BailiwickStudio

Mosaic Monday :: NYC

I was in New York last May, and my daughter and I took a train into the city one day. I'm finally going through the photos, so I made a mosaic of some of the sights. What an amazing place! Whenever I'm there we visit a different part of the city (because you certainly can't see it all at once!); this time we went up and down 5th Avenue. Penn Station, some ribbon shops, The Empire State Building, FAO Schwartz, The Plaza Hotel, Tiffany's, Central Park and back again, via a couple of taxis. And lunch in a fabulous Italian bistro. What a great day!

For more mosaics, visit Mary at Little Red House.

Mosaic Monday :: Garden Gates

Last week my mosaic was of picket fences, now, how about garden gates? These gates were photographed in and about Williamsburg, VA - one of my favorite places to visit. I love the history of the town, from it's humble beginnings as a fort, through it's heyday as our capital, then it's century as a sleepy little village, and now it's restoration. Just knowing that men such as Thomas Jefferson and Peyton Randolph and Patrick Henry walked those streets makes me feel connected somehow, probably because I had ancestors on the eastern seaboard during that time, and it could be that some of them travelled to Williamsburg, too. I like to think so, anyway! We just don't have the same kind of history in California.

Last time we were there I noticed all the garden gates, which opened to courtyards, brick pathways, gardens or fields. I couldn't resist taking a picture of each and every one I saw! These are my favorites. Be sure to visit our hostess Mary at The Little Red House for a list of many more mosaics!

Two Small Boys

Last week I got back from my visit to New York to see my grandsons, and this week I 'm really missing those two boys! Why is it my lot in life to live 3,000 miles away from them? *sniff*

I've been going through the approximately 463 photos I took, mostly of the boys. However, less than half of them are sharp. With the low light (several rainy indoor days), no flash (it's broken), and boys who move like quicksilver (even 9-month-old Nico), it was inevitable.

Don't you love Ryan's haircut in the photo below? He cut half his bangs off all by himself with safety scissors. I remember when his mom did that to her hair, right before school picture day.

There's a wonderful aquarium near my daughter's house, which is their go-to spot when they need something interesting to do. This is Alanna with the lads and a mermaid fountain.

For the first time since my daughter moved to NY, I didn't make it over to Sag Harbor during my visit, which is hands down my favorite town in the USA. I'll just have to visit it twice next time, I guess! Nor did we go to the beach, or stroll down main street Westhampton Beach with the giant dog - things we usually always do. And that's the reason practically all my photos are of the kids, rather than pretty scenery. I wonder if everyone was tired of me saying "stop! I have to take a picture of that!" when we'd be out driving? I tend to do that ALOT. hmmmm....

I'm already waiting for the next visit, when these two boys will be bigger, smarter, and probably even cuter than they are now!

NYC 1

Everytime I visit NYC we explore a different part of it. There's so much to do and see - one day doesn't give you much time. Yesterday we took a train from the east end of Long Island and landed at Penn Station, then wandered down 5th Avenue and back. My main goal was to visit Tinsel Trading, just around a corner from 5th Avenue. It's a charming little shop with vintage fixtures, a wall of millinery flowers, countless ribbons and trims, and lots of eye candy wherever you look. I piled ribbons and birds and trims into my basket, and somehow managed to leave without spending every cent I had. And I took photos of the shop, of course, for all of you who love this kind of stuff like I do. It's definitely worth a visit! (Oh, and that pretty pashmina under the bag is a $5.00 street corner purchase - love New York!)

Pink Confetti

Today's Pink Saturday comes to you from a spot 3,000 miles away from where I usually find my pinks. Good thing, because I'm running low on California pinks. Here in New York I found that Spring is just now blooming, and I'm enjoying the lovely cherry and redbud trees all over again - their west coast cousins finished up their pinkness quite some time ago. These pretty trees are dotted all around the east end of Long Island, and in some places the ground is absolutely covered with pink petal-confetti!

