Everything Coastal

Friday, October 24, 2014

Shells and Tiny Pumpkins Create A Fall Centerpiece

1. Step One: Find the really dirty, dusty, tarnished silver plated tray that I have been hauling around for 10 years. (Where in the world could I have stashed it this time?) Tom finds it under the bed...

2. Apply elbow grease to black tarnish. Ewww.... sort of disgusting. Gosh, I hope this works!

3. Go to farm for fanciful pumpkins. (need cute boyfriend to push wheelbarrow!)

4. Dig out fall collection of amber, yellow, brown and sea green sea glass (box in the garage?)

5. Find collection of shells (I keep a pile of neutral bleached out pieces for fall) and interesting pieces of found driftwood. Believe it or not, the acorns were collected on one of our forays to Angel Island this summer - could not resist putting them in my picnic basket before we came home.

6. Add Candles.

Voila'!

A new centerpiece for our coffee table this Autumn at our new home.

I love doing this every year, as it gives me a chance to sift through our found sea glass and shell memories as we create more...

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Lighthouse Holiday Photoshoot

Ah, the glamorous life of the retail entrepreneur; garbage taker-outer, packer, shipper, customer service gal, boss, ad executive, marketing guru, and sometimes you have to do your own photo shoot.

It is not always a pretty sight! I am frequently down in the dirt or kneeling on rocks to try and get the picture to line up right. Really classy when it's me battling the wind, carrying a pile of pillows; most of the time dropping a few, and brushing off the sand or the weeds. Frequently the shadows, or the lighting will just not cooperate.

Or there are too many people snooping around that want to see what you are doing...

We were trying to be prepared (ha ha ha) this holiday season, and have our pillows here early for holiday promotions. Somehow the time line snuck up on us again and I found myself in the Mini Cooper driving up and down our coast last week to figure out how we could shoot some images that were actually usable for upcoming magazine ads.

Lots of bad pics taken - thought you all might enjoy anyway! (the views were pretty cool though!)

Sometimes I just give up and enjoy the view.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Dinner Party at the Beach

Maureen and Peter come to dinner, bearing gifts of Chardonnay and flowers on a warm sun-filled early October evening on our California coast.

So excited! Our first official dinner party guests to our new tiny place in Half Moon Bay. The company was wonderful, the Cioppino turned out DELISH, and I think a good time was had by all.

Tom and Peter watching the last bit of sun drop into the Pacific - incredibly gorgeous! Have to pinch ourselves at how lucky we are to be so close to the ocean

My cute octopus has been waiting for months in a box in my office - just needed the right time (and the right company to show off for!) to light all his candles.

New Coquille Pitcher. Served ice water, but think this gorgeous piece would also look great with a bouquet of fresh flowers...

From our new collection of linen placemats and oversized napkins.... (hoping to have napkin rings on our site very soon!)

Cioppino!

Super, super easy to make - just start with great seafood. I recommend sticking with what is in season, and what is on sale. For our party with Maureen and Peter, I used salmon, clams, mussels, large scallops and large prawns. No crab legs as they are not in season right now, and sometimes it is a bit more than messy to have the crab legs in the Cioppino with dinner guests.

Also must have - fresh sour dough bread for dipping! We are very lucky to have several bakeries in our little town. I grabbed a wonderful, still warm, loaf at Moonside Bakery off Main Street in downtown Half Moon Bay to share with Maureen and Peter. YUM.

Served an Mediterranean chopped salad in our new Octopus Bowl and Crabby Servers from our Sea and Shore Collection. (could not resist having these for our house! )