renegade craft fair

I'll be spending my Saturday working at our booth for the Renegade Craft Fair. I attended last year's show and am looking forward to seeing some old friends, as well as meeting some artists and designers whose work I really admire.

vintage (literally!)

While cleaning out her cupboards, my grandmother came across some old bottles of wine. Figuring that since she wasn't a big drinker, she should pass them along to someone who might actually enjoy drinking them - her son, my father, who in turn gave them to my sister, who then gave them to me. When she pulled them out of her suitcase, I nearly fell off my chair laughing. I can't find a year on any of the bottles, but my guess is that they are easily as old as I am. From a design perspective, I love the labels, so I am excited to have something pretty to add to our every growing booze collection (but no, we are not going to actually drink them!).



Andre (below) is my favorite.

rodeo beach/battery townsley

On a beautiful Sunday in Marin, Jeff and I took a hike at Rodeo Beach in the headlands. On the second Sunday of every month, free tours are given of Battery Townsley, a historic World War II bunker a short walk from the beach. Apparently, they also used to test nuclear devices at the site as well. In any event, on a nice day its a great place to go for a walk and enjoy a tuna sandwich.

hearst castle: it's all in the details

Here are some of my favorite details from my visit to Hearst Castle - the faces (above) were my favorite.

hearst castle: interiors

It was fairly dark inside Hearst Castle (and no flash photography permitted) so my interior shots are pretty limited. I especially enjoyed the breathtaking tiled Roman pool (above), as well as the elaborate ceilings of the Assembly room (below):

...dining room:

...guest house:

...and billiard room.

hearst castle

I'm on a quest to explore and experience more of California. There's really no good reason why I havn't seen more of the state - it's only been my home for the last thirty-one years. On the top of the list was Hearst Castle, the elaborate home of newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst. Designed by architect Julia Morgan, the castle was never completely finished and is now property of the state. I took 83 photos during our hour and a half tour - that's about one a minute. I have way too much for just one post, so stay tuned for the interiors and details.





Visit my Flickr page for even more photos.

bishop's peak

The two-some mile hike up Bishop's Peak gives you a pretty fantastic view over the city of San Luis Obsipo. I ate some Doritos at the top.



See more photos here.

you know you've made it when:

I spent the weekend in Avila Beach (just south of San Luis Obsipo) with my aunt, uncle and two cousins. They moved to Avila about ten years ago from LA and I don't think they've regretted the decision for a second. Not only is Avila a beautiful beach town, but the site of their home encourages me to keep working.

Inspired by past visits to Mexico, and future trips to Spain and Morocco, the house is full of iron, tile and ceramic details.




Junior (above) was a gracious tour guide.

everyday

How lovely would it be to wake up to this message in the morning? Jeff and I planned our week poorly and havn't seen each other since Monday. Poo.
Via this is glamorous and available here.

the uniform project

The proprietress of The Uniform Project pledges to wear the same dress for one year (she does have seven of them) in order to raise money for uniforms for schoolchildren in India. Her exercise in sustainable fashion is documented daily.