Magical souvenirs

I believe everyone benefits from a bit of magic in their lives. 

Magic can come in many different forms, though I've always had a tendency toward forests and fairies. No matter what I do, otherworldy beings find their way into my picture book writing. Also, anything small is completely entrancing to me. Along our trip down the coast last week, I took notice of the magical items that caught my attention. 

(please insert as many squeeeees as you like)

I could not suppress a squeal of delight when I saw this at The Garden Shed. The tagline reads:

'Create an enchanting garden that will open your eyes to the magic of the fairies. This unique mix of wildflowers, herbs, and low-growing plants grows into a miniature landscape to captivate children and adults, and provide a charming home for delightful garden sprites.'

After a breakfast treat of aebelskiver in the adorable Danish-inspired town of Solvang, CA...

I chose some jam to bring back with me.

The name makes me picture small creatures scurrying around to collect berries for their magical elixir.

Fruit of the Forest!

Also at the Garden Shed were these imagination-capturing little lands...

How sweet are these? There were many different styles including a log cabin and a zen pavilion. Look at the teeny tiny details...

I want to make one. My Guy told me perhaps when I retire...

It's so important to collect these magical souvenirs when we're out roaming the world. Even if we don't purchase them, they can stay with us in photos, sketchbooks, imagination... Getting away from my regular day-to-day inevitably brings me new ideas or reminders of things I've always loved. These are not-to-be-missed treasures! They enlighten our sense-of-self and spark our creative muses.

What captures your fancy? And how do you use it in your creative life?

{Outward and beyond}: Cambria

I want to give you a peek inside a magical little shop in Cambria, California called:

The Garden Shed

Can we start with the sweet packaging? I got a little thrill when the shopkeeper, Ashley, attached this mini-bouquet to the bag.

(Note: all photos taken with iPhone--please forgive the quality!)

This treasure trove contains abundantly adorable garden-inspired pleasures.
Let's take a look, shall we?

 Woah! This is actually the busiest corner of the store, which makes those little birds hanging from the tree all the more whimsical.

I adore this whale weather vane. But I adore most weather vanes.

Botanical prints are another high-on-the-list design favorite of mine. Check out the twig frame lining the textured fabric matte. Gorgeous.

Mosaic fairy mushroom. Complete with a metal stake to hold in place outside. Yes.

Can you resist antique keys? I can't. 
This lock must be for containing magical plant elixirs in the fairies' outdoor apothecary. Very strong fairies, I suppose.

Plenty of plants adorn the outside area ready for purchase. I ended up with a container of lemon thyme to augment the collection on my kitchen window sill. These plants above are called Alkanet 'Blue Angel" (anchusa capensis).

LOTS of succulents, like this echeveria, sat sprinkled with dew.

The name of this plant was much too long to remember but no less intriguing.


Of course, no shop of wonders is complete without its own furry salesperson. Meet Abner:

(and notice the sprinkling of mosaic that delights the entire property.)


Abner would really like you to come visit, too. He has just one request:

[the Garden Shed's website]

Relax and enjoy

We've made it to the final stop on our tour of the California coast--beautiful Cambria! More to come soon...but for now, this pic I snapped in Santa Cruz says it all.

Happy weekend, everybody!

Sunset Love: cocktails and cabins

“The new Sunset is here! Wahoooo!”

My mailbox has become familiar with my monthly little jig. Today (the day after receiving the August issue) I just had to throw some love out to the West’s best magazine. For those of you who don’t have the privilege of living on the “right” coast, never fear! You can join my party, too.

While there are an infinite number of places on the interwebs to find uniquely awesome DIY projects, green thumb inspiration, quick and delicious recipes, and travel tips that get you packing, for me, nothing compares to receiving this all-encompassing present in the mail, wrapped in savory oak woodland, rocky coastline mist, and kitschy food truck wonder. Turning each page, wondering what surprise awaits on the next, is a joy I savor each month.

And if that rousing cheer doesn’t entice you, here are some snippets to show you what I mean.

The Party Starter - a tempting little number I plan to serve at an upcoming summer shindig. Freeze watermelon ice cubes to create refreshment as cool as a dip in the pool. Puréeing watermelon can be a sticky endeavor but my mouth says it was absolutely worth it.

