Anniversary Trip To The Beach

Last weekend, my husband and I celebrated our 42nd anniversary!  I am so grateful to share my life with this man.  I wouldn’t be who I am today without him.  He believes in me, trusts me, shares values with me, and supports me.  We’ve been through rough times, but have always prevailed.

We celebrated by heading off to Port Townsend, WA for an overnight visit.  Port Townsend has been one of our favorite beach destinations for 30 years now and we’re always happy to return. Our 1st stop was at Fort Warden State Park, (where the movie Pretty Woman was filmed).

As you can see from the pictures, the weather was perfect!  We found a comfortable log to sit on and just soaked up the sun and enjoyed the sounds of the waves and the sea gulls.

Eventually we wandered into town, cruised the art galleries and settled on a new (to us) restaurant for lunch, called Sirens.  We sat upstairs on a balcony overlooking the water.  I swear, it was the best hamburger I’ve ever eaten.  And the view…well just take a look!

When you have a view like that, you don’t even want to finish your lunch and have to give up your seat!

After lunch, we headed over to Lois Venarchick’s shop, Wynwoods Gallery and Studio.  This is my one of my favorite bead shops anywhere.  Lois seems to have a knack for finding unique beads.  I always find a treasure to take home with me when I am there.  Lois also designs and casts her own metal charms and pendants and that was what I was after on this trip!  Here’s what I came away with.  Don’t you just love these?

Later we went over to North Beach for a nice walk before dinner. And for dinner we went to a restaurant that Lois and her husband Phil suggested.  OMG, our taste buds died and went to heaven.  The food was exquisite!  It was the perfect place for an anniversary celebration.

We had a delightful surprise waiting for us when we returned to our motel room.  Our daughter had ordered champagne for us and had it delivered to our room.  We were so touched by her thoughtfulness!  We sat on our balcony, sipped champagne and looked out over the marina.

I love spending time at the ocean. It is my happy place.  I have a collection in my jewelry shop called Surf & Sand, which has all my ocean themed work.  Here are a couple examples of what you can find there.

Sailboat Earrings

High Tide Necklace

Where is your happy place?

I am always delighted to read your comments!   Hope to hear from you.

Linda Landig Jewelry

Views From Llano Park

One of my favorite places in Oaxaca is Llano Park.  I love to just sit in the sunshine there and watch life go by.  I hope you enjoy this photo essay of pictures from the park.

I am always delighted to read your comments!   Hope to hear from you.

-Linda

Linda Landig Jewelry

January 2015 in Review

The first month of 2015 has gone by in a rush.  Our big adventure is that we are living in Oaxaca, Mexico through the end of March.  We celebrated the New Year in Oaxaca by dancing to an awesome marimba band and watching fireworks.

Llano Park, Oaxaca Mexico

Skeleton paintings on a building in Oaxaca

Of course I brought beads with me here and I’ve been busy designing new pieces.  Oaxaca has been good for my creative mojo.

New in January –

Azul Bracelet

Azul Bracelet

Caramel Drop Earrings

Caramel Drop Earrings

Night Flight Necklace

Night Flight Necklace

After Midnight Necklace

After Midnight Necklace

Mexican Flor Earrings

Mexican  Flor Earrings

Turquoise Snowflake Necklace

Turquoise Snowflake Necklace

I’ve also been blogging like a crazy woman.

To read more about our Oaxacan adventures –

Mi Casa Es Su Casa  

Peaceful Patio

Birthday Celebration in Oaxaca

Some of my recent jewelry designs –

Snowflake Necklace

Use Your Stash – January AJE Reveal

On Earrings Everyday –

Mexican Flor

Cedar Earrings

On Art Jewelry Elements –

Have Beads, Will Travel

5 Pretty Marsala Color Palettes

I am always delighted to read your comments!   Hope to hear from you.

-Linda

Linda Landig Jewelry

Peaceful Patio

Last week I took you on a little tour of our rental casa in Oaxaca.  Today I invite you to step outside with me and enjoy a few moments on our peaceful patio.

