The Holidays are wrapping up and I am focusing on Spring at work. I came across this picture of a pair of winter wonderland paper shoes from last year. I think they are a good last image of this holiday season. I look forward to all the potential adventures of the coming year!

Curiouser and curiouser...
Alice knelt down and looked along the passage into the loveliest garden you ever saw...
Just in time for the new Alice in Wonderland; this little Shadow Box is your entry into Wonderland!

Available in my etsy shop.

Merry Christmas!!! The holidays bring lots of excitement, wonder and magic, and this Christmas was no exception. Of course there are several Holiday traditions I cherish, such as dressing up and going to High Tea and celebrating with loved ones, but this year making gifts was at the top of my list. I must say that Aaron surprised me with several beautiful handmade gifts including a fairy tale and this incredible shadow box. I am so lucky!!!!

He also wins boyfriend of the year award for subscribing to Felissimo's 500 pencil project. A set of 25 colored pencils will arrive every month for the next 20 months!!!! Here is the first set!
I made Aaron a shadow box in this display case. Two wax rabbits in a thistle grove...

Great Gifts for the Holidays

Christmas is almost here!!! I thought I'd share some amazing and unusual finds if you still have to do some last minute shopping...

I love these shadow puppets by IsabellasArt. I assure you they will conjure magic for every bedtime story!

French enamel plaques and this fabulous faux bois box from Duchess & Bird.

And for the guys on your list, check out these amazing screen printed ties from Toybreaker on Etsy!

Buckeyes, Biscuits, and Oolong

A storm is on the horizon and what better way to spend the day than decorating your christmas tree, making buttermilk biscuits and drinking tea!?! Of course the biscuits had little room to cool as we are drying these California buckeye pods on our kitchen table. These trees are plentiful here and their pods, although poisonous if eaten, harden to a beautiful ball of wood!

Can't wait to see this on Tuesday!

Fresh Produce at Anno Domini

Went to Anno Domini's Fresh Produce sale last night. This year's selection was incredible! I came home with a Crystal Morey piece (below). I hung her this morning with a few of my other favorite pieces.

I also fell in love with this piece by Daniel Jesse Lewis.

There were artists from all over the world, and I came home with pieces from Oakland based artists! Hopefully next year's show is as wonderful.

I am in love with I Love Macarons! I bought this today at Anthro. The instructions seem straightforward and are accompanied by wonderful images. Best of all its in English! Will post pics as I make the recipes!

With holiday install wrapping up at work, and Thanksgiving rapidly approaching I remembered (with a twinge of panic) that I needed to fill the advent calendar for Nad and Mi before December 1st. This is the third Christmas I've filled the calendar for the girls, and I have no doubts that it will continue to be loved and used until it finally gives out. It is after all only made of paper...

I love the idea of a tiny surprise waiting to be discovered. As a child, the anticipation of what I might find tomorrow felt like a best kept secret. As an adult I love to share in this excitement with Nad and Mi. We try to fill the calendar with something other than plastic junk with Hannah Montana's face plastered all over it, so I picked out some alternative treasures:

*glow in the dark wind animals because Nad is all about animal facts

*chocolate coins, a holiday must and favorite of both girls

*wooden necklaces to string, because above all we girls love to craft

* puffy butterfly stickers

* rubber stamps (of animals)

Our advent calendar was made of large matchboxes cut in half then compiled into a "chest of drawers" like format. Its was pretty simply and fun to embellish. Here are some other great advent calendar ideas I love...

from purlbee

from country living magazine

from canadian family

Really, the sky is the limit. This would also be a great thing to do with a partner too. I made a birthday advent calendar for Aaron and he still looks at it 3 years later.

The Holidays are here at Anthropologie! Paper poofs tumble overhead. Look closely; I am in there somewhere!

Funnels holding handmade ornaments sprout from wood stumps...


Little lamps on birch trees light the way for customers...

snowballs for sale, 5 cents each...

How many inches of snow this year? And a Holiday window to come....

Taller Than Trees Film

I love this film by Joseph Mann...

Taller Than Trees from Joseph Mann on Vimeo.

Bright Star

Anthro just launched a new website called the anthropologist where they have film clips, images and writings from people who inspire...

Listed is the new film from Jane Campion, Bright Star. I found this clip on imdb that is just beautiful and magical.

Girls Night

Friday night it was just me and the girls. We played games, made paper poofs in orange and black for Halloween, and most successful was our chocolate project. The girls picked out chocolate molds and we spent nearly an hour mixing colored chocolate, painting the molds and creating white chocolate frogs and teddy bears in all colors.


