Photo taken at Bart’s Books in Ojai, CA. Blocks arranged by Dad.
I See Butterflies
Photo taken on Abbot Kinney Blvd. in Venice, CA.
Ground View at a Yard Sale
Casablanca: Bathroom Door
As far as bathroom doors in restaurants go, this is hard to beat. Photo taken at Casablanca in Venice, CA.
Converse All-Stars: High, Low
I’ve been thinking about a new pair of Converse All-Stars in red and recently spotted this pair in the Waraku shop window on Abbot Kinney Blvd. in Venice, CA. I like a good wedge, but think I’ll stick to the classic Chuck Taylor style this time around.
In Paint: Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
Entrance to a pop-up restaurant on Abbot Kinney in Venice, CA, named Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing.
New Year: Writing in the Sand
I came upon a woman writing this in the sand today during a beach walk. Photo taken in Santa Monica, CA.
Q&A: Perfumer Mandy Aftel
Excerpt of my interview with Mandy Aftel, originally published on Greenopia.com
Perfumer Mandy Aftel’s love of natural essences drives her business. While most commercial perfumes are made using synthetic scents, her Berkeley-based Aftelier Perfumes is focused on making artisan natural perfumes. She’s also written books on the subject, including Essence & Alchemy: A Natural History of Perfume and Aroma: Cooking with Essential Oils (co-authored with Coi chef Daniel Patterson).
Best part of your job?
I love smelling new natural materials and creating with them. I love all the different ways they smell—it’s amazing. For instance, I love the difference between Moroccan, Indian, and Egyptian roses. So, I would say the best part is creating and using those materials.
Is there a particular environmental non-profit you support?
Alice Water’s Edible School Yard.
What’s your favorite vacation destination?
I love to go to cities with great art and where great literature has been written, like London and Paris.
What’s your favorite weekend outdoor activity?
Gardening. I have a wonderful garden. I grow the stuff I don’t have the essences for. I love lilies and I grow a lot of roses.
If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?
I’d be a fir tree because I like the way it smells. It’s kinda jammy, like strawberry jam in the forest.
Describe your path to green. How and when you became eco-conscious.
I would have to say my passion for natural essences is behind it. You cannot help but be in awe of nature when it makes such incredible smells. Barks of trees and flowers—this rainbow of smells is so extraordinary. It’s hard to not be in awe of nature and to want to preserve it.
Charlie Brown Magazine Christmas Tree
I’ve always loved the Charlie Brown Christmas special and the scrawny tree in need of some love. After making a recycled paper Christmas tree last year using pages from Vogue magazine, I decided that this year’s DIY creation would be a nod to the Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Rolled pages from the magazine were taped together to make up the base and the branches are fringed strips covering a wire with double-sided tape. For a stand, I used a crystal wine decanter.
Winter Wonderland: Toes in the Sand
On this first day of the winter solstice, I am grateful for LA days that make wearing flip-flops possible all year long. Photo taken in Venice Beach, CA.
Patterns Under Foot
Pattern in the sand in Venice one day, pattern on the sidewalk in San Francisco another day.
Roadside: Anonymous in SF
Photo taken in San Francisco, a few blocks from the Occupy San Francisco camp.
Peace, Goodwill and a Linus Blanket for Everyone
“A Charlie Brown Christmas” aired on TV last night and I got pulled in once again. Linus is my favorite of the “Peanuts” gang characters for being sweet, wise, and a good friend to Charlie Brown. In the special, he is the scene-stealer, literally taking the stage and standing in the spotlight to explain to Charlie Brown and their friends what Christmas is all about. He does this — as he does everything — with his beloved blue blanket. Couldn’t we all use a little blue blanket? For my grown-up self, I think a soft blue-as-the-sky scarf might just do the trick.
Crafty Grandmothers
Photos take during a recent family visit of my paternal grandmother’s needlepoint and my maternal grandmother’s knit blanket.
All Aboard: Union Station
There’s just something about an old train station. Photos from Union Station in Washington, D.C.
Sunrise, Sunset
It was a sunrise and sunset kind of day. Photos taken in Venice Beach, CA.
Thanksgiving: Farmers’ Market Pics
Photos taken at the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite day to go: always crowded and full of people picking out fresh produce for their Thanksgiving feasts. I love to overhear conversations with shoppers and vendors talking about what they’re making and sharing tips and wishes for a good holiday. The “go organic or go home” apple vendor from Paso Robles gave me the tip a few years ago to use some Pink Lady apples with Granny Smith ones when making apple pie.
So Pretty: Daisies, Just Daisies
You can keep your roses. I like a bouquet of daisies. (And check out that yellow polka-dotted bow.)
Key Charms: New Etsy Necklaces
New to my Etsy shop [editor’s note: the shop has closed]: Keys covered in words from a recycled old book (a paperback copy of “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin with yellowed pages and a missing cover). Here are two out of a dozen recently added to Miss Stefanie’s House of Crafts & Collectibles.
Skewed Horizon: Accidental Curve
This was an accident. Photo of Venice Beach, taken with the Hipstamatic Helga Viking lens.
Stef McDonald 