Hidden treasures...

I've been going to the Alameda Antiques Faire for years, and have visited the Euro-Linens large booth many times—but last month I had the opportunity to chat with the owner, Dani, and learn more about their business and the process they use to make their pillows.  I fell in love with the pillows made from vintage cotton mill sacks from France.  She and her husband, Erik, started their cottage industry together, and they have really top-quality items.

I had to leave the Alameda without purchasing from them, since my car was filled to the brim and I had already spent more than I had intended.  But I couldn't get those pillows out of my mind, so I decided to drive to La Selva Beach last week to check out Patine, the little shop that they run their business out of. 

 The view of the inside of my car from the side door--good thing I didn't have any passengers!

What a wonderful little enclave La Selva is, just tucked into the coast there.  It's a little treasure, quietly welcoming those who enter.

 

I spent the better part of the afternoon drooling over everything in the store, taking photos, and visiting with Dani.  Her husband, Erik. stopped by as well, so I got a chance to meet him too.  He designs and creates the pillows, doing all the sewing himself.  Sounds like a keeper to me!  What a warm, friendly couple they are; it was such a pleasure to get to know them.

In addition to the pillows, I ended up with a bit of jewelry, candles, and a couple of vintage shirts.  If I had unlimited funds, I would have scooped up everything in that store--the furniture, the artwork, more pillows, light fixtures, clothing, everything. 

 This is the shop watchdog--the only thing that's not for sale!

 

 Someday I'm going to take the Amtrak up Hwy. 1--amazing route

 Thank heavens Max approves!

When I look at the pillows, I'm reminded of the peaceful afternoon I spent on my solo drive, finding the gem of this little community, and most importantly, making a new friend.  If you're ever in the area, I encourage you to stop by—Dani would love to see you.

What's in a word anyway?

This post started out simply enough... I was going to say that I had been hibernating somewhat, and now I'm back.  That sounded kind of lackluster though; I was curious if there was a word or phrase for that--being back, that is.  What's the opposite of hibernate?  Dehibernate?  Unhibernate?  Nope, no such words. I did come across the word aestivate, which means, "to lie dormant in the summer".  Following this logic, then I was "dormant in the winter".  I wish that were the case, but far from it.  There were the holidays, family crazies, the retreat, appointments, family crazies, spring cleaning, family crazies--you get the picture.

So I began to question whether I'd been 'hibernating' after all.  As I investigated further, words like lethargic, idle and vegetate came up. Uh, not exactly.  And the more I googled (yep, it's an official verb), the darker it got.  I was led down the path of decay, rot and sloth.  Was it true that I had actually been in a state of pandiculation, odiosity or even statuvolence?  Could I really have piddered, pudded, dabbled and faddle fribbled my time away?  That couldn't have possibly been the case--after about two hours of this,  I slapped myself and came out of my stupor.

The bottom line is that I'm now I'm so confused that I don't know where I was—but I do know where I wasn't!  And I know where I'm going, or more precisely, where I think I'm going.  How about you?