Today I met Christine at her apartment, and she shuttled us on over to Pasadena to spend the day at the Rose Bowl Flea Market. I'd never been before, though I've heard many tales of the glory of endless tables of anything and everything. I wanted to look for a jewelry box to organize the mess that my bangles and dangles have become on top of my bedroom dresser, spreading into the bathroom counter and even the craft room where my dressing mirror is. Also, I just wanted to look for anything extra special to craft with, old books to rebind into new journals etc. We split up as Christine likes to hit the vintage clothing, and the hours slipped by as I poured over the endless tables of postcards, retro kitchen stuff, costume jewelry, old table linens and the like. My favorite finds of the day included this table that looks like a stack of giant books (with the top "cover" really able to open like a book revealing storage space) and this Captain McCrazy monkey.
Christine's great find of the day was this adorable yellow dress with a fish shape sewn into it, I can't wait to see her wear it.
My purchases were small, but fun. I finally found a jewelry box that was what I've been looking for when I was just about to give up. It's not as large as I wanted, but all the large were way to big and had no dividers inside. I almost bought this 200 year old wooden box from China that had a top that unfolded into a secret mirror, but it was $90 and again with the no dividers inside. This little blue one has a velvety pink lining and a cute fabric lining with little star shapes. It's vintage and has a little lock and key, and was only $20, so that's what I chose. I've stuffed it full of my bangly bits, and maybe it will keep me from buying more jewelry I don't need as no more will fit anyway.
My other finds are some elegant photos of ladies, a charming book called "How To Have Bird Neighbors" and a darling postcard of a little girl with a silly Musk Ox.
All these scraps are lovely, but the true highlight of my weekend was seeing Oscar and James downtown Saturday night at 7th & Grand, with David and Tiny. We were all so happy to see one another, I think it's been something like 4 years at least since we've hung out, and it was such a treat to catch up with them. They're both doing really well, and in love with charming ladies. I can't wait to see them again, I feel a warm familial bond with people I went through Otis with, it was such an intense 4 years and seeing them is like a small homecoming.
This Christmas was filled with cold rain and chilly wind outdoors, making the indoors extra cozy and warm. It was wonderful to be with my family, and this year I brought a digital recorder so I could sit and do some recorded one and one interviews with family members for a new book of family portraits I'm working on. It made for an emotional and interesting time, hearing perspectives and pulled up memories of the past. It made me happy, like I was spending time well, but it takes a lot out of you. I feel like a lot of the time, we just sit together in neutral comfort of each other's presence, and I wanted to go a little deeper, get some oral histories down while we are all assembled and have time on our hands. I got a few done, and I'm excited to listen to them again later and start piecing the portraits together, but sadly, I was too late to get one I was really looking forward to. Around 3:00 pm on Christmas Day, my grandpa Denny turned into a bee and flew away into the atmosphere. I am grateful that I got to see him and hug him on Thanksgiving, and terribly sad that was the last time. It is comforting that the whole family happened to be in the same place at the same time and we were able to simply be together. Oh family, you are something.
My purchases were small, but fun. I finally found a jewelry box that was what I've been looking for when I was just about to give up. It's not as large as I wanted, but all the large were way to big and had no dividers inside. I almost bought this 200 year old wooden box from China that had a top that unfolded into a secret mirror, but it was $90 and again with the no dividers inside. This little blue one has a velvety pink lining and a cute fabric lining with little star shapes. It's vintage and has a little lock and key, and was only $20, so that's what I chose. I've stuffed it full of my bangly bits, and maybe it will keep me from buying more jewelry I don't need as no more will fit anyway.
My other finds are some elegant photos of ladies, a charming book called "How To Have Bird Neighbors" and a darling postcard of a little girl with a silly Musk Ox.
Can you see that this mug says, "Each day is a magical adventure"? I'm off to work to start the magic.
Yesterday on my lunch break, I picked up this book at this cute store Lindsay and I like to pop in from time to time and drool over all the cute cards/books/toys/jewelry. I have a dozen Japanese zakka books that I obsessively love and want to make all the crafty projects in, but a lot of the time I just get discouraged by the instructions I can't read. I can figure out the simpler projects, but some of the more complex ones intimidate, and I keep dreaming one day I'll learn enough Japanese just to get by (yeah right). I was so delighted to find this book, finally, finally, someone made a zakka craft book for us western English speakers! All the projects are conceived by Japanese designers, but all the words and instructions are in easy easy English! I can't wait to pick out some projects and maybe even get some done as small holiday gifts.
Thanksgiving was really nice, good food and family. It's so lovely to go home and see my folks, and play dominoes with my grandparents, and eat eat eat. The next day Dad took us out to the Pismo Beach dunes to ride around in his ranger car - I've never been out there, and it's pretty extreme. There are all these people camping in RVs with sections of the beach roped off so they can sit in lawn chairs and watch huge trucks and ATVs and smelly dune buggies roar by. Dad rode us all over the dunes, and I was pretty terrified, he's a wild man at the wheel. 
