Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Hanging Out In Ojai

 Ojai has been on my bucket list for a very long time.  
So when our daughter announced she was doing a pop-up at a local hotel in Ojai, we hit the road and met her there.

We discovered every store, including this one, Summer Camp which was located at an old gas station and filled with items both new and vintage.

Ashley was looking for inspiration here and we found it.
We were calling it "shop envy!"

More "shop envy" down the road at Cattywampus Crafts where crafters and makers can find everything they're looking for, including classes in knitting, sewing and dying fabrics.

Their art of display is wonderful!

Lots of yarn!

I felt like I was in a time warp.
Back to the 70's when macrame was huge.

I couldn't resist this handmade soap!

My favorite shop though was In The Field, a lifestyle boutique with a bohemian vibe.

I loved their displays too of both clothing and housewares.

I fell head over heals for a vintage California map here, but it was way to big to take home and shipping wasn't an option.

 Fig Curated Living is a curated collection of local and free trade gifts for home and garden.

Let's not forget, Ojai is an agricultural community, so a feed and seed store is going to be the best!
Just off the main street, we discovered Wachter Hay and Grain.  They bill themselves as chicken headquarters!

 
But they also have gifts and home furnishings!

All that shopping made us hungry so we ventured to Farmer and the Cook, a grocery store that also offers Mexican food and smoothies.
It just so happens to be down the street from Bart's Books!

 For dinner, we ended up here twice!
How can you go wrong with outside seating for the dog and live music every night!

It was a fantastic trip and not once did we hear a complaint from this little guy!
Oscar proved to be a great traveller which earned him the right to go on the next road trip with us!

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Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Eye Of The Day

 We promised ourselves that this summer we would fit in a road trip. 
 So last week, we packed our bags, grabbed the dog and headed south down highway 101 on an adventure. 
On our way, we happened to pull over in Carpenteria, only to discover Eye of the Day, which just so happened to be on my bucket list!

 I discovered this store online several years ago and had forgotten about it.
Eye of the Day carries beautiful, authentic pottery from Anduze, France which I've been in love with forever.
There are green Anduze pots (my favorite)...

 There are yellow Anduze pots...

And white, mottled Anduze pots, along with blue ones and various other colors.

 They have the best selection of terracotta from Italy... 

and France too.

I've been searching for a fountain like this forever.
Of course, they had many to choose from.
Not today though!

We ended up with a pair of green pots which I plan to plant with olive trees and place by the pool in Asti.  They are huge and totally filled the back of our truck as we were not about to pay for shipping!

 I highly recommend this store!  The owner, Brent was so patient with us as we obsessed over our pots and was determined to make them fit in the car!  
As we were leaving, I noticed the sign outside the door:
"August is like the Sunday of summer."
It felt that way as we headed further south, looking forward to more of our road trip and more discoveries before summer's end.
Stay tuned to find out where our journey took us and follow along on my Instagram too...

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Monday, August 1, 2016

Hello August!

 Have you also noticed how fast summer goes by, yet winter drags on forever?
This summer seems to be doing that.  I can't believe it's August already!

I've decided to spend as much time in Asti the month of August, and enjoy summer in all its glory in the country.
Even if the temperature climbs to 100 degrees!

After all, summer in San Francisco is like winter!
Mark Twain once said "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."

So, Oscar and I will head north tomorrow for the week with son Alex and granddog Lupo.
We plan to do lots of reading, gardening, hiking and swimming.


Hello August!


Hello Asti!


Looking forward to tomatoes right off the vine, still warm from the sun.

 Swimming and sunbathing.

 Reading my book, "Barkskins by Annie Prouix.


Watching the sunrise.


Watching the sunset.


And watching the moon rise over the Mayacamas.

So if you want to find me in August, I'll be right here!

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