanie. These are some really cool pics. I love the vampire pepper! LOL Love your talent, and really appreciate you showing us around that awesome store! Wish there was one like that here near me. :)

    I also wanted you to know how much you inspire me. Be on the look out at my blog for an award just for you. Please stop by to accept it. I just posted it today. I really appreciate you taking the time to show us your talent. Thanks! :) Kelly

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  9. I love all the random photos you take of life that surrounds you. Who'd have thought pictures of magnets in a checkout line would interest anyone? Well I'm surprised to admit that I found them quite amusing and inspiring. As a matter of fact, I've made myself a promise to go out and make more mistakes tomorrow! LOL I enjoy everything you have to offer here in your super-interesting blog. It's a keeper:) TFS!

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  10. You are too funny! Thanks for bringing us along to the grocery store with you! :)

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  11. Hi Melanie, can't resist a quick note for Starla..she can change her handwriting to rewire her brain for more creativity! If your fans are interested, I'll do up a post for you on this when I get back to St. Louis, probably in early April. Sorry, I don't have all my handwriting images here. Love, Mom

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  12. Seeeeee...I told you I knew you carried that little thing everywhere! I live in the DFW metroplex and I LOVE LOVE LOVE me some Central Market! Hubby loves it on Saturday when they give out all the samples....MEN!!! I am totally not surprised by your pepper picture. I SWEAR those people polish every vegetable and every piece of fruit before they put it out. It always looks just picture perfect. The colors are just spectaular in the produce section. The entire store is just a delight for the senses, huh?

    Man, now I'm craving all the things I can only get at CM!

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  13. I know what you mean about getting to the point where you know people through your blog, I talk to you all more than I do my IRL friends!!! Cool pictures, ecspecially the ones with the blushing peppers, so weird. That is what I appreciate about you though, someone else would have seen that and never thought that it was interesting, you see the beauty in things. Thanks for being you!!

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  14. "Kiss me, I'm hot" would be the title for that pic, too funny! :-)

    We don't have central markets here, we have "Whole foods" which is probably a little similar...

    I found something else that fits in the tins for my next project: tiny post-its...

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  15. great tins! And I love the "always make new mistakes" magnet!

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