This pink farmhouse just barely peeks out from all the surrounding greenery...

and this pink tree is a pretty compliment to a white house with a blue door, don't you think?

Happy Pink Saturday! Please visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound to see more pink gathered from the west coast to the east coast and all points in between.

Solvang

Last week Will and I took a short trip up the coast to Solvang CA. Solvang is a small town founded in 1911 by Danish settlers from the Northern midwest states. They wanted to get away from the freezing Northern winters and found this perfect little valley in which to build a town.

The local architecture, customs, street names, and shops still reflect the Danish heritage. We stayed at the lovely Wine Country Inn (which I highly recommend - there's even a fireplace in each room) on Copenhagen Street...

This was our front porch...

The shopping included many, many bakeries and chocolate shops, all of which we investigated! There were needlecraft shops, Christmas shops, wine tasting shops, and a charming shop dedicated to fairies...

But my favorite shop was called "Picket Fences"... a wonderful place filled with mercury glass, birds and bird nests, charm jewelry, and other vintage-like treasures. I went in there twice one day, and waited at the door the next morning with all those boxes of new stuff (that I wished I could see) until they opened so I could go in one more time before we left. I love this store!

The town is located in a lovely valley filled with vineyards, olive groves, and lavender farms, so it's on my list of places to check when I'm ready for my own lavender farm. And about that... Will read my post about switching his cows for my lavender, and he laughed. hmmmm. Then he mentioned something about these cute little miniature horses, so we may end up with a lavender/miniature horse farm!

A Lavender Dream

I know what I want to do when I grow up. Of course, I'm already grown up, so I should be saying I know what I want to do when we retire.

I want us to own a Lavender Farm.

My husband and I are on a little getaway for a few days, and we visited a lavender farm this morning. I was totally enchanted! The enchantment began the moment we turned into the winding drive, which was lined with olive trees planted by Spanish Missionaries over 150 years ago.

Stepping out of the car, we were at once surrounded by the whispering fragrance of lavender - nothing too overpowering, it was perfect. This particular farm is five acres, which seems like a manageable size to me. The lavender had already been harvested so it wasn't at it's prettiest, but still... the place was buzzing with bees and was incredibly lovely and peaceful. My husband would be the perfect partner in such an endeavor because he spent much of his childhood on his grandparent's farm, and has very fond memories of that time in his life. He's always wanted some land and perhaps a few cows or something. I'll just work on getting him to switch the cows for lavender!

The owner has a small shop in front of his home where he sells lavender things. There was soap, honey, wreaths, candles, sachets, even lavender dog shampoo. Will wouldn't buy any of that, I guess he doesn't want our Corgi smelling too much like a girl (even though she is one).

What a lovely life! Having your handmade things for sale right there in a small shop a few steps from your back door. I can't think of anything better! And when it involves lavender - well, that just puts me in heaven. I adore lavender - it's high on my list of Favorite Things. I keep boxes of it in my studio to use in the sachets I make, and I'd really rather grow my own.

  

Dreams have a way of growing tangibly over the years. You never know - just by thinking on it, visualising it, wishing for it, and believing it could happen, one day it just might!

Snippets of Long Island Life

I have hundreds of photos of bits and pieces of my visit to Long Island, so I picked out some favorites for one last vacation post.

The reason for this visit...

and his big brother...

The way we shamelessly started our days....

The kind of beach fences I love...

  

A pumpkin patch where I got shocked by an electric fence while taking pictures...

  

and a petting zoo where we spent an entire afternoon...

 

Some quiet time for whispering sweet nothings...

   

A boat called Baileywick...

A charming address on Shelter Island...

  

The perfect place to relax...

  

after shopping at Macy's with a toddler...

One lovely little duck pond...

  

near some houses with cute shutters...

A pair of busy feet in some cute shoes...

 

And the tiny feet...

  

and tiny hands...

  

that belong to this cutie-pie...

 A little Revolutionary War graveyard tucked within a quiet neighborhood...

