Weekend bliss

I had the best time last weekend! It began on Friday evening with a wonderful sunset happy hour with some friends in my backyard. I love starting the weekend off with friends, a little wine, and an unbelievable sunset! There's no better way to transition into sheer relaxation for the weekend!

Although the sunset was diffused pastels because of the clouds, instead of vibrant hues when it's sunnier out, it was still stunning! And the temperatures were pretty warm with just a hint of a warm breeze. My backyard is generally accosted by a huge wind factor, so it's really nice to be outside without that chilling wind!

Not bad for an impromptu pot luck! Do you think we need more booze?

Then on Saturday, we had friends over for a dinner that Mr. R cooked in honor of my birthday. I am still basking in the fact that I didn't have to lift a finger! Well, no bones were broken, anyways...

Sorry, no pics of the dinner party. I am terrible at remembering to take pictures! I'm trying to get better, though, I promise!

Sunday morning, Mr. R usually gets up very early and heads south to surf at San Onofre with some friends. This Sunday I jumped up not long after he did, and headed to the Irvine Antique Market. If you know me, you know that this is one of my favorite things to do! To scour all those booths, people watch, and find those hidden treasures is the most fun that I know how to have!

A precious snippet of history, no?

I never realized this before, but I think I must have an obsession with body parts! And what's up with her neck? It's just a little longer than normal...

I love what you're wearing!

Hello, Cowboy!

Poor guy never had a chance... gross!

Happy Trails

See? More body parts.

Isn't this fantastic?

Seriously, I'm so happy she was somebody's muse! Who would have guessed?

The whole time browsing and shopping, these guys play some great music, really creating a festive atmosphere! I love it!

Now that I'm back to the rigors of the work week, back to doing laundry, cleaning toilets and picking up after my dog and my kids, it sure was great to have such a lovely, inspired weekend. So, I wonder what's going on next weekend?

Butterflies are not free

Remember these 4 amazing butterfly chairs that I scored at the Long Beach Antique Market a while ago? I was so excited to find 4 of them together! You can read my post here.

I had literally been searching for these beauties for years. Oh sure, you can find them here and there, but they are always over-priced and usually you can only find one at a time. So, when I found these, I set straight away to sanding and painting them black. I also tried to salvage the existing covers, not because I was in love with the blue denim, it was strictly a matter of cost.

I sewed some of the pieces back together, tried to reinforce some of the seams, but alas, to no avail. The second one of our big-guy friends sat in one, it ripped and nearly landed him on his butt. Can you spell lawsuit?


I definitely needed to get some new covers. Those old denim ones were just not going to hold up anymore. After all, they are probably over 35 years old, not that there's anything wrong with that!

Being the thrift-master that I am, I looked at some different websites, and on ebay to find the best deal out there. Back in January, one of my favorite blogs called, The Brick House, posted how her friends at Circa50 gave her a bunch of butterfly slings for free (they usually run from $50 - $65 each at Circa50!). Hmmm, I guess it pays to have thousands of followers! But seeing that nobody was emailing me to give me free stuff, I had to go the cheaper route. Besides, what's that old saying about "nothing is ever free."? Yea well, I'm not going to fall into that old trap! Ha!

I found a company called Unique Contemporary Solutions on ebay, and ended up paying a little over $25 each. They didn't have white, so I opted for the natural.

And I am extremely happy to report that my chairs look beautiful! See?

And that view's not bad, either!

A couple of Ikea pillows later, and I am pretty happy with the results! Ok, I'm a little worried that the slings are too tight on the bottom, but they should stretch out, right?

Oh, and the bonus was, as I was puttzing around and fiddling with the covers, the goats were calling to me from the canyon below! Aren't they cute?

Birthday bashing

Today's my birthday, and let me tell you, I'm not getting any younger. I guess we are all traveling down the same path. Some just seem to be traveling at a very different rate than I seem to be barreling down. And what's the prize at the end? Gray hair, achy joints and fallen arches? Aging isn't for the frail!

But today is a good day. I am really just another day older, just like every other day that I wake up. The old AA saying, "One day at a time", sort of rings true under this circumstance. Because any day that you can pry open your eyes, hoist yourself out of bed, and face the world head on, is a great day. Life is good, and it's always full of surprises. I love surprises, don't you?

In honor of my birthday, some friends took me out to lunch. It's a real treat to be with people who make you laugh, and who you want to make laugh! It's a real delight to know wonderful people. I am truly grateful for my friends.

We ate at a Vietnamese restaurant in Costa Mesa, called East Borough. Oh my gosh, it was so damn good! I ordered the Grapefruit Lemongrass, which was a delish salad with sesame chicken, red cabbage, shredded carrots, a wonderful mix of grapefruit, peanuts and toasted shallots and cilantro on top. I ate every morsel! I couldn't help myself!

It was that good!

But of course, I forgot to take pics before I ate the entire meal! Sorry, you'll just have to imagine how gorgeous the dish looked, just like you have to imagine how yummy it was, too.

My friend said her salad was amazing, but she just eats much slower than I do.

The beef stew with baguette, Vietnamese style, was tasty, too.

