Maya Angelou April 4, 1928 - May 28, 2014

“I am convinced that most people do not grow up. We find parking spaces and honor our credit cards. We marry and dare to have children and call that growing up. I think what we do is mostly grow old. We carry accumulation of years in our bodies and on our faces, but generally our real selves, the children inside, are still innocent and shy as magnolias."
― Maya Angelou, Letter to My Daughter

NYT

::

today my dear neighbor melba took d and i up to the house her late husband willis built by hand some 60 years ago. he would always tell me the story of how he married melba for her '53 chevy, and she would tell me how she married him for this house.





they kept the tiny house in the hills as an income property after they moved to the valley to raise their family.

it is an amazing tiny treehouse of a house. nestled beneath a most wonderful california sycamore and balanced on a steep hillside. it is a wonder to think of willis grading this property, placing the retaining walls, then building, without any power tools, this gem. the details are lovely. rocks in the cement pathway. shoeracks in the closet. redbrick echoing around the yard. it is a work of art by a man who found a way to express himself in everything he did.

how we all should be.



on valentine's day 1954 he poured a walkway. a perfect eternal valentine.


inspired in so many ways.

a challenge

via the petite gourmand (and tweaked for jumilla)

21 DAY ORGANIZING CHALLENGE

Join the Challenge (at any time)
Day 1 - junk Drawer & cutlery drawer
Day 2 - craft supplies & kids' art work
Day 3 - kitchen cabinets
Day 4 - linen Closet
Day 5 - office closet (fabric!)
Day 6 - dresser drawers
Day 7 - the pantry
Day 8 - coat closet
Day 9 - toy organization
Day 10 - laundry room
Day 11 - the Freezer
Day 12 - spice cabinet- remember to replace anything older than one year
Day 13 - medicine cabinet
Day 14 - under bathroom sinks
Day 15 - home office- edit magazines & books
Day 16 - the Fridge
Day 17 - the Mail
Day 18 - keepsakes
Day 19 - master closet
Day 20 - photos
Day 21 - You pick!

open house

we did make it to this open house on sunday. the listing is with my friend (and neighbor!) craig. he made me promise we wouldn't buy it and move away :)







the house is absolutely amazing. literally open to all the elements. apparently, koenig said something along the lines of "screens are for keeping insects inside". the cross ventilation made it comfortable on a very hot day. it felt like we were up in the trees.

the house is being sold by its original owner. she was a baker - and it is full of custom built-ins (flour sifter etc.) that mesmerized the girls. and a little door in each bathroom that connect to the laundry room for a quick deposit of dirty socks. the details are wonderful.

such a treat to get to peek inside a gem like this.

more pics over here.

last day of summer vacation.

sigh. "best so far"

Farmer John

visited my friend John and his amazing garden yesterday. including his many chickens. and his many many bees.





John too is amazing! his company The Woven Garden is inspiring. and if you live in the LA area and are interested in the birds and the bees - sign up for his class on Backyard Chickens and Bees at The Arboretum Saturday May 28th. it will not disappoint.

::

‎"Whatever space and time mean, place and occasion mean more."
- Aldo van Eyck

new love

like I needed another reason to be on-line.

Pinterest



i must say it is a great way to "collect" all that inspiration out there. and really, i have been much better at staying off the computer. ahem. really d.

thinking about sewing.

but showing pictures about food.





i am so pleased with our csa venture. while our garden is still producing - it is a treat to receive crops we don't (can't) grow in our backyard. kohlrabi. avocado. three different kinds of carrots. turnips. (what do you do with turnips???)

our adventure in eating less meat - and less wheat - has been greatly aided by the bounty we are receiving each week. and by the wonderful eggs we collect every morning. so very good.

but what i am really thinking about is sewing. and this challenge. of which i had tossed my name in. i am trying not to put too much pressure on myself. to be reasonable. i will be very proud if i pull off two pairs of summer pjs for the girls.

ahhhh summer pjs.

growing local

i seem to have a lot of friends named john. lucky i suppose.

i visited with one today. to talk about school gardens - and how we were going to reinvent the idea at my girls' school. he is one of those people that i liked instantly. (we met when i took this class from him.) and although i haven't known him for that long, i feel like i have known him forever. we share the same politics. the same ex-pat status (though he is irish to my canadian). a softspot for chickens. and the same love of gardens. his is more hardcore. but he is winning me over.

here is the city sidewalk in front of his home.



his front garden is amazing. poppies, western redbud, irises, fuchsia, sages - the usual california dry garden suspects - but also tomatoes, roses, sunflowers, fava beans, nasturtiums and the sweetest smelling sweatpeas ever.





the back garden has chickens, two hives and the makings of a small orchard. by the time i got back there my arms were full of honeycomb, oranges, and fava beans - so no pictures. i will have to go back.

all this less than a mile from me. in beautiful winnetka (a suburb of los angeles).



oh, and he has an organic gardening company called "the woven garden". check it out!

inspiration

"Kids today are bombarded with a pop culture that teaches redemption through buying things. School gardens, on the other hand, teach redemption through a deep appreciation for the real, the authentic, the lasting, the things that money can't buy: the things that matter most of all if we are going to lead sane, healthy and sustainable lives."
- Alice Waters

renewed love affair

with Louise Bourgeois


from Ode A L'oubli (Ode to Forgetting)2004, Fabric and colour lithograph book
image from Marlborough Fine Art

how i would love to see this "in the flesh"

inspired to print on linen...

sunshine and rain

feeling oh so inspired by a very sunshine-y and very generous stash of fabric and trim from lisa. (you are my superhero!) can't wait to see her show down in venice. i already have a selection pulled and have started in on a log cabin pillow (in homage) based on the tutorial found here. it's rainy and cooler and i feel very much like playing with my new machine. (yes halloween costumes are on the pile too!)

and i finally broke down and bought some shinzi katoh glasses. i had been on a thrift hunt for juice glasses for the girls - to replace their plastic ikea ones - and just couldn't find any. not quite true. i couldn't find any they would fight over. which may sound counter intuitive but, for some reason, k is very attached to the colourful plastic in our cupboard and i felt a need to go heavy on the cute quotient to draw her away from the "dark side".

it worked. they fight over them. though e prefers the animals and k the bubble girl.

there is another with a donkey that i am soft on. half filled with a good cabernet. a rainy night. my new fabric stash. and my sewing machine.

perfect.

happy wednesday!

xo

my gift to myself. by stephanie. upon opening the box i was so struck by the beauty and simplicity of this. it actually took my breath away. it feels to good to hold. the power of handmade. can't be replicated.

and sitting on my new chair - so good as well. (cross number 11 off my list!)