emmiebean

Jalama Road Family Farmstand

I was so thrilled when I came upon this little blog last night! Dana and I have been visiting Jalama Beach since we were about 15 years old, but somehow never knew about this darling family farm stand. I absolutely love their simple packaging, like the label and old apothecary bottle of this wild sage honey.

 

When you're driving down Jalama Road, you only come upon six or so houses the entire seven miles, so I wouldn't have assumed such a vibrant farming community could even exist in such a small place! But apparently, it does, and it reaffirms why Dana and I have always said that when we have enough money one day, we'll buy a little plot of land on Jalama Road and build our dream farmhouse.

Etsy Find of the Day

What's cuter than a little herd of animal explorers?

 

Follow the Light, Original Signed Photograph. By LaneyButler.

Do What is Freeing

The Times They are A-Changin'

For the last few days, I have been meditating over possible shifts in my own life. Some big time changes are underway, I can feel it. Nothing tangible yet, but soon.

SoulePapa summed it up perfectly for me:

"Sometimes I don't know where I'm going until I arrive.  At which point I look back and where I was headed is so impressively clear I wonder how I hadn't noticed it earlier. Not so much a passive stumble through life as a permissive glide across time. I allow the winds to blow me about as I take my chances and look for cracks through which I may slip into Earthly opportunity. Now I am here."

Change, whether big or small, is always an opportunity to do a bit of soul searching. To think about things in a new way and ask the important questions: am I happy, am I fulfilled, am I living up to my truest potential? Generally I find myself quite content with things- I have an amazing partner, great friends and family, an illustration business that allows me to share my creativity with others and be thanked (and financially supported) for what I do. I love my home, my pets, working in my garden. And yet, as it should be, things are never perfect. I wonder where the line should be drawn between having hardships that help me to appreciate the rest of my life that much more, and being enlightened enough to realize EXACTLY what I want out of this life, and go and get it. To get rid of every last ounce of negativity in my life.

Whatever the answer to these big big questions, hopefully one day I will be closer to understanding. For now, I am thankful for all of the good and for all of the love that I'm lucky enough to experience.

Happy Fall!

Yes, Let's!

Renegade Craft Fair San Francisco

 

This weekend Dana and I are attending one of our favorite annual events- The Renegade Craft Fair! Last year we went to the one in Los Angeles and had a blast. They had a photo booth, tons of talented artists, crafters, and enthusiasts, and lots of fun things to purchase and collect. 

This year we decided to hit up San Francisco's Renegade because it gives us a great excuse to escape to one of our favorite cities, and it is supposed to be HUGE compared to the little one in L.A. Plus, some of my favorite etsians are boothing-it at this year's event, so it will give me a chance to chat with some fellow creatives in person and do a little research on renting a booth for EmmieBean next year. Can't wait!

Happy Wednesday to you all!

A Salute to the Teardrop

Today, guest blogger (and my honey!) Dana agreed to post on the emmiebean blog. I am thrilled to say he is my very first guest blogger, and I hope that he will not be my last! ;) Read on to hear about our mutual love of the retro teardrop trailer... 

  

"Lately, Sadie and I have been taking on a lot of fun DIY projects.  We've been building our own desks, painting and remodeling our apartment, and starting to landscape our little yard space.  But, if there has been one (near future) project I have been swooning over recently, it is our teardrop trailer planning.  I have always loved teardrop trailers, especially the 1960's micro-"caravanettes" originally designed to be pulled by tiny olden day cars.  Although I love tent camping, especially cold/wet/windy weather can make even the most amazing trip less enjoyable.  There's something so exciting to me about the idea of hitching up one of these little guys and setting out on the open road. Here's my salute to teardrop trailers, old and new, small and smaller."

  

Beach House

I'm always looking for good music to pass the time while I work long hours in front of the computer. Lately, I've been revisiting the hauntingly beautiful Beach House, a throw-back, in my opinion, to the 70s sound of Nico, The Velvet Underground, The Mama's and the Papas, and The Byrds. 

This video is one of my favs because it reminds me of driving through the desert from Los Angeles to Phoenix. There are a few shots that are eerily reminiscent of the exact photos I shot at the Salton Sea two years ago when Dana and I went to visit Leonard Knight at Salvation Mountain.

  

For those of you that aren't familiar with Salvation Mountain, it's an adobe mountain that rises out of the middle of Indio's abandoned wasteland, built by the enigmatic oddfellow Leonard Knight. Truly a travel destination in and of itself.  

Boston

When we got to Boston we were greeted warmly by our friend Chelsea at the airport, and thus began our three-day adventure in the glorious Beantown. New England is a truly charming place, with its garishly beautiful red, yellow, and orange foliage that is almost an assault on your senses the minute the sun comes up every morning. The air is cold and crisp and smells like maple and smoke from a fire, and the majority of the buildings are made of ancient, red brick and full of history. We spent our Saturday morning picking apples at a farm on the border of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and our afternoon picnicking at ancient castle ruins atop a hill, amidst neon yellow leaves dancing in the blustery wind. 

  

In an earlier post I mentioned the two Halloween costumes that Chelsea and I were considering- the vixen songstresses of Heart, or Wayne and Garth from Wayne's World. Well we went with Wayne and Garth, which turned out to be such a hit that we were bombarded with "Party on Wayne," "Party on Garth" from strangers all night long. We both looked so much like boys that I was a little startled every time I looked in the mirror, but it was worth feeling like we really captured Wayne and Garth's likeness to a tee, down to the ripped stonewash Levi's, ratty hair, black rimmed Garth glasses, and tight black Wayne t-shirt. Robyn made an Excellent! Cassandra, and Dana was ooh-so-smarmy as Rob Lowe's Benjamin. Definitely our best group costume to date.

We spent that last day with Seb, eating so-sweet-it-could-knock-your-socks-off pumpkin french toast with pecans and caramel, visiting MIT, and admiring the little white sailboats along the Charles River.

Back to reality, Emma, and work work work!