OPEN HOUSE!

NEW MERCH!  UNICORN MUG IN ALL IT'S GLORY!

I've been busy this week getting ready for the open house at Black Market!  We're having a little party this Saturday for we three business ladies!  I just wanted to make a quick note and excuse my blogging absence.  I'm SO excited!  My folks are coming up too!  And bringing some cool things I've had in storage at their house for oooohhh, I don't know... a decade?  I've also got A BUNCH of new merchandise and this picture above is only ONE of my favorite things!!  And there are MANY!!

Must run!
♥-Lisa

Introducing: Cocktails! Dark and Stormy

Dark and Stormy with seahorse swizzle stick (and straw... I can't help I like a straw in my drinks!)

Huzzah!  My first blog post theme.  You may remember a post I wrote about my grandparents and Old Fashioneds... that will then be considered the first of this theme!  I decided today that I want to post regularly(ish) the drinks that I fall in (and out of) love with.  I don't know why, but that's the regular for me.  I'll find a drink and want ONLY THAT DRINK for MONTHS!  And then, quick as it came, I stop ordering it in favor of my new delicious elixir... whatever that is.

In my house I'm lucky enough to have my own private bartender (thank you Kacy) who is extremely skilled in crafting said delicious elixirs.  I credit his passion for minutiae and accuracy.  He's got two books that he makes most of  his recipes from and he makes them spot on every time.  One is The Joy of Mixology, and the other is The Craft of the Cocktail.

I know I'm not alone in feeling like GINGER is the new BACON when it comes to alcoholic drinks.  I mean, ginger's been around a LOONNNNGG time, but suddenly I'm seeing it EVERYWHERE!  And most deliciously getting little teeny bits of it pulped into my drinks!  Tonight I had Kacy make me up a Dark and Stormy.  We bought some Thomas Kemper Spiced Ginger Ale and the recipe goes like this:

from The Joy of Mixology by Gary Reagan
"2 oz Gosling's Black Seal rum
 3 oz ginger beer
 1 lime wedge, for garnish

 Build in an ice-filled highball glass.  Add the garnish."

Fantastic!  I'd like to know, what are YOU doing with ginger in YOUR cocktails these days?
♥-Lisa

♥ Nelson's Market ♥

Thanks to a prompt on Offbeat Home I'm inspired to share my favorite place in the world, Nelson's Market! 

Source

The building has been standing since 1895 and was previously called the York Addition Market, as the neighborhood is called the York District.  There are lots of amazing photos from across time, showing the inside and out, framed and decorating the walls today.  I am so grateful to live down the street, as I've never seen anything like it before!  I can't tell you how many nights I've run across the street for cold medicine, or emergency ingredient x that I've just run out of, or most importantly... dish-washing soap!  Not only is it my neighborhood grocery but it's also my ice cream parlor, pub, and pancake house!  So I also can't calculate how many times I've stumbled over on late Saturday/Sunday mornings like a coffee zombie... eager for banana pancakes or, frankly, the BEST BISCUITS AND GRAVY IN THE WORLD.  I'm not lying, I've done lots of research!  And with five beers on tap and an amazing selection of cheeseburgers and hot sandwiches, I can tell you that this past week-end I ate practically every meal there... due to my lazy messy kitchen! 

The owner Jon is a long-time resident and has had the Market since 1984.  He and his wife Anne (who is also the York Neighborhood Planning Committee Chair), their sons and employees keep the market and cafe in operation and really, in my mind, create a living/beating heart of the neighborhood.  Nelson's is not just a grocery, it's a place where neighbors and friends get together and eat, talk gardens, or hatch business plans; where lost kittens, babysitters, and yard sales post notice on our community board next to band pamphlets, bar posters, and student surveys.  It's an eclectic neighborhood but Nelson's really pulls it all together and makes it home for everyone, because we are united in our love for our corner market! ♥

And now, as it's said in Offbeat-Land- THE PORN!

 

Thanks for listening to me gush!
♥-Lisa

Kitchen Inspiration

From Bob Dylan's Shangri-La Ranch.  Sooo cute!

From the Huffington Post

I've just found this Inspiration Link-Up with Gussy Sews that I'm excited to participate in... the first one was right up my alley!  Hello!? Spice Pantry much!?  I thought this kitchen photo would be the dreamiest of dreamies for the someday future.  There are a lot of things that suit my aesthetic, particularly the scalloped edges on the cabinetry... but the lighting the tiling and the counter tops... all juxtaposed with that giant solid picnic bench... I'm drooling!

