Blog trolling

When I don't have much to do, I troll blogs. It's become an obsession, really. But sometimes what you find is the most inspired, inventive, creative blogs and these guys  are sharing all of their great ideas with you, well, me.

And what kind of friend would I be if I didn't pass on these wonderful finds? I found this on a blog I stumbled upon called A Cup of Jo. And the funny thing is, she actually found it on it's rightful owners' blog called Abstract City. Abstract City is the brainchild of artist Christoph Niemann. He's an illustrator who has been featured in all sorts of noteworthy magazines, such as The New Yorker, Newsweek, and the New York Times Magazine just to name a few.

I couldn't resist passing on his brilliance. I hope you enjoy it!

Let It Dough!

What's wrong with my tree?

A month or so ago I found this silver aluminum Christmas tree at the swap meet. After dickering with the price, I paid my cash and off I went, the proud new owner of this cool vintage find. I was sooo happy! So, I put up the tree while Mr. R was at work and the kids were at school. They never help much anyways, so I just figured I'd take care of it. Well, they all hate my tree! I was shocked! Ok, it's not in the best shape. It's got a wooden dowel for the trunk, not the original silver covered trunk. And it's got kind of a weird skinny shape to it, and the branches have definitely seen better days. But in it's own vintage way, it's got a lot of charm! My family wanted me to take it down, but luckily everybody was too busy this year to go get another tree. So it stayed!

Very cute, right?

I like my silly tree! Check out my vintage ornament collection.

I've had this one since I was a kid

This is the first and probably the last Christmas with my vintage tree (sigh).
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Couldn't get enough? Good, there's so much more!

This is going to be a photofest of the garden that I visited with my friend Janine who has a cool blog called Laguna Dirt. Check out my last post so that you're up to speed!

Like I said, around every corner, and in every nook & cranny there were such cool vintage, flea market finds. Each treasure added so much to Mark and Cindy Evan's garden, highlighting their cool aesthetic. We had a hard time keeping our jaws off the ground, and not gushing at every detail!

The front door. I love how it's ajar, just waiting to welcome friends!

Vintage Mexican folk art horse

I don't think that I could pick one favorite detail. Each item adds so much to this whimsical garden.

I adore the mix of Mexicana with the religious icons

Can you ever have too many donkeys pulling carts? No way!

I think I would pot lots of plants in this potting shed!

Who's that knocking on the door?

Oh, and there is the sweetest courtyard off the kitchen and living room, the tile and fountain are all original to this 1920's casa. It's almost too much for me to take!

Frogs with sombreros, of course!

The perfect sunny spot for the Virgin Mary

Very inviting... iced tea, please.

I'll be dreaming about this garden from now on, and thinking of ways I can infuse creativity into my own garden.

Cool art, too!

 Can picture yourself sun worshipping on this bench? Ah...

I could easily spend another few hours in the Evans' garden, taking pictures and admiring what they've done. It truly is a work of art!

Mexican themed Laguna garden

My friend Janine Robinson has a great garden blog called Laguna Dirt. In her quest for cool gardens around town, I thought I'd introduce her to some friends. I knew she would love Mark and Cindy Evans' amazing garden. So we went by one day, and Cindy just happened to be out tending her garden. We asked if it would be ok if we could come back with a camera so that Janine could take some pics. And after chatting for awhile, and us drooling over all of their wonderful vintage finds, she agreed!

What's behind the gate?

 A few days later, I tagged along when Janine went back to take lots of shots of the garden and to talk to Mark and Cindy a little about their space. Their garden is the stuff of myths. Every inch, and around every corner are wonderful vintage Mexican and religious themed statues and trinkets that leave you feeling nostalgic, and very lucky to be in their space. Sheer bliss.

It's all about the details in this garden.

Aren't those flamingos fabulous?

We stayed for hours! Wandering around and through their large garden, following paths that lead to patios and sun drenched nooks. Everywhere you looked were more cool flea market treasures. 

The colors and textures made this garden so interesting!

Adorable donkey with cacti

Cindy's dad made this St. Francis of Assisi for her, per her instructions

Very cool, right?

A sleeping deck off the main house, the bed is behind the closed blinds on the right.

This Mamasita and her piglets guard the front window

More to drool over

Another Mamasita

Cindy's dad also made this cigar smoking dude.

I have so many more pics to share! I'll have to do another post...

So this is Christmas?

I am chuckling to myself right now. Just when the Christmas spirit was nearly within my grasp, the weather shifts, and today it was 80 degrees outside! As the rest of the country hunkers down in their winter woolens and down comforters, we here in sunny So. Cal are throwing open the windows in search of a faint breeze. How crazy is that?

Christmas heats up!

I'm sure that holiday feeling will come back, but how do you expect to hang the stockings over the fireplace when you're breaking out in a sweat? I guess that growing up in New England doesn't help with the cold weather in December expectations either. I mean isn't it supposed to at least be below 70? It is December after all!

Christmas vs. consumerism

Ok, so that forcing myself into the Christmas spirit thing is not working out. It never really does, and I don't know why I thought this year would be any different.

Every year I wonder why we frustrate and overwhelm ourselves in the spirit of the holidays. And every year we do it again, and again, until we either die, go completely insane, or maybe more sanely, throw our hands up in the air and shout Uncle.

Do the people we love, and who love us back, really believe that if they don't get the most fabulous presents, that there is no love?

Maybe you can tell that the holidays are a bit of a struggle for me. And this year is no different. In fact, it's probably even trickier than ever. Why you ask? Well, let's just keep it at that, it's tricky.

So, what's the answer to keeping this holiday simple, yet enthusiastic and full of love? What is the real Christmas spirit all about? Does consumerism dictate if we are in the Christmas spirit or not?

One thing about this time of year here in Laguna is that the sunsets are amazing! Appreciation for these color infused sunsets is where I've been finding some inspiration these days.

Squid boats at sunset

Simple pleasures, isn't that what's really important? 

Sunset after the storm

The Dalai Lama posted some wise words on his Facebook page today. It's true! I know, you have to laugh that the Dalai Lama is updating his status, right?

He said, "I am especially encouraged to see that thinking of consumerism as an end in itself seems to be giving way to an appreciation that we humans must conserve the earth's resources."

Smart guy. I'm going to try to try out simplicity this year. Maybe I'll have more luck getting into the spirit of that.