So, happy birthday to me! And may the years keep sneaking up from behind and passing me by. I know that sounds weird, it would be great if things would slow down a little, but that's not likely. I just want to embrace getting older, stay somewhat optimistic about the whole deal. I hope that I can always enjoy the simple things, those little daily surprises that life keeps hurling at me. Because, for me, that's what makes it all worthwhile. And like I said before, I'm not getting any younger, this may just be as good as it gets.

2.14.11

two hearts

I am a romantic at heart. But somehow I just am not completely behind Hallmark's holiday, Valentine's Day. Sure, I love a wonderful, mouth-watering, chocolaty piece of dark confection, but gushing over $5 pre-written cards, or flowers from out front of the local grocery store is just not my style.

Even though Mr. R and I have been together for close to a third of a century, I never expect FTD, or Tiffany's to pull up to my house on February 14th. I guess my cynical side must be just as prominent as my romantic side.

But here's the thing. There is so much pain and misery on our small planet. So much sadness that people have to deal with on a daily basis. I think that any holiday that is all about love and sharing really can't be all that bad. I mean, it's a good thing to focus on the people you love most, because I know for me, it's too easy to take those people for granted.

So, no more bah humbug Valentine's Days for me. I'm going to celebrate loving and sharing with my  friends and family. I'll give someone a hug today, and then go get myself a piece of my favorite chocolate, too. After all, life and love can only gets better with chocolate.

Wishing you all a very happy Valentine's Day.

Art Squared

My neighbor, Rosalind, is a boardmember of LOCA ( Laguna Outreach for Community Arts). Yesterday afternoon she sabotaged me, and somehow got me to commit to a watercolor class called Art Squared, where all of the finished pieces will be donated to an auction that will help fund their programs. I like to think of myself as kind of an artist, but truth be told, I haven't picked up any type of paintbrush in years! I did, however, take a watercolor class in my younger years. But that was a looong time ago! If I break my age down into dog-years, maybe it won't make me sound quite so old.

Ditching the kids, (they don't start school until 10:30 on Thursdays!) I walked down the street to her house. But as the instruction began, I could feel the too high expectations and panic start to well up deep within. Like I said, I think of myself in an artsy way but the reality is, I'm not an artist! And frankly,  I'm pretty terrible!

Roger goes back to the basics

But the instructors were great, both of them are artists who show at the Festival of Arts, and really make a living by selling their work. Roger Folk began by refreshing us on the color wheel and color values. Thankfully, I remembered some of those terms! Then Jacquie Moffet finished up with ideas for compositions and more info on applications of different techniques. Then it was our turn to somehow turn their instructions into an actual painting.

Jacquie hold up a photo as Roger shows how it's done

It didn't take long to remember why I loved painting so much as a kid! It was really frustrating at times, but really exhilarating and inspiring, too!

Matilija Poppy, or Fried Egg Flower

Believe me, I know that my work is not great, but just knowing that I finished a piece was seriously, very encouraging. Hours went by like minutes, the way they always do when you're in that creative place. With  lots of hand holding and talking me down from scary places, Jacquie and Roger helped me find something that had to be dusted off after years of neglect. Maybe I'll have to take another class sometime. There's always room for improvement.

DIY? Heck no, YDI (You-Do-It)! Pulleeeeze?

Courtesy of HGTV

Why wasn't I born a do-it-yourselfer? I love the idea of being handy, but when I try a DIY project  everything something always gets lost in translation. I recently saw a video with Dan Faires from HGTV's Design Star that made me think about giving another shot at being a DIYer. Although the coffee table I've been dreaming about is much more streamlined, more modern, this is so close, it just could be the "one". And to be able to make it myself? I think I hear the beginning of a hum of an angel or two! AHHH, can you hear it?

But nearly every project that I attempt leads to some sort of disaster. Remember that folding screen fiasco? And if I'm not smart handy enough to be a DIYer, couldn't I have at least married one? I mean, I really try not to be, but I am so jealous of these women who dream up all of these fantastical ideas, only to have their very own Mr. R's build houses made of cotton balls, or planters made of popsicle sticks, or firebowls made of cement (now, that one I totally want!) Ah well, good for them, I say!

So, I guess I'll just keep thinking up my own fantastical ideas, and maybe someday I'll bump into Dan Faires or some other lucky handy-man in a dark alley... the rest will be history. The evidence will be the new coffee table in my living room!

Great walls

When I was visiting the home and garden of Hortense Miller last week, it dawned on me to begin to look at things with a "fresh" eye. Hortense was such an inspiration! She lived an amazingly creative life, between her gardening, her artistry, and the way she put her home together. And that bamboo fence that she designed and built triggered the idea for this post.

With camera in hand, off I went trying to see normal things in a new or different way. I started taking photos of walls and fences around town. I fell in love with the way shadows are cast from the vertical or horizontal slats, and the mid century style to some concrete walls. It's pretty crazy that when you finally look at something in a new way, everything about it begins to look interesting! 

I love this mid century pattern!

Shadow play.

Laguna's version of the stone wall.

Afternoon sunlight creates interesting shadows.

Rustic charm.

Some of these images are Laguna landmarks. Just for fun, can you name any of these locations?