I Really Do Know It's October!

I know it is the beginning of October but in Southern California we have been
having some very warm weather after what has been a very cool summer. 
It's really not so unusual for our area that we are warm at this time of year.

I have been away for a few days and when I returned home today the lovely warm
weather was emphasized by these beautiful new rose blooms to welcome me.

I was going to do a post on more antiques but the weather has me experiencing
a bit of spring fever, so I will post the antiques at another time.  Please enjoy a few
more blooms from my garden this morning.

As you can see, the warm weather has made it nearly impossible for me to accept
that it is October and I should be getting ready for fall!


Debbie of  Love Of The Sea has asked a few of us to answer the following questions.
I don’t ordinarily do this kind of thing but Debbie is so lovely so I thought I would
go ahead and play along with everyone.  Here goes...

• Do you consider yourself a city girl or country girl?
Well, I think I am a country girl at heart. I love living near a city and I do tend to
make use of everything a city has to offer...cultural offerings such as museums,
galleries, all kinds of concert, etc.  Also, I love trying new restaurants and things like
that. But, if I had to choose between living in a big city and living in the country on a
daily basis, I would say I am more of a country girl at heart...but I want to have a
city not too far away.  Oh, and I would like an ocean not too far away too!

• Besides where you live, where is the one other place you would like to live? Why?
I grew up on the East Coast and when I first moved to Southern  California
I lived in Santa Barbara. I loved it. I think it is one of the most beautiful
places. I also love New England and its charm. If I had to choose somewhere
outside of this country it would be Paris or some place in Provence.

• What is your favorite thing to do on a Saturday night?
Hmmm. That depends on the kind of week I’ve had. If it has been extraordinarily
busy I would probably choose to stay home and relax. If it has been a normal
week then I would definitely want to gather with friends for a nice meal and wine.

• What is the one habit that you really want to break but know you never will?
I wish I could simplify more. I keep trying but I do love to be surrounded by
pretty things and I appreciate their beauty. So it would be difficult for me to live
a life as a true minimalist(I so wish I could). I also love the fun of the hunt...I love
antiquing and thrifting.

• If you could spend the day with one famous person, who would it be and why?
That’s a very difficult question for me because with my work I am surrounded by
well known people on a daily basis. There are many who are very interesting and
are great fun. However, I guess if I had to pick one well known person to
spend the day with it would be Neil Simon, the playwright. I have had the pleasure
of spending lots of time with Neil and we have had wonderful conversations.

• What is your favorite pastime or hobby?
Antiquing, photography, reading, designing, catching up with my wonderful friends,
trying new restaurants, traveling...and the list goes on!

• If you could choose any place in the world to go to - all expenses paid - where
would it be?
I love to travel so I would go to France, Italy, Tahiti, Scandinavia...and the list
goes on!

Now, my instructions were that after I answer the above questions I should pass
them on to other people. But instead of that I think I would prefer that when you
leave a comment,  maybe if you want, you can tell me a little something about
yourself.  Oh yes, if you are a minimalist...do you give lessons!?!

Hope you are having a lovely weekend.

Red Sun At Night - Part II - And Something New

I have wonderful house guests right now and a few days ago we were driving home from
antiquing/thrifting in Santa Barbara.  I stopped to take a few pictures and remembered
that last May I had done a post about pretty much the same thing.  So if you will forgive
me, because I do have several house guests and need to spend time with them, I will
include some of the same things I wrote several months ago.  I have added several more
tidbits and more pictures. I know I should be writing about fall but it is over 100 degrees
in Southern California right now so we are holding on to summer a bit longer.

It was a glorious, sunny and warm day. My guests and I were late in leaving Santa
Barbara after a lovely day of antiquing/thrifting so we decided to take the coast road
home instead of the freeway to avoid the late afternoon traffic.

Actually, my intention was to show my guests the changes in the sky as the sun would
begin to set.  We were not is a rush.  I guess the surfers around Malibu were not in a
rush either.

The sun was still bright and a wind had kicked up. We passed lots of surfers but our

attention was drawn to the beautiful kites and those people flying above the water on

boards!!!

The kite surfers!

 

We had to pull over and watch these athletes letting the wind pull them around the
ocean with only a kite above them and just a board at their feet. The strength these
guys have is amazing. They surf the ocean and a minute later they are jumping up in
the air as they maneuver kites so they can fly over the water.

