We took a little jaunt to the north country last weekend and I got to do all my favorite things, including a quick stop at Heath Ceramics in Sausalito. Heath has been making handcrafted tile and tableware since 1948, and they are one of the last mid-century American potteries in existance. Their crew of about 60 employees makes every single piece by hand, right here at their Sausalito factory.
Heath Ceramics
400 Gate 5 Road
Sausalito, CA 94965-2807
(415) 332-3732
There seemed to be some kind of high-tide flooding situation going on.
Last Friday Andrew and I headed south to Rancho Palos Verdes for a weekend-long wedding bonanza for his friends Brian and Erica. He was in the wedding, so thanks to Erica's very generous parents, we got to stay at the Terranea for two nights. Holy high rolling!
Brian and Erica
I have always been fascinated by the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Sandwiched between Torrance and Long Beach, the area always struck me as a diamond in the rough that is Los Angeles. It's easy to forget you're in the smoggiest city west of the Mississippi when you're surrounded by wild peacocks, open space and a rugged, beautiful coastline.
Mary Donovan
I read a little bit about the history of PV before we left and my imagination got all fired up!
The Palos Verdes Yacht Club (not sure if it ever actually existed, but it looks great)
I read that Myrna Loy and Ethel Barrymore used to attend lavish parties at Villa Narcissa, which still belongs to the Vanderlip Family, the original developers of the area. Old school Los Angeles Glamour! Oh the magic I would find in Palos Verdes!
The wedding attire was formal, so naturally I had a neurotic crisis about what to wear. In looking for inspiration, I started thinking about Myrna and other movie stars of the 1920's and 30's.
I was thinking Great Gatsby!
And the Roaring 20's!
I also had an at-home-coloring fiasco last week and I have black hair now. I thought I'd make hair-lemonade and work with it.
How cute is Nancy Carroll?!
I watched numerous tutorials on YouTube trying to learn how to do a "finger wave". I was obsessed! I borrowed a curling iron! I bought bobby-pins! I had great big dreams.
But my inherent laziness won out, and I pulled a total cheater maneuver and just stuck a bunch of bobby-pins in there. I may have curled two strands, so all the room that the curling iron used up in my suitcase wasn't a total loss.
And lucky for me, a girl can't look bad when she's got a hunky man in a tuxedo on her arm:
Andrew's Mom loaned me the strand of pearls at the last second. Good call, Marion.
Of course, Erica looked stunningly beautiful.
Although I prefer this look on her.
There was an 80's cover band!
So of course this happened.
Looking deeply into Andy Dick's eyes...
Nicole is such a fashion maven. She matched her glasses with her beautiful dress. Hawt!
Love was all around us that night. Jarrod and Katy were really feeling it.
True Love!
See? It's true. E+B = heart.
Thanks Erica and Brian for a fantastic weekend. I wish you all the happiness in the world and a long, wonderful life together!
This has been the coldest, grayest Santa Barbara summer I have ever known. I would love nothing more
than to throw my ennui to the wind and fog and drive my imaginary 1966 Thunderbird convertible to the desert to warm my bones and lift my spirits. But I have this yob, see, and while I would love nothing more than to shirk social mores and say "F.U.!" to being a productive member of society, I really like to eat food and buy things, and to do that I need money, and to get money I need the yob. So I'm going to take us on a Full On Imaginary Desert Road Trip!
First things first, we have to make sure we look good, so lets get some killer Desert Road Trip threads from Sarah at Magnolia Family Vintage.
This poncho will look perfect on you.
I've been dying to get this romper.
We can take turns sharing this radical southwestern themed sweater!
Are you ready to go? Hit play for some tunes, and let's ride!
We'll get to Joshua Tree just in time for Sunset!
We can pull into Room 8 and channel the spirit of Gram Parsons
The Innkeepers Margo and Yvo will make sure we have a groovy time.
We'll roll out of bed and wander over to the Beatnik Cafe. Sin City is playing on the jukebox! What does it mean?! Do you think he heard us from the other realm?
or checking out the crochet museum (Joel Carranza)
or doing an impromptu photo shoot
We can hang out with this cute couple in their sick Westy!
(Photo: Kirsten Ellis)
It's been a long day of desert fun. Let's head to Pappy and Harriets for a beer and see who's playing tonight. Oh man, we lucked out! It's Dead Rock West, and they're playing my favorite song!
Next we'll go to Tucson to visit Nick and January. I miss them.
We can shop here
and we can stalk Neko Case because she bought something from my company and I have her address now. Don't tell anyone!
God she's cool.
This is the best Imaginary Road Trip EVER! The open road makes me feel so FREE! This is what life is supposed to feel like. I think we need to talk.
Oh my god, you're RIGHT! How could I forget that Leslie and the Badgers are coming to Muddy Waters on Sunday?
Okay, well I guess we don't have to pull a Thelma and Louise after all. Let's turn this boat around and head west Friends! Thanks for coming along, and see you at Muddy Waters on Sunday, August 15 for Leslie and the Badgers.
