Textile and Bead Love at the Santa Monica Airport Market

As promised, the textiles (and beads) that caught my eye last Sunday at the Santa Monica Airport Market.
Sit yourself down and enjoy!

I can get ALL THE THINGS when I shop with my camera.

I did however succumb to temptation and purchased these two gems, which I will turn into tunics:

Shiny Objects Are Closer Than They Appear

CREATED/ PURCHASED/ GIFTED/ LINKS/

Severo and I both had Saturday off, time for a date!
The night before, I gave him parameters for our breakfast dining: within 3 miles radius of home and before 10am. (It gets crowded in eateries after 10 on the weekend, especially with this glorious weather we've had).
He found a new place, Cafe Buna, in Marina Del Rey. Their prices were a little higher than I like to pay (over $10), but our coffees and breakfasts were great. Only the grits were lackluster, we brought them home for doctoring. Service was fantastic.

After breakfast, Severo asked if it was OK if we made a detour before going home. It was to M Street Bakery on Main Street in Santa Monica for sweets. Let's just say M stands for Mmmmmmmm. The chocolate chip cookies are maybe the best I've had in soCal. They were REALLY good. If I get my act together, I'll go into more detail over on Dessert Safari. Note: we just ate the apple oatmeal cookie and that is great too. Two for two -- we'll be back.

Then we walked and explored Main Street.
Which is where the shiny objects come into play.

Giant shiny fork

Shiny script sign that has seen better days. Severo demonstrates.

We found the best shiny thing of all -- a Christmas tree formed out of shopping carts!

You can find it at the Edgemar complex, 2415 Main St. It was designed by Anthony Schmitt.
Read about it here.
 
Did I wear something shiny? Sort of.

The skirt with metallic threads that wreaks havoc at airports.
Subtle, to the naked eye.

Metal mix of
copper threads in the skirt and golden dragon brocade.
Dashes of leopard for extra sizzle.

I'm linking up with Patti's Visible Monday.

Meanwhile, Mixed Metals fortnight continues. You have PLENTY of time to join the party!
Have something shiny planned for a New Year's Eve party? Do share!

Hanging Day at TAG Gallery

I'm a member of TAG Gallery, a co-op gallery jointly owned and operated by 42 artists. Unlike a typical commercial gallery, we are individually responsible for mounting our exhibitions. Ellen is our member who is an ace at installation, and is usually around to help everyone, but she was on vacation in Hawaii. Severo was working his day job, and could only help me on his lunch break. I decided to forge ahead on my own, since I didn't have that many pieces.

Here's how Sunday, Hanging Day, went.

First of all, I had to frame four things -- not my idea of a good time.
I usually use professional framers, but I went DIY with Aaron Brothers frames, since these were small prints.

This is Commute Home and its 11x14" frame

Next, I had to go spelunking in my art storage room in the garage to find some pieces.

The gravel pit oil painting diptych was easy to find and easy to retrieve.
I never did locate print #1 of Commuter Quilt. Thank goodness the service bureau convinced me to print two. And that I bought two dowels. Otherwise... a meltdown may have occurred! [Still wondering where it is].

Another potential problem was what faced me when I got to the gallery: nine pedestals arranged around the perimeter.  Grrrr.

Fortunately, they were much lighter than they looked and it was easy to shove them into the middle of the room.
(Elyse, a co-exhibitor, needed them for her sculptures in another part of the gallery).

Getting things arranged

Stopping for an outfit shot

Hello math problem!
Middles of all pieces 62" from floor.
Add 1/2 of width, minus where the hanging wire hits.
Extra credit: get it in the middle between the two pastels.

Severo arrived at the perfect time!

Lunch break with awesome sandwiches!

We got everything up, saving the hardest for last

Done! So happy it's all up!

Selfie with Commuter Quilt and matching iPhone case

The show opens tomorrow, March 26 at 11am. It runs until April 20th.
The reception will be in two weeks, April 6, 5-8pm.
TAG Gallery 
Bergamot Station,
2525 Michigan Ave, Bldg D3, Santa Monica, CA  90404

Joining up with Patti's Visible Monday, the fun place to be!

Note: I received the 10% artist discount for the phone case. It retails for $35 + shipping.

Fast Fashion: Santa Monica Promenade

These kids caught my attention. The one on the left was sporting a batman cape!

shopping report: Santa Monica, Part 2 -- A Flurry of Fun Fur

Our Santa Monica shopping expedition turned into a frenzy of hat lust. Every store had hats on sale and we tried on a lot!

Here are some highlights:

Old Navy. pass

TJ Maxx. maybe

TJ Maxx. cute BUT elastic was broken on mini-flaps

We found a lot of interesting options at Hot Topic

Victorian bonnet meets ???

ninja turtle meets elmer fudd

mr bear

mr bear, take 2. RAWR!

how about this?

gimme that

awwwww

shopping report: Boxing Day in Santa Monica

With Severo, our intrepid guide (and shopper extraordinaire),
we braved the Santa Monica Place and the Promenade

It was a lovely sunny soCal day as this gal clearly shows

We started our bargain safari at Old Navy. I must confess, this was my first time in there. (The TV ads are so repellently tacky I have never bothered). I was pleasantly surprised - the deal of the day was the 2-pack of knit gloves for 62¢ (marked down from $2.50). That comes out to

15.5¢ per glove!

While we waited on line (which moved surprisingly quickly)

Severo found this "Guitar Shirt"
I think you play it?

OK, enough of that.
-----------
The kool kids were out

shopping in Urban Outfitters

taking their new Christmas sweaters for a spin

hanging out in funny hats

or busking on the Promenade,
the Christopher Brothers rock out

We eschewed the mayhem of the Apple Store

For the relative quiet of Santa Monica Place
(the velvet rope to nowhere)

We saw pretzel couture outside Rockenwagner

(detail)

Those pretzels made us hungry. (kidding)
Read the details of our lunch at BP Oysterette over on my Glutton blog [soon].

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