You Win Some, You Lose Some

The Winner/s of Hello Notecard Sets

Being the kind of gal I am, and being that there were only two entrants to our giveaway, I'm going to send both Kristen (from By The Book Paper) and Kimberly (a giveaway lovin' momma) 2 sets of our Hello Chevron Note cards.

Congratulations ladies, and thanks for playing. Next time I'll do my best to make entering a little bit easier (thanks to Magda for info on rafflecopter).

So, I will be emailing both of you K & K, to get your mailing addresses.

Again, thanks for being here and for participating in the giveaway.

Keep your eyes open gang, there's more to come!

The Losers

That would be me yesterday, with a capital L. Just one of those days.  First off, on my way to Target to get dog food, I think I hit a chipmunk. Yes, I am one of those people who swerve for even the littlest animals. Couldn't bear to look back, but I don't think he made it. Secondly, I lost a $20 bill at Target.

But here's the good part. I confirmed I lost the $20 bill when I pulled into the sweetest little vintage store French Door Antiques. I know that doesn't sound good, but the loveliest lady, Katherine Pelletier, was working in the store and I mentioned I'd just lost a $20. She got on her cell phone and called Target. Now, they had not seen hide nor hair of it (hopefully someone who really needed it found it), but the point is that meeting nice people is more important than money.Then I realized I actually had met Katherine years before when I worked at the Chamber of Commerce and that we had a mutual friend. Beyond that, French Door Antiques where she was working was really wonderful. More bad news though, I brought my camera with me like I always do in case there is something I want to capture (did I say the store was lovely?), but I had forgot to take the memory card out of the card reader and put it back into camera. AND, though I thought I was recording to clipboard, and I see the pictures on the camera, it will not let me copy them to the card so I can't retrieve them today. Oh boy. The fun continues.

So, dear ladies of French Door Antiques, I do apologize and I will be back in soon to get pictures of your wonderful store that I can actually post. This place really gave me my French Country fix I've been needing this week.

In the meantime, I couldn't leave without these things.

A sweet little rusted wafer tin that still had some of its paper wrapper all around, with a different picture on each side. 

For now, it's going to hold somethings in my pantry.



A pretty little silk and lace hankie holder.

AND, a little victorian die cut image of a ship. Ever so cute.

The best though, the most interesting piece, is something I bought for Gar. I couldn't leave without it. It was labeled periscope. 

After a little research, the best we can tell is that it is the prism end of a tank periscope from WWII.  We both love it. It's now sitting on the mantle. I placed a coin and a feather underneath..........see how they're reflected in the prism? Just too cool.

There was a ton of great stuff at French Door Antiques.........glass, ironstone, lingerie, tea cups, garden accessories, furniture, pottery, dresser sets, pictures, the most awesome perpetual calendar and more.  Honestly, they've been open for a year and I'm not sure why on earth I hadn't stopped in yet. So glad I did.  I will most definitely be back soon and as I said, I'll be better prepared with the memory card actually in the camera.

Sunset Meadows

Yesterday wasn't all bad. When I got home we were greeted on Skype by my godson.....it was his first birthday on friday and he was having a party. Another Dublin family party via skype. Call me Martha, but it's a good thing.

And then, this.............. 

Well, I'm off to clean the basement. I'm actually looking forward to getting things cleaned and organized down there.

Have a great Sunday in your part of the world.  Thanks for listening to my 'silly Saturday' rant and thanks for being here.



Field Study

Take A Walk With Us

I promised myself yesterday that I'd eek some time out at the end of the day to move, in some way. I kept my promise and made the dog happy at the same time. Off we went, across the street to the field.  We usually keep him on his leash until we get to the top of the hill to see if there are any critters before we let him lose.

There was.

One lone deer.

At least that was all I could see. I'm sure there were more just beyond the edge of the woods.

The deer checked us out. I checked out the deer. The hound remained pretty clueless about the whole thing.  The deer finally bounced into the forest.

I kept Lucan (who happens to be nudging me right now at my desk- must have known I was talking about him) on the leash last night, just in case there were more deer at the far end. It's that time of year. Plus, it's not unusual to run into turkeys. We were very thankful one day when we got to the top of the hill with him on the leash, and down below was one biggo porcupine. Phew. Crisis averted.  Top that off with the fact that the coyotes have been quite vocal lately. Better safe than sorry.

It's a beautiful field and woods, owned by a man down the street. He wanted to conserve the open space and the town bought into it a couple of years ago. We thankfully the benefits of having the field 20 steps from our door. So does the farmer across town who leases the field for farming feed for his dairy cows.

At the top of the field, just across the street from our house is an old family cemetery plot. The Wiggins, one of Stratham's founding families. Poor Abigail was only 14 when she died.  At least her and her relatives have a pretty view of the sunsets.

