California Jewels from the Sea

Sometimes there are just no words to describe such perfect beauty and delicacy.  And to think that these beauties just wash up on the beach - wow!  Any time I feel overwhelmed and stressed, a walk on the beach with these gorgeous natural blue, green, and purple iridescent shells makes those stresses seem so inconsequential.

Thought you all might enjoy!  These are right off my handy, dandy phone camera, I never leave home without it in my pocket.

  Here's to Mondays!

P.S. These are not edited pics  - our shells are really this pretty!

The Art of Glass Blowing in Half Moon Bay

Well, for me it turned out to be my very own Half Moon Bay pumpkin paperweight, but I digress....

From Ocean Home Magazine - August/September Issue

Last month when I got my advance copy of the latest Ocean Home Magazine, I opened it up to discover a wonderful article about travels and things to do in Half Moon Bay.  As you all know, I spend A LOT of time over there wandering the beaches, picking up sea glass and dining at some of my favorite beach haunts; Half Moon Bay Brewery, Moss Bay Distillery and The Ritz Carlton to name a few.

We were so excited to see Tom's friend Doug Brown, owner of Half Moon Bay Art Glass,  profiled in the article too!  Doug's specialty is his famous, hand blown colorful Half Moon Bay glass pumpkins.   Every single one of these incredibly beautiful pumpkins is uniquely different - cannot imagine how many of these amazing creations he's made.

We jumped in the new Mini Cooper (have I told you about our Mini yet??) to take a copy of the magazine over to Doug at his glass art studio.  He was so happy to get a copy that he invited me back to learn how to blow glass the following week.   Just gotta say; the man is brave and a courageous teacher! "Hot" doesn't even begin to describe molten glass in Doug's kilns - yikes.

Here's Doug hard at work!  I just tried to stay out of the way as he is amazing to watch. 

Finishing touches before being placed in the kiln to be fired overnight.

Whew!  Somehow I managed to spend an hour in Doug's studio without burning myself - 

and look how my "pumpkin" turned out!  I was a little afraid of the glass blowing part, and truly handling the glass is much harder than it looks, but I am pretty proud of my little pumpkin paperweight.

You too, can learn how to do create these. If you are planning a trip to our stretch of the California Coast, or if you are a Bay Area local,  Doug teaches regular classes in his Half Moon Bay Art Glass Studio, for all ages and all experience levels,.  Not just for pumpkins alone, but he's taught classes in creating glass hearts or sea creatures.  It is extremely affordable and fun at only $40.00, and about a half-hour's time.  Plus, you actually get to keep your very own creation!

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Half Moon Bay Art Glass Studio: 650-283-5626

website: HMBArtGlass.com. 

Early Morning Beach Walks

Some Sunday Mornings are just too beautiful to not share.....

Again, have to pinch myself that I am soooo lucky to live close to Half Moon Bay.  Just a 20 minute drive in our new mini cooper over the coastal mountain range and we are walking on the beach.  Tom and I love to grab a granola bar, pour coffee into our travel mugs and head out for a walk.

Captured this on my iphone last weekend, when we drove down to take the product photos of our new hand blown glass sea urchins that will soon be on our site.

Take a beach break and enjoy the waves!

(yes, that is the Ritz Carlton in the background)

Sunday Shorelife - Great Blue Heron

Superbowl Sunday calls for a long beach walk before settling in on the couch.. Giants? Patriots?  We are not that invested in the game this year, as Tom's favorite teams didn't make the cut... no Packers, no Forty-Niners and no Seahawks... but we've cooked up some fabulous ribs and corn muffins!

The tide was the farthest out we've ever seen at Half Moon Bay - lots of tidepools to explore, not only for us, but for this beautiful California Great Blue Heron.

Lunch caught!

And then, I got a little too close and the heron had enough of my camera and my in-elegant splashing!

Can't believe that I actually got this shot of him/her taking off with the fish!

Hope you all are having a wonderful Sunday.

For your very own heron....

 Red Heron Beach Wall Art

Heron Etched Glassware

Embroidered Blue Heron Pillow - safe for indoor and outdoor!

Beach House Style for the Apartment (mine, that is!)

Well, the apartment is taking shape, but  not anywhere close to being finished. I decided that I had to show you all some of the progress I am making.....

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a great store in Half Moon Bay called Abode, they carry way cool simple natural items, including quite a few local artisan hand-crafted interesting things.  Here's a few pics from the store!

Do you recognize the rocks?  I bought two out of this bowl - "I Love You" and the "Happiness" rock.  

Way too cute!

