Her Goodwill, My Goodwill:)

After being in a cozy coffee shop on a not so cozy day, I made a leap to one of my favorite stores to shop and browse in- Goodwill! I love thrift shopping, primarily because it's a lot cheaper, more fun with more character and you simply never know what you will stumble upon and find! I think that all makes out to be a great adventure.

The story goes, that I was really enjoying my time there looking around and even finding great things! I called my sister to invite her to join me, since she was already thinking of shopping there during this holiday weekend. She said yes, and hopped on over. I wanted her company but also wanted her to come with me to get some cash out for purchases since their credit machine was broken and had no cash on me, I think one of the workers knew that I invited some along for the ride to shop with since he was smiling and looking at my sister when she walked in, and looked at me as I was smiling at her, excited to show her what I had already found- a crate full! Whoops, I think I got really excited and liked so many things, and so I kept them.

We are such opposites, since she found and purchased 3 items- two purses and a pair of boots. I don't think I could do that too easily in a store like this! Ha But she was so gracious to pay for me and just get cash out and have me pay her back of course, since although mine was a lot cheaper than any other store, it was still worth something. It was out of her 'goodwill' to do that, and to join me as I like to say, my goodwill store.

I like to shop alone, but it's also always fun to shop with someone else, especially if that someone is a sister. I'm usually okay when it comes to needing a second opinion, but at the end of our little, semi- large, and spontaneous and free shopping spree, she liked all that I got, especially my funky rain boots which I know will be quite useful since there is still a lot of rain to come!

Taken right after phone conversation telling my sister to come right on over. I loved the colors, with the blue door, bright yellow wall, and vibrant blazer! I'm also wearing the quirky boots:)

The jewelry is one of my favorites at a thrifty store like this one! I would say about half of my jewelry comes from goodwill. I got two pieces, a necklace and earrings. The lady who got the earrings out for me was a little surprised that I would like earrings like that. To me, they looked different and rather 'earthy' and even a little funky/hippy...hey I'll take it since I'm sure they would still be sitting there for a while! The lady just laughed when I said that I was helping them get rid of things, which in a way is kind of true!:) And she was surprised that I was still there shopping, since it had already been about 2 hours eek, it does take a while to look through almost everything.

I really haven't done any fashion or style posts here on Plum Tree. Of course, it is a part of inspiration and creativity for me, yet I'm not sure if I'm the best advocate or writer for it. I just wanted to share this fun and spontaneous activity. I mean, I think it's always good and nice to have some ounce of spontaneity in your life, or do something out of routine or different- kind of like what I mentioned in my last post. What do you feel about this? And what has been something that was 'out of the box' for you? Or maybe there's no box haha. Happy Goodwill/Thrift store shopping!!:)

Fuchsia's Recipe and Making Things Interesting

I've been meaning to share a semi- recent dish that I made last weekend. I decided to make a Chinese dish since it's been a while and also since we're still celebrating the New Year of the Rooster. This cookbook that I checked out caught my eye because the author is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and has a cooking memoir about her experience with Chinese food, specifically the Sichuan province. Her cookbook has a lot to offer, with many interesting and exotic dishes that I had never heard of. Here is her book, if you're interested. I've been meaning to still read/finish it.

I made a dish that is pretty typical yet not so common, since the ingredients and steps have a turn of their own, yet make for a great and delicious meal at the end of it all!

For this recipe, there's ingredients for the main dish, the sauce and the marinade, however, it's all pretty easy and doesn't take too long. I think in all, it took me a little over an hour before we could eat. That day, my Mom and I went to lunch at Clementine's, and then explored Anthropolgie. It had been almost a year since visiting this cool and inspiring store, I needed all the inspiration I could get! Lol See this post about Anthro http://plummtree.blogspot.com/2016/11/anthropologie-and-anthropology.html, and this one for
Clementine's:) http://plummtree.blogspot.com/2016/09/clementines-inspiration-through-time.html

Last night, I made glazed meatloaf. It had a lot of flavor and spices in it, but I didn't take a picture of it since, I guess you already know what it looks like lol

On another note, I've been trying to create a schedule that makes my time more interesting, exciting and maybe even a little more random. Yesterday, I decided to wake up earlier than ever, even though I did sleep in a little, but regardless, I went on a quick and early run, eager and ready to start the day! Yesterday, I also went to a new coffee shop in the area, which I had heard about but never gave it a try. My experience there was pretty good, though, there were times when it was loud, and I didn't like my drink all that much, but it's okay- it was for the (new) experience and that's all that really mattered. This reminds me of a CD I listened to a year in a half ago that talked about how to become an interesting person...unfortunately it skipped so I couldn't listen to it anymore. A few years back, what I though that made for an interesting person was speaking lots of different languages and I wanted to be able t do the same. Of course, this is interesting but not the only way and surely not the only thing that will make for an interesting person.

