Friday, December 22, 2017

Peace • Joy • Love • Christmas


Last weekend, the girls were out shopping for baking supplies; Brad was finishing The Brothers Vonnegut; I was uploading, spacing, creating this blog post. The wind was up and the house was quiet. The bakers soon returned... and yours truly and her elves went to work.

Now it is Friday and I have wrapped up work for a few days. Santa's sleigh will come to town in no time at all. Glitter will shine; frosted bottlebrush trees and hand-twirled ornaments await; candles and votives will be lit; teal and silver; pastels and gold... The evening will be divine.



















There is Joy. There is Joyeux. There is light. 
These are the Christmas vignettes around my home.

I wish you peace and love and goodness and everything in between for this Holiday Season. Enjoy all the little moments - You do know it is good for the soul.

Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année ~ Adeline

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Missions and La Playa

Missions • Long overdue on my to-do list was stepping into California's founding history via its remarkable Missions. Walking through their well-landscaped inner courtyards, their frescoed inner sanctums and churches, their impressive museums filled with noteworthy paintings, sculptures, and both Spanish and Native American artifacts; I marveled at this important period in the state's history. The small towns where they are located still vibrate with a calming gentle pace of days gone by - some catering to the tourist throngs, some moving more slowly as though on hold from today's brisk pace.

Ojai • Ventura • Carpinteria • Los Olivos • Pismo Beach • San Luis Obispo • Santa Barbara
- Let me take you on a detour -


• Mission Santa Barbara •


 • Mission Santa Ines • 


 • Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa •


 • Mission San Buenaventura •



Playas • I am not much a beach person. I do not usually linger there. I was smitten this time. Shorelines went on forever. The soft hues of the light made geometric patterns in soft shades of pale creams and faded grays and soft taupes; each pattern caressed by the slow moving ripples of the surf. The morning fog had wrapped the sky as the palm trees stood proud against it. 

Pismo Beach •

• Carpinteria State Beach •


Central Valley Twilight
    Heading back north, the evening sky twirled and twirled away - it was out of this world.

I have been plotting in my mind the next time I go south - most likely a return along the Pacific Highway via Carmel, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Morro Bay, Big Sur, Cambria... 

For now, I stayed a bit closer to home - stay tuned for my latest weekend up the coast to Dry Creek Valley and Alexander Valley - in our turbulent world, these getaways are simply so good for the soul.
Enjoy as always ~ Adeline





Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Design Comes First • Innovative Design That Is.

Ernest Hemingway said "Cut out the ornamentation and design as straight as you can" - he was speaking of the written word. I see what he meant. I have this thing with clean lines. I have this thing with order. I definitely have a thing with innovative designers who see those lines, who seek risk, who champion ambition, who push beyond the ordinary - whose vision is to draw you in, to startle you into an emotional response that you don't expect. 

I step into a space, and before all else I anchor my feet solidly on the ground. I take it all in. I actually cannot take a seat until I have taken it all in. I take in the vision, the intent, the originality. I take in the beauty, the experimentation, the chance taken, the genius. I relish the moment.
Only after I have this this all in - once I am more than a little dizzy with awe - will I then sit down - or simply continue looking.

Each of the places below stopped me in my tracks. Each one has inspired me from the very moment I stepped on its threshold. Take a road trip, stay close to home - it does not matter. Look. See. Risk. Design. Create. Be the catalyst. Take a chance. And look again.


•  Presqu'île Winery • Orcutt •




ØL Beer Café & Bottle Shop • Walnut Creek •




•  Sans Liège Wine Bar • Pismo Beach •




•  Sir Francis Drake Hotel • San Francisco •




•  Museum of Modern Art • San Francisco •




•  Preserve • Winters •




•  Frank Lloyd Wright Civic Center • San Rafael •




•  Calicraft Brewing Company • Walnut Creek •




 Lincoln Park Wine Bar • San Anselmo •

I have added the links to each place. There are so many stunning spaces that speak to my sense of aesthetics - my curiosity for the unique. My list just wants to grow.
My older daughter has caught the bug. She has a unique way of capturing modern spaces, ageless spaces. I can see that she is moved by them.

Remember to stand still, to look up, to look around - don't just eat the food drink the drink view the art spend the night file the forms. Take it ALL in. You will see very quickly how good it is for the soul. 

Enjoy as always, Adeline

Sunday, March 12, 2017

Oh to be a doll for a day

Most people have a collection of sorts; some are passionate about historical maps, others might prefer miniature cars, antique corkscrews, or perhaps vintage textiles. I was blissfully lucky to photograph my mother's doll collection - a collection like no other. As far back as I can remember, there have been dolls in my mother's world. 

From her many travels and year-long stays overseas, she has amassed an impressive collection; each doll's origin reaching far and wide. One dates back to the 16th century; a charming couple was found in the Himalayan foothills; a Chinese set was purchased in HongKong. Matryoshka and Russian peasant dolls add to the mix, as does an antique trio from Provence with their sombre papier-mâché faces. Others come from the heart of Americana, while the cage dolls reach back to Spanish Colonialism. There are the German wooden stick dolls, and the darling rag doll made by my father's mother made during his childhood years living in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. 

I remember Fifi (she gets her own caption below). Fifi lived in my home during my parents' many years in the Himalayas. When they would come to visit, Fifi proudly awaited her return, sitting on an old children's chair, her black straw hat weathering the test of time with its bold ribboned flowers; the elastics of her cuffs softening.

Before their move to Europe, my parents stayed with me for a while - the dolls amassed over time started finding little corners of their living space. I came up with the idea of making a book for my mother to take back with her - I would stage the dolls against the various colorful backgrounds in my home, and let whimsical styling take over. Porcelain skins, rosy cheeks, sideways glances, cinnabar red lips; I played doll in a way, looking at each one, intrigued by their journey here, each one patiently waiting for me to tend to them.

col






















💜Fifi















The book is done. This last photo is on the cover. The dolls have crossed a wide expanse of water and made their way to 's Hertogenbosch. My mom is happy. The dolls are happy. I am happy. 
All that is indeed good for the soul.
Enjoy as always, Adeline