Woo Hoo! We are the featured story on Completely Coastal!

Very excited to be not only one of Completely Coastal's sponsors, but  I am loving the story she did today on our fledgling coastal home decor online store:  Caron's Beach House.

For the complete story, check out Completely Coastal's blog!  She does a wonderful job of supporting and featuring many beach businesses and coastal artists + Completely Coastal comes recommended by one of my favorite magazines for beach lovers, Coastal Living.

Make sure to check out the sister blog too - Vitamin Sea!  I have been very lucky to be featured there too - http://dailyvitaminsea.com/red-summer-drinks/

Thanks for all of your support for our blogs,  Everything Coastal and Everything Coastal Style, cannot begin to tell you how much it is appreciated.

For my "Social Media" friends, (that's you!)  I am offering a special FREE SHIPPING code for anything purchased on the Caron's website through this Sunday, Sept. 19, 2010
Code = Jellyfish

** Important: MUST register on our site in order to use the code**

Adventures on Hwy 1 - Part 2 Stinson Beach

I am blaming it on the GPS in Tom's car. So funny, we plugged in "Stinson Beach", in Mill Valley,and then proceeded to drive, and drive, through eucalyptus forests, bright green ferns, babbling brooks, redwood groves, old oak groves and spring blooming wildflowers, up skinny roads on Mount Tam.  Fantastic views above Stinson Beach of shades of turquoise in the Pacific Ocean, and every variance of the color green over the rolling coastal hills in Central California.  It was so crystal clear that we could even see the Farallone Islands  off in the near distance.   Tom was freaking me out a little by looking at the view, and not the road!

We finally made our way down to the ocean via the Fairfax-Bolinas Road.  Tom officially declared this beaut of a highway the most twisty road he's ever driven! (me too)  Always love an adventure - and then we were rewarded with dropping down onto Hwy 1, right at the Bolinas Lagoon.  Gorgeous! Full of egrets, grey herons, and elusive sand pipers. So shallow, that seals were sunning themselves on the sand bars.  (too far away - wrong camera)







Stinson Beach, according to the road sign, has just over 450 people living there.  I suspect a lot of 2nd home owners too.  Cute cute cute beach town! A bookstore, a few restaurants, surf shops, art galleries.. We had a wine and appetizer break at the "Sand Dollar" - fun, busy restaurant decorated like the inside of a steamer ship.  Yum! Fab Zin from the Dry Creek area, the most tender calamari that I have ever eaten and look at this ahi creation!  We will definitely go back here. Maybe you can come with us?


 Take a look at some of the beach houses that I captured on our beach walk! No rhyme or reason - all different, all different colors.

Very nice state park at Stinson Beach with lots of room for picnickers and tons of sandy beach stretching out for kids to create sand castles, sand angels - or simply jump in the waves.  Isn't it funny how kids never get cold?  The sea, sometimes can be a universal language...

I have found sea glass here, but only a few pieces, more often I find pieces of shells rolling in the surf.  Mostly we just walk,  and enjoy the crashing waves and sea birds skittering in the foamy tide.

If you would like to go - here's some handy links!

http://www.stinsonbeachonline.com/
http://www.stinsonbeachrestaurant.com/
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=471
http://www.bolinaslagoon.org/

Half to Have It!

The funny thing is, after my store closed in April of 2007, I could not bear to go into any type of interior or exterior design stores. Could not even read any of my favorite design publications; no Coastal Living, no Elle Decor, no Cottage Living, no Traditional Home..... My heart was simply broken after we packed everything up, locked the doors for the last time, and gave the keys to our friend Tom. I wouldn't even go in Pier One or T.J. Maxx! How stupid was that??

This dream all began again last year sometime, after a vodka & cranberry cocktail (really, it was only 1 drink!) at the Cliff House in San Francisco. The cocktail lounge has all of my "stuff" on display - vintage bathing beauties, seashells, blown glass sea urchins.... Found myself sobbing into my drink and realizing that I missed my beach/coastal lifestyle store, web store, customers and my life long dream of owning my own business.

This year has shown me that it might be

possible to get it all back.

It all begins with market research, and part of that research is finding other stores that you might like - not to copy their inventory or their idea, but to help better form your own ideas. "Half to Have It" is a fun, unique, happy store that I discovered in Half Moon Bay on a sunny afternoon. Mermaids, King Neptune, nautical home accents, crushed pottery and glass made for a very happy afternoon of exploring and dreaming just a little. Explore the multitude of unique beach decor items that can be found, all while strolling through iron arch ways and stepping on crushed vintage pottery and glass. Can you see the shell mosaic ball perched gingerly next to the iron mermaid in the top picture? This is just one idea of the many mosaic products that this store carries! www.halftohaveit.com

How about a fanciful Mermaid to point out the direction of the coastal breeze?

Glass floats are such a great nautical/beach cottage essential. Look at this array of colors - and extremely affordable too! Think of the ways that these could be used in a display for a cool beach dinner party? Surrounded by white pillar candles -

Stay tuned - still working on that dream to reopen a store, might only be on the web for the next year, but will be full of great new ideas for beach lovers.

Thanks again for joining me on this journey, and thank you everyone at "Half to Have It" for sharing your store and letting me share it with other "beachcombers"!