Could not resist these!  Alphabet Soup Letters, a bargain at only $6.00 each, all hand painted and stenciled on reclaimed pieces of plywood. Want to see what I did with mine?

Of course, I had to buy a C for Caron, and a T for Tom!  Like my pink seahorses and tropical fish? 

Found this sea shell and coral bright shower curtain at that DANGEROUS store, T.J. Maxx.  Trying to combine my stuff with Tom's stuff - quite a challenge, this shower curtain helped bring all of the combined towel colors together.

Another T.J. Maxx find - Tom had a good laugh, he thought it was pretty funny that the sign is pointing into San Francisco, and not towards the beach, I thought it was pretty clever to have it point into the shower. Duh! 

My little corner... I am hoping to have the starfish back on my website soon.  Our manufacturer has been out of stock for the longest time! (Candles purchased at Beach House Style last summer)

 Here's another cute recycled shell that would look great with  candles too - our small scallop bowls ($6.95) - here's a direct link! http://www.caronsbeachhouse.com/servlet/the-169/glass-shells,-coastal-decorating,/Detail

(Sorry, had to throw in a little shameless self-promotion!)

Like I said, the apartment is a work in progress, but I am sure having fun discovering new stores and treasures here in the Bay Area!  Have a great Thursday and a great weekend - 

Sunday Drives..

After all of the moving, packing, unpacking, cleaning, and sorting inventory, I desperately needed a break last Sunday. (was approaching a melt-down stage!) Thank goodness Tom doesn't mind heading to the ocean, and walking with me on the beach. He will even hold my hand...

No beach glass to be found, but the sounds and sights of the thundering surf did the trick! There is just something soothing and so incredibly beautiful about driving on Hwy 1, in California. We headed south after turning at Half Moon Bay, simply driving along the winding, curving road, finding it difficult to not want to stop at every state park and vista along the way! So much to see and admire; long stretches of golden sand, the bright pinks and neon yellows of the spring blooming coastal flowers with the extraordinary dark swirling aqua and turquoise shades of the Pacific Ocean.

Tom definitely had to hold my hand, while I took DEEP breaths walking out along the cliffs, with a very strong wind blowing. There was a big sign - "Caution" Unstable Cliffs... guess we missed that! Hope you all enjoy the pictures - so many bright colors!

Pigeon Point has become one of my favorite stops along Hwy 1, there is always something different to see and enjoy. Crumbling, falling down lighthouse, weather beaten buildings and a picket fence...

A rope fence....love these colors!

Wild Calla Lillies everywhere!

Look at these wild strawberry plants covering the dunes at Scott's Beach... brings back so many memories of strawberry picking in the dunes at Ocean Shores...

Ice Plants

Love our Sunday drives, and I think Tom does too - because we stop at New Leaf grocery store in Half Moon Bay, and we buy oysters. (not for me!) This time we also brought home a wonderful swordfish steak.

Where are your favorite Sunday afternoon drives?

Poplar Beach/Bluff Top Coastal Park

Last spring on one my first adventures by myself in the Bay Area, I discovered Poplar Beach, a jewel of a city park in Half Moon Bay. This has now become a favorite escape to the beach for me. Lots of FREE parking and during the week, it's easy to find a parking space, although on the weekends it is a bit more difficult - especially during the summer months.

I love going here to just sit and enjoy the roar of the surf, the seabirds playing in the wind, pelicans diving in and out of the Pacific - doesn't matter to me if the sun shines or not. Lucky for me that there is a path that runs all along the bluff with benches scattered along the trail. On weekends you might not get lucky enough to find an empty bench, but this past Tuesday with high surf and roaring wind it was no challenge.

For me, there is something about a day on the coast that is NOT sunny, it is infinitely more interesting. This was one of those days, pounding seas, roaring up the beach, tangling up kelp and tumbling shells and sea glass with almost a violent power. I wanted to laugh out loud with pure joy!

If pelicans and seagulls could talk, I really do believe that they would exclaim their joy, as these must be favorite "play days" for them too.

Days like this are not great shell collecting days, as it could be very dangerous to turn your back on the surf. For me, this is so difficult as I always want to stuff shells, tumbled beach glass and bits of flotsam in my pockets! Still managed to come home with just a small handful; am always fascinated by the different kinds of shells that I find in California. Look at how the sand and the power of the water have flattened out this oyster shell so that all that is left is the smooth gorgeous mother-of-pearl color, almost transparent in its' delicacy.

Finally had to find the cliff trail back up to the top of the bluff, as my poor ears were freezing cold, and my fingers were like ice..