Sunset Meadows

Sunset on our way out of the field last night.

And, sunrise this morning.

Gar said, you really should open your eyes and take a look out the window at this one. I did more than that, I stumbled to my desk and got my camera.

I was glad I did.

Giveaway

Don't forget to enter our current giveaway- you only have a few more days. So, why not do it now? Wouldn't it be nice to have the Hello Chevrons note cards from Bates Mercantile Co. to write a note on and make some one's day? It's pretty easy to enter. You could win a set for yourself and a set to give as a gift!

Hope it's sunnier in your little corner of the world. Pretty damp and raw here today.Tomorrow is supposed to be looking up.

See you on the flip side. Thanks for being here.



Super Fun Giveaway & Potatoes/Potahtoes

How Do You Say Hello GIVEAWAY 

OK, so I said I had an idea in mind for the chevron pattern I used for the free gift tag printable from Wednesday.  Here it is and it could be yours!

The happiest little way to say hello. 

Let me rephrase that, the happiest little way to say hello in eight different languages.

Each set has 8 note cards and 8 white envelopes, is printed by me and packaged nicely with a Bates Mercantile Co. belly band.

TO WIN TWO NOTE CARD SETS (one for you and one for you to giveaway as a gift if you so desire, or keep both of these note cards if that's the way you want to be):

Easy as 1-2-3. Make sure you complete all three to be entered. Earn an extra entry by completing step 4!

1. Follow this blog- Mercantile Muse.  You can do that via email, google, or rss feed and you'll find all those options right on this page.  Comment below this post, that you are now following and how. If you already follow, comment below and include how.

2. Like Bates Mercantile Co. on facebook and comment there that you liked us and that you're entering the giveaway. Also include in your comment here that you liked us on facebook. If you already 'like' us, just say so in your comment.

3. Visit the Bates Mercantile Co. shop on etsy and let us know what your favorite item is in your comment below.

To earn an extra entry, and make me really, really happy:

4. Refer a friend to Mercantile Muse who becomes a follower. In your comment below, please mention which new follower you referred.

The winner of this giveaway will be chosen at random from those who entered according to the steps above and will be announced next Friday.

I really love these note cards and know the winner will too. This is a brand new design and you saw it here first. It's not even listed in our shop yet!

Rachael Redeems Herself With a Spud

I've mentioned a couple of times this week that I enjoy the recipes in Rachael Ray's magazine EveryDay, but that sometimes I have to do some tweaking. Well, last night I made her 'pressed potatoes' for a Thursday Night special appetizer and all I can say is, we made another batch and called it dinner because they were so good.

 

It was easy as pie.

Small Red Potatoes or other thin skinned potato

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sea Salt

Black Pepper

Garlic

Scallions/Green Onions- chopped

Sour Cream

Preheat oven to 450F

Boil the red potatoes (use however many you're in the mood for). When fork tender, drain the pot and drizzle with some evoo over them, add sea salt and crushed black pepper and garlic.  Mix until all coated.  Grease a cookie sheet.  Put each potato on cookie sheet and press with the bottom of a glass to 'smoosh and semi-flatten'.  Pop in the oven for approx. 20 minutes and flip after 10.  Cook longer if you want them crispier.  Take out of oven and serve on dish topped with scallions and dollop of sour cream.

Have a closer look.

Hey, wipe that drool off your keyboard!

Oh my, my, my, my. Our new favorite way to have potatoes. Gar has even requested them again tonight and I'm more than happy to oblige. These pressed potatoes were that good. Well, that and Gar is Irish after all.

Birthday Shout Out

Happy Birthday to our niece Rachel, whose talents know no bounds......dancer, singer, curry chef, spoon-on-the-nose balancer extraordinaire (don't be alarmed, just an old Dignam Family tradition).

Hope you're letting Dublin know who the Queen of the Day is Rachie! Sorry Rache, I couldn't resist the photo.

Feel Good Friday

We love these girls (and the arrangement ain't bad either)!  Click the link if you get this via email and don't get the video.

Here's hoping you have a great day, and even more fantastic weekend.  Our big plans include: a campfire if wind dies down, pressed potatoes, wood splitting, basement clean up. I know, I know......thrills galore! How about you?

Roasting Romas & A FREE Printable/Missoni Inspired

More Missoni Inspiration

Chevrons on my mind.....sounds like a song. They are on my mind, so I created another design with them.  This one is for you. And it's FREE. Cool, huh?

These gift tags are colorful, hip and a little bit retro. 

Any package would be honored to have them attached. At least, that's what I've heard. I think they'd be really cute on a package wrapped in white! But, that's just me. You do whatever you'd like. 

Talk about fun!

