A picture for every beach we visited

On our latest visit to Long Beach, California,

we were lucky enough to have our friend Mike

available to keep us busy for the entire week

we were down there, and also meant I had our

own personal photographer, to snap a photo of

Tim and I at each beach we visited. And yes, 

Tim even allowed all these photos to be taken.

Oh the magic of being on a beautiful, warm,

sunny beach. What a blessing to be able to

visit such amazing places with a wonderful

husband by my side, and a great friend to

enjoy the journey and exploration with us.

 Tim and I at the first beach we visited on Sunday,

This was in the late afternoon, and was at the

pier on Seal Beach, in southern California.

On Monday, we drove down the coast a little bit, and 

had a wonderful visit on both Huntington Beach, it's pier

and main town street, and then down a bit further to

Laguna Beach, which was the southern most point we

ventured on this or any trip we've had yet to California.

One thing I noticed during our beach visits was the different

feel of the sand beneath my feet and between my toes.

The photo above was Laguna Beach and it's texture

was almost glass like if that makes sense, more granular, 

but still soft, where as Huntington beach is so soft and warm.

On Tuesday, as we neared the later part of the

afternoon we ventured down to the beach in our

host town of Long Beach and enjoyed a casual

walk along the shore as the sun started to set.

Even at this hour, the temperatures were still 

comfortably in the high 80's and made for an 

enjoyable walk and photo taking experience.

Both the photo above and below were taken on the

beach on Wednesday when we visited the pier

in Santa Monica, which is north of Long Beach.

This top photo was the only one not taken by our

friend, but by a lady on the beach, who had no idea 

how to use an Iphone camera, imagine that :)

Notice in the above photo, that Tim's actually holding his

shoes and not wearing them. It's a big deal really, as he

never, ever walks in the ocean waters as it usually makes

his legs break out in hives, but this visit he had the urge

to put his feet in the crashing waves and had no ill

effects from the experience, yay for that!

The top photo was also from Wednesday as

we were lucky enough to have the chance to go a

bit further north up to Malibu, and we had a great

walk along the beach, watching the many surfer's. 

the different kinds of seabirds, and searched for

shells and rocks along the shoreline. This is the only

beach in which we actually beach combed and left

with a handfull of shells, rocks and seaglass.

This last photo was from the end of the day, as

we ventured back south towards Long Beach,

we asked for just one more stop, and that was

Venice Beach, and although we only spent a

short time there as the sun was starting to 

set, we truly felt blessed to have been able

to experience all three wonderful beaches in

one glorious day of fun and adventure.

How can you not want to stay in southern California,

to bury your toes in the warm sand, bask in the glow

of the setting sun, and know that you are doing this in

the company of your soulmate, your better half, the

person who's only footprints matter beside yours in

the sand as you walk along. 

Getting some creative mojo flowing today

I have had this 7gypsies painter's tray  for a while now, 

and I love their sticker sheets, so I knew that I wanted

to use it for our latest vacation photos from California.

After deciding which photos I wanted to use, then

figuring out the right sizing, and printing them out, I

managed to put it together in a few hours, and am quite

happy with how it turned out.

This is a close up look of it standing up on the

table, and the lighting was a bit too harsh, but 

I wanted to show how I placed some of the stickers

so that they are hanging over the sides of the tray.

A few years ago, when Tim and I took the girls

to Long Beach, California for our first real

holiday, I came home and did a painter's tray

as well, so I placed this current one beside

it on the wall in our dining room. I love

how my ladder hanging on the wall, offers

a great display space for things that make

my heart happy.

My first outdoor Halloween decorating

I have never been lucky enough to have a front yard to decorate

during the holidays, so when we moved in our new place back in

June, I knew I was going to enjoy Halloween because it would 

mean I could deck out the front yard and stoop with all fun,

spooky things for the trick or treater's to enjoy. 

Today was one of those days where, although it wasn't a

sunny day, at least it wasn't raining like it has been, so

I set out for a few hours of fun and decorating. I figured that

most of the decorations I have collected over the years 

would withstand our climate and after a few hours, I had

what I believe, to be an awesomely decorated yard.

I was so proud of my spooky creation, that I had

Tim snap a picture of me afterwards, just call me

the nice witch on the block, hehehe!!!

The tree just outside our yard allowed me to hang not only

spider webbing, but also some shrunken heads I've had

for a while that I found at the dollar store.

I lined our fence with a string of leaf garland, and then 

topped it with some rubber pumpkins that I had totally

forgotten I had got last year on clearance after Halloween.

Add a few plastic rats and mice, and you already feel

a bit eerie walking up to the front door.

And well, why not be greeted by a scary, gruesome head

just resting on the hedges at the front of the house.

Up at the front of the yard, there is a pirate graveyard, 

protected by the heads of said pirates, protecting their

kin from grave robbers and the like. 

Unfortunately, they didn't do a great job of protecting the

graves and most of the bones have just been scattered

around the site, making a great feeding site for the

cockroaches seen walking along the bones. 

The front stoop is a mixture of things,

with my hanging pirate, my headless

horseman and a bit of witch things, like

straw brooms, a hat and a cauldron

full of eyeballs, and fingers.

Beware the angry, scary black cat that

feels a bit threatened by strangers.

A close up of those pumpkins on the

fence line, they also look a bit questionable

as far as their personalities, as they look a

bit suspicious to me.

I so can't wait until Halloween night, I want

to see those little tricker treaters enjoying the

spooky house and feeling maybe a bit

scared at the same time. Oh the fun of this

special time of year. 

Love etching in the sand

I have always loved etching hearts in the wet sand whenever

I've walked the beach, from a teenager on. Maybe it's 

because I've been blessed with the best husband in

the world, and feel that love best expresses what

I am most blessed with in this life of mine. This photo

was taken on our California vacation this past week,

and the evening sun  hit the wet sand so perfectly that

this photo just glows and has so much feeling to it.

I will share more of our vacation photos and memories in

the coming weeks, but for now, just bask in the warmth this

photo evokes. And may you all be blessed with love in

your lives, whether in a soul mate, a child or a loving

mother or father. 

Below is the same etching but at a lower angle, and

the sun has set a bit lower in the sky. Love the colors

in this one, the shadows, the feeling, and the warmth.