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When strawberries are at their very sweetest, when happy bees buzz from bloom to bloom and when the perfect mix of blue sky and warm breeze come together more often than not...it must be June at Gooseberry Patch!
As summer heats up, more of our weekends are spent combing the flea markets around our area...and even some that aren't in our area! Nashville continues to be one of our very favorites. Maybe it's the great finds discovered there or memories made along the way...we think it has a little something to do with the barbecue served there! We've included the recipe below and hope you love it as much
as we do. |
In this edition of Feather Your Nest, you'll get a peek into Jo Ann's collection of wedding cake toppers,
a sampling of our new scrapbooking paper and stamps to spark your creativity and so much more. Don't miss our new Q & A with V & J section below where we remember "the finds that got away." Have a question for us? Drop us a note and you may see the answer pop up in a future letter!
Be sure to check out the Quick Links below. Just for June, we've put together a
flea market collection that reminds us of afternoons spent finding new treasures. Each item has been
handpicked by us, just for you.
P.S. Did you know that June is Great Outdoors Month? We didn't either, but now we're planning
all sorts of backyard fun to celebrate. Camp-outs under the stars, toasting marshmallows and watching
fireflies twinkle at dusk...discover some magic right outside your door!
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| Almost as good as the one discovered at the Nashville
flea market years ago, this slow-cooker recipe is the
closest we've come to duplicating that sweet & tangy taste.
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Slow-Cooked Pulled Pork
1 T. oil
3-1/2 to 4-lb. boneless pork shoulder roast, tied
10-1/2 oz. can French onion soup
1 c. catsup
1/4 c. cider vinegar
2 T. brown sugar, packed
24 slices Texas toast or 12 sandwich rolls, split
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add roast and brown on all sides; remove to a large slow cooker and set aside. Mix soup, catsup, vinegar and brown sugar; pour over roast. Cover and cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours, until roast is fork-tender. Remove roast to a platter; discard string and let stand for 10 minutes. Shred roast, using 2 forks; return to slow cooker and stir. Spoon meat and sauce onto bread slices or rolls. Makes 12 sandwiches.
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Exclusive goodies, just for YOU, our E-letter subscribers!
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A few months back, we showed off our very favorite egg cups, mostly found at flea markets. The response from you, our readers, was so surprising! Everyone loved them and wanted to know what ELSE we collect. While we both like a little of everything, we want to share Jo Ann's fantastic collection of vintage wedding cake toppers.
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Jo Ann says:
"People ask all the time if I collect them because I can't wait for my daughter to get married or if there's some other deep meaning but, nope...I just like them because they're fun! I love to see the
vintage clothes and their sweet expressions.
Anytime I run across one at the market, I know
it's coming home with me."
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We get letters every day from folks all across our country (and beyond!) just like you. Since Feather Your Nest is our special way of keeping in touch with all of our Gooseberry friends, what better place to answer some of your questions?
Here's one we got from Barb in Springfield, Ohio, which is, coincidentally, the home of one of our very favorite flea markets. Hi Barb!
After years of flea marketing, what are some of your favorite finds? Are there any that you wish you would have taken home but didn't?
 V: I have two favorites...one is a big menu board salvaged from some little mom & pop restaurant. I can just imagine it hanging over a bustling diner in the 40s. Plus, it was clearly handmade - there's even a funny misspelling! - which just makes it that much more special.
My other favorite is also handmade...are you noticing a theme? I picked up a folding screen from the 50s on one of our adventures. It's from back when Hollywood was at its most glamorous, and it's covered with cutouts of movie stars of the day. I can imagine it in a teenybopper's
bedroom back in the days of bobby socks and 45 records. This is one of my most prized finds, especially since I found it first - Jo Ann has said many times before that if I hadn't snapped it up, it would be at her house instead of mine!
 J: That's true - Vickie's screen is quite a prize! My favorite find by far is my mermaid. She's about 6 feet tall with a HUGE tail...carved from wood with long flowing hair, we think she must have been part of a Mardi Gras float originally. We found her in Nashville (home of the yummy BBQ above!) and thank goodness Vickie was there. I never would have been able to lug her across the mucky
fairgrounds alone!
As for my "the one that got away" find, I still remember a beautiful pair of apple green chairs we found once. I loved the color but, at the time, I thought they were too bright for my house. Now, I know they would have been perfect. Oh well, you snooze, you lose, right?
V: That's right...and even though we've both come home with some real finds over the years, what we love most about hitting a flea market is catching up! We get to see familiar faces and old friends at our favorite booths and we have time away from our families and the business to chat over treasures and lunch, which is often our best find of the day.
J:Definitely...it's all about the adventure and whether we come home empty-handed or with a full trunk, it's always time well-spent.
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Summer's really heating up now...
Picnics in the park and fireworks after dark...we can't wait for July!
Thanks for reading Feather Your Nest and we hope you'll join us again next month.
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