Bungalow

This Austin vacation home from Apartment Therapy has me wanting to decorate a small getaway home of my own!  Love the warm colors and woods, and also seems to accomplish a nice mix of old/worn and modern.

Happy Holidays, ya'll

Once again, heading up the 5 to the trifecta;  Sacramento - Nevada City - San Francisco for the holiday.  Excited to sit by the fire, take walks in the woods and play scrabble with the family.  And if you are not quite feeling the holiday spirit, I suggest that you watch this video.   Oh yeah, and this one.

Adios, Florida.

2 hours away from hopping on a plane back to Los Angeles after a wonderfully relaxing week in Florida.  Spent time with family for my Grandma's 90th, and lounged at the beach - sure will miss the sunshine.

gone travelin'

This Thanksgiving so far - I've been to San Francisco, Sacramento, Denver & Nevada City - and am heading to West Palm Beach, FL tomorrow.  Thankful for warm homes to welcome me in each town. 

San Francisco

Heading to my old stomping grounds for the weekend, to see friends and support Patrick's film Maurice in the SFDocFest!  I-5 here we come.

Hometowns

Headed to Sacramento & Nevada City for the weekend.  Yuba River here we come.

Glad Midsommar!

Happy Midsummer to all my Swedish kompis!  I miss Stockholm right about now, the perfect place in the summertime.  Luckily, my best friend from there has planned a trip out to California in October so Stockholm is coming to me this year.  

My favorite place in Stockholm?  Rosendals Tradgården, where I took this picture, a botanical garden with a delicious and beautiful café.  This time last year I was prepping for my trip to Stockholm, sigh.

Vacation through California

 Since Big Sur campsites were booked Friday and Saturday, we started off our trip camping with some friends at Pinnacles National Monument, which would have been great had our neighbors at the site not brought two teething twins who screamed their heads off at 5am every morning.  Really, who brings angry toddlers camping?

 After Pinnacles, Patrick and I headed towards the coast, stopping at the gorgeous Mission San Juan Bautista, where they were having a Fiesta Days celebration. 

 Aztec dancers

 Then we arrived in Big Sur for the Bill Callahan show at Henry Miller Memorial Library.  There is something about Big Sur that is so completely magical - the way the fog never quite leaves, the height of the redwoods, the sweet nature of the locals, and the fact that Big Sur itself is not quite a town but more a stretch of the most beautiful highway where each stop is more unique than the last.  I dream about having our wedding here, but have to come to terms with it being a logistically difficult/expensive place for a wedding.  Anyhow, it is surely in my top-ten list of places on this earth.

 Me and my mischievous pup, at our gorgeous campground in Fernwood.

 Super Puppy!

 Elephant Seals were out on the beach just North of Hearst Castle, molting, mating & sparring.  They are the silliest and most fascinating creatures.

& that does it for our little road trip.  Now time for a bit of normalcy and nesting at home!

Maine in Review

Maine buoys

getting use of my duck boots

 at the lobster pound

pre-cooking lobster ritual

driving into the park

 my perfect little reading spot

pack it up.

I feel like both Patrick and I have been livin' out of a suitcase for the past 3 months (I guess because essentially we have), but within the next two days we will both be living in the comfort of our own, cozy home...together.  Then later in the week, our puppy dog Henry will be with us, completing our little family once again.  

I still have to gather my things so I can bid Maine adieu tomorrow, and the above drawing is giving me the inspiration to do so.  This packing list by Adolf Konrad, 1963 is a part of a new show at the Smithsonian called "To-Do's, Illustrated Inventories, Collected Thoughts and Other Artists' Enumerations".  I wish I could go, but if you're in the area, check out more info here.      

Pretttty, prettttty good.

Worshiping the sunshine on the shore + Jordan's Beach beyond the baby pines in Milbridge, Maine.

Mountainscape

This gorgeous photograph was taken this past weekend by my fiancé Patrick, 

who went on a last-minute road trip from Paris to Gryon, Switzerland.  This was taken with long exposure in the middle of the night...how incredible are those stars among the mountains?

Memorial Day

Been a while since I've had the chance to post, and although I've been dying to share the photos I've been taking here in Maine, I forgot the cord to put them on my computer.  So here's a taste from my cell phone camera..pretty gorge, right?  This is the beach right in front of where I'm staying, where I got to frolic in tide pools all morning.  

And this right here is my very first lobster.  I got to go to the lobster pound and pick up 18 of these guys, and I must say this particular guy was pretty tasty, although arguably not worth the effort of dismembering.

Maine

I'm off to Maine for a couple of weeks, and pretty excited to explore that part of the country.  

More updates soon!

Final weekend in Paris

My last weekend in Paris was spent happily in Liancourt-Rautigny, about 40 min North by train from Paris, visiting one of Patrick's relatives.  She inherited this 17th century chateau about 10 years ago, and turned part of it into a gallery space to showcase some incredible art.

She also had a visiting artist staying with her, a Polish mystic named Miranda (right) who was fascinating to talk to.

Just some of the book art displayed there, the one below made using folded newspaper and metal.

The space was breathtaking, but what was most special about the trip were the stories that Patrick's aunt had about Patrick's Grandfather, who himself had lived at the chateau.  

Patrick's Grandfather as a young man.

 ...and in front of the chateau with Patrick's uncle when he was little.

The whole weekend was magical - lots of wine, sunny skies, and good stories in a French castle...what more can you ask for?  Pinch me.