where I've been

hello! I haven't been posting for the last week or so because I was in a tiny town in Nor Cal called Nicasio. my family has had land there for over 100 years and we go up there two or three times a year. we have cows and chickens and a vineyard and stuff, and our property is right next to Skywalker Ranch- George Lucas's property (!!!). my great grandparents were married in the one church in town, and my great great (great?) uncle or grandpa won the town's only hotel in a game of poker and lost it in the same way.

anyway, there's all sorts of cute towns nearby, and San Francisco is just 40 minutes away. one day we went into Point Reyes Station and looked in all the little thrift shops and stuff. my sister and I packed a picnic and hiked halfway up the hill to our vineyard and it was all beautiful.

my aunt (who lives in a darling yellow house on the property) runs an antique shop in what once was the town's butcher shop. she always has great little animal figurines and antique kitchen things and old pictures. on our last night, she pulled out a photo album with great pictures in the 50s and 60s of my grandpa (her brother) and her europe trips and my dad & his cousins as children. here are some pictures of my father in his prime- in a new, somewhat racist-looking slicker on christmas, and with my grandfather, sporting some saddle shoes to match mine. I think he's in kindergarten in both of these.

we drove home along the coast as much as possible, which was absolutely gorgeous. there's always dozens of strawberry stands and cute towns and stuff. we stopped to peek in at the Madonna Inn, which is fabulous and pink and somewhere north of Pismo Beach. this is the dining room- I just about died when I walked in.

anyway, that's where I've been. I'll be back to my regular schedule soon enough. I bought some really cute fabric for really cheap at walmart, and I'm going to be making some skirts soon. if anyone has any tips/patterns/ideas/warnings, drop me a comment, I'd love to hear from someone with a little more knowledge on the matter. :)

with love,

Julia