Swap Meet

The past weekend was definitely a long one but the most enjoyable weekend that I've had in a long time. For some time the mum and I had been wanting to sell our old 'junk' at a swap meet. A pile had been gradually growing over the past year in the games room, compiled of old items we no longer wanted/used. It was mostly pre-loved(but well-kept, might I add) toys from when my brother and I were wee bubs, there were also a couple of housewares such as a blender and sandwich press but a large component of the pile was 'ugly' gifts. I don't mean to sound ungrateful but honestly I have no use for a hideous metal dog shaped bookend(that item didn't sell) or a wire tree decoration with dyed sapphire leaves. The great thing about a swap meet is that you get rid of your 'junk', someone else gets a 'treasure' plus at the same time the customer is getting a bargain and you're getting a bit of extra cash on the side.

Saturday evening was spent sorting through the swap meet pile, deciding what prices to sell things for, what boxes should they go in and what was just so bad that it had to simply be thrown away. There was a lot of the latter. By the time it was all packed into the car, it was about 11:30pm. We'd been told by a family friend that we'd have to wake up at 4am in order to get to the swap meet which was held in an underground car park by 5am to get a good spot in the queue. Well, I reluctantly awoke a 4am and got myself ready. We headed on down to the shopping centre and had to wait in our cars in a line until 5:30am when they'd start letting the sellers in to set up. It was 5:45am when they finally started to let people go through and some nasty young lady decided to cut the queue instead of waiting her turn like the rest of us and everyone started honking their horns at her. It wasn't exactly a relaxed environment. We waited for another half an hour in our cars, not sure if we were allowed in or what. Mum decided to get out of the car and ask one of the officials what was going on. Apparently they were all full up and he was sending people home! All that effort and lack of sleep for nothing! And there weren't even that many people who'd gotten in!

We couldn't just go home after all that so we decided to take a chance and see if another outdoor swap meet was on, but it was usually only held once a month so we really were taking a chance. As we travelled down the highway I noticed some other cars that were full to the brim with 'junk'. It seems we weren't the only ones who'd been driven away from the underground swap meet and were hoping that the outdoor one would be on. We arrived with a warm welcome at the outdoor oval/park and the swap meet WAS on. Apparently it's open every weekend until Christmas!

Well anyway, we had a lovely day. Lots of lovely people, warm sunny weather(although it was quite windy so we were constantly on the lookout to make sure none of our stuff was blown away)and good food. We sold more than half of our stuff(which was a lot more compared to some of the other sellers) and all the big items went. We made $124 altogether which wasn't so bad. I loved how all the children were using their pocket money to buy items and were being very scrupulous with it. One little girl was deliberating whether or not to buy the Kelly Club treehouse we were selling for $5 or buy 2 smaller items, as she only had $5 altogether. We decided to give it to her for $4 so she could buy something else,she seemed very pleased. :) I collected all the money from customers in my lovely bright Teletubbies waist bag(I'm surprised it still fits!), while my mum sported a Wallace & Gromit one! Unfortunately I didn't really look around at the other sellers 'treasures' as I was too tired but I'm sure we'll go take a look around another Sunday morning.

While we were selling I spotted this old book amongst our sellables, There's A Mouse About The House. It was one of my favourite books from when I was little. It comes with a little cardboard mouse that slips through the slits in each page of the book, as if the mouse is travelling through the house. I couldn't bear to sell it(and it was heavily taped up from wear and tear so I doubt it would have appealed to buyers) so I whipped it out of the box and put it back in the car. Some things you just can't let go of. Am I right?

Banana Bread

After finding this little apron in the linen cupboard and discovering that it still fit me I was inspired to bake something new. My mother suggested "Banana Bread" as she had the recipe in an old cookbook of hers. The book is falling to pieces though, I need to see if I can get it laminated or maybe get it bound somehow at a stationary store (I will have to look into that). The book had a bunch of other savoury goodies in it that I would like to try out in the future: Barm Brack, Potato Scones, Welsh Cakes & American Brownies. Anyway, Here's the recipe for the Banana Bread with a couple of my own alterations mixed in.


Banana Bread

220g wholemeal self-raising flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp mixed spice
100g margarine
450g ripe bananas(approx. 4-5 peeled bananas)
120g caster sugar
100g sultanas
50g walnuts
2 eggs(lightly beaten)



Turn on your oven to 180C(350F) and then grease and flour a 600g loaf tin. Sieve flour, salt and spice into a mixing bowl. Rub in margarine until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mash bananas and add to mixing bowl. Place walnuts into a plastic bag and crush them into small pieces using a rolling pin, then place into mixing bowl along with the eggs and caster sugar. Use an electric beater to mix until the mixture is well-blended and there are as little lumps as possible. Add in sultanas and stir with a wooden spoon. Pour mixture into tin and bake in the oven for 45mins to an hour(or until loaf is well risen and has a pale golden colour on top). Once cooked leave loaf in tin for 5 mins and then place on a cooling rack. I like to eat the loaf warm(10 seconds in the microwave if not fresh out of the oven) with a bit of extra margarine on top.


I can't remember exactly how I got this apron but I just remember wearing it at my great aunt's house in Ireland when I visited her when I was younger. I specifically remember having it on when I helped her make gooseberry jam. I really love the design and colours used on it,very sweet.

A hunting we will go

A hunting I did go and look what goodies I found around the house that belong to my mother:

A vintage metal/brass easter egg and some book plates with a unicorn on the front, it's a shame they were only in one design.

I really do love vintage and/or retro items so I thought I'd share with you the vintage style teacups I bought my mother for mother's day:

My mum and I tried a new tea we bought in them, white tea. It's meant to be really healthy for you and like green tea it reduces your chance of contracting dementia(If you drink it often enought that is!). It definitely is an acquired taste though, one which I have yet to 'acquire'. Maybe I just made it too strong though. I do want to try more of these fancy herbal teas and such in the future. In my local supermarket they now sell organic dandelion tea- wonder what that would taste like?

And look what I discovered....a flower!