Sommer Designs

The new FooseyCat

 

Because we like to complicate things.

 

She (we think) is already ignoring us.

 

Go away. I've already been traumatized enough today.

 

We think she's 8-1/2 weeks old - given to us by a friend of Dylan's, who was given 3 from the litter to find homes for. We're having the trouble agreeing on a name (go figure, right?). Some contenders:

 

Princess Lucy of Andalusia.

 

Officer Juno.

 

Sargent Peggy.

 

Ralph Wiggum. And my personal pick,

 

Judge Judy.

 

Candy & Gracie are quite smitten with their new stepsister. But they wish she'd stop hissing at them...

As a visitor, not a vendor

We seem to have finally broken out of our June Gloom and had some wonderfully sunny skies this past weekend (although, it's socked in foggy right now)! I spent so much time outside, just sitting on the patio reading, knitting (deep breath sweater lives!) and just plain day-dreaming.

 

Saturday afternoon, we headed down to Redondo Beach and walked the Riviera Village Summer Festival, which I've participated in the last 3 years, but decided to pass on this year. It's never been hugely successful for me, and walking around Saturday I noticed that the crowd was more medium-sized, but they didn't appear to be shopping (evident by the lack of bags). Part of me was sad to not be doing a show, but a larger part of me was so happy to be walking it instead of working it.

Sunday, Scott and I hit the Old Torrance Antique Street Fair that they have on the 4th Sunday of every month. It had been a couple of years since we last visited, and it's grown immensely in that time.

 

It used to only be down one of the streets, but now it has lots of offshoots down other streets. It was very fun to walk through, but I noticed the prices of goods had really skyrocketed.

 

I'm always on the lookout for vintage jewelry here, but so much of it was out of my price range (most rhinestone earrings and brooches were over $20).

 

It's still fun to look though. And I'm so lucky to have a shopping buddy that actually likes this stuff.

 

While I go for the vintage jewelry and old china, Scott is drawn to World War II memorabilia and old photos. They even have a WWII storefront that I can always count on losing him in for a good long time.

 

This is by no means an Army Surplus store, it's an actual store that has tons of old uniforms, flags, and a huge selection of Life Magazines from the 1940's. He loves that stuff.

So what did I find? A pink quilted glove box and small velvet-lined cowhide jewelry box.

 

And just a few vintage rhinestone buttons and cluster earrings; I left a happy camper.

 

Scott was a happy camper too - old pictures of fighter jets.

 

A good haul for both of us. :)

Growing the backyard

We've been in this house for 9 years this month. While it was a fixer-upper, it wasn't a tear down fixer. Just a needs-updating fixer, which is the best kind of fixer in my opinion. To me, it means the bones are there, and just a little cosmetic help is necessary. All we did to move in was pull the shag, re-carpet, paint, scrap the ceilings and install plantation shutters & wood blinds. Easy. Cost effective too. A year later we remodeled the kitchen and downstairs bath. Inside was initially more important than outside, and since we are huge DIY'ers, we move slow.

In neighborhood standards, we have a pretty spacious backyard. Our house is located on a small uphill bend in the road, so we have a sort of pie-shaped lot. The backyard, while neat, has a large concrete patio (that I hate), good size lawn area and a slope bordered by a stone wall. The slope was covered in ivy and junipers that had grown out of control. It was so ugly. I can't find any pictures on my computer to show you, so you'll just have to take my word for it. (believe me. ugly.)

Last year, we finally tackled the backyard. We had all the ivy ripped out and removed the ghastly junipers. Then we were left with a huge pile of dirt.

 

And the fence was falling down. I took these pictures when we were trying to figure out what to plant and how much space we had.

 

We wanted low maintenance, drought tolerant plants and they had to be pretty, because I like to look at pretty things. Scott decided to rebuild the fence himself, after we got a few astronomical estimates.

 

We planted a few ornamental plum trees, because I love their purple leaves and pink flowers in the spring, as well as some grasses and iceberg roses, lavender, rosemary and jasmine. All the grasses died, we can't figure out why because they are also planted in our front yard which gets the same amount of sun and water.

I think the first year of a garden is difficult. I'm so impatient - I want it to be lush and full immediately. I thought it would take years to fill  in. But yesterday, I was throwing the ball for the girls and noticed how beautiful it was beginning to look.

