Imaginary Animal

Imaginary Animal is the work of Marie Gardeski, a super talented artist and friend. Marie and I went to grad school together and I am always amazed by the magic this lady creates. Case in point:

Why, yes, that is hand soap made in the shape of doll hands. Genius. You can  pick up a set of her wonderful hand soap here.

Hello 2009

We're heading out to the Capay Farm for a wonderfully-themed "Greater Depression New Year's Eve Extravaganza". Both Ben and I are dressed liked hobos, and I spent the morning lamenting the fact that I can't grow a 5 o'clock shadow to match his. Oh well. I'm sure we'll have plenty of crazy photos of the costumed revelry next week for you all.

In the meantime, I wish you a very Happy 2009! May it bring you all the love, luck, and joy that you can handle. I see good things in our future.

Photo courtesy of Ajax All Purpose Blog.

Anne Selden

Fashion designer Anne Selden's work is now available online, and she's having a huge clearance sale on her winter collection. I met Anne at Cranbrook and fell in love with her sense of color and the playful structure of her work. She's a meticulous designer with a deep love of line and shape, and her creations always have a delightful element of surprise. These are just a sampling from her shop, and they're a complete steal!

I am deciding right now on colors for my own custom jumper with pockets. Yellow is feeling quite right for this shape, wouldn't you say?

Capay Valley

In addition to doing a craft show this Saturday in Sacramento (3-11pm @ Bows & Arrows), we're going to be spending the weekend on a beautiful farm in the Capay Valley. Last time we were there was for New Year's eve. The weather was sunny and crisp as we walked along Cache Creek, which serves as the back boundary line of the farm.

Ringing in the New Year, we had a shockingly bright salad lined with watermelon beets and all local produce. Oranges from the orchard just outside the farmhouse door. Homemade beer from our favorite brewmaster. And a first for me--homemade eggnog from the cows two farms over. Potent stuff. Michael Pollan would have been proud.

Looking forward to meandering down the creek this weekend and combing the grounds. I am designing a wedding on the farm in June, so it'll be more of a working vacation, but I don't really consider it work as I love these kinds of projects.