Life is Full

Alley Party Guests, Jenny and Andy

Life has a way of becoming bountiful all at once. I think the more one is involved with people, the more opportunities arise. Lately life has been very full, and I must apologize for letting my blog slip a little. Especially since the blog has been one of the main sources for how much life is giving at the moment!

So a little sharing is in order. As you know, we live in a turn of the century neighborhood which developed with alleys behind all of the houses ( presumably so horses could be put away behind the houses). Tim and one of our back alley neighbors, Rob, had been conceptualizing a party with all of the alley neighbors for a few months now. The idea was to have a Pot Luck in the alley with a band in our garage and the homemade beer brewed by Rob (fan-TAS-tic BTW!!!!) in Rob's garage. This all ended up coming about on Memorial Day weekend.

Vital Signs, Classic Rock in our Garage

We really had no idea how it would turn out.... We know most of our neighbors, but not all. We had never heard the band before....they were recommended by a friend, and we didn't know how many would show up! Wellll....From the response, it looks like it will be an annual event. Perhaps semi-annual! We have had requests for an Oktoberfest. (I will keep you informed!). The band ( Vital Signs....Classic Rock...916-388-1931 if you are in the Sactown area...contact Dave Mauck) was great....everyone was up and dancing . The Brew was so popular Rob had to break out a second batch. And the Pot luck was delish. Brats, salads, and lots of watermelon. Sometimes a casual thing can turn into the most fun.

Pot Luck

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

This last weekend was quite eventful as well! Saturday, Tim and I drove with my Mom to Healdsburg to empty out a storage unit Mom had been renting for the last 15 years. We thought it was about time to let the contents see the light of day once again.....and Mom could save a little cash to boot! Mom used to live in Healdsburg, and for those of you unfamiliar, it is located in the wine country right along the Russian River. (More HERE) It is beautiful, charming, and home to antique shops, great B&B's, restaurants and recreational opportunities.

Oakville Grocery, Healdsburg

Although the main reason for the trip was to empty out a treasure trove of furniture and art that had been in hiding for such a long time (we didn't even know exactly what we would find!)....we still had to have lunch, right? So after a morning of driving to Healdsburg (about 2 hours from Sac) picking up a U-haul truck and loading it up with fantastic loot (more later on that!) we headed over to Oakville Grocery for lunch. Located right on the town square...it is THE place for sandwiches and salads. Me? I had a Curry Chicken Salad Sandwich and Roasted Beet Salad with a Sparkling Pear Cider. Mom had the Roast Beef, and Tim had a Roasted Veggie Sandwich with a fresh Snap Pea Salad.

Lunch at Oakville Grocery in Healdsburg

Refreshed we were ready for the drive home and a late afternoon of unpacking. We finished just in time for the guests to arrive for a year end pizza party for my daughter, her girlfriends and moms. (Actually, I did need to leave to pick up Tim from returning the U-Haul truck.... perhaps we were trying to pack in a little too much for one day!) We had fun making pizzas with Trader Joe pizza dough (I highly recommend!!!) and any topping you can imagine is also available at TJ's! Easy.

Sunday...it was a quick trip to the Sacramento Farmer's Market....it is Cherry Season....and I am addicted to Rainier cherries....had to have them.

Sacramento Farmer's Market Cherries

After breakfast, I drove to San Francisco to meet one of my favorite bloggers! Grant Gibson, designer and blogger extraordinaire, threw a scrumptious brunch for Architect Design blogger, Stefan Hurray. (Stefan lives in Washington DC and is enjoying a birthday trip to California....Happy Birthday Stefan!!)

Brunch at Grant Gibson's lovely San Francisco Home

Grant is not only a fabulous designer (Ahem...top 5 designers to watch list in Elle Decor, people!) he is also a consummate host and cook! We were treated to Roast Vegetable Quiche, Smoked Salmon Quiche, Asparagus and Fingerling Potatoes, Fresh Strawberries, Homemade Scones and Clotted Cream. There was minted iced tea and Prosecco Mimosas. And the company was so much fun! (I wish I had been able to get every one's picture...but here are a few)

Stefan of Architect Design blog, and Grant

Sally Swing and Scot Meacham Wood, Fabulous designer and author of Tartanscot Blog

Moi and Stefan

It has been a very busy time...and a very good time as well. We will be celebrating my older daughter's High School graduation this weekend with family, and the girls and I will be heading to the Happiest Place on Earth for a little Grad Trip in a couple of weeks. I am working on some really fun work projects which I hope to share with you very soon!

