Head in the Clouds - Series 2

As I mentioned earlier this week, I have been really enjoying some nice walks around our neighborhood lately. I live in a very urban area of Los Angeles. One block west and one block north of me are major congested streets and intersections. Which is why I love these pictures even more. There is so much nature beauty around us and it allows me to escape the noise at any moment. The first picture is of a Saucer Magnolia tree that has forever looked like it does not have the will to live. But every year it comes back with beautiful blossoms. This year we have only a couple so far, but I believe, I believe....

The next picture is of one of our neighbors duplex. I feel like I'm in another country with this picture. You can't hear the horns honking and the leaf blowers blowing. It seems so serene.

A little bit of love...

I came home to such a wonderful surprise this afternoon. There was package outside my door. I was racking my brain to try to remember if I had ordered anything...dog flea treatment, diapers... you know, all of the exciting stuff.
But to my pleasure it was chocolates. Look at these beauties! They are from my sister and brother-in-law and were for my birthday. To make the deal even sweeter there were 2lbs of coffee beans also. I was wondering why she called me to ask if I had a coffee grinder and if I could tell her a good brand to buy. I said, "ours is great. It was 10 bucks and has lasted us years and years." I should have been on to her.





Another wonderful start to my day was that I was blogged about. woohoo!! It's this really cool blog where she features some of her favorite items. My necklace was mentioned as a great engagement gift (and I do agree). The blog is called Pampering Beki. Check it out. This is the necklace that she featured. "My Heart Belongs to..." I will be updating my shop tomorrow with some great Valentine's gift ideas. Some special pieces for our French speaking and Spanish speaking dears.

Fresh Produce

I had the best day today. This morning I got to sit and drink my coffee and look through cookbooks for at least 20 while my son played with his trains and race cars in the window. The street was covered with fog but the light was shining through. I'm not sure that I can convey the joy that this simple experience brings. It was the calmness of everything going on around me. On top of it all there was the anticipation of beautiful day at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market. We have the best farmer's market in the United States. I limit it to the states because I don't want to exaggerate. Italy has the best farmer's markets in the world. Ok, so ours is second only to Italy. Not a bad place to be. I look forward to it every week. This week I got some new things. That little lemon there is not what you are used to. It is a sweet Persian Lemon. So SWEET! It is sweeter than an orange. But, it's a lemon. It's the strangest thing. Not one bit of tart or acidity. Sweet, super sweet... I can't wait to eat it. The second new thing I got was a pomelo. That's the really large grapefruit-like fruit. Again, it is so sweet. It's pink inside and has a flavor a little like a grapefruit, but it's not bitter. It's sweet. So, my theme today is sweet, I guess. The swiss chard and carrots are beautiful also. I bought so much stuff today. I can't wait to eat it all. While we were shopping James ate 1 orange, 1 apple, 1 carrot, 2 pieces of broccoli, and 1 piece of persimmon. He thinks the farmer's market is a buffet. I guess it's better for him than a chinese food buffet.

Head in the Clouds - Series 1

I call this "Taking a breath".

I finally got my iPod fixed, so I have been taking some very nice walks around my neighborhood lately listening to none other than Imogen Heap. I really love winter in Los Angeles. It's about the only time all year that we get rain and the trees and flowers just perk right up. On my walk this morning I met a "daytime moth". I doubt this is the technical name, but it works. She took a dive right at me a couple times and then I realized how beautiful she was. Typical little lady saying "look at me!". It was amazing! This little moth just sat there for a few minutes and let me get so close and take some wonderful pictures. I particularly like these because I am very fond of "The Mighty Sycamore", as Dave calls it. I'm sure there will be many more images of "The Mighty Sycamore". It helps that I live on Sycamore Ave and the street is completely lined with sycamores.

My Etsy Finds

I am so excited about the new prints I recently acquired from a wonderful Etsy seller Studio Mela (aka DazeyChic). Not only is Shelli super talented, she also shares a birthday with me. So, happy birthday to us!



I love the sweet and simple design of these prints. I framed and matted them and am still trying to figure out a great arrangement for all of our artwork. We are continually adding pieces and for a while I was just hanging them up where ever there was a space to hang it. But now we have too much great stuff to showcase that I can't keep doing it that way. So, all of the artwork and photographs have come off the wall to allow me to rethink our layout. I've been making trips to the framing store about every other day trying to figure out mats and frames and so on... I will be posting some other great artwork in the next few days. I was so fortunate to receive a really beautiful piece for Christmas from Dave. Ok, so check back as I unveil my sources for great art.

Some more stuff to come this week:
*A preview of my new photography series "Head in the Clouds". Anyone curious about winter in Los Angeles.
*My newest art pieces and some of my favorite artists
*A before and after picture of my "studio".

I created a treasury list on Etsy

Here it is. My studio wish list....

Front Page on Etsy

Thank you so much to Organic Beginings for featuring me in her treasury. Here is the beautiful treasury that made it to the front page on Etsy. Mine is the turquoise umbrella pendant at the bottom. It is actually in 2 treasuries at the moment (Etsy-speak).


Here is a beautiful scarf by Organic Beginings that, when purchased, proceeds will be donated to Dawn's Sons Fund. This was knitted out of bamboo wool. That's so cool!