Swing by and check out the Inspiration Link-Up if you're interested in participating!  So cute!

Hope you're all having a beautiful Sunday!
♥-Lisa

IN THE NEWS

Weee!  I wanted to share the lovely article that was written in the Bellingham Herald!  I'm so excited about it!  The coverage is AMAZING.  We had a little teaser square about the article on the FRONT PAGE!  And the article itself was on the front page all huge in the Business section!  Huzzahs all around!

GO TO THE ARTICLE HERE!

Squeeee!
♥-L

WINNING!

Hello Dear Readers!  My lovely friend Emily at Emily a la Blog was sponsoring a book give-away, and I (with sweaty, hopeful palms) tossed my name into the hat and voila! I am now ready to read Quitter by Jon Acuff!

Yes, the subtitle for this baby is "Closing the gap between your day job and your dream job"... HUZZAH!  What I really liked about Em's review of the book was the idea that it helps you to define what exactly it is about a job that brings you satisfaction so that you can focus on that part of the job you're in right now; specifically, those parts that you either plain enjoy or help you garner skills for whatever you want to do in the future.

I've been a long time in battling myself over what kind of work I should be doing in my life.  On one hand I think I have a privileged view that work should be something that I enjoy (read: am TOTALLY PASSIONATE ABOUT)... but there's a lot of practical reasons to work, and in specific jobs.  So my head and my heart have this fight going on about it, because of course, as they both belong to ME, they are both EQUALLY STUBBORN and want only each THEIR WAY!  Hahaha.

My experience so far with "My Two Jobs" is that one is my worker-bee job and the other is my passion.  Between the two I am pretty damn satisfied right now!  Borderline broke, but it's a brand new shop and hopefully it will start to pay for itself.  I have other ideas to make it grow strong, like this blog and a future etsy shop... but I have to juggle my time in there as well.  I will say that reading other people's success stories REALLY HELPS!  And that simple idea that there are benefits to be found in every job... I know that whatever I do, I want to be helping people, so when I'm struggling with somebody on the phone that's cranky as all hell and doesn't want to listen to me... if I have the presence of mind to think about it as an opportunity- I can see what I have to benefit from taking the time to help them right, in a way that leaves them feeling validated (if possible) and that leaves ME feeling validated for doing what I care about in a way that makes me satisfied and proud of myself.  (I love a good run-on sentence with questionable punctuation!)

So please share!  If you've got something going on that's your passion, if you're making it work between 2-5 jobs, if you've found your peace within a job that is outside of your dream realm, or if you're like me, working on it... tell me!

Together we can build this city on rock AND roll.
♥-L

WOOT WOOT!

Bellingham Herald Building -- Bellingham, WA a photo by Glenn W Davis on Flickr.

Yesterday Colleen proprietor of Black Market Boutique, Amanda proprietor of Under Current Clothing/Tailor and Design, and myself proprietor of The Spice Pantry were interviewed by Dave Gallagher from the BELLINGHAM HERALD! Huzzah! The article is coming out in the Sunday Herald we think! I'll keep you posted.
♥-Lisa

A Few of My Favorite Things

In the SHOP!

This AMAZING velvet painting of a tall ship in a stormy sea!!!

This HANDSOME dinette set with a leaf and SIX matching chairs!



THE PRETTIEST LUGGAGE SET I'VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE!



Oh SQUEE!  I'm soooo happeeee!  I can't even tell you how much satisfaction this shop gives me.  Kacy was starting to get worried that I wouldn't actually part with any of these items... and truth be told, I'd be alright if they didn't sell for a month or so just so's I could caress and oogle them, but truly, I'd be sooo much HAPPIER for them to find a happy home with someone who will love them JUST AS MUCH!  Same for an awesome pack of cards that I reaaaaalllly had to let go... but they're AMAZING!  Two matching decks, one blue, one yellow and they're not just plastic-coated, but they are entirely made out of a soft, thin, pliable plastic and SHUFFLE LIKE THE WIND!  They I had a hard time putting them down.  They will make someone very happy I know! 

XOXO!  Today is beautiful out and the salt of the bay is in the air... even though I'm behind my desk at work I'm feeling super-fine and grateful about life right now!  I wish you all the same!!!  I also hope this carries over into my 5:50AM JAZZERCISE DANCE-OFF tomorrow!

