All Roads in Northern California Lead to Wine...

And the Pacific Ocean...Yep.  I do believe this!

On a warm April Easter Sunday afternoon, we packed up a picnic and decided to explore what might be along the road north of Fort Bragg.  Oh my goodness, I  have to tell you about his little gem of a winery that  Tom and I stumbled upon, on the very Northern end of Hwy 1 on our travels that day!

The Mendocino Coast is almost indescribably beautiful; stunning views in every direction with wild, untamed nature and a roaring, unending turquoise ocean.  Following a winding road with dips and sharp turns through weather-beaten small towns standing just steps from crashing waves, Tom and I pinched ourselves numerous times to remind us at how lucky we are  to live so close to this beauty.

And then out in the middle of nowhere - we found the Pacific Star Winery.

Tom checking out the view from their cottage deck. 

(It's for rent  - would be such an awesome weekend getaway!)

Let me start off by confessing that I am so jealous!  Can you imagine that this stunning property is where you live and work every single day?  Our host told us that he and his fiance' love living here so much that they only leave their house about once every 2 weeks.

Inside their fun coastal themed tasting room -

 I can't blame them.  Not sure that I would leave either...

Of course, we had to bring some home - not sure when we will have another chance to escape.  Hopefully sooner than later!

We highly recommend Pacific Star Winery for some many reasons - starting with the property, and finishing off with the wine. Yum.

Mother of Pearl Shells Add An Extra Touch of Glam!

More wonderful interior decor pics from our customers!  This time from my long time social media friend, and fellow retailer,  Lynni Megginson, of Lynni Megginson Design in Washington DC.

She ordered two of our most popular Mother of Pearl mirrors,The Vivian, to complete a fabulous bathroom remodel for one of her design clients.   Love how they turned out - really digging that cool wall paper too! I like that she did not choose to use traditional coastal colors (aqua and blues for example) but rich shades of orchid, and dark purple, highlighted with sea greens.

I first met Lynni many years ago at a seminar at the Pacific Market Center in Seattle, she had written a wonderful workbook and guide for small retail stores (at the time she owned her own small "brick and mortar" store in DC) showing us all how to plan and stage fun, entertaining events in our stores to help drive business. I still have my book and used it faithfully (full of highlighting and sticky notes!) when we still had our store open in Washington.

If you need a little guidance for your next interior design project, Lynni might just have the right touch of "glam" for you home!   Lynni Megginson - Decoration, Design, Lifestyle

P.S. Mother of Pearl design is one of our favorite ways to add  natural "bling" and personality to your coastal home!

 New - Mother of Pearl Accent Jar

Small, Malidives Mother of Pearl Lamp accented with Mother of Pearl Tiles - so pretty! 

Pearl Inlay Lamp - LOVE!

Outfitting a Yacht Galley with Nautical Rugs

Last night I received the nicest e-mail from a customer that ordered one of our nautical rug runners a few weeks ago for her yacht galley.  She even sent photos!   

We are thrilled that she was so happy!  We think her new rug looks fabulous and compliments her beautifully appointed galley.  Apparently it is difficult to find nice rugs that will actually fit into the constrained spaces on board boats, and our line of indoor-outdoor nautical rugs fit perfectly.

 Wonder where they are headed this summer in their boat, maybe the San Juan Islands? (I wanna go too!)

Have a great weekend everyone - 

P.S.  Here's a few of the fun Indoor-Outdoor nautical area rugs on our site!

Signal Flags

Aqua Ships'Wheels

Sand and White Ships' Wheels

Stay Afloat Mat!

Summer Weekend Thoughts...

Phew! I am sure that I am still catching my breath after traveling back and forth between Seattle and San Francisco several times in the past month. Thank goodness for wi-fi on most plane flights and in the airports... Have laptop, will travel! (I am rethinking this motto, btw)

On a serious note, our lives have been crazy, topsy-turvy with adult children launching into their own adventures. My daughter Allison is heading to New York City to live out her dream - thank goodness that she has had such a wonderful job a Starbucks with such incredible opportunities like this!  She's also going to be writing for me on the Everything Coastal Style Blog, which I have severely neglected. Alex is off to the US Navy; first stop basic training outside of Chicago and then who knows where. Tom and I are keeping our fingers crossed for Italy or Hawaii.  So darn proud of both of them!

Here they are - hamming it up at the Crab Pot on the Seattle waterfront.  We were playing tourist in our hometown, and had a great time eating "caveman" style!

Maddie, Tom's daughter, is with us for the summer, working and interning at a non-profit in the city.  She's also helping me with marketing and "pinning", before running off to Paris in the fall for school.  We've been having fun catching up with her after her sophomore year at George Washington University in DC. She even braved the barbequed  fresh Tomales Bay oysters at Marshall store last week for Tom's birthday. (I confess that I ate some too - they were actually quite yummy!)

Not to mention that Caron's Beach House is experiencing growth by leaps and bounds.  We've had our best months ever this spring!  Somehow Tom and I are trying to carve out time for each other....

Pretending to look for whales in Santa Cruz....

Goofing off at the Alameda Flea Market - I said NO on the Leisure Suit.

For me, I need that time when I can disconnect completely and revive my creativity. Without the time to dream, to plan, to walk on the beach, or simply stare off in space, our business (and my over 50 sanity!) suffers.  I start to get a little stupid and grouchy...not to mention my "chef" skills. We end up eating not-so-gourmet around our house.  Vacuuming? Laundry? What are those things? Tom is a good sport, but even he starts to grumble.

Lately that precious "wasted" time is only a passing memory. Thank goodness Tom took me up north to Glass Beach and Fort Bragg  for a long weekend trip on my birthday in April. My phone (my handheld computer- lol) did not work in many spots along the Mendocino coast.  Oh Darn. Oh Bummer.

Needless to say, I think I am still working on the fumes of that trip.

Keeping my fingers crossed for a beach walk and picnic sometime this weekend. And a little time to dream...

More next week about the winery we stumbled on while driving on Hwy 1 north of Fort Bragg...