 

This is the same angle as above! I've added agapanthus and some trailing geranium. And before you start thinking about how awesome that fence looks, let me step back so you can see the whole picture.

 

It's been a year. I think he sank a few more posts into the ground a month ago. We're waiting for the cement to set. *cough*amonthago*cough*

Wait. What's that up there?

 

Has that been there for a month? How about we hike up there and just check on things?

 

It's probably going to level itself, right?

P.S. I am totally going to catch shit for this post. It was going so well too...

Boxes & bins, oh my!

My studio is a pigsty. A month ago, my desk was one as well. I've worked on that, and have been trying to get into the habit of putting away and filing immediately. It helps.

One of the things I dislike about my occupation is the size of the materials used to make what I make. It's not dainty and small. Unless you have a huge, dedicated, space with lots of storage, it's usually out all the time. Bolts and rolls come in, and until something can be done with them, they sit.

Sometimes I just put things in bins to get it out of my sight. Sometimes after a show, I do the same thing with excess inventory. Before you know it, your studio has become a black hole.

Oh, I mean my studio! I'm sure yours is immaculate!

I was whining to Kelley the other day, and when I finished with her, I went and whined to Scott, about how I think I've lost my mojo. About how, lately, I walk into my studio and just want to cry. About how there is just so much shit crap stuff cluttered everywhere, I don't even know where to begin. That's when Scott, exasperated, threw up his hands and said, "That's what I've been telling you!" [Kelley was much more polite about it. She didn't yell at me, but instead suggested we go for tea.]

I know I keep saying I'm going to get organized, but the truth of the matter is that I walk in, and promptly walk out. It's that bad.

Yesterday, I started. I threw stuff out; stuff I won't even tell you about because you'll be angry with me. And I opened boxes and bins and found things, and wondered why I still had them. I have a whole bunch of webbing belts that I made for an event, forgot half of them when I went to the event, and they've been sitting here. For a year.

 

Stuff like this. And I'm trying to figure out if I should list them on Etsy, or just donate them? The lazy ass in me says to just donate them. The practical person is telling me to spend some time photographing and uploading.

Either way, [I think] I'm making some headway here. I have to. I simply can't move forward with all this hanging over my head, and cluttering my workspace. I know, for certain, I can't even begin to work on my fall line in this environment.

Oh. Whiny post. Thanks for listening and not yelling at me. Want to go for tea?

Another college tour...

[This is what is consuming our household this summer - it might be interesting to some, boring to others, but as the parent of 2 high school seniors - this is where we are in life right now :)]

On Friday, Colin & I visited Chapman University & Dodge College of Film & Media Arts in Orange. This was our third college visit (we've already hit Loyola Marymount University [nice] & San Francisco State [eh]). I had already fallen in love with LMU and didn't want to like Chapman. LMU is much closer to home and 5 minutes from where Scott works. I'm thinking about logistics here. Plus, it's closer to the beach (that would have been a top priority for me back in the day).

We started our tour at Dodge, and I was completely and totally blown away. I now understand what it's like to be a parent and only want the very best for your child. You think you know these things as they are growing up and you are trying to give them the best of everything, but when you start visiting colleges, it really hits. They are finally at the age where they can (hopefully) appreciate the sacrifice, and you want to do the most you possibly can to help them achieve all that they can. It's the most anxiety-producing feeling ever.

Dodge is a nearly brand new, 76,000 square foot, $40 million dollar, state of the art facility. The equipment they have here is jaw dropping.

 

Production stages...sound stages...mixing studios.

 

 

Equipment that would rival any Hollywood production...everything is brand new, and the students have access to it all from the get-go.

 

After Dodge, we toured the main campus, which is also practically brand new, and gorgeous.

  

Like LMU, they have a large piece of the Berlin Wall, which is spectacular.

 

The entire campus is wireless - you can be anywhere and have internet access! All the classrooms have desks with outlets for laptops, I was trying to figure out what they didn't think of.

 

 

 

And even though Loyola might be closer to home, the beach, Scott's work - Chapman is down the street from Old Towne Orange, and while that might not interest Colin, it's a big draw for me! I think this school moved up a few notches in my mind.

Now someone just needs to get himself accepted...and then we would need to figure out how to pay for this because it doesn't come cheap.

 

Look at this - the parking structure is under the football field! How cool is that?

