a day in the bay~

Yesterday Gus took me down to Santa Rosa to pick up my brand new Bernina Serger! 

He got it for me for Valentine's day. What a sweetie.

A cool vintage Bernina sewing machine

 Then we headed to Sebastapol, to hit up some estate sales. Got some goodies for my etsy store.

Then to East West Cafe for some yummy mediterranean food.

 Gus enjoying his yummy lunch. This is his favorite kind of food.

 I got the same thing and the hummus was so delicious.

 We stopped at one more antique store before heading to treasure island. 

Gus found this cool little rickshaw.

 Crossing the Richmond bridge and I could see treasure island in the distance.

Unfortunately, the estate sale didn't have much treasure. I did find this cool book on witches though.

 Then we headed to Berkeley to find more treasure.

 I loved the Addison Endpapers store. 

So many cool little things for collage making and I found some great things to turn into jewelry.

 Then we found this estate sale on Hudson Street. WOW so many books!!!

 I wanted to take this ol' stove but we already have one. This one is so cute!

 I saw this pretty flower growing outside the house. Feels like spring.

 Then to Urban Ore Ecopark. Gus and I LOVE this place.

It's a builder's dream come true. So many things to see.

 We found plenty of windows for our new cabin, even an octagon shaped one.

 Then we scored on this purple vintage bathtub! I can't wait to take a bath in this beauty.

 My dream door! If only it wasn't $4800.

 I found a really cool german sewing machine too. 

We found some great treasure and we both had a great day. 

I love Gus for being able to get into the vintage shopping with me. 

Now I gotta go get pics taken of all my treasure to put on etsy.

saying goodbye with love

As the days grow closer to spring, I know it means we will be leaving our beautiful little home to start a new beginning. I thought it'd be fun to show the before and after of our remodel of our current home.  When Gus bought the land over 4 years ago it had but only a horse barn on a few acres. We decided to convert the barn into a little studio I like to call our rainbow happiness home. It's been a fun and crazy journey building, filled with lots of spackling and 90's rock music in the background as we hammered nails. Oh Gus how I love you! He truly is a great man. We have learned SO much from what we have already built and I'm so excited to build our dream home together on our new land. My heart is filled with gratitude for all that we have accomplished. 

"It takes more, more than a hammer and nails to make a house a home"

 future site of bathroom and kitchen

 Gus using his new nail gun I like to call the power hammer!

The walls are up and we have a front door!

 Danny and Gus cutting boards for the inside roofing

 Gus stopping for a photo. what a cute builder!

 our soon to be bathroom sink cabinet, found at the Rebuild Store in Ukiah.

 can you believe this is the bathroom?!! 

 the kitchen floor mosaic mandala

 laying down the layers of plywood for the flooring

 a rad indian tile I found at a thrift store

 the coolest red sink recycled from the rebuild store. Such treasure to be found there!

 Danny and Bridget helping us out.

 okitchen sink & counter top coming together from an old library cabinet from the Round Valley Library

The bathtub installed

bathtub tile complete

kitchen floor mosaic complete!

Our beautiful oak tree in the back

wool and thread

Yesterday was quite the adventure. I left my house Tuesday night and 

headed to Ukiah to spend the night with a dear lady from my weaving and 

sewing class. Her name is Sylvia and she is such a nice womyn. I stayed the night 

in her little sewing room in a very cute house which she said was built 

in the late 1800's.

. 

We woke up early Wednesday morning, (6:30 am to be exact) and got ready to 

leave for our adventure to Berkeley and SF for our fabric field trip with our 

sewing class. There were 7 of us, all on a mission to find some treasure. I was on a 

mission to find hemp, silk and WOOL! This semester is all about tailoring 

and I am so excited.

Our first stop was Stone Mountain and Daughter located in Berkeley.

 

Oh such a great store this was. So many beautiful fabrics and a really 

friendly staff sowilling to help. We even got 20% OFF for being students!! 

That was a nice surprise. I found the perfect shade of purple wool for my skirt 

I will be making in my weaving class.

 Then we stopped off at the cutest store ever. It was called

"Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles" and they had the most 

fantastic of things.

Vintage lace, aprons, bloomers and even molds for hat making. Unfortunately 

we only had 20 minutes to shop, so I peeked around at as many things as I could. 

So much to see and so little time. I did manage to find the cutest coat pattern 

from the late1800's era. I also scored a $2 vintage pattern for a great 

summer dress. Found a little birdie embroidered on some clothand just had to 

take it home with me. Definitely going back to this gem of a store!

Lacis is hosting a victorian corset making workshop this month, as 

well as in March. I really hope I can come back to take the workshop.

 The cutest embroidered shoes! Oh the detail is killing me!

 Leaving Berkeley on the bay bridge

Next stop was Fabrix.

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 I found more wool treasure at Fabrix and was very pleased with the prices. 

So many colors to choose!

We stopped for a nice lunch at a place one my classmates Amanda recommended. 

 Yummy fresh spring rolls wrapped with all the fixings and a peanut sauce.

  I ordered a jasmine blossom tea and we all enjoyed watching it bloom.

 I ordered a pot pie with portabello mushroom with veggies in a 

curry sauce with basamati rice on the side. 

 So delicious!

 Magic appeared too! 

I found this cute little heart button in my lap at lunch. 

I swear it was magic*

 And just as we were getting ready to leave, we spotted Satin Moon 

across the street. We all had to go in because the fabrics in here were so lovely! 

Teryl spotted the most beautiful fabric in the window and it wasn't 

long before I saw her with the bolt ready for a piece to be cut. I gasped at the price 

of $50 a yard! But I must admit it was quite beautiful. I found beautiful silks and 

many lovely shades of purples. 

Then I found the most perfect fabric to go along with the great vintage 

dress pattern I found earlier at Lacis. The fabric reminds me of gardening in 

the sun and drinking herbal teas. So excited to make it into a spring/summer dress. 

Somehow we managed to make it to Dharma on our way back from the city 

for some silk and dye. I found some beautiful hemp blends and couldn't resist. I got 

some silk and a beautiful turquoise dye for the inside lining of my soon to be jacket.

Dharma is such a great store for crochet and knitting needs too! 

 Outside I got to see my first guerilla knitting done on a pole in front of Dharma's.

So awesome!

We made one last stop to Cafe Gratitude for some yummy chocolate treats! 

I got an extra one to bring back to my sweetie. 

 It was such a great day and now I am so ready to get sewing!