Harbor Seals

Just a quick photo montage from yesterday's jaunt down Hwy 1.  Bean Hollow Beach is a wonderful beach to explore about 15 miles south of Half Moon Bay, not a great walking beach, but so many tide pools to explore among the rocks and lots of sea life to view.  It is one of my very favorite places to go to enjoy listening to the wind, the sounds of crashing waves and catch a few harbor seals taking a Saturday afternoon nap.





Tidepools.....

 Dark Purple Sea Star

Rock Crabs scurried into all the cracks - really hard to get them to stay still for a photo op!

Green sea urchins with purple spines

Harbor Seals.... we counted over 30 seals and pups sprawled all over the rocks.  Tom scrambled down the rocks and was able to capture a few close-up.  Don't worry, we didn't get very close, there was still a deep lagoon between us and the seals!  

I am so happy to have my camera back!  Hope you  all had a wonderful weekend - 

Washed Ashore! "Plastics, Sealife and Art"

Tom and I spent Saturday afternoon at one of my favorite places here in the Bay Area - The Marine Mammal Center in the Marin Headlands.   


The Marine Mammal Center does many wonderful things for our marine mammals; harbor seals, elephant seals, California sea lions, even an occasional sea otter may find themselves here in the hospital after being found injured on one of our local beaches.  Sometimes the doctors and volunteers even perform miracles!


From the Marine Mammal Center website: 

"Our mission is to expand knowledge about marine mammals—their health and that of their ocean environment—and to inspire their global conservation. Our core work is the rescue and rehabilitation of sick and injured marine mammals, supported by state-of-the-art animal care and research facilities, a corps of dedicated volunteers, and an engaged community."

The "Washed Ashore" art exhibit was created to bring awareness to how dangerous plastics are affecting our oceans, and how even small changes can help.   "This community art project has turned the ugly reality of ocean trash into beautiful sculptures of the marine life we strive to save, inspiring us all to re-think our use of plastics and change our habits."    

"Henry" greets visitors as they arrive at the center - 15 feet of every imaginable piece of collected plastic make up this incredible sculpture! 

Just a few bullet points to consider:

1.  100's of volunteers collected all of this trash from 20 miles of Oregon beaches

2.  Over 7000 pounds of trash were collected

3. 99% of all trash collected was petroleum based 

      - everything from toothbrushes,hairbrushes, Styrofoam, lighters, fishing rope, soap bottles, kids toys, and every size of flip-flop you could possibly imagine!

Lidia the Seal

Jellie

Sea Turtle

Whale Bones

Starfish 

These masks were made of pieces of collected garbage that were too small for the larger sculptures - there's probably 30 detailed masks to see, these are only a few examples!

There were so many sculptures to see, and it gave us even more to think about... 

Some ideas to consider:

1. Bring an extra bag to the beach (not only for your seaglass!) to pick up and dispose of trash

2. NO more plastic bags - bring your own to the grocery store

3.  NO more bottled water

4.  Use as many recycled products as possible

5.  Reuse, recycle, and reduce

Even the small things can help!  Don't forget to leave a note on our Eco-Friendly Pillow post and enter our giveaway for a Sea Turtle Pillow - and if you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, make sure to see the Washed Ashore exhibit before it's gone in October.

Our First Giveaway - Featuring Wabisabi Green Modern Eco-Friendly Pillows

We're kicking this week off with a giveaway for 3 reasons:


1.  We'd like to re-introduce Jolee Pink, the artist behind Wabisabi Green.   (We love her fabulous eco-friendly beach house pillows!)

2.  We'd like a chance to get to know more of our coastal lifestyle friends - both here, and on our facebook page

3.  We want to reinforce our love of the sea, and the protection of the oceans with a giveaway of a Cocoa Tortuga- Sea Turtle Ocean Throw Pillow.  Wabisabi Green donates a portion of every sale towards Sea Turtle Conservation with Pro Peninsula Community and Nature. To learn more visit: propeninsula.org   Pretty great way to support conservation efforts!

Jolee lives in the tiny community of Encinitas, in southern California, a seaside town, where her appreciation of the ocean environment has continued to grow.

