A Stroll Down Lillie Avenue

Steve and I are about the most boring and predictable people you will ever meet.

We eat sushi every third Friday at the same restaurant, sit at the same table and order the same dishes.

Every Thursday we eat at the same Mexican restaurant- we switch up the booths, but always the same meal.

We walk the beach every morning and people in the ocean front houses tell us they can set their clocks by our beach walks.

But, we are changing that and breaking out of the mold.

One of our summer goals is to do something each week that we don't usually do.

Saturday night  at 9 p.m. we walked over three lanes to be extras in an indie film being shot in a friend's driveway - definitely something different.

We didn't last long at the shoot - extreme disorganization and an incredibly poor plot combined with cold air at 11:00 p.m. sent us home - but hey, we tried.

For Father's Day Steve wanted to go to our usual local breakfast spot.

JP reminded him that we are trying to be different so we drove to Summerland (just south of Montecito and Santa Barbara) for a lovely brunch at Cafe Luna and a stroll down Lillie Avenue.

JP wanted us to see the tower gardens because he is pushing me to start growing my own vegetables and the towers are great for small spaces.

Little spots for seating beckoned us suggesting we sit awhile and not rush home.

A garden shop housed in an old craftsman style cottage gave me ideas for the container of succulents I just received from a friend

Sweet animal topiaries drew me to a children's shop, but I could not entice either JP or Steve to enter so I left it for a visit when the ladies on our lane do a summer shopping day.

I would take any of these great cabinets for my creative space, but the metal drawers kept calling me.

If I was a gazillionaire those metal drawers would be in my garage right now filled with all my supplies.

But, I couldn't convince Steve that I need old shelves priced in the 5 figure range.

I couldn't convince him that we needed an $1,100 birdcage either, but I would it sure would be fun to have all those rusty stars for a 4th of July themed vignette.

I would like to find some old shutters with a lovely chippy patina, but $850 for a pair of shutters is also out of my price range.

Please tell me that all of you who decorate with chippy doors, shutter, ladders, etc. are not spending that much.

Summerland is all of a 15 minute drive up the coast yet in 36 years, we have never visited the little hamlet together.

We enjoyed the beautiful flowers, including my all time favorite Matilija poppies, and just moved slow the rest of the day.

We went for a bike ride along the ocean, read in the garden and sat at the fire pit after dinner.

I did not finish a single project on my 30 Days of Pinterest list.

Our stroll down Lillie Avenue reminded me that I am on permanent vacation and I won't be fired from retirement if I don't finish everything.

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I am partying at

Little Red House - Mosaic Monday

Hunting for Annie Sloan

It is fall break and I am off of school for the week.

We usually go away to experience of beauty of fall in other parts of the country.

In 2010 we were here.

walking across the Brooklyn Bridge

In 2011 we were here.

Sandpiper Inn  - Carmel

Hotel Les Mars - Healdsburg

But, I am tired from a strenuous first quarter and I want to be at home.

So, 2012 finds us at home enjoying sunny days on the beach.

We took our usual morning walk, but I allowed myself to sleep in so we were not on the beach at 6:30 a.m.

We sat to watch surfers and birds enjoy the water and talk about our plans for the day.

I needed to pick up some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Antibes Green, but the closest distributor is 35 miles away.

We turned it into a much longer drive by putting the top down and winding our way along Pacific Coast Highway.

Steve was zipping along the curvy road while I was trying to catch the beauty with his camera.

We finally ended up at Bungalow in Agoura.

There are quite a few antique shops in this little mall, but I don't make it down there very often.

I knew right where to find the ASCP and they had my green.

I wasn't planning to buy anything because Steve hates to shop and we were in his little car.

But, I took a few minutes to stroll through the store.

A great metal calendar.

And, a fun Halloween display.

I wish I had a place for one of these industrial tables.

I collect hands, but they were both a lot more than I usually spend.

I could kick myself for ever giving away my antique sewing machine.

We just didn't have space when we downsized to our little cottage.

I love these journals and am adding them to my Christmas wish list.

Back at home, I still had time to use the Antibes Green paint

I want to add some touches before I show off my green bench.

A relaxing way to spend a vacation day.

And I still have 4 more!