So...without further adieu....it is back to work!

Have a great day!

The Hall Upstairs

Our lives are made up of bits and pieces aren't they? Things we've done, memories we've captured, stops and starts, all put together to make the composition of our life and what we are right now. Which isn't to say we might not change tomorrow or in the next moment. We will add another memory, big or small...perhaps monumental, or maybe just a whispered thought.

Our hall upstairs seems to have become a place where memories are stored. We pass by them everyday. The scene changes when the mood strikes or a memory is added. At the end of the hall I have a Biedermeier secretary that has been in my family for a very long time. Inside are old picture frames, and new. There are pictures of my Mom and Dad, my daughters when they were little, my in laws and grandparents. There are shells from beaches we have visited, and folk art from New Mexico, where my mother once lived. There are fortune cookie fortunes taped to the window glass and stuck into the frame from our many trips to our favorite Thai food restaurant and China Town in San Francisco....just the good fortunes though. There is a post card from a trip to Bodega Bay showing a scene from the Hitchcock film, "The Birds", which had been filmed there.

On top I have put one of my favorite Ironstone footed bowls, a branch I found in the street in front of our house, and a pair of exercise pins from the antique shop that Mom had once upon a time. The mirror I found at a garage sale, the faded mercury reflecting one of the star pendant lights I put up when we moved here.

I have an American Indian Rug that came from New Mexico on the Fir Plank floors. I think the floors are beautiful, being so different from the quartersawn oak floors on the first floor. The story as to why they used fir on the second floor I am sure is a good one. Often it was to save money by putting less expensive materials in the private areas of the home, but I wish I knew exactly why.

I put a faux bois table here. I love the color and the texture of the concrete with the wood of the floors and the white painted walls. The mirror on the wall above this table came from another life in Southern California when a new bride was trying to furnish a tiny house in Newport Beach. I have hung a little tramp art frame on top of the larger mirror. It frames your face when you walk by.

Life happens every minute. Before I took the picture, my daughter left a perfume bottle on the table before I noticed. But I like that it's there.

Every time I walk through this hall, I am reminded of things that make me smile. I hope you all have wonderful memories to be thankful for this coming holiday. I am thankful for you all and your sweet support for my little blog.

I wish you all the Happiest of Thanksgivings!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Working Here Today

I have been here all day working away and realized....have you seen my office? I think not!

Here's a bit of a peek.

During our remodel, we dug down four feet under the house to turn our glorified crawl space into living space. We poured a concrete foundation which is now the finished floor. My husband and I sealed it ourselves with a high gloss concrete sealer, just leaving it the same color. I painted the walls Dunn Edwards Whisper White so I would have a clean background for my design work.

My thought for this space was that it would be a work space where I could create any number of things: interior designs, art projects, sewing projects. I also wanted to have the space be appropriate for client meetings. I wanted a professional looking space, but also one that I could really use as a laboratory. So, my plan was to have all of the furniture either be contemporary and white, or antique to provide a neutral backdrop to any project, but to also be interesting and easily changeable. I have this tendency to bring things home from here and there (like the wire lantern in the picture or the branches on top of the shelves) and I like to move things around a lot. An experiment always in progress...like life, no?

The conference table is West Elm. (It may soon become my desk, as I have thoughts on a new conference table.) The chest of drawers is perfect for my drawing storage. It is an antique specimen chest. The antique armoire is originally from Texas...nailed together with old square-headed nails. And I am sure you recognize the ikea Expidit bookcases (of which there are five total down here!) They hold my obsessive magazine collection, design books, samples and catalogs. That's about it for this little peek!

Now that you are all here with me, I am not feeling quite so lonely here by myself today.

OK...now back to work!

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I thought you should know:

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