Surprise!

So, it all payed off—all the finishing up and running around and last minute planning. We made it to Olympia, Washington to celebrate my big brother's birthday and spend Father's day with the fam. The best part: both my dad and my bro were totally surprised.

That's my brother above. Isn't he a cutie? Happy birthday Jabe.

my mind is on the brink

Goodness, there has been so much going on that I haven't had a moment to exhale. What I'd really like is to just take a wee nap, but I'm afraid of what might happen if I fall asleep...

Miller the muse

some photos from a recent shoot for Little City Designs,

starring Lindsay Miller...

getting ready for a Haute Summer

I am so excited for our upcoming Haute Summer event. Some local ladies of Etsy and I are having a soiree to kick off the summer and show of our styles. These gals are so talented. I feel honored that Little City Designs will be amongst them for this fashionable fiesta (and that I got to design our promo pieces above).

Lindsay Miller is one of the designers that will be showcasing her work. you might remember my post about her party dresses. She has been sewing away to get ready for Saturday, upcycling unique and often vintage pieces to make one-of-a-kind wearable treasures. She is also the owner and operator of  Sassy Sally's which is a haven for indie designers all over California.

There will be some wonderful jewelry designers at our event too. Melissa and Joan of Live Vibrant create vintage inspired, beaded necklaces that are so full of color and fun. Kristin of KD Designs uses all kinds of unique materials for her jeweled pieces from pink jade to Yak bones. And I just love the resin jewels by Heather of Ascending Peculiarity. They have tiny illustrations and little bits of nature inside.

If that weren't enough, we will be joined by the lovely Shannon of Supernatural Flowers.   She makes amazing hair clips with flowers and feathers. I have a beautiful piece of hers that I wear ALL the time and I'm hoping to treat myself to a giant magnolia on Saturday.

early mornings

Why is it that on mornings when I can sleep in I'm awake with the sunshine and on days when I have to be up early I never want to get out of bed?

Here's a photo of my mom sipping her coffee in Santa Fe on a much more leisurely morning.

hot club of Friday

Happy Friday everyone. Here's to a sizzling weekend with a little tune from the Hot Club of France and some wonderful footage of the quartet that includes Django Reinhardt & Stéphane Grappelli.

By the way, the show last night was amazing. Ventura's fine fiddler, Phil Salazar, sat in to everyone's surprise and delight. And Ian and I agreed that if  Swing Cheese's guitar player, Chris, wore a 1930s suit and slicked his hair he bear a resemblance to Django.

rendezvous at the Riviera

We're off to see our friends Swing Cheese play at the Riviera Bistro. They are a wonderful group of gypsy jazz men and a sweet treat to the ears. I got to thinking about gypsy jazz and the late but so great Django Reinhardt. I love the way he was depicted in the Triplets of Bellville...

beautiful bicicletas

Doesn't it look like these bikes are in love? When I took this photo a few years back my old blue Nishiki (built for me by Ian) almost never left home without Mr. C's black beauty, the 1969 Gitane track bike. Oh, what a dream couple they were.

June Gloom

The beginning of June almost always brings to Ventura a glaring and consistent gray, and this year is no different. There are brief moments when the sun breaks through just to tease you before it sets. Oh how I miss my vitamin D.

Here's to the sunnier days ahead and memories of May from before the gloom became resident.

These photos were taken by me at the Venura harbor when Ian and I rented a paddle boat for an hour and went on our own private harbor cruise. Another successful adventure of the Sun Chasers.