  

A serve-yourself gladiolus stand in front of someone's house...

  

And now, it's time to go home. My husband misses me!

Sag Harbor, New York

Whenever I come to New York I make it a point to visit Sag Harbor, which is way out on the east end of Long Island, near my daughter. I love this little town. Everything I'd want in a place to live is here - the sea with it's harbor and windmill, abundant greenery, four seasons, wonderful old homes, a colorful history, and a classic downtown district that always seems to be bustling, even in the off-season.

When I was a little girl, my parents had an older lady watch over my brother, sister, and I when they went out or travelled. Mrs. Fahy was born in 1891, in Sag Harbor New York. We shared a birthday. Although she was a terrible cook and we dreaded dinnertime, I remember she always had candy in her purse. She wore a patch over one eye and once asked if I'd like to see behind it, but I declined, not trusting what I'd see and thinking I'd have nightmares. But most of all, she had wonderful stories about her childhood in Sag Harbor around the turn of the century. The century before this one, that is. I could picture it all - the sailing ships in the harbor, her handlebar-mustached father who was an inventor and friend of Thomas Edison, who often came to visit, and the big rambling house they lived in. All these years since I've wanted to visit that town, and it's as wonderful as I had ever hoped! I've seen two sides of it now - the tranquil quietness of autumn and the bustle of summertime, and I think I'd take up residence there in a heartbeat if an opportunity presented itself. I'm certain the reason this town has such a hold on me is due entirely to the fact that it was a magical place in my mind for so many years, and to know that it's actually a real place too is extraordinary. I only wish I knew where Mrs. Fahy's house was located so I could see if it was still there!

There are some fabulous shops in and around Main Street... how about the tiny place above? And I love the sign on the gate to this shop called Bloom!

This store has my name all over it!

The neighborhoods are just my cup of tea - hidden behind hedges, surrounded by lots of trees and gardens, along sweetly winding roads.

This town couldn't be more different than where I live now! It's good to have dreams, though, so living in a place like Sag Harbor - if not Sag Harbor itself - is my dream. Thanks for coming along to see it!

Williamsburg Revisited

Would anyone like to take a little sight-seeing armchair-tour of Colonial Williamsburg? I just came across a disk of photos from a trip there in 2006. I suppose because I love history I can't help but love this place where so much happened during our country's beginnings, and where our greatest men walked along those very streets. It was our capitol from 1699 to 1780, then it became a sleepy, forgotten little town until the 1920s, when much of the downtown area was restored. Now it's a historic site that celebrates our patriots and early history.

This is the House of Burgesses, the Capitol Building. Although it's been rebuilt (the first two burnt down) it's still steeped in history - and we also like it because our name is Burgess. On an earlier trip, our daughter Alanna was invited to sit in the Govenor's Chair while the guide did his thing, and when he asked her name everyone thought it was so cool that a Burgess was sitting in the chair! These days the chair is roped off and no one gets to sit in it.

Along Gloucester St are all the restored buildings. At one end is the House of Burgesses and at the other is the College of William and Mary, and in between are shops, restaurants, and businesses. There are simple wooden benches everywhere. Can you just imagine the townsfolk sitting there when they had a moment or two? That's how towns became so closeknit, I'm sure - there was no reason to stay indoors when the world passed by outside your door! (i.e. - no television, no computers...)

I love garden gates, and I think I took photos of every one of them!

Locals reenact the roles of residents in the 18th century - there's a carpenter, a tailor, a blacksmith, a barrel maker - all of them working with 18th century tools...

 

and lots of people stroll around in costume, too. There are also drummers and fifers who keep the tradition of military music alive, and children running around with sticks and hoops.

oh, and here we are - Will & Jill...

I absolutely love the cottage gardens and all-around bucolic peacefulness...

  

This place continues to be my favorite vacation destination - I doubt I'll ever tire of it. And when I'm there next, I hope it's at Christmastime - how I'd love to experience a Colonial Christmas!