Finally I made me some edamame hummus! It’s been on my list for a while, and I couldn’t resist it paired with this super healthy, hippie burger. I added a good measure of mustard and used Trader Joe’s tomato basil pizza veggie burgers for the base. Tasty blend of flavors!

SoCal Veggie Burger

I love, love, love this idea for an outdoor table by FarOutFlora in San Francisco. Made from a repurposed palette, a table runner of succulents adorns the middle providing an everlasting centerpiece. Brilliant!

Finally, my travel bug gets very hoppy when I read about all the featured amazing places I might journey, like the Kenai Fjords Glacier Lodge in Alaska or hidden waterfalls in Hawaii. I downloaded the Best of California’s Central Coast guide for our upcoming trip down Highway 1. I know Sunset understands my desire for out-of-the-way wineries and charming bed and breakfasts. (See, for those of you who only visit the West, here’s a handy resource for you!) They even think about my dog and her travel dreams.

Sunset's website is exquisite, and I could easily be lost there for days. But not everything featured in the magazine is easily found there (or found there at all.) I think this makes my paper companion extra special.

What will I be doing today? Continuing to dream about how I might live out of a recycled shipping container or decompress from city life in a tiny lodge in Lassen Volcanic National Park...

Sound good to you? I thought so.

Weekend fun: alphabets

I'm in love with typography and alphabet inspired art. 

The ALPHABET is a key tool in the physical toolbox of expression.

I'm proud to honor it today, 

along with these featured artists! 

(credited whenever possible)

 {concept poster}

To start us off, here is a photo of the Celtic alphabet that hangs in my living room. I snatched it up the moment I laid eyes on it in a sweet, little shop in Dublin. It's based on the art found in the ancient Book of Kells.

{artist unknown}

As a teacher and children's book writer, I also swoon over alphabets created for children.

{Carmen Mok}

{Paul Thurby}

 My favorite board book

{Charley Harper's ABC}

Admiring the intricacies of pen and pencil illustration...

 {Raluca Avarvarei - Old Alphabet of Fee}

 {Robert Westwood - hand drawn monograms}

Another collection of alphabet eye candy: FOUND ART

 French - avion, bicyclette, canard...

{Grégoire Ganter}

{Jen Quinn}

{Abba Richman}

{aerial typography of New York - Rachel Young}

And finally farther afield...unusual examples of alphabet reverence.

{EINE shutters - Middlesex Street}

{pantry typography - Samir Zahran}

cool large image here

And my FAVORITE of the day...

{via wattpad}

Find more ALPHABET LOVE on my Pinterest board!

Wordplay: not just for kids anymore

“Language is most daring and most advanced when it is used in a playful setting.”
 -Jerome Bruner

We have been given the beautiful gift of luscious language, why not make it a regular part of our adult playspace? More and more research is finding its way into popular media on the importance of play in innovation, creativity, and personal health for both kids and adults. Words are with us every moment, which means we have an infinite number of opportunities to let loose, flap our traps, and cut a literary rug. 

"The opposite of play is not work, it is depression."

-Brian Sutton-Smith

I feel fortunate to belong to an urban tribe full of playful wordsmiths. We seem to find ourselves rhyming, alliterating, parsing, and coining with reckless abandon. Here are some examples that tickle my fancy.

I giggle inside at the use of Old Timey words used in modern contexts. Words like:

betwixt
alas and alack
tomfoolery

Some words just feel good to say like hoodikai. [(noun) the thing you can’t remember the name of]

“Where the heck is that hoodikai?”

Skedaddle, Roxaboxen, picnic, cinnamon...

My friend calls her Kitchen Aid stand mixer the “the Mixin’ Vixen.”

I also love moments that might call for super swags to use swear words or slang but they choose totally innocuous phrases instead, like:

“Splendid!”
“Yikes!”
 “You! You’re such a turkey.”

Did I mention that you are allowed to be as nerdy as you want in wordplay?

Invented Words
In an unusual energetic role reversal (I’m usually beat by 9:30 each night, he’s working hard to get to sleep by 11:00) Ben sleepily said to me, “Why are you so awake and I’m so…whomper??”

