Moonrise

The moon is rising in the east over California cypress and palm trees...


...its shimmer reminds me of everything that's beautiful.

I hope you had a lovely day! Looking forward to Friday.


(PS: The winner of the Thursday giveaway is BEE!)

Thursday Giveaway!

My Dears, I'm very pleased to announce this week's giveaway. It's a beautiful mixed-media painting by the lovely Susan Najarian.

It measures 3 1/2" by 3 1/2" and 1/2" deep and features of solitary blackbird sitting on a wire and gazing at a beautiful blue sky.

It's a wonderful piece for that little spot that needs some art. Susan has other gorgeous things as well in her Etsy store.

She creates her art by digitally manipulating photos and images and then transferring them to a wood frame covered in encaustic wax. Layers of wax then suspend the photograph, altering the appearance to produce a "cloud like feeling." The images appear to float. So lovely!

To qualify to win, please leave a comment here anytime today and visit Susan's Etsy store.


UPDATE!! THE WINNER IS BEE! (Ms. Bee, please contact me! ha!)



PS: I'm still trying to reach "Disgruntled Customer," who won last week's drawing! If anyone knows Ms Disgruntled, please tell her to contact me.

Smile

I'm so in love with this commercial...


The song makes me, well, happy. It's called -- what else? -- "Smile" by The Mae Shi Band. This commercial plays constantly during American Idol here. The song is not yet out on iTunes. But maybe soon?

PS: Dad is coming home from the hospital tomorrow. Very happy about that!



(The photo is by Alyz.)

Sunset at Midday

It was so hot here today, like summer. It reminded me that I need to organize our summer vacation. We usually rent a cabin in August on a lake in the High Sierras. I was thinking that I need to find a way to blog from the cabin. The Internet is a bit spotty there. And there's no TV. (Honestly, I can live without the TV but not the Internet!)

What do you usually do for summer vacation?

Bello Mr. Bello

I took a stack of magazines -- including some old issues of Gourmet magazine -- with me to the hospital when I was visiting my dad. I was reminded of the gorgeous photography of Roland Bello. His website is positively luscious. (A sampling of some of his interior photos above.)

And a few of his food photos over here!

Desert Dreaming

Hello everyone, how was your Tuesday?

I just got back after spending the day at the hospital with my dad. He had another surgery today. We hope to know tomorrow when we can bring him home. Generally, he's doing better -- but the hospital is so dreary! I found myself daydreaming about the desert. I love to go to Two Bunch Palms to soak in the hot springs. Just thinking about it makes me relax.

One of my best friends is in town from Paris and I'm thinking about dragging her out to the desert for a spa getaway, if everything goes ok with my dad.

(PS: I took this photo on Sunset Boulevard the other day. It reminded me of Two Bunch -- big bushy palm trees mixed with tall ones under the desert sky. ah...)

Cherry Red Scooter

I was in West Hollywood today and spotted this little scooter parked in an alley...


...It's so cute. I wonder who it belongs to. Maybe a girl with a closet full of vintage dresses? Or a guy who prefers seersucker suits? It reminded me of this...




Bliss!

Roses

My climbing rosebush Eden is in full bloom, like a bouquet outside the front door. Eden is one of the French "Romanticas" roses, recently hybridized in France. Unlike the roses of David Austin, the Romanticas are generally unscented. Still they are dazzlingly beautiful.

I started growing roses about ten years ago and now have more that 50 varieties in our garden. For inspiration, I love to visit the rose garden at the Huntington Gardens in San Marino. The David Austin roses there grow so large that they could swallow an entire house whole.


(Here's an earlier post on the first rose of the season.)


PS: My dad is doing much better! We hope to have him home from the hospital in a few days! xoxox

The Art of Lori Langille

I was exploring Lori Langille's fantastic blog, Automatism, the other day when I found the link to her illustration website. Wow. Her work is so wonderful. (Sampling above) The woman with the pot and pan hat is fantastic and I love the one with the men dressed as butterflies. There's even more {here} at lorilangille.com. Her work has appeared in publications ranging from Texas Monthly to the Toronto Globe and Mail. Whimsy and fantasy make a clever blend!