See that poinsettia?  They grow wild here.  This one is as tall as the house and I’ve seen them grow to be like small trees.

You know how I love flowers, right?  There is so much to delight the eye, right here in our back yard!

I don’t know what kind of flowers these are, but they are incredibly soft.  They feel like a silky, deep chenille!

I don’t know what these are either, but I’m smitten by their yellow to orange ombre effect. (Update:  Nan Emmett identified these as Shrimp Plants.  Thanks, Nan). I seriously want to make jewelry inspired by these, but I don’t have any beads in these colors with me here in Oaxaca.  I’ll have to wait till I get back to the states.

Limes!!!!

The yard is just as lovingly decorated with hand crafted items as the house is.

Good day sunshine!

I wish you could drop by for a visit.  We could sit on the patio, sip Margaritas and chat or make jewelry together!

I am always delighted to read your comments!   Hope to hear from you.

-Linda

Linda Landig Jewelry

Portugal and Germany: Some Contemporary Jewelry

Over on the Art Jewelry Elements blog, I wrote about some artisan jewelry that I saw during a recent trip to Germany and Portugal.  Whenever we passed a storefront with handmade jewelry, I whipped out my camera and started taking pictures; all the while praying that the shop owner wouldn’t come out, cursing me in German or Portuguese for photographing his/her original work. You’ll find pictures of lampwork pendants, beaded and metalsmithed jewelry there.  There will be more to come about my trip, both here, as well as on the Art Jewelry Elements blog – so stay tuned!

Lisbon: Artisan Earrings

Monday Meanderings – Botanical Building, San Diego

Botanical Building Orchids

While visiting  San Diego, recently, we visited the Botanical Building in Balboa Park.  Our timing was perfect, as most of the orchids were in full bloom!  I love orchids and  have a few which recently bloomed at home.

The Botanical Building was built for the 1915-16 Exposition and is one of the largest lath structures in the world. The Botanical Building  includes more than 2,100 permanent plants, including a large collection of  orchids and other tropical plants.

I’m going to let the rest of the pictures speak for themselves-no words.  I hope you enjoy the wonderment and beauty of these flowers.  If you are an artist/artisan perhaps their colors and forms will inspire you to create.  Enjoy.

 

Monday Meanderings: Desert Garden

{Monday Meanderings: Musings & Observations From Beyond the Bead Studio}

Playing Nursemaid

I’m getting this posted really late on Monday, because my good friend, Rose, had knee surgery today.  I drove her in to the clinic this morning and then took her home after surgery.  I’ve got homemade soup simmering on her stove now and we’re icing her knee every half hour.  The biggest challenge is keeping her immobile.  I swear, she wants to go to work tomorrow, even though the doctor strictly said, “No!”.

Balboa Park, San Diego – Desert Garden

My husband and I took a train trip to San Diego a couple of weeks ago.  While we were there we visited the Desert Gardens at Balboa Park.  We saw the most amazing cacti and succulents from all around the world.  Did you know that a cactus is a form of succulent?  I didn’t.

I went crazy taking pictures of all the strange and intriguing plants and I’ve been anxious to share them with you.

I love how this picture turned out!

The Desert Garden has more than 150 species of cacti and other desert plants from North and South America and about 1,300 cacti, aloes, and other succulent and drought-resistant plants from around the world.

Each season has something to offer, but the most amazing flowers bloom January through March.  There were fantastic blossoms everywhere.  It was breathtaking, really!

Agave blooms.

I was struck by how each plant has found its own niche and its own unique way to adapt to the environment.  And in spite of harsh conditions, they bloom with regal abandon.  So be it for us, as well.

Monday Meanderings: Sunny San Diego

My husband is a train buff.  He is an amazing font of knowledge about all things public transit.  It’s not unusual to be watching the opening scene in a movie with him and when he sees a train he’ll say something like, “This movie must take place in Chicago in the early 40’s.”  He knows what kinds of train ran where and when.  So for Christmas this year, I gave him a round-trip train ride for two to San Diego.