Its a quick and easy project to do with kids as little as two or three. Even better, both girls were occupied and happy and I was able to sit with them and make white chocolate leaves while they carefully chose their palette and discussed when the candies would be ready to eat. We had so much fun!

Autumn

Autumn is without a doubt my favorite time of year. The shadows are long, the light is golden and there is a sharp crispness to the air. Ruby reds, oranges and golden hues arrive in the color of fallen leaves and winter produce. For me, October clearly marks the transition into cool mornings and cozy evenings at home. Halloween in my favorite holiday and I look forward to preparing a Thanksgiving meal. 

This weekend we went to the John Muir house in Martinez and the grounds were full unkempt orchards of forgotten fruit trees. Old withering grape vines crept low to the ground, their gnarled trunks winding toward one another.  Quince and apple trees laden with fruit drooped with the burden of their bounty. Toward the back of the property, old fig trees reached upward, their limbs bejeweled with ripe figs. I liberated a few of these fall fruits and brought them home to paint. Coupled with rose hips from a roadside bush, I thought these two plants were the epitome of what Autumn has to share. 

I look forward to spending this time of year cooking with my family, making jam and photographing my favorite season.

Fall Window at Anthro

The new Fall window is up and is all about local travel... 

The map on the window surface is actually of Berkeley!

I layered in details of things I like to do in the Bay Area. Of course, all of these details have some reference to my favorite eateries!

A Wedding Gift

My good friend Alicia married her Parisian beau and I wanted to give her something that was special and unique for her.  She is not someone who I imagined swooning over creating a registry and I thought that I could gift her something handmade.  Our friendship started out as photographer (me) and model (her) and  I thought she would appreciate the gesture.  

Alicia is not a collector of things in the same way I am, but we both share a passion for food, and spent most evenings cooking together in my small apartment in Bordeaux.  Over the course of a year abroad we had many conversations about food, flavor and texture. After some reflection I decided I would make 8 jams made from some of her favorite ingredients. The first and most important being Strawberry Rhubarb...  Some jams and preserves are of the traditional variety, but I also included pickled watermelon rind, kumquats in spiced syrup and kiwi fruit.

For the presentation I embroidered linen with silk ribbon and capped the jars. A wrap of twine and yarn created the look.

I had dinner with Alicia on Friday. The meal she prepared was delicious, French in inspiration, and the conversation was even better. When I opened the fridge there were several of my jams, half empty, on the top shelf. I think it was the perfect gift I could give a friend to wish a lifetime of love and good food!

Goodbye to a Best Friend...

It always happens when you are going about the most mundane tasks of your life. You stand in line at the grocery store or the post office or in this case at the AT&T shop on a Saturday afternoon. Your phone rings, you answer and you never expect the bad news. For me it was my Dad calling to tell me that he was going to put my dog to sleep this coming Monday (today). I stood there saying yes, okay, alright then, while some guy packaged up my phone. I sniffed and wiped away the swelling moisture in my eyes, trying to just make it out of the store before bursting into actual tears. I cried so hard, harder than I expected even, all the way to my parents' house to say goodbye.

Max arrived at our house one afternoon just days before Christmas when I was 12. My Mom, brother and I were coming home after a trip to the Orthodontist. The door to our house stood slightly ajar my Dad, just inside the entry, held a video camera. On the ground was a gift bag with the image of a puppy on it. I stood there wondering what was going on, when moments later a small and somewhat sleepy beagle trotted to the door in a curious prance.

Its been almost 16 years and he was still curious, exuberant, energetic and like all beagles food crazy right up until a few weeks ago when his cancer got the best of him. He was the only dog I've ever had and he will always be my Max; I can't imagine going to my parents' and him not being there. I miss him already.  

Hopefully Max is enjoying all the human food he can gobble wherever he is...  goodbye Max.

The week's end...

this weekend was about learning to knit

taking time to look

listening to thunder

eating comfort food

Alicia et Sylvain

Alicia et Sylvain

My friend Alicia was married this weekend in a beautiful ceremony at the Ralston Hall Mansion in Belmont. The garden, where the ceremony was held, housed this amazing bamboo grove and the reception was just steps away in the mansion itself. Everything was sparkling and dancing, friends and family, music and food. I was so happy to celebrate with her and Sylvain.  I'm still thinking about it a few days later! I wish them all the happiness and luck for their new lives together!!!!!

Dinner at the Fremont Diner in Sonoma

Diner of artisanal grilled cheese and minted ice tea at the Fremont Diner in Sonoma.

The new look of this highway side diner is amazing!!!  Complete with picnic benches in teal blue and drinks served in glass jars, the Fremont Diner feels home spun in the best of ways .  I am wanting to try some of their jams and pickles on the next trip with a homemade biscuit!