Beach Decor for Fall Tip - Candlelight

We are pretty lucky to live right on the edge of so many wine regions here in Northern California; Napa, Livermore, Sonoma, Dry Creek Valley, Russian River Valley, Mendocino (on my birthday list!), Monterey Bay County, Los Gatos (in the Santa Cruz foothills) and the Sonoma Coast.

Needless to say, we have spent some time doing a little wine country exploring. (wine barrels at Concannon during their Fall 2010 Release Party)

Two things that our friends want to do when they come to the Bay Area; go to the beach, and go wine tasting. 

(picture taken at Gourmet Au Bay in Bodega Bay on the Sonoma Coast) 

Here we are with Suzanne and Cami on our whirlwind tour of Ladera Winery on Howell Mountain in Napa this past April.  It's one of our absolute favorite places to take our friends.

Fabulous day - we even got to see Robert Redford!!!  

Our family likes to go too!  (At Concannon with my kids, Allison and Alex, last November for Thanksgiving.)

We don't mind.  In fact, we have joined more than one wine club and have become pretty good tour guides!  It's been great fun, and we've created some wonderful memories with friends when they've come to visit.  

Now, what to do with all of the corks that I have saved?  I can't bear to simply throw them out, most of them have designs from the wineries, and for me it's a way to keep those memories of fun times with friends and family,  or romantic occasions with Tom....

Ah ha!  Saw a cool idea on Pinterest - using the corks in a candle hurricane vase, and thought I could probably recreate it with a coastal twist, adding sea glass and a few shells.  

Ingredients: (pretty darn simple!)

*1 large glass vase

*1 small glass vase (I used a skinny jar - recycled!)

assortment of wine corks

*sea glass - I kept mine to green, amber and white for fall 

*small seashells

*candle

Simply place the smaller glass vase inside of the larger glass vase 

and start layering with the corks and the sea glass.

Voila'!

So easy, even I could do this project!

We'll be linking over at Boogieboard Cottage today!  

Capitola Village Fund Raiser April 9th

Sent to me by my friend Polly Shultze, owner of Village Sea Glass in Capitola... 

"Calling all beach lovers! On March 26, 2011 Capitola Village, CA was struck by a flash flood caused by a broken drainage pipe. Many merchants suffered loss and damage but are vowing to carry on. On Saturday April 9th there will be a Village Revival Party from noon to sundown in the Village with live music, face painters, dunk tank, raffles and a donation booth. If you are local, please come support and     celebrate the Capitola Village! See you there!"  (picture of the March 26 flood) 

Tom and I took a drive down to Capitola last Saturday, just days after the flood and were shocked to see the damage to this quaint, colorful village just south of Santa Cruz.  Many merchants will not be able to reopen for months - buildings damaged, lost merchandise.  A terrible tragedy for this close knit community.  If you are local, your support to help them rebuild is so much appreciated!

Capitola is one of our favorite day trips down the coast, wonderful shop owners and fabulous restaurants. Last Saturday we simply sat at the boardwalk, watched a surfing competition and the many beachcombers while eating our pb & j picnic. Just had to share their creative art community's hand painted tiles - so fun and so beachy!

Have a great weekend everyone! 

 

Announcing the Winner of Everything Coastal's 1st Giveaway!

Thank you to all new followers and for all of your kind comments, and as always, your encouragement to keep writing and having more adventures at the beach!

SeaLaura was our winner of the Beach House Candle! She is also a fellow blogger, writing about beachy living in Southern California.  Make sure you check out her terrific blog for fun coastal projects, coastal fashion, restaurants, quick recipes and more. http://sealaura.blogspot.com/