Holiday Windows at Mignonne

I just had to post one more holiday window that I spotted today! They are from a cute little furniture boutique that is newish to our neighborhood, Mignonne. I had driven by earlier and had to go back tonight to get a better look, I'm glad I did. I love how elegant and whimsical the marshmallows look. Beautiful and fun.

Playa de los Muertos

This mysterious little cemetery lies just beyond the hill at Playa de los Muertos (appropriately named).

Stereographs

I just finished framing these stereographs. I have three more that need a home now too.

Sayulita Scenes

Sun Dappled

Colors from Sayulita

I just got back from a few days in Sayulita, Jalisco in Mexico. All the colors were so vibrant and the little town very alive. Here are some pictures of scenes I passed by. The weather was absolutely perfect and I was so happy to have spent some time with my parents, my sister,Brenda and her boyfriend,Taisuke and my nephew, Nayou and Taisuke's two wonderful sisters, Aya & Hana! I miss them all so much already and am only sorry I couldn't stay longer. I also was very sad that my sister Julie and other nephew, Paul who were planning on coming were stranded on the east coast due to the big blizzard. I really missed having them there. I will be posting more pictures later this evening. But for now, Merry Christmas everyone! (PS-the colors really are this bright!!)

Happy Holidays!

Anu Tuominen

I love these art works created from found objects by Finnish artist, Anu Tuominen. I first heard of her through Aesthetic Outburst. Here are a few images to enjoy, the third one is titled, Clean A4, and it is my favorite!

All images are courtesy of the Anu Tuominen website.

Window Shopping in SF

Here are some more pictures of shop windows that I loved. The first few are from Nest a gorgeous shop on Fillmore in San Francisco. And the last set is of The Perish Trust, a shop I have yet to enter. It is fairly newish but sadly was closed when I tried to stop by to explore.

Tail of the Yak

I was just at one of my favorite little shops in Berkeley, Tail of the Yak, a few weeks ago. The store is a bit of a curiosity shop filled with all kinds of interesting little findings, jewelry, housewares, and paper things. They told me they would be decorating the shop for the holidays coming up so I had to go back to get a peak at their decor. They allowed me to take pictures but somehow I still felt a bit guilty taking them because everything is so precious and perfect I almost felt I was stealing the scenes. So I took a few quick ones, since they had allowed me but some are a bit blurry. You definitely feel as if you have traveled back in time when you enter. Everything from the cute little doorbell sign right outside asking you to please ring in french, to the very friendly people that work there, to the items that seem to have come from an era long ago. You kinda get the feeling that you want to stay and explore a while. They have a beautiful book from the Victorian times behind the counter that has about 20-40 pages of pressed sea flora framed in tiny vignettes. You really have to see it to appreciate it. I always find a little postcard or something fun when I'm in, somehow the most ordinary item seems so special. I also happened to pick up a little surprise for my 6 year old niece that I think she will love!

Out and About

I love the super smooth arch on this doorway and the creamy vanilla color with the rust contrast. Also, seems like Fall is just hitting its peak here in the Bay Area. It's no wonder I always get confused as to what time of year it is....The leaves are definitely in their most brilliant stages right now. The second set of pictures is of two beautiful wintery trees. The one on the left I call the Menorah tree (for obvious reasons!) and the second one is a persimmon tree, ripe with fruit!

Blue to Brown

Remember this? I painted this room probably around the beginning of the year. After I painted the room I thought I just needed some time for it to grow on me. Turns out it never grew on me. I have recently repainted the room to a soft brown color and what a difference it has made. The room feels so much warmer and welcoming. As much as I love blue for rooms I just did not get the right shade and I think I'll be needing a break from the color for a bit. Here is a shot of the newly painted room taken this morning. It's hard to capture the true shade on camera but you can get an idea. Note: Sadie in the exact same spot, what a Sadie! I also finally got around to framing some photos I had taken in Italy many years back during Angel and Heidi's wedding!