Goodbye Jim's!!

Jim's Burger Haven closed today. Although I didn't grow up in this area, I've eaten there a bunch in the past year, and it saddens me to see it go. This seems to be a trend in New Jersey and I'm assuming the rest of the country. Great, family run businesses closing down to make way for an unnecessary national chain. They are putting an AutoZone where Jim's currently is. Where are the kids of the Bayshore area going to grab a porkroll, egg, and cheese when they cut school? Definitely not AutoZone.

Hooked on Aeromarine Planes!!

Aeromarine was a short lived seaplane manufacturer based out of our town, Keyport, NJ. Part of the factory still stands a few blocks from my house and has left it's mark on the town more ways than one. Along with a water tower and a couple of offices Aeromarine left behind a few acres of completely contaminated land. Toxic disasters aside, the planes are some of the coolest looking things I've ever seen. The company manufactured the planes from 1921-1924 and had routes across the US, Cuba, and the Bamahas. Here are some images via the Keyport Historical Society.









See what everyone else is hooked on at Hooked on Houses.

Sorry for the cheezy post..

...and the cheezy joke.

This Sunday Lina and I took a cheese making class at Bobolink Dairy in Vernon, NJ. It was really informative and pretty fun. We ate some great cheese and the farm staff prepared us some killer pizzas in their wood-burning oven. Along with the food, we sampled different types of whey and raw milk. It all tasted like the liquid on top of sour cream or yogurt and definitely wreaked a little havoc on my stomach.

normal cows



one eyed, dwarf cow



the cheese making room



cheese curds (delicious!!)



Jonathan salting the finished product



these pigs eat stale bread and leftover cheese whey. the farm is pretty amazing, every single thing serves a purpose. really makes you think about what you put in your body...



...for about ten minutes! we had a dairy queen binge on the way home.
horrible.

Keyport in the Great American Town Tour!!

We call Keyport NJ home. It reminded us of the little southern towns we drove through after we got married. Little Main St, some pretty old homes, couple of diners and bars within walking distance, and just enough white trash to keep it fun. The fact that it's on the Raritan Bay is pretty sweet too.

I walked around a couple weeks ago and took some photos of some of my favorite houses in town.





















And a few shots of the bay.





Thanks for stopping by! Check out Huckleberry Prairie for more town tours.

Thrifty Treasures

Lina and I went to an estate sale Saturday morning, but we got hit with a crazy storm Friday evening. Lightening, hail, the works. The storm left the sky a beautiful pink color, but unfortunately ruined most of the stuff that brought us to the sale (postcards, linens). There was some still some good stuff and it was in a killer neighborhood right on the bay.

Here's the view from our porch after the storm rolled through. Not impressed? Sorry.



Lina found a pair of leather shoe clips and I found this apothecary jar.



I bought this perfect vintage sign on ebay. It definitely wasn't thrifty, but I loved it and it'll look perfect in our guest room.

My Sister's New Dog

Meet Taffy, my sister's adult one-eyed chihauhua. That's right. An old one-eyed dog. She's a really, really good person.

Our house. A brief introduction.

We bought our little house in Keyport 6 months ago. As far as we can tell it was built in 1888. The historical society is helping us find out for sure. The previous owners kept a lot of the original details intact (doors, floors, etc.) and maintained a killer garden and we are so grateful for that. We definitely put a bunch of work into it, but obviously we are nowhere near done. I swear these photos weren't staged, our creepy little dogs really love the camera.



Staircase (and Riff)



Living Room 1



Living Room 2



Living Room 3 (and Ollie)



Sun Room



View From The Back Porch

Thrifty Treasures (kind of a slow weekend)

It rained the entire weekend so most of the garage sales we went to were canceled. Weak! A new antique shop opened in town last week and it too was kind of a bust. The owner told Lina and I a bit too much about her personal life, but she had a really cool parrot. I found this stoneware jug though. I don't think it's that old, but it's pretty nice. Got to do a little more research.
Head over to Southern Hospitality to check out some more finds. Hopefully they fared better than me this weekend.

Our 1st Attempt at Gardening Part 1

The previous owner of our house was a serious gardener and Lina and I (mostly Lina) decided to follow in his footsteps. He made it really easy with a nice raised bed and irrigation system. We planted a bunch of stuff this spring, with the hope that at least one crop would survive. Most of them are doing well and one's ready to pick.



We planted this lettuce from seed and it is perfect. I've always heard, but never realized, how good growing your own food can makes you feel.

Thrifty Treasures

This Saturday Keyport had it's annual town wide garage sale. The weather was perfect, the prices were fair, and there was some great stuff out. I picked up a bunch of things. Here are some highlights.

A pair of old painted oars.



A complete set of canisters with perfect chicken decals.



An old green painted chair with fruit decals.



A serious stash of old bottles!!!!



An old pharmacist bottle (my fav).



I got lots more but the first episode of Roseanne is on and I've never seen it before. Different kid playing DJ, weird!