Her images are inspired by nature, world travels and the southern California coastal lifestyle. She combines bright colors with fresh bold designs to add sizzle and pop to her eco chic home decor line.  She would love to hear your ideas for new designs!   Leave her a note on her Wabisabi Green Facebook page

Here's how to enter our Giveaway:

1. Become a new follower of the Everything Coastal Blog and/or leave us a comment about your eco-coastal lifestyle.

or

2. Join/Like Wabisabi Green's Facebook friends and leave a comment for Jolee on her Facebook page.  We would love to hear from you!     http://www.facebook.com/WabisabiGreen

**All entries (U.S. addresses only) must be received by midnight, Sunday July 31, 2011.  Contest winner will be announced on the following Monday, August 1.

Good-Luck!! 

Here's a few of  my favorite  Wabisabi Green Eco-Friendly pillows on our site!

Purple, coral, slate starfish pillow!  

Sapphire Blue Starfish Pillow

Light aqua blue and white crab pillow

S'mores - The Ultimate Beach Fire Gourmet Sensation!

S'mores - The Ultimate Summertime Treat! We asked  friends on our Facebook page for their favorite ideas for beach fire s'mores - and boy did we get lots of responses!  Here's a short list of  some of my favorites...   Traditional S'more Recipe -  *Roasted Marshmallows (try not to burn!)  *Chocolate Bars *Graham Crackers  From my Mom Gloria:  "I saw one on the Today Show.. Chef put two Chocolate Chip Cookies around them instead of the traditional graham crackers with the huge marshmallows and chocolate bars, then grill them in foil.  Here's the link to the video - oh yum - Throw This on the Grill!   From Karla:   "We like to use flavored marshmallows, cookies (especially soft home made sugar cookies) & any flat candy bar. We especially like oatmeal raisin cookies with home made marshmallows & peanut butter cups. It sounds odd but tastes yummy. " From Joe: "Use chocolate chip cookies instead of graham crackers, or use the cinnamon grahams for a different flavor. Always can use flavored chocolate bars for something new too!"  Wouldn't it be fun to create a S'mores "Bar" for your next campfire?   Here's a few of my ideas - what do you think??    What would you add to the list?? *Hot Fudge Sauce *Caramel Sauce *Peanut Butter *Nilla Wafers *Reese's Peanut Butter Cups *Nutella *sugar cookies *Gooey Mints *chocolate chips *butterscotch chips *white chocolate bars (photo courtesy of AllRecipes.com) I think this recipe is probably my favorite! Triple Layer Mint S'More Brownies - (courtesy of Eat,LiveRun.com) Triple Layer Mint S'more Brownies makes about 16 adapted from Martha Stewart  1/2 cup all purpose flour 1 cup sugar 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 cup cocoa 4 oz butter 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips 3 eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 cups mini marshmallows 25 mini peppermint patties Preheat the oven to 350. Melt the chocolate and butter together over very low heat on the stove. Remove and whisk in the eggs. Add the flour, cocoa, salt and sugar and mix well to combine. Line a nine by thirteen inch baking pan with tin foil. Butter the foil (really butter it!) and then pour half of the brownie batter in the pan. Arrange peppermint patties over top and then spread the remaining batter over top, smoothing it out with a palate knife. Bake for 45 minutes and then sprinkle marshmallows over the top. Broil for two to five more minutes, until the marshmallows are lightly browned and gooey. Let cool for AT LEAST an HOUR before attempting to cut.  Here's the entire blog post - thanks Melissa for posting!  http://www.eatliverun.com/triple-layer-mint-smore-brownies/ We have tried this Strawberry S'More idea too - so scrumptious!  Just be prepared for a little bit of a mess. Totally worth it. (image Source - Classy Cooking) Next on my list to try?  Banana and Nutella Combination - YUM

Beach Bikes on a Sunny Sunday Afternoon

Ah.. a summer day strolling the wharf, and exploring the shore in Santa Cruz.   Ocean breezes, kayaks, fishermen, bathing beauties, surfers and beach cruisers in every color!

Red Ones... White Ones...

Aqua....

A Vintage Green Schwinn....

Key Lime Green....

Friends with baskets!

Blue Ones....

Even Red with Leopard Print!

Yellow ones...

It was just a perfect day! in Santa Cruz.  Lunch on the wharf, cute boyfriend, a glass of Pinot Griggio, sunshine... Now I think I need my very own beach bike.