On Valentine's Day, I was thinking about giving blood since there was a blood drive at school, but then I remembered that I've been out of the country and still need to wait a few more months if I want to donate. In a way, I was semi- relieved since I do not like the idea of a pricking my finger or a needle in my vein, but sometimes the thought is worse than actually doing it. I guess that's like a lot of things in life.

What are some things that you've been cooking lately, and or something you did that was new or out of your comfort zone?:)

This picture was taken about a month ago, at a favorite Chinese restaurant that my Mom and I share. Sweet and sour soup, I believe, and next time I will order my Mom's choice, and maybe even say a few words in Chinese! Till next time!

Arabic Food and Sumac:)

Middle Eastern food is something that is always fun, interesting and even a little difficult to put together. Tonight I decided to make Kefta (or Kafta), but it's a different version than what I made before. This recipe is more like a roll, with some filling inside that is already pre-cooked and the meat of the Kefta (both lamb and beef) cook altogether on very high in the oven.

This dish in all took about an hour in a half to cook. Like most Middle Eastern dished I've tried to concoct in the past, I notice a recurring pattern- there are a lot of steps, and or, each step is a process in a itself as well. I wouldn't say I'm always on the mood to cook a 'fancy' dish like this one tonight, however, when I am and when I do attempt to recreate the recipe, I always feel rewarded and good that I got a bit or even a lot out of my comfort zone and tried something different, and even fun. I usually am surprised at the strong flavors and smells from the exotic spices. Sumac, being one of these spices that is particularly strong. I've come across a few times now in dishes, yet never had it and didn't know what it was. My Mom recently purchased sumac at a cooking store, that was actually surprisingly cheaper and bigger than a grocery store. So now, I'm happy to say that I have sumac in my back pocket whenever I need it!

The end result looked something like a hamburger patty, but it tasted a little spicy with the help of the sumac, and a mix of lamb and beef. I happen to like the mix of lamb and beef, as well as just lamb by itself, but my sister begs to differ. I somehow always seem to be cooking recipes with lamb ?;)
I feel that this too will go in my recipe archive. Now the next thing I need to get a hold of is Tahini paste- which many recipes have also called for that I've seemed to notice and haven't included, yet.

Hope you'll give this one a try!: Till next time...

Rekindling Language

It so happened that when I was low on inspiration and fuel, I had time to write. But once my energy and inspiration soared, I found that the time to write on Plum Tree was hard to make. So here I am, and now with a new month in store. February has a nice feeling to it. There are naturally many holidays in it, and chocolate and red seem to be the theme.

3 years ago today, I recorded my first ever video of myself (with my sister's help) of me speaking Chinese. I was only 3 weeks into studying the language, but the challenge and the somewhat horror of speaking to a camera in a foreign language that was still foreign to me was a bit scary and fun at the same time. Last night, I recorded a video about the Arabic language. I am taking an elementary Arabic class to help me with my progress and to keep me motivated, it's also something different than my usual routine of college classes. But I wouldn't say it's an easy A or even a recreational class, there is actually a lot of work and learning being done. I guess you could say that I am putting more work into my schedule, but that doesn't mean it's not more fun. For me, learning is fun and enjoyable, especially when it comes to languages. :)

As for Chinese, it still excites me and realizing that there is still so much I don't know, yet also realizing that there is still a good amount I do know. I still want to have goals for this language, and to keep up my learning and practice. My Chinese teacher informed me about a oral proficiency test that is coming up. I will need to brush up on my speaking skills and dust off my language materials. I don't have a lot of time for this test, but I think I have enough for me to relearn and remember!

Happy Chinese New Year, and Happy February- and happy language learning:)