Even though I worked over the weekend, I savored the wonderful weather we had in San Diego on Saturday. Low 80s, sunny, lovely, gorgeous. Sunday turned nasty, cold, cloudy, and windy but Saturday was perfect.
I spent time with Skylar and we went to the park together.
And got in some great runs and streamlined, 20 minute at-home workouts, too.
Backtrack to Friday, I found a great Craigslist score: A table that I plan to use for photography purposes. It was $20 bucks, it’s teak wood (pretty certain) and it’s perfect for my needs and available space.
I had looked around Target, local thrift and antique stores but wasn’t seeing anything that just grabbed me.
I went on Craiglist on a whim and found the ad for the table I bought within minutes of searching (a blessing unto itself because CL can be such a pain to weed through all those ads).
Turns out, the woman met me 18 hours later a few miles from my house with table in hand, and it’s perfect.
I can set up near my windows so I can get better shots. As I mentioned in my Making Lightbounces & Using Light post, the lighting I have in my house is iffy, at best, and I think having a table near my windows will really help my shots. I can walk around the table and try to capture the best shot and will not be confined to my dining room table or my kitchen countertops which has been the case for the past almost year.
When I went to my Food Styling and Photography Workshop, I realized that wood is a beautiful medium in which to shoot food photos. Both as a backdrop to set plate of food on top of…
….and just putting the food directly on wood.
I would have never thought so, but wood just seems to work wonderfully well, especially for certain food like burgers or chips or potatoes.
I wanted a table like Matt & Adam’s. Well, they actually have a large table and then have various sizes of wood planks with different finishes, paint, textures, that they can put on top of one of their tables, too.
White, smooth wood and a more rustic, planked wood “table toppers” shown on top of their bigger table. Change the “topper” to get a whole new look for your images.
I can put any kind of tablecloth, napkins, other wooden boards, tiles, you name it, on top of my new table if I don’t want the weathered look.
And just like my new tripod that folds up when I’m done with it, so does my new photography table. I have a small living space and just don’t have the space or desire for another table to be set up, permanently, just hogging valuable square footage and living space.
If all this table talk is boring, let’s move on to food talk.
How about the Peanut Sauce Baked Tofu I just made. Glad you all enjoyed that recipe and thanks for letting me know you love your peanut sauce, too!
Foodgawker liked it, too, which made me super happy!
If you’re feeling more like breakfast or a snack, try a Microwave Banana Oat Cake (vegan, GF, easy)
Top with, what else, peanut butter or sunflower seed butter, or other nut butter.Or make some No-Bake Oatmeal Raisin Carrot Cake Bites (vegan, GF, easy)
Questions:
1. Best thing you ate or did over the weekend?
Saturday’s weather was perfect. Sunny weather always makes me extremely happy. I just feel great when the weather is great.
I also had tons of time in the kitchen Sunday afternoon which was fun.
And my new table makes me happy.
2. Have you ever bought anything on Craigslist or Ebay? Or at second hand, thrift, or vintage stores? Ever sold anything?
I know I’ve mentioned it in the past but both CL and Ebay can be a great way to save money and find some unique, awesome pieces, and great deals in the process.
I have been an ebay member since 1998. I have bought and sold everything from maternity clothes to camera memory sticks to lamps to stevia on ebay.
I bought my Macbook which was just a couple months old from a local Craiglist ad and saved a ton of money in the process. (Not for everyone’s comfort level but for me, it worked)
I sold my Polar Heartrate Monitor I used just two times on CL
I have bought used/vintage clothes and like going thrift shopping for $3 tshirts
I bought vintage scarves to use in my photography shoots
I found the scoby mother I used to make homemade kombucha on Craigslist a year ago. It has since created hundreds of “babies”, some of which I’ve passed along to friends.
I love finding good deals and one-of-a-kind items. And, re-using someone else’s castoffs is great. Reduce, reuse, recycle. So you can think of using CL or Ebay as doing something green, right!