Etsy Reloaded

  

I've reloaded my Etsy shop with some great deals - check it out, pass it on!

Also, before I forget yet again, KELLEY is have a Blogversary GIVEAWAY! Check that out before it's too late!

Friday Flickr Favorites

*sigh*

 

Thank you for the inspiration my friends.

The minature garden

Last weekend, when we were in Santa Ynez, we made sure to visit another one of the small nearby towns that I am completely and totally in love with, Los Olivos. It's that quaint place that you picture in your mind when you think about small towns, and is quite literally Mayberry, USA.

 

I'm not for sure certain, but I think this is the flagpole used in the Andy Griffith Show. I could be wrong (it happens, rarely, but it does happen).

 

The main street hosts many of our favorite tasting rooms, Longoria & Andrew Murray to name a few. But the real draw is a wonderful little gift shop and nursery, called J. Woeste. I wish they had a website. I sort of assumed they did, or I would have taken more pictures. It's a sweet converted house, and you enter through a vintage garden gate. There are giant oak trees surrounding the property and in the front, you'll find giant (like, seriously, 9 ft) wind chimes. You would expect a loud obnoxious sound, but it's soft and welcoming and completely nonintrusive.

 

The garden is filled with beautiful containers of ivy and irish mosses. This year, they had the most gorgeous succulent containers. I was completely beside myself. I've never liked succulents, at all.

A few weeks ago, Heather had a post on potted succulents, and I was intrigued. This past weekend, I was sold. J. Woeste incorporated little statuaries and inspiring stones into the pots, and it was gorgeous.

 

The price tag, not so much. This one was $129, and as much as I like to support small independent business, I couldn't help thinking, 'I could make this'.

Yesterday, after I dropped the girls off for their monthly spa day (i.e. dog baths), I stopped by a local nursery and stocked up. A few different succulents, some irish moss, river rocks, cactus mix, some fertilizer and I made my way home. I found a low Spanish style pot and went to town. My interpretation is a little more simple, but it works, and it was a fraction of the cost....

 

And now, I'm afraid, I'm a succulent convert.

Inside the vintage jewelry box

 

As we settle into a lazy summer routine, I've taken to attempting the great American closet clean out. But I'm starting with the drawers. That's okay, right?

I've been collecting vintage jewelry for ages, forever, and I have pieces socked away in different places. That's so typical of me. Because then I forget about it. So I've been coming across all these long forgotten little lovelies, some in perfect condition, some not. I'm working on cleaning them all up and putting them in a proper central location.

Many of the pieces are broken and coming apart. Some are of the what-was-I-thinking? variety. This was a good time to find all this, because I've got nothing on my plate (except for cutting out fall product, and really, who wants to think about fall right now?).

Off I went to Amazon and finally purchased two books I had been ogling for ages, but never felt the justification to purchase until now.

 

Kaari Meng & Amy Hanna's books on jewelry, refashioning and repurposing, and just plain reinspiring. Kaari's book is complete eye candy to me, just the way her French Inspired Home book was 2 years ago.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but I need the diversion right now. I don't know if you noticed, but I'm in the middle of a bad case of bag burnout.

It's almost like a mid-life crisis, but without the Porsche.

The Weekend Escape

 

Scott & I hightailed it out of town early Friday morning. I was time for the annual Gainey Vineyard Members Barbecue, and we couldn't wait to start tasting and relaxing. On the way there I realized it was our first time away alone since last year. We really need to do this more often.

 

In a nutshell, the winery has a free barbecue for its' wine club members each June. Really, the barbecue is mediocre itself, but we go with a group of friends and always have a blast. We begin the evening in the barrel room, where we are treated to the newly released Pinot Noir, straight from the barrel. Good stuff.

 

That's followed by dinner & dancing with a live band in the vineyard. Not a bad way to kick off summer. The weather was perfect. The next day we started with a private tasting/tour of a newer winery up Foxen Canyon Road called Demetria, which was beautiful.

 

I am always in awe of the beautiful gardens surrounding these structures, lavender & roses abound everywhere.

 

 

 

 

I would move here in a minute. Scott just needs to say the word.

 

Check out the swirl action. I'm in the middle of going through over 200 pictures of the weekend - hopefully I can get them uploaded to Flickr later today, you know, in between the "can you take me to ..."

Summer vacation...remember?