Beach Eye Candy

I love going to the beach.  Do you?  
I also love to look in the stores while I'm at the beach.  They have different items for sale there that I don't see at home.  

So this past week, we got to go to the beach and I got to do some shopping.  THE BEST PART????  My FAVORITE  store had moved to a bigger location!

Here are some pictures I took inside THE ART OF SIMPLE in Seaside, Florida. They specialize in candles, soaps, perfumes and other items that everyone loves. BUT--they also have wonderful items that they use for their displays along with a lot of extra fun and original goodies to tempt your vintage soul--all for sale!

Old wooden tennis rackets look right

 at home near the colorful soaps and picture frames.

A vintage drug store sign.

I remember my aunt had a bug sprayer like this.  She kept it behind the porch door.....it was empty, but we played with it sometimes...

pumping away at pretend bugs, bad guys-- you name it.

 

Letters from old signs.

I have a small cooler similar to this one. 

 I enjoy filling it up with iced-down Cokes on a hot summer day.

I never thought of a stapler collection.....but it looks good to me!

 Check out the vintage seltzer bottles in their wooden crate on top to this old industrial cart.  They were priced at $30.

 Lovely candles and old gas cans.  Who thought you

 would be able to purchase them at the same place?

I hope you've enjoyed this special shopping tour at 

THE ART of SIMPLE--stop by the next time you're in town!

Adult Grilled Cheese

We had a wonderful visit with friends at Seaside and Seagrove, Florida this summer.  Everything is fun and exciting when you go to the beach!  Especially when you share it with friends.

Another thing I love about visiting this area are the Airstream food trucks of Seaside.  I had the opportunity to eat at the Airstream food trucks two times during our visit.  Both times, I got a sandwich at The Melt Down on 30A.  Who wouldn't love a day at the beach, sunning, shopping and then a delicious grilled cheese sandwich?  AND have it served to you in a brown paper bag--just like a kid's sack lunch from years ago.

I knew I wanted to make these delicious sandwiches

 at home, so here is my first sandwich from The Melt Down.

The Mozzarella, Tomato and Basil grilled cheese.

Oh my goodness!  Such fresh and simple favors of summer all in one delicious sandwich!

Here's what you'll need:

2 slices Italian bread (I used Publix's 5 grain Italian)

fresh mozzarella

fresh basil leaves

fresh tomato slices

butter

 

I used a non-stick skillet with a little pat of butter in it.

Then, I placed in the pan one piece of bread topped with a generous slice of fresh

 mozzarella cheese so it could start melting.

I heated the bread and cheese low and slow and got the other

 ingredients ready at the same time. 

I prepped my fresh basil-washed it and patted it dry.

I sliced the tomato.

Here's the menu of delicious sandwiches at The Melt Down.

When the first side of the sandwich was golden brown,

 I put the basil leaves on top of the melting cheese.

  I placed the other slice of bread on top and gave it a little pat of butter, too. 

 I flipped the sandwich so the other side could start to brown. When the other 

 side of the bread was brown, I removed it from the pan and placed it on my plate. 

 I opened the sandwich up and placed the tomato slices

 inside and gave them a dash of salt and pepper.

I then returned to top slice of bread to the sandwich. 

 And, to make sure everything was extra gooey,

 I microwaved the sandwich for 20 seconds.

Here are the results!



Yummy Summer Goodness--

An adult grilled cheese!

Fresh mozzarella, basil and tomato grilled cheese.



The Post Office at Seaside, Florida.

The different Airstream food trucks at Seaside, Florida offer ice cream,

grilled cheese, hot dogs, bar-b-que and delightful raw offerings.

I think I've brought home a

 great souvenir from our summer vacation.

Joining the party:

Rattlebridge Farm: Foodie Friday

Seaside Shopping

Last week, while we were visiting friends, we ate and shopped in Seaside, Florida.  I loved this one store that I visited while at Seaside.  The name of the store is The Art of Simple

I saw this sign and decided to step inside.

A number of things attracted my attention as soon as I walked in the door.  There was art on the walls and there were shells attractively displayed in different containers.  I loved the feeling of creativity that I experienced when I walked in.

Check out the business cards!

  Who wouldn't love a business card that looks like that??  How fun!

 Check out this unique art.

I loved how the shells were displayed in The Art of Simple.  I wish I had some of these pieces at my home so I could use them for various displays and collections throughout the year.  That would be nice.

  

 

Love the stove.

 

Funky art 

There were a number of interesting larger pieces of furniture. 

Some were wood finished and some were

 all chippy with different layers of old paint.

  I loved them all.

We got several bath fizzes that were displayed on this American Beauty stove.  Yummy!

I can remember wanting a stove similar to this years ago

 when I saw several lined up at an auction preview.

I never did tell anyone that I wanted one of those old stoves.

  I couldn't quite figure out then how to convince

my parents that I wanted  needed a stove like this--especially when I was only

17 years old and 1,500 miles from home.....

Have a great day and I hope you enjoyed the visit to

 The Art of Simple.

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