What have you bought, sold, or found on Ebay or CL?
If you’re just catching up on weekend posts, here are mine since Friday:
Awesome teak table find!
I agree with the wooden backdrop. It really adds a nice, cozy, rustic quality. Almost makes the food look “richer.”
I LOOOOVE thrift/garage sale shopping, but haven’t been quite brave enough for Craigslist, and Ebay to me, is a pain. (But I’m glad you have good luck with that!)
ooh – love your table!
I’m all about CL and Ebay. I used organic fitted cloth diapers for all three kids and recently sold them on CL as they had lots of life left – how awesome! :)
I cloth diapered Skylar for the 2nd half of her diaper life and diaperswappers was my best friend :)
I love the look of food on the rustic wood. It is pretty!!!
I have never purchased anything from those sites, but I have bought used books through amazon, and I have also purchased vintage clothing and jewelry through other sites/stores.
Nice table. Smaller, compact, foldable, storable, and easy to walk around while trying to get “the perfect shot”. Looking forward to seeing it in future food shots.
Best thing I ate on the weekend: red pepper humus on Mary’s Crackers.
Finds on CL / Kijiji: Trailer load of gravel (free); barely used pressure washer ($20); and picture window that we installed in our “office” at the paintball field ($40)
Craigslist is great! Good idea with the wood table, I’m lucky that our big dining room table happens to wood.
I had some lovely food this weekend including some homemade spicy west african peanut and sweet potato stew and sushi. Have a great monday! :)
We bought one of our steel case desks off of craigslist for $75 and it was in perfect condition. That was a huge deal for us!
Very nice photos. That burger looks so delicious :D
Well you turned me onto Craigslist in the first place — I’ve only used it to sell things though, no purchases.
And I think that table is perfect for what you need — and I like the slightly “weathered” look it has.
Best thing I ate/drank – Long Island Iced Tea on Friday was really good!
Tofu looks so yumm!!…. just cant wait to have carrot bites :)
Glad the weather was so nice for you on Saturday! Ours was the opposite- gorgeous Sunday, scary on Saturday. Tornadoes did touch down but not near our house (luckily!!). The table is fabulous. I purchased a coffee table on Craigs list and love it. I should go back on there and check for more potential items for the house! Best thing I did this weekend was plant my garden with Josh and my Dad. Since I’m not allowed to lift the heavy bags of soil right now, I more watched and helped every once in a while…I felt like a princess and I hate that! haha. Enjoy your Monday
Funny you should ask about CL/ebay/thrifting. I was just skulking around thrift stores and a flea market yesterday. I love vintage, love buying secondhand, and love unique deals. One of the stores I was in is actually named “Junk.” Love that.
Congrats on your table find. It’s cute! Are you going to buy some different styles of wood planks as well for photos? I’m sure any hardware store could hook you up. Maybe I should look for myself :-)
Speaking of vintage and wood, right now I’m in the market for cute drawer knobs for a dresser I’m re-finishing to look “weathered/distressed/antique.” I’m loving the way it looks already, and eager to put the finishing touches on it.
I haven’t sold much, but I have a feeling I will be doing that more in the future.
Have and awesome Monday. Xoxo!
Cute table! I need to scope out Craig’s List more.
Great table! I have a couple wooden surfaces I use for food pics…and they always turn out the best!
I am trying to buy a bike for my nephew on craigslist–it’s not that I couldn’t buy him a new one, but last year I got him one for $7 at a yard sale and now I’m having trouble thinking $70 at Target is worth it! Craigslist is convenient, but scoping out some ritzy neighborhood yard sales has also scored me major awesome kid stuff (books, games…and hardly ever used baby stuff from grandparent neighborhoods!).
Tofu looks so yumm!!…. just cant wait to have carrot bites :)
I have a table similar to that one that I use as a side table for my lounge chairs during the summer. I used to be an Ebay addict. It’s been a long time since I’ve bought anything off Ebay now.