peace out

Drittes Adventswochenende, originally uploaded by herz-allerliebst.

feu sure

oh alright, if you're going to sit in front of your computer...I mind as well give you something at which to stare....have a lovely evening.

happy holidays

xoxo, the bb8s

"please do not open until christmas, love aunt karma"

photo found on altruism in the morning

When I was in high school, a few days before Christmas, I secretly unwrapped a gift~navy blue, brooks brothers blazer....wore it out to a party, came home and re-wrapped it {my brother's idea} To know what was in the box, tells the obvious. I was a peeker.

I've been a peeker from way back. I can still tell you where some of my friends' parents hid the Christmas gifts:

The Flatleys: the old root cellar in the basement

The Meyers: back of their mother's closet

The Bayers: the sewing room

Because not only was I a peeker, but I encouraged others to do the same. Even when it was met with trepidation from my friends~ I pushed and cajoled. It's a wonder that I never stumbled across a lump of coal with my name on it.

With the notion that peekers beget little peekers, I've spent the last month, stashing gifts in the most obscure places. Now, a few days before Christmas, like a squirrel trying to remember where she's hid her nut, I'm digging frantically...trying to remember and having little luck.

Merry Christmas to you too, Aunt Karma.

mixed tape monday ~the finale

Last week, as we drove up to the mountains, I sat passenger side scrolling through emails on my phone, smiling, as I read comments, laughing to myself {my friends are funny}, wondering what is wrong with all of us and this facebook phenom..... and then quietly gasping.

"We regret to announce that Mixwit will cease to exist at the end of the
year.The website and profiles will be turned off around Dec 27th and
all embedded widgets will stop playing before the end of December."

And so it's over.

No more Sunday evenings spent locked in my room, homework done, lying on the floor, headphones on, album covers strewn over the floor. Finding that perfect line up of songs, that soundtrack for the week ahead~ music that fights the Monday blues while embracing the 'do over' chance of a new week.

over.

No more, chic rock. no more, rough voiced, vaguely euro, angst filled, crooners to share with you. Thank you for kindly being such a receptive audience to the mixed tapes.

And thank you for all of your great suggestions.

It was great fun while it lasted. and now slacker~blogger, best get back to writing posts on Monday.

peace out

photo thanks to~clumsy bird

pip squeak chapeau

I need a little virtual valium.....

wonderful photos {and product} from pip squeak chapeau

lovely bones

Sandwiched between living in San Francisco and Los Angeles, I had a brief sojourn in Boston. The house we owned, was built in the late 1800s and had turrets, coffered ceilings, a back stair case, third floor maid's quarters, a fire place in every bedroom... you get the idea. It was an elegant, proud, gentleman of a house nestled in an urban scape.

So happy to, once again, have a young family running through the hallways, his warmth held us, protected us and watched as we brought home a new baby and bade goodbye to an old dog. If he had a scent it would be of oil cloth, soap and sweet pipe tobacco. He was the John Gielguld of houses. I was in love and miss him so.

I've always lived in older homes. Before my Boston home, was a lovely old Edwardian in San Francisco. She was the old neglected, awkward spinster who had no idea how to dress or what colors to wear anymore. She wore a mullet of house paint: pink with teal trim on the front and yellow with brown trim on the back. It had been more than 40 years since a family had called her their home.

A survivor of 'the big quake', she had a quiet inner strength that I felt right away. I was the young friend that showed her the way. Took her shopping, to get her nails done, and all that good stuff. With a bit of sanding, polishing, paint and a tiny tweak of a face lift {kitchen} she exuded her inner beauty, proudly.

She was the one awake with me in the middle of night, labor in full grip, her floor boards squeaking as I paced. Later she would rattle her ancient windows at the fog as I sat up rocking my baby. That house became my dear friend during those early morning hours. We had found each other, because it was meant to be~I think for that, we were both grateful.

A friend of mine recently sent me a link to this beautiful blog {two straight lines} I've been sitting here scrolling through the photos of this woman's home all morning,

enlarging the images and drinking it all in. Such a treat to see, the beautiful bones of an old home. I can see from these images, that this is a home who has seen a lot of 'family'. She is a proud one, in her beauty. She's as beautiful stark naked, as she is beautifully adorned.

*sigh* I challenge you, give me a newly built house that can stand on its own and be almost more beautiful naked than dressed. I don't believe they exist. I wouldn't even need a dining table in here. I would happily sit on an old quilt to a candle lit meal.

people don't build houses with this sort of integrity and artistry anymore. And with this much love, detail and thought put into the building of a home, births the beginning of the soul of a house.

Below, is a shot of her neighbor's home.

Which you can't even see~for the trees.

Which is pretty damn dreamy.