Last week we escaped the gray, dreary winter of western Washington State and caught a train south to sunny San Diego.  The trip takes about a day and a half and we had a small sleeper berth.  We passed through snowy mountains, ocean vistas studded with palm trees; past rivers, farmlands, cities and towns.  Whenever the train had a 10 minute layover, my husband would be out on the platform taking pictures of the trains.  His great happiness meant so much to me.

View from the train window, of mountains in Oregon, on the return trip.

In San Diego we visited Coronado, where they filmed “Some Like It Hot” with Marilyn Monroe.  I walked barefoot on the beach, luxuriating in the feel of the warm, silky, fine sand.

Hotel at Coronado, San Diego

We went up to Cabrillo National Monument, with its incredible views of the San Diego skyline, across the bay, (see yesterday’s post) and we visited San Diego’s first mission.

The mission building and grounds were lovely, but what lingers with me was an old photograph of a class of Native American children, all with sad or grim faces.  These children had been forcibly  removed from their families and sent to the Catholic mission school.  This happened to Native kids all over the country and their tears flood my heart.

I’ll post pictures from our visit to San Diego’s fabulous Balboa Park, soon.  I hope you vicariously enjoyed this trip, too!

Artisan Pewter Giveaway

Andrew Thorton is having a Giveaway on his blog: The Writings and Art of Andrew Thorton.  There are artisan pewter toggle clasps and charms here, representing the newest work from his family’s business, Green Girl Studios.  Check it out!

 

I’m busy working on my Bead Soup Challenge necklace.  I can’t wait to share it with everyone.  The reveal date is Saturday, Feb. 25th, but I’ll allow a little sneaky-peeky on Wed. the 23rd!

My husband and I just returned from a train trip to San Diego.  He is a big train buff, but I found that I thoroughly enjoyed the trip, too.  I’ll post more on Monday, but here’s a teaser…

 

View of San Diego from Cabrillo National Monument

 

 

Monday Meanderings: Yummy Korea

{Monday  Meanderings:  Musings & Observations From Beyond the Bead Studio} 

Today I’m sharing a few more pictures from our Korean Cooking class, as well as describing some of the other gastronomical delights that await visitors to Korea.   

Korean Cooking Class

I went out to a so-called Chinese Buffet with my father today.  I say so-called because they served sushi, which is Japanese and they served two kinds of kimchi which is definitely Korean.  I love kimchi.  It’s practically calorie-free and it packs a wallop in the taste department, so I piled it on my plate today.  It’s expensive when you buy it in jars in the supermarket here, but it isn’t difficult to make.  Here’s my husband, my daughter and her boyfriend working together to make this delicious side dish.

Preparing Kimchi

All 4 of us smiling in anticipation of eating our kimchi

 Small Plates and Main Dishes

When you eat a meal in Korea, you can expect a main dish and then a large assortment of small dishes, which always includes 2 or more types of  kimchi.  There might also be sauted greens, bean sprouts, lotus root and small dried fishes. The variety of small dishes can be astounding.

Bulgogi and other Main Dishes

Bulgogi is marinated meat that is grilled, usually right at the table. You then wrap the cooked meat, some grilled garlic and maybe some green onions in a lettuce leaf  and eat it out of hand.  It is considered the national dish of Korea.  Before our trip to Korea, I thought it only came in two forms:  beef and pork.  I was so wrong!  We ate not only beef and pork bulgogi, but also chicken and even duck bulgogi.  It was always delicious!

A built-in fan at the table removes the smoke as your bulgogi is grilling.

My husband’s favorite Korean dish is Japchae.  This dish is consists of pasta that is made from sweet potato starch, which is topped with thinly sliced vegetables and a little meat.  You can easily find the special pasta in any asian food store in the states, but I haven’t been too successful in recreating the dish in my kitchen.

Japchae

 

So, now I’d like to raise a glass in honor of the yummy cuisine of Korea!

Hot and tired in Korea -- need a beer break!