A Unique, Renegade, Crafting Weekend Downtown

I had a fantastic weekend! Renegade Craft Fair and Unique LA took place downtown this past weekend and it was an inspiring 2 day adventure. In this post I will compare the two holiday fairs and include pictures of the booths I liked the most and of course, what I bought!

A Birthday Trip at a Big Rock

For my birthday this year, my wonderful husband surprised me with a lovely trip to Morro Bay in Central California, a little seaside town with a tiny harbor and a giant rock in the middle of the bay. The bay was, as most of California is, a treasure trove of nature’s gems and I couldn’t help picking out some of …

Twisted Trees of the Sierra Nevada Part 1: The Ancients

This past weekend, we had the most amazing camping/hiking trip ever. Specifically 6 hours north to the jaw-droppingly beautiful region of California’s Sierra Nevada, a stone’s throw away from the legendary Yosemite. In spite of being rained and hailed on during our hike, what we encountered there was to me the epitome of tree heaven. And heaven perhaps it was, …

It’s A Tomato Thing

A spontaneous midweek inspiring post. Our new garden has been very bountiful this year and we have been practically buried under giant zucchinis and the heavy tomato plants have long since abandoned their fragile cages for the ground. In the twilight of the evening yesterday I harvested a few tomatoes, some with skin wrinkled from the unrelenting sun the past …

Handmade Claypots and Shojin Cooking

I fell in culinary love this past Saturday. My new love: Donabe-cooked (Japanese clay pots) Shojin Buddhist vegan food, a traditional Japanese cuisine eaten by Buddhist monks. Naoko of Toiro Kitchen and her fabulous foodie blog hosted a donabe cooking class at her awesome hilltop home in Echo Park.  One of my most treasured kitchen items of all time (next …

Atelier Thursday: Part 2: Painting the Bay Wedding Treasure Map

Follow-up post to Part 1 here and mention here, slight change in thematic direction. Words cannot describe the beauty that is the North Carolina Core Banks and to be able to work on a special (treasure) map for a special couple on location was a tremendously wonderful experience. Giant oak trees, boat rides, beautiful shells (Inspired Monday post to come), …

Sometimes you just have to let life take over…

…we need a little seabreeze a little sunshine, a little big tree for the little muse that’s parched within us. Its been an exceedingly wonderful but busy few weeks, and I haven’t really had time to venture outside my studio. But here’s a little secret: we are planning a trip back East for a mini vacation and I am going …

Inside the Yolk

Happy Monday Folks! Due to unforeseen circumstances (ah, the realities of life and work! )I had to reschedule last Friday’s Wedding Charette to this Friday. I received some really interesting submissions that I cannot wait to get working on, so my apologies to those who have been looking forward to it, I will make it worth the wait! I am …

Wooden Spools, a Necchi and Other Flea Market Finds

Today for Inspired Monday, I am taking you on a little adventure to another time, through the flea market finds I picked up over the weekend. There were some great deals, particularly a Necchi Lycia sewing machine made in Italy in the 1960’s, complete with accessories and tools! (will post about this another time.) I love good craftsmanship and finding …

An Enchanted Walk

The wonderful thing about living in this part of LA, is the amazing little worlds we can escape to no more than 15 minutes from our doorstep.  Before I moved to this city, I never imagined that it would be ridden with hills and canyons with so much breathtaking beauty my heart aches everytime I see it. I took these …