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

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

A Castle In The Air

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have tell you about this sweet treasure up on the California coast. I love it when a place grabs every little bit of my aesthetic sensibilities, as though someone out there knew I would come to them, and they had created this haven purposely for me to cross its path.

This sweet gem is along the Navarro River not too far from the Mendocino coast - a remodeled water tower so cleverly re-purposed for hosting guests. The water is still above, but the interior is now pure white, pure bliss, and pure calm. My partner and I were charmed. I could have stayed in all day. There was a coolness to the air on that late spring weekend. There were delicious cubes of zucchini bread left by our delightful hosts Elsa and Robert. There was a celebratory anniversary bloom. There was angelic music. There was candlelight.  There was a loft for a peaceful night or two. There was such creativity. There was uniqueness. There I was. There we were.

I find myself seeking the unusually serene in the world around me. I notice how I gravitate to quiet clean line spaces. I notice how I love the 'negative' space in a big wide expanse; a term often used back in my days at the San Francisco Art Institute in my various photography classes.

This unique space knocked on the door of my days when I was searching for a tucked away treasure on Airbnb. Lucky me. That coastline beckons.

I return to the area next week. In this wild world of ours there is no doubt a healing getaway is so good for the soul...

Happy escapades ~ Enjoy as always, Adeline