If You're Lucky Enough To Be At The Beach... You're Lucky Enough!

First of all, I have my first follower... yeah Heather! 

Isn't the blog title great?  That was a sign on the deck of our adorable little beach house we spent last week at. (The Arbor House in Santa Cruz).   

The beach is SO therapeutic and rejuvenating.  At home, I can't settle down and do one thing at a time or think one thought at a time.  I have to be moving, doing, thinking, strategizing, reading, painting, watching the kids, working and doing it all at the same time.  I wouldn't know what to do with a free minute, and if I had one, I'd fill it up as soon as possible!  But, at the beach, I can stand in one spot for hours.  And. that's what I did!  I stood on a rock and listened to the waves crash and watched my boys play in the surf while pelicans flew in formation inches over the water as the tide came in and the sun went down.  FABULOUS.

We spent the mornings combing the sand for nature's treasures.  I found some great seashells.  Big ones and gorgeous silver oyster shells.  I see things that I know are wonderful but don't always know what to do with them myself.  There are so many creative people out there that I collect these little treasures and know that the right artist will find them and turn them into something magnificent. 



Picture From the blog Cherish Home Everyday

 


Being at the beach, I couldn't help but think of  Annette (from Melange).  She is someone who takes little treasures from the beach and turns them into artistic masterpieces.  When I got home, Susan (also from Melange)  had posted an artist blog featuring Annette and I highly recommend having a look as she posted pictures of some of Annette's beautiful pieces.  Cherish Home Everyday 



Be sure to visit us at Gracefully Vintage to see some of the great little treasures I've brought into the shop from this weeks beach trip.  One of the many nice things about the beach is how it weathers things like these great old bottles.  Bottles have been a hot item at the shop lately.  They make interesting pieces for decoration and are great for organizing things like beads, buttons, pins, toiletries, and other baubles.

I love the one with the old newspaper plastered to it.



Here are a few more treasures I found this weekend that I will bring to the shop today...

Interesting antique mirror.  A bit on the goth side - it's quite beautiful.

 

Metal trivets for hot irons.  One is marked 1884.



 We have loose shells, beads, buttons and other items at the shop for the artists out there ready to create their own masterpieces from the things we find from nature and the past. 



Last week was serene and beautiful.  Off to work today and then painting, restoring, grocery shopping, swim lessons, birthday party planning, checking my 100+ emails, downloading the Wolf Marketing catalog on flash drives and sending out to customers, placing a Stella & Dot order, signing the boys up for camps and play dates, laundry from last week,

so on and so on... 

Love the beach but I'm happy to be home too!