Fresh Paint

Just had my first taste of Fresh Paint. Digital finger painting! Very therapeutic.

Harvest Box

A few months back I discovered the wonders of the harvest box, a weekly offering of fresh, organic, locally-grown produce.

How can food this beautiful fail to inspire all sorts of yummy creations? 

I love the way the selection changes with the seasons & introduces me to new flavors & textures too. Suddenly I’m craving once foreign veggies like jicama & kabocha squash.

I get my harvest boxes from Rutiz Farms. Shopping at their outdoor stand feels way better than visiting a supermarket. They even post recipes in their newsletter, which is how I know that balsamic roasted kabocha squash is awesome!

Look at all the goodies I found in my box last week!

Feelin' girly.....

I had a kind of girly weekend.

Maybe listening to friend's relationship snafu's had me feeling glad to be free & single (not that I always feel that way ~ if Prince Charming's listening I'm wiggling my toes here.....), or maybe it's the sunny weather & my garden bursting into bloom, or all the gorgeous spring colors I've been scrolling through over on Tumblr, but I found myself embracing my inner girl.....& it felt pretty good.

I painted my nails pale pink, tracked down a decadant cupcake.....O.K., two :  ) & made some new bracelets with spring in mind. Check them out here.

Fresh goods: Pacific Eco Rings!

When we were kids on the way home from school we would find bits of telephone wire left behind by electricians working on the phone lines. 

It was like finding treasure. 





The scraps were brightly colored, & we would twist the wires & make things out of them, though I can't recall what we made.

I recently came across a bunch of recycled telephone wire, & found that I am still charmed by it's soft flexibility & wide array of stripey colors.  

I've designed a series of rings that I'm pretty excited about.



The soft matte finish of the coated wire has a comfy look & feel reminiscent of a sweater, & the stripes even fade with wear like a well loved garment.

Some rings are completely matte, while others feature a shiny bit of glass, stone, or shell.

Either way, they offer a soft, casual alternative to super shiny bling. 

Think jeans, sweaters, flannel.....
comfort.

I had a great time pairing the many(!) wire colors with accents to create a wide assortment of looks from

earthy & natural,

to soft retro color,

to bright jewel tones.
 




Did I mention that they combine & stack well!? 



Or that you can feel good about wearing them because they are handmade (by me!) in California from recycled telephone wire, 

& 10% of profits will be donated to the Surfrider Foundation!




The only problem I'm having is narrowing my choices, so I'm asking for your input. 

Swing by my website to check out the full collection, pick a few of your favorites, & post them in a comment at the bottom of this post.

(I did warn you that there are a lot of choices, right?) 

At the end of May I'll draw a name from the comments & send the lucky winner a single ring of their choice.

I'll even start! My favorite is Agave Nectar

.....but I keep stacking the others in so many combinations 

(ooooh, like Indian Summer with Green Hornet) that I think I need them all.....  

Enjoy, & thanks for your feedback!

A bit of botany

 

Archival quality prints available here

Pirates, Waves, & Fire.....

 Black ball!? Arrrrr!

Whoosh!

Despite Bonfire's warnings, 

a young campfire sets out to explore.....

8" x 8" prints available here.

Wildflowers for days!

Last week I ventured out to Cottonwood Canyon on California's central coast. The hills were alive with intense color. Hop onboard for a virtual drive..... 

As we approached the canyon we began to see colors.  

First yellow,

then orange.

Soon entire hills were covered

 













right next to us,

and on the hills in the distance.

We were surrounded

by brilliant colors.

 













 the entire landscape

seemed surreal.

Scenes from Central Coast Cali Christmas

  I took a sunset walk on Christmas.

   We don't have White Christmases here.

We've got color!