Last night, nine of us kids had a “Hangout” on Google+ (more to come on this soon!) We had aimed to have a Meaningful Creative Melding of the Minds, but the excitement of being together took over and “important work” transformed to pure silliness. Someone snapped a shot of the screen with their phone for documentation, and I quipped, “We’re so meta beta right now.” Like, commenting on our fumbling prototype? Get it?

Then we got lost with trucker lingo for awhile.
"Gotta get my covered wagon to the chicken coup before another Big R blows my doors off!"

One of my word champions started a game around the campfire in Yosemite. The goal: to make the longest, sensical string of rhyming words possible. (You can start it off with a non-rhyming word.)

I sought her hotter, broader, daughter.
Caught her.
Got her water, got her fodder.
Taught her, fought her,
shot her.

You need to read this out loud as fast as possible to really get it. Go on! You know you wanna try it.

Another 'king of non-sequitor' friend tweeted:
{Why sing a song of sixpence when you could just rob the "Feed the Birds" lady, who's clearly been raking in the tuppence all day?}

You may have hilarity oozing from every orifice. (Please share your kooky examples in my comments! Bad puns earn extra points.) Or you may not realize how much you already engage in wordplay. Give an extra ear to conversation, sports headlines, and commercials to find language being used in surprising ways. And listen to kids—they’re naturals at messing things up in funny ways.

Lucas: “I know why there’s a [-ber] in December. It’s because it’s so cold and usually snowing!”

It’s Friday—the perfect time to play!  So loosen your lips and let out some luscious language. If you're a writer, be sure to jot your findings down in a notebook for possible future use.

And as the truckers would say,
“KEEP THE SHINY SIDE UP & THE RUBBER SIDE DOWN!”

Garden dreams are growing

Early on in the spring I posted about my plans for a summer vegetable garden bed. Since we rent our little cottage we call The Grass House, we are limited in our renovation abilities. Still, an empty corner of packed dirt called out to be tilled. I'm happy to report--things are growing! Here's a sunny update on what's blooming (during the coldest week of our summer so far.)

Loosening the clay dirt

First I have to give enormous, love-filled thanks to my Ben, who ended up putting in all the manual labor as I sat in the director's chair with a swollen foot. He is above and beyond expectation and simply the dreamiest. Thanks also to my mom, another great backyard gardener who helped put the bed in, and Ben's parents who gave us their old cement bricks.

Oh boy.

I was excited to try some options that would maximize the small space. Notice that the bed is more a trapezoid than a rectangle. Great idea for using a corner space but if you don't spend time on measurements and angles, you'll end up needing to break some bricks to make them fit.

We decided to put the second layer of bricks face down for stability. It's holding well!

I loved seeing this bed come together and dumping it full of rich compost to amend the soil. Between the end of the school year and hobbling on crutches, it took awhile to get our plants in the ground. Finally we found sun gold tomatoes, watermelon beefsteak tomatoes, a volunteer cherry from Ben's brother-in-law, and zucchini all from my favorite local nursery, Wegman's.

The zucchini were apparently a tasty midnight snack for some creature (maybe the neighbor cat?) and we decided to wall the bed with netting until the plants become more established.

Zucchini with two blooms

My big success!

I had originally planned to line a small upper tier with another layer of bricks for herbs. This would give the bed an interesting shape and allow the center plants to be reached more easily. In the end, I decided against it. The space didn't really allow for it with the plants I had, but I'd be curious to try it in the next round. I planted some lime basil and cilantro seeds around the tomato plants. I read somewhere that planting basil next to tomatoes brings out their flavor. We'll see if they sprout.

Late addition--mixed greens in an oak barrel in the shade!

Happiness is...

photo by Instagram

Big Chocolate Chip Cookies! ...watching these 4 oz monsters melt into a giant cookie pie in the oven and then eating the gooey insides right off the cooling rack.

photo from My Baking Addiction

Nectarine Galette! ...making my own crust and not having it fall apart everywhere. Deliciously fresh summer stone fruits. Serving dessert to my family and friends on my favorite platter from Grandma's house.

photo by Bryan Matthews

Pinterest dessert boards - where I found these delicious recipes!