♥-Lisa

SITTING KILLS!

(hat tip Andrew Sullivan)

Full image here

I think about this all day when I'm sitting at work... and then, when I come home and I'm mentally pooped and decide the best way to relax is toooo.... SIT ON THE COUCH!  Sitting SITTING SITTING ALL THE TIME!  Blech!  I paid for an awesome membership to Jazzercise, but with all the shop stuff I just hadn't gotten up the courage to get up that extra couple hours early to work it out.  But my body is reacting in unconscious ways... I can't stop jittering my legs in my chair for one, but the worst is that I'm in a STILLNESS SPIRAL (which is my just-now-made-up physical equivalent of the SHAME SPIRAL)!!!  My body is convinced that it's tired because it is so unused to being used!  So I've got this month free from when I signed up with Jazzercise and I need to get my butt in there.  With my work schedule the only time that would work for me is 5:50AM.  "Are you kidding me?" we say together... and I reply by myself, "No.  I am not."  But I've got to majorly reschedule my life to make this work... and I'm nervous about whether or not I'll have the fortitude to make it work...

Which reminds me of something else I was thinking about the other day and was talking about with my friends last night at the bar... I can remember whenever I received praise as a child, I always knew that it was for something that I didn't have to work hard for.  There's an idea cultivated there, that being successful means being naturally so without effort.  What I know now is the total opposite of that.  I've experienced frustration and insecurity from the experience of expecting to be good at something without trying very hard... and it's so clear to me now that this idea just DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!  I sure skipped through all of school in that way... but it's not the path that's going to get me where I want to end up being.  So in the spirit of hard work and passionate labor=satisfaction... I'm dedicating this video to being a better do-er make-r with more energy and more movement and more happiness!

How do you all get movement in your life?

♥-Lisa

Blog Love!

I've been tracking the activity on this little here blog and my first celebratory marker is what I'm calling:

CONGRATULATIONS!  LIFE FROM ALL 6 POPULATED CONTINENTS WITHOUT PENGUINS HAVE VISITED THE SPICE PANTRY!

Wee!  If you know any penguins with access to the internet... you know what to do.

source

Thanks for the love!

♥-L

GRAND OPENING PHOTOS!

 ♥-L

Spice Pantry Eve!

It's the night before I open shop... I am so excited and freaked out and EXCITED!!!!  It's been a whirlwind the last week and a half.  I've taken stock of all my inventory after prepping it all, which means I scrubbed a lot of rescued vintage items to a shine!  And spent some time crocheting like bat out of craft-hell!  I spent a lot of time running errands and making sure that I had all of the bits and bobs that will help me get my stuff on the walls and lit up!  I made a lamp and scrubbed floors and refurbished a GIANT cupboard... hung shelving and lights and shimmed and secured everything... I can barely hang on!  Tonight everything is in place and it's like Christmas Eve.  I'm excited that my lunch-time at work is the same time that the shop opens because low and behold I can ACTUALLY BE THERE!  Who knows?  There might be a single person who comes in and buys something!!!  Maybe there will be MANY!  I'm sure the latter will be the case (fingers crossed).  So until I have some pictures of that, here is a rundown of all the pictures I have from the work I've put into it.

But, really quickly... I want to give the biggest shout out of love and support and affection to Colleen Milton!  Without whom none of this would even be happening!  She is amazing!!!  And her energy and excitement is totally contagious!  She is one of the MOST inspiring people I have ever met and I am SO grateful to be working with her in this adventure!  Thank you thank you THANK YOU COLLEEN!  EVERY SENTENCE I WRITE ABOUT YOU CONTAINS EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!  THAT IS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU!!!

And now the photos!

  


I was going to take a bunch of pictures tonight when I was finished, but to keep from waking the upstairs neighbors I am waiting to hang a bunch of things on the walls... so it will be even cuter after that.  I am wiped but soo happy... and have a lot of things to do moving forward!  Thankfully I only have another day of this labor and I'll have finished giving birth to this beautiful baby of mine!  WOOT WOOT!

Goodnight! 
♥-Lisa

PS my mini magic 8-ball told me today that I would get 7 hours of sleep tonight... it's only gonna be 3.5... but it's going to FEEL like 7 and refresh me like 7 I'm sure... or that 8-ball is gonna get it!