From San Francisco to The Lost Coast

We left LA on December 29th, and arrived in San Francisco on the 30th to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We had a drink at the bar in the Huntington Hotel, a classic and beautiful bar, and I loved the lamp that was there....the lights dim and the ambiance very special. We spent a lot of time visiting our favorite haunts, places we loved to visit when we lived there...

Our favorite bakery was at Pine and Fillmore, La Boulangerie.

And Nest, my favorite boutique for home decor and inspiration was on Fillmore Street and Washington. If you have a chance to visit the bay area don't miss the chance to visit this magical place.

On our anniversary, the 31st, we headed over to the SF Giants Ball Park to see the brick we had to commemorate our place of marriage in San Francisco and to memorialize our years there together.

We were given a small bowl of fruit from the hotel and I had to take a picture of it. The stem was so wonderful, such a statement. Grace Cathedral is in the background.

From the time we arrived until we left the weather was spectacular. This was a view from our room. The Flood Mansion is in the forefront, now the Pacific Union Club. On the way north we headed up through Mendocino and The Lost Coast, Humboldt County. We stayed at The Benbow Inn.

I could spend hours on their front porch even though the weather was very cold and foggy.

This inn was built around the 1930's and has the most amazing collection of antique furniture. I went around taking a few photos. This hall tree was on the second floor near our room.

This detail barely does it justice. I was so drawn in by the beauty of it every time we passed by.

This amazing statue was of an angel in flight holding a hot air balloon filled with people. Where in the world did they find these incredible pieces?

And what about this beautiful swan table with the intricate carving?

I think they had the most original and lovely light fixtures I have seen in some time.

This fixture was actually a standard one seen through out the hotel. We are back in Portland now and returning to The Purple Pear in the morning. I can't wait to re-do the store and update the look for 2013. Happy New Year!!

Marion Davies and the Beach House

My daughter knows my love for museums and fascinating people highlighted through history and so one morning we loaded the car with the boys, the dog and headed off to the Santa Monica beach to a place called The Annenberg Community Beach House. Originally it had been owned by Marion Davies and had been a huge mansion with many columns, a large swimming pool and a smaller beach house for guests.

These chairs were outside the beach house and reminded me of the Chalk Paint™ color Paris Grey.

This was a photo that was inside Marion's beach guest house. This was the back of the mansion on the beach side showing the expanse of the estate and the surrounding buildings. The beach guest house, the only original remaining building is to the far left in this photograph and this is the house we were able to tour.

This was a close-up photo of the mansion from the front with the swimming pool and beach on the back side.

Marion Davies was the stage name of Marion Douras, a daughter of a New York magistrate. She was the chorus girl at the Ziegfeld Follies when Hearst noticed her late in 1915 or 1916. Hearst's infatuation with her was enduring and caused his estrangement from his wife and family. Marion was a comedienne and a movie producer as well as a shrewd business woman.

Davies was a fascinating and intelligent woman who loved staging elaborate parties at the mansion. She owned this property through the generous salary Hearst paid her, but also through her own wise real estate investments. The mansion was demolished sometime after her death by a developer who had other visions for the property.

Over the years the property changed hands several times, but the last contractor installed these large posts to commemorate the placement of the original pillars of the mansion.

This was the original swimming pool.

These were some of the tiles that were in a bathroom of the beach guest house, so one can only imagine the interior of the mansion as being magnificent and filled with beautiful paintings, furniture and other fine art as Hearst was a consummate and discerning collector throughout his life, and many of these collections were shared with Marion in this property.

It was such a lovely morning and enjoyed by all, including my grandson who loved watching the water feature outside the swimming pool.

LA Style

I have to say I have never been a fan of Southern California for a number of reasons and always avoided LA because of the traffic and freeway congestion. However, since my youngest daughter moved there with her husband and two little boys, I have gotten to know it a little better. I have to admit, I have enjoyed the experience, and each time I go I find something surprising and fun. Where else could you pose with Santa on a street corner and not feel the least bit self conscious?

Jeanette and Ben seem to have a knack for finding the best coffee shops in the area near where they live. The Sycamore Kitchen has the best pastries and coffee drinks, and I loved the decor.

What a great way to use color for an exterior wall to designate privacy and a special place to retreat from the life of the busy street of La Brea.

I find it quite amusing that they serve Portland's famous brand of coffee, Stumptown.

Our next visit along La Brea was to a contemporary design store featuring colorful and trendy accessories as well as some furniture. This rug was such a great splash of color and texture.

Jeanette loved the look of this clean, contemporary chair.

Across the street, we came upon a museum with a statue of Lenin at the entrance. Always expect the unexpected in this city.

A few blocks down from this museum we walked into the store American Rag. I had not been in one of these stores since I moved away from San Francisco. They had a section that housed the most beautiful collection of housewares as well as furniture.

I loved the way they displayed their glassware, really colorful and beautiful.

In this gorgeous display cabinet, which I will show you in the next photo, they displayed an arrangement of fun pink pottery. It reminded me of toile designs, very fresh and updated.

This was the detail on the cabinet. Beautiful piece. I keep studying it, wondering how I will find a way to duplicate the technique and tones.

As we headed back to Ben and Jeanette's home, we walked by the store that sells all manner of items from the movie industry. I think this pretty much sums up the diversity of LA. One can go from the truly kitschy to the sophisticated and sublime all within a few blocks.

As the new year approaches

The Purple Pear will be closed through the holidays and will re-open on January 3rd. On January 5th I will be teaching a "Basics" workshop and there are still openings if you want to join us and get a early start on your furniture painting ideas for 2013.

I have many new ideas for the shop including new workshops with Annie Sloan's new and beautiful fabrics. We will be making lampshades as well as easy pillows with her fabrics that I have in my shop.

This is one of Annie's beautiful toiles, Normandie. Wishing you all a relaxing and safe holiday and I will see you in the new year!