Here you go:

Click on picture above, save to computer or copy and paste. These gift tags are set up to be printed on an 8.5 x 11 paper. I also have an idea running around my head for note cards using one of these designs. Stay tuned for an update, as I'm hoping to have them in our store, Bates Mercantile Co., later today.

The Heavenly Smell of Romas Roasting

Finally, the Roma tomato post.....I'm a few days behind on this one. Sorry about that. If you have Roma tomatoes growing in your garden like we do, or can get your hands on some at farmers' market, you need to try this. You won't be sorry.  I had no idea I could roast and freeze my tomatoes until my friend Carey (aka Martha) told many years ago. I've been roasting them ever since, and there is nothing like being in the middle of the winter and being able to add garden tomatoes to a dish for some wonderful flavor.

Here's the scoop (and yes, I know I spelled caramelizing wrong above, but I'm too lazy to change it now):

* you need enough Romas to fill a cookie sheet- if they're big, you can cut in two

* I use a well seasoned cookie sheet- that is to say, one I've roasted a lot of veg on with olive oil. Or one you don't care about 'becoming' well seasoned.

*this is a slow cooking process, but one that doesn't need a ton of tending to

*Romas are the tomatoes of choice for this because they are a meaty tomato with not a lot of seeds. I do also throw some cherries in there too if i have them.

Preheat oven to 225 degrees F. Cut Romas in half if they're on the larger side. Leave them whole if they're on the smaller side.  Grease the pan with extra virgin olive oil. I give it a good glug over the sheet and then spread with a paper towel. Sprinkle pan with sea salt and cracked black pepper. Place tomatoes on cookie sheet and sprinkle with more sea salt and pepper.  Pop in oven and let them do their thing. Check about once every hour and turn. It takes several hours on low heat for them to first, caramelize, and then start looking more like a sun dried tomato. There's no golden rule here, do them until they are done how you like them. I'd say at least until they caramelized and start to brown on the edges.  They do stick a bit due to oil and the natural sugar in the tomato, just use a spatula to flip. I have a little metal one that works great. I like to finish them facing up so that they get a little dryer.  That's it. The flavor is out of this world.

Not the best picture, but you get the idea.  If you can stop yourself from eating them all right then and there, let them cool and you can pop them in a freezer bag. Make sure all the air is out, seal and throw it in the freezer. Take out in middle of Winter, and remember why you do all that work in your garden or why you like farmers' market so much. If you have a home office like I do, you can do them any day. If not, the weekend is a great time to do this when you're hanging around the house.

So delicious. Trust me.

Sunset Meadows

Gorgeous day yesterday. 84F. We won't see that much longer, supposed to drop tonight. May have to cover my tomatoes because some are still ripening. 

I caught the sunset before I hopped into the pool last night. I've got to get in while I can. It was out of this world......74F and glorious.

Back to the sunset.  Beautiful streams of light.

A big, bright.................

.........ball of fire.

Hot, but very cool.

Thursday already. How'd that happen? Make it a great one in your little corner of the world.

Peace out.



Over The Rainbow For Color.

Color! Hot Dog!

Target introduced their new Missoni collection yesterday. The stores were jammed with people buying up the now affordable designerwares. Chevrons all over the place. I am all for Chevrons, in fact I love 'em, but the other thing that draws me to the Italian design house is the explosion of color.  So in the spirit of Missioni, here are some of my favorite colorful pieces I've found on etsy recently.

How about this little french man........just loving his daring red and chartreuse outfit. He's hipper than hip.

copyright annalela

Groovalicious is the only word for these boots.  Dang, now where'd I leave my disco ball?

copyright luckyvintageseattle

A dapper daschund whose getting his Missoni groove on with both their classic combo of chevrons and color.

copyright blackbirdfashion

A colorful collar to make your little black dress pop.

copyright Marywool

Good things come in small packages. So do chevrons.

copyright hybernate

Adorn yourself with some beautiful jewels. One size fits all. Isn't that the best thing about jewelry?

copyright dorosoucy

Lovin' Tova's work. Lemon tree, very pretty.............

copyright tovazvik

Color is a cinch with this belt.

copyright the royal

Charlie was The Man, before Missoni became hip. Maybe Missoni copied his style.

copyright sorrythankyou

Finally, two of my own digital illustrations. The first was included in a couple of Missoni inspired treasuries yesterday here and here.

copyright BatesMercantileCo.

And the second........Chevron V. Circles. I am not trying to breaking up this fight.

copyright BatesMercantileCo.

So, if you are looking for a little Missoni inspiration, Target doesn't have a corner on that market.  Our fellow etsy shop owners have plenty of color and chevrons to offer. There's LOTS of happy to be had. 

Please support these independent artists and vintage purveyors by visiting their shops. You won't believe what you can find. 

Have a wonderful midweek kind of day.  The sun is shining here, and I will be getting in the pool again later. It was heavenly last night. 

See you on the flip side.