 It is truly incredible to watch these extreme sportsmen. I was absolutely in awe of their
strength. We were totally mesmerized as they lifted up in the air..

Exhausted at the end of the flight...

As we drove along I could tell the sky was beginning to change and the sun was casting
shadows and a glimmer on the ocean water.

It seemed like every time we looked toward the ocean the sky was beginning to 

change hue...

Slowly but surely...

Now it was more and more difficult to keep our eyes on the road because our attention
was on the magic light show taking place in the sky. Finally, we just gave up trying to drive.

We quickly parked the car, sat back and enjoyed another magnificent sunset over the
Pacific Ocean.

It certainly looks like the sun is begining to fall from the sky...

A big round ball coming to earth...

Lower and lower...

Kissing the mountains...

And now the sun is saying goodnight with a glow behind the mountains...

Another sweet gift in life.  A gigantic Thank You to Mother Nature!

As they say, "red sun at night sailors delight".  Tomorrow will be a delight for
surfers, sailors, kite surfers and perfect for me to work with my roses.

A Very Hot Saturday...

It was so hot today!  But that didn’t stop my friend “J” and I from doing a little
antiquing/junking.  When we left my house early this morning we didn’t know
we would be driving into such high heat...106 degrees to be precise.

We had been planning to take this Saturday and just relax and check out a few
places, both old and new to us.  We drove down to Escondido, Ca to the grand
opening of La Maison Rustique Urban Barn.  They have just moved into their
new location which is about 8,000 square feet of vintage pieces.  This was an indoor
and outdoor event today.  They had over 20 vendors and all kinds of festivities for
the opening of the new location.  Did I mention it was 106 degrees!?!   My hat is
off to all the vendors set up outside in the parking lot in the hot sunshine.  I'm sure
you can feel how hot it was just by looking at the pictures. 

Among the vendors was Rita Reade with her Mammabellarte art signs.  Rita is
absolutely the nicest person and everyone loves her work...

More to see...

 Can't you just feel the hot sun and heat on the pavement!

Going inside now...

Let's take another look outside again... Here is Retreat Style...

Some of artist Denise Adams Chafin's handpainted work...

We had a grand time and found a few special things (don’t we always???) and then
realized it was time to grab an ice tea and drive on to our next stop.

We headed out to one of our favorite places which is Matilda’s Mouse on the old
Betty Crocker Estate in Valley Center, Ca.  “J” and I always spend lots of time
when we visit this location.  Matilda’s Mouse is named after a Wire Hair Fox Terrier
who is always the hostess for the day, but it was just too hot for her to be outside in
this heat.  The location is fabulous.  It’s an old huge barn on what is known as the
“Betty Crocker Estate”.  Betty Crocker was/is a fictitious person but the woman
who lived here was actress Agnes White who created “Betty Crocker” and
developed and tested recipes in the kitchen here.  She had turned it into a commercial
kitchen which has now been restored to a kitchen with beautiful copper countertops.
The barn is the place for antiques!   Everyone who works here is fabulous and helpful
and fun.  We walked in looking hot and sweaty and right away they offered us ice water
to help refresh our spirits.  Many thanks!

I am going to let the pictures speak for themselves.  But to be honest, my camera was
really beginning to feel the heat.  Even inside the barn you can see the much too bright sun
streaming in through the upper windows.  Did I mention it was 106 degrees!?!

Yikes, it just too bright today! The heat and humidity are wrecking havoc with my camera.

Matilda is so famous that she has her picture painted on the barn.  However,

I understand she doesn't like to sign autographs...

Let's go inside...but please remember that it's hot and my camera is really not enjoying

the heat...

I think I'll sit in this big wicker chair while you look around...

Of course we found several special things (don’t we always???) because this is one
of our favorite places to visit and you can find Matilda's Mouse  HERE.

Well, it was time to head out and find a cold ice cream.  We made a few other stops
along this Saturday's antiquing/junking adventure and naturally found a few other
treasures (don’t we always!?!)!

It was a 12 hour hot, hot day of fun and we were so tired and now glad to each be
heading to our own homes...exhausted, hot and having had a fun day.
Thanks for coming along with us.

I also want to thank A New England Life for the guidance she gave me in enlarging
my pictures.  Her blog is beautiful and I get homesick each and every time I view and
enjoy her posts. Take a look  HERE.