Perfect Puzzle & Considering A Clock: El Mercado Latino

Knowing how much I love packaging, you know I had to take a photograph of this impeccable shop. This is El Mercado Latino in Pike Place Market in Seattle and I was struck by their beautiful shelves. Their attention to detail is spectacular.

I asked the shop keeper if I could take a photograph, praising her display and it was all I could do to keep myself from telling her that it would make a great puzzle. A high compliment. Frankly, I also think this image could be turned into a beautiful pattern for fabric. I was mesmerized. Do you see it too?

She was thinking: ingredients, recipes, inventory. 

My friends were rushing up the street so I didn't linger, but boy oh boy. 

I love to cook, but I think I love design and packaging more. I stared at the shelves wondering if I could make one of those boxes into a clock. Have you seen my kitchen clocks? I hope she didn't think I was searching for something she didn't have. I was simply admiring her work.

#latinmarket #seattle #visualvitamins #smallbusiness 

Puzzled: When Food Could Be Art

I can't be the only one that thinks this would make a beautiful puzzle, yes? It would be hard, but what a lovely image to stare at on a rainy afternoon.

I took this photo last week at Cedar Sol Hydro Farm in Cedar, Michigan. I came for the tacos, but I was captivated by the tomatoes. The farm is king this time of year and I am a happy subject.  

Ring Bling

Look what else I found at the West Palm Beach Antique and Flea Market! Ring bling!  I stared at these gems and cut glass masterpieces sparkling in the sun for so long that the vendor thought I was in the market for a new bauble.  I was just entranced by the collection as a whole.  

This kind of girly grouping is so effective.  Take any of these items away from the rest and they aren't quite as magnificent.  But en masse, they shine.  

Wouldn't this make a terrific puzzle?

Linda Nelson Stocks Puzzles

Not all puzzles are the same.  I love when they include a village; a patchwork of fields and hills; a lived-in house and garden to walk through.  I like to imagine myself walking around and spending time in and among the buildings.  I wouldn't chose this kind of image for myself as wall art , but as a puzzle it is exactly what I'm looking for.  

There is something about the folk art paintings of the late Linda Nelson Stocks that make a perfect puzzle in my book.  My parents first discovered her work years ago and are so dedicated to her style that they will only work on puzzles painted by Linda Nelson Stocks.  Once in a while they send a puzzle over to our house for us to enjoy when we have the time.  

I had seen this puzzle (Frog Mill Pond) being worked on at their house sometime last year.  I remember it because the box is signed, "Best Wishes, Linda Nelson."

My mom is famous for writing on things in permanent pen, most memorable is her Tupperware which says "Please return to the Queen" on the bottom.  So when I saw this autograph I assumed that my mom was joking around when she bought it for my dad.

Well the joke is on me because the artist herself signed this box!  Every once in a while my parents go on a puzzle surge and order 4 or 5 new ones online.  One of their purchases must have been from the Linda Nelson Stocks web page (now closed) because Linda Nelson signed their box as it went out in the mail.  I love it.  A signature is a simple gesture on her part, but it shows a lot of love.  

As we sit by the fire on cold January nights like this, listening to music and clicking pieces into place, we will enjoy the simple act of building a puzzle.  Have you worked on a puzzle lately?  It just might bring you a moment of delight. 

Spice Puzzle

Wouldn't this make a great puzzle?  Last week I got a bee in my bonnet and decided to organize the cupboard next to my stove top.

Halfway through, the array of spices, salts and herbs was so overwhelming it almost looked pretty.  So I grabbed my camera and took this photo to show you.  This is real life - a combination of high hopes, wrong turns and a lot of spice.  

I was looking through my stack of Everyday Food magazines (December issues) to find a one-cookie-dough-many-ways recipe.  What I found was an advertisement by McCormick that said if you have any spices that were packaged in Baltimore, Maryland, they were at least 15 years old.  Yikes!  And the issue I was reading was from the 2006 issue, so add another 6 years to the past its prime calculation.  I had to know if any of my spices were 20 years old.

Yep.  I found 5 bottles from my wedding shower days!  I now know with certainty that I don't use: Allspice, Marjoram, Chervil or Savory.  Ha!  I pitched a few other bottles that seemed old and now I have more room on the behind the door adhesive spice rack for flavorings I do actually use and the rest of the containers are arranged by type in the cupboard. Victory.

Do you have any vintage spices?