{Do you know that there's 6 feet between my house and either neighbor's house? Imagine my envy right now. }

Heres' to the lovely bones of an older home and those of you fortunate enough to inhabit them.

I still go by my old houses whenever I'm in town. For a few years the San Francisco sister was hard for me to see, in the arms of another. But she looks to be well taken care of and loved. I always give her a mental wink and long warm hug each time I see her funny old face. I know that we'll always have that special bond.

Unique Los Angeles

Los Angeles, is unique on so many levels and although I whine a little about the lack weather this time of year {I know, isn't this why people move here in the first place?}

{had to share, l.a. having a little weather moment. fun traffic eh?}

I do love the diversity of L.A. and I love that it draws such a strong creative contingency. Over the weekend we visited and shopped Unique Los Angeles~ the independent design and gift sale. I wish all of you had access to something like this because it's a fantastic way to pick up great art, stationary, clothing, jewelry etc, great stuff you're not likely to find in any mall.

first stop was the pamels barsky booth.

Pamela is a designer of all kinds of cool, witty, clever items.

a pad of 'steaktionary' sealed for freshness of course.

we bought this for us: and this for foodie friend of ours:

speaking of loving food, next stop was eats.

L.A. street tacos, ya!

and the cake monkey peddling homemade deserts like home made ho-hos, double ya!

I know that these two will be 'thrilled' that i threw this pic into the line up. {but since neither reads the old blog, neither will be the wiser}

back to shopping! next stop the nice girls from chocolate and steel with their lovely line of jewelry {can't get this out of itallics grr}

my close up shot of their wares didn't turn out so i'm borrowing from their etsy site

my daugter's were smitten with the little necklaces.

loved these rings:

ooh, turn the corner and we found miss brigitte. I have been a long time fan of her work. it's so 50s - 60s french in vibe. I let the girls pick out one for their respective rooms.



this is where things got fun. next booth was this fantastic photographer, "lauren ward"
I love that she mixes in to her work a little terry richardson vibe. you know, the white background with the super hot flash so that theres a bit of shadow.

She had a hall tree loaded with funny hats, glasses, boas and yes...this lovely christmas sweater that I am donning . we so want to send this as our christmas card but someone thinks it's too embarassing. {hate it when the parents are so embarassing}

he looks like a 50s reporter and i look like i should be sipping sanka in the teacher's lounge

on to the next booth of dee&lala. GOREGOUS, letter press work. I'm such a sucker for letterpress. their booth was really pretty too. they had those flor felt tiles down. so pretty.

we found cute little hedgehog note cards and great holiday hang tags.

here's someone that i was thrilled to finally meet. she's on my etsy faves, my flickr contacts next it will be facebook...basically i've been cyber stalking her. elizabeth soule.
{hi, elizabeth, i promise not to invite myself over to your house to watch you work}

she's the creator of these amazing animal photographs:

it was so fun meeting people that i 'knew' through etsy and blogging and we came away with bags of great shtuff.

we ended our evening by going to the new downtown, sports, entertainment, dining, clubbing extravaganza "L.A.live" as L.A. is want to be, this is full of bling and bright lights. total sensory overload. Time to go eat more.....

mixed tape monday

such a big weekend. the s.o.' s birthday. our little beach town had fireworks at the pier with the regatta of sail boats strewn with lights floating in the background. we may not get the
snow, but balmy weekends like this mean the holiday season is full swing.

queue the music please....

1. Sufjan Stevens - Concerning the UFO Sighting Ne
2. bishop allen - flight 180
3. Mirah - The Garden
4. *someone in here uses 'language' for those of you in cubical land
5. Dntel - Roll On (Ft. Jenny Lewis)
6. Coldplay - Green Eyes

7. okkervil river- savannah smiles
   

peace out

found - photobooth friday, originally uploaded by clumsy bird.

winter advisory

i think the chaos of the season has finally gotten to me.

today, i proclaim is a "snow day" at the beach. i am officially, 'stilling' myself.

i'm going to drive slowly as if it were snowing {i may even pump my brakes at stop signs}

work minimally

stomp up to the market and pretend to shake something off of my head and tshirt as I walk through the doors into the a.c.

maybe cook something savory that requires a full day on the stove top {of course the house will get stifling hot and all the windows will have to be open}

i may sit at the kitchen table, addressing christmas cards while listening to road conditions on a transitor {which, in los angeles translates to, sig alerts on the 405}

later, i'll drag the 'living tree' that was just delivered inside and begin untangling lights. and tonight we'll listen to christmas music, dress the tree and then maybe take a quiet walk through the neighborhood as a family.

if you live someplace warm, like me, come join me in my festive delusions:

--:photo:--kristen

--:photo:--camilla engman

--:photo:--mav/port2port

--:photo:--danske

**thanks isa, for joining me in my delusions of winter grandeur!