Finding Found

Found Home, Chatham

Found Home front

There probably aren’t any shops that aren’t charming when you walk down the street in Chatham, Massachusetts (where I spent some time this summer) but a new one, Found Home, opened this year that captured my interest every time I walked by it.

Found Home exterior

And every day as I passed there was something new to behold in front of the grey-shingled little cottage. There have been kilm rugs hung across the picket fence...vintage dining tables on the patio...an old trunk ...a push lawnmower left unmoved, hidden amongst the flowers.

I was intrigued and when I finally had a chance to stop in to explore I knew immediately that this shop was the making of someone with lots of style. There were contemporary couches and antique tables, unique clocks and old trunks, pillows covered in airy patterns, vintage posters and framed old maps. But what really captivated me was how it was all put together.

Jen Runnels

It all made sense when I met Jen Runnels, the owner. She is a designer, painter, photo stylist, and she capitvates you with her passion to collect unique and special pieces.

New Martini

New Martini Chatham

Jen features Sal del Mar in her shop and so it seemed the perfect opportunity to do a photo shoot together.  She magically stylized several vignettes with Sal de Margarita using her found objects. Surrounded by vintage candlesticks, a sterling tray and martini shaker, Sal del Margarita takes center stage for an invitation for entertaining ideas.

Bloody Mary on a silver tray

A Bloody Mary rimmed with a mix of Sal del Mar and black pepper is served on a sterling silver tray.  One of Jen’s finds of a vintage boat plan by Gifford Jackson provides the perfect setting.  The tray is an antique of sterling silver; the bench is reclaimed wood made by a Conneticut craftsman.

20's and 30's barware

New Martini at  Found Home

A  “new martini” made with a Reposado tequila, a twist of lemon, crushed ice, rimmed with Sal de Mar and shaken in a nickel-plated Napier shaker called the Foursome, the tray by Ralph Lauren. The Demi-lune chest is by designer Gibert Rohde for Herman Miller furniture from the 30s.

Jen is always dreaming up new ways daily to group together her "finds" to create different looks.  Check out Found Home for a new approach to design!

In the Mind's Eye

I have a new camera (a Nikon D5100 that I bought from Willy at Bromfield Camera in Boston) and I remember now how much I love a “real camera,”  I know that the camera on my i phone takes good photos but most of them are the result of pure luck because I usually can’t really see what I’m seeing because it is too dark or too light. And I call them “photos,” not photographs.

On one of my first days out with my Nikon I wanted to shoot everything I saw. It was a foggy morning as my husband, Phillip, and I strolled Lighthouse Beach in Chatham, Massachusetts.  I loved the even light and couldn’t stop taking photographs of the seagulls, the waves, the sand or anything that moved. This photograph of Phillip and Jessie was the result of one of twenty others just like it. I couldn’t stop taking them.

One of my favorite moments was Yoga On The Beach, a morning ritual in Chatham. My daughter, Stacy, is the one in the back row center with a pink towel and navy jacket.

It was amazing to have a “real camera” again. I began to see things. I even saw the flipflops left in the sand by the people walking on the beach and doing sun salutations.

I’m sure I have walked past the flipflops hundreds of times on our walks on the beach but never really saw them.

Well, I said I was seeing everything!  I only took two if the shark sign, but when I got home later I saw that I had taken 326 photographs that first morning with my new Nikon.  I love it and now I’m inspired to write more blogs.

Holiday Time in Mexico

Our first Sal del Mar “tasting” held in Mexico was a big hit. It took place at the Sagitario gift shop in San Carlos, Sonora, a Mexican port town on the Sea of Cortez, near where we harvest our flavorful Sal del Mar sea salt.

The best part of the Sagitario “tasting” was when Vivian Arellano-Bennett brought us a box of Chocolate Holiday Bark candy she made using Sal del Mar as “snow.” Her recipe is an interpretation of an Ina Garten recipe and it was amazing. I must admit, I was a bit wary... even though salted chocolates and carmel are very popular, I just wasn’t sure how I would like chocolate and salt together. But what I discovered is that Sal del Mar brings out a new dimension of flavor in chocolate. It's an easy recipe and a way to pair Sal del Mar with a box of homemade chocolates for the holidays. In fact, the Editor at House Beautiful chose Sal del Mar as one of her favorite gourmet gifts to give this holiday season!

Here's the recipe...

Chocolate Holiday Bark with Sal del Mar Snow Adapted from an Ina Garten 2007 recipe. Prep time: 15 min Inactive Prep time: 2 hrs Cook Time: 10 min Serves: 24 pieces

Ingredients:  8 ounces very good semisweet chocolate, finely chopped 8 ounces very good bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped 1 cup whole pistachios, chopped 1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped Sal del Mar, to taste and sight

Directions:  On parchment paper, using a ruler and a pencil, draw a 9 by 10-inch rectangle on the paper. Turn the paper face down on a baking sheet pan. Melt the two chocolates in a heatproof bowl, metal or glass, set over a pan of simmering water. Pour the melted chocolate over the paper and spread to form a rectangle, using the outline. Sprinkle the nuts and cranberries over the chocolate. Finish by sprinkling Sal del Mar over the chocolate, nuts and cranberries.  Set aside for 2 hours until firm. Cut the bark in 1 x 3” pieces and serve at room temperature.

Helpful hints: The water in the pan should not be boiling under the bowl. Keep the water just simmering. Chocolate does not like oil or water.  Make certain your bowl is clean and dry.  When you remove the bowl with the melted chocolate from the pan of simmering water, give the under side of the bowl a quick wipe with a dry cloth or paper towel so it doesn't drip onto your paper-lined pan when you are pouring out the chocolate.