Due to some planned events, and a very sad unplanned one, I have only been home one weekend in the last 5. To say that this has affected my progress in the art area is an understatement, as I don't tend to be very productive in the evenings after work. So I thought I'd share some pics from a couple of the happy reasons I was out of town, as I love it when other bloggers take me on little vicarious trips with them through pictures.
The one weekend I did spend at home, the weekend before this last one, I decorated for Christmas as it was my only chance until mid-December, when it's just too late to bother since we're out of town the week of Christmas. I haven't taken any pictures of it but my husband took this picture because he was proud of the fire he built. (The house we moved to recently has a fireplace, which we sorely missed in our last house, so we're still in our fireplace honeymoon phase)
I do have one picture of a page I did in a journal a few weeks ago, an abstract piece from a Gillian Lee Smith online class that I've been neglecting.
My husband and I went to Mendocino for our 2nd anniversary - I can't believe it's been 2 years already. The Mendocino coastline is so beautiful....
This is where we stayed, it's called Fensalden Inn, we were in our own bungalow way off to the left, very rustic, apparently it was part of an old hippie commune, but we loved it and we were allowed to have our dogs.
We took the dogs for a walk on the trails they keep maintained on the property, our bungalow is in the background. The dogs had a blast.
The owner was so proud of this perfect souffle he served me for breakfast that I had to take a picture of it.
I loved this old weathered fence that was all over the property.
In nearby Fort Bragg, this store has very specific and seemingly unrelated specialties - my husband finds it hilarious and has been trying to remember the name of it ever since we were here several years ago - he was so excited to finally find out what it was and see that it was still there.
From the ridiculously charming village of Mendocino, looking back at the coastline.
A last shot of coastline, I think I'll save the girl's weekend at Avila Beach for my next post, before I lose your attention!
You held my attention right down to that beautiful shot of the bay......
ReplyDeleteYour room with the fire (beautifully lit!) looks amazing - so welcoming and cosy.
The Mendocino coast does indeed look stunning..... going to have to get my Atlas out later! It looks like a lovely place to stay....
A lovely post :)
Karen x
You've been a busy girl, and I'm sorry that you've had some sadness in your life.
ReplyDeleteI love love love these wonderful photos, I could happily have looked at loads more.
I have never heard of Mendocino, and it looks so beautiful. How wonderful that you could take your dogs with you - they look like they're having such fun.
Your Christmas decorations look so pretty. As for the fire, all men have this 'Man Make Fire' thing going on. We have a chiminea which Grant takes great pride in sorting out. If I ever put any wood in it he gets a pained expression on his face (usually warranted as I have a knack of killing fires!!). You can tell your husband that he has made a magnificent fire for this photo!
xxx
I was in Mendocino once. It was the summer after I graduated from college and I was on a cross-country road trip with my future husband and our mutual best friend. After five wretched days in LA, we headed to Northern California and it was like a different planet. Mendocino is much more my speed! I think we were only there for an afternoon, but it was memorable. (and not just because I accidentally left my wallet on the table of a restaurant and didn't realize it for several hundred miles. this was 1989, no internet, no cell phones. We somehow pieced together the name of the restaurant, and called information from a phone booth to get the number, and called them and they had the wallet, and graciously mailed it to my home in Massachusetts. I spent the next few weeks driving across the country without a license or credit/debit card, but I still had my traveler's checks and eventually I got my wallet back!)
ReplyDeleteYour living room looks so cosy and beautiful all lit up for Christmas - that fire is just perfect for sitting in front of and doing nothing for the evening after a day at work! So sorry to hear you've had a sad event recently, I hope life is getting back to normal for you. I love the photos of Mendocino, it looks a beautiful place - we drove the coast from San Diego up to San Francisco and Sacramento but didn't get as far North as Mendocino - I wish we had, it looks beautiful!
ReplyDeleteHow fabulous! Both the retreat AND the fireplace :D XXX
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