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Pretty Fall & Winter Pedicure Toe Nail Art Ideas
With fall and winter holidays just around the corner, don’t forget your toes! There is nothing more fun (and relaxing) than having a pedicure and choosing pretty colors and designs are important. Take time to browse through my cute toe nail art designs for your own inspiration!
I love the deep rich autumn brown with the coppery gold artwork. It creates a very fall vibe.
Nothing will put you in the Christmas spirit like getting a cute pedi with these festive holiday toes! It is like giving a present to yourself, literally!
Gold & Cherry Red is a great combo for New Year’s Eve and into 2019!
I hope you enjoyed my nail art designs. Wishing you peace, love, happiness, and super cute toes!
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Clementine & Co. in Carmel, California
Clementine & Company is a stunning shop filled with beautiful home decor, furniture, vintage finds, and gift items. It was founded by two sisters, Emily and Amanda, in 2016. Per their website, the sisters “grew up in a large family with a designer/artist father and a creative mom who flipped houses for a living. The sisters joined forces, put their creative energies together, and opened a shop in picturesque Carmel, CA that incorporates flea market finds with the latest trends in interior design.”
I am always impressed with the stylish decor here and there are always some wonderful surprises! The textiles, lighting, ceramics, furniture, and beautiful decor flood your senses. Every nook and corner is utilized to provide a pleasing view no matter where your gaze wanders.
I love finding inspiration here; the tableaus are so lovely.
It is fun to explore the variety. Always new and interesting finds here! They also have wonderful seasonal decor.
Clementine & Co. also features a professionally curated online store that can ship items right to your doorstep. How’s that for convenience? Check out Clementine & Co. yourself! You will not be disappointed!
Where: 153 Crossroads Blvd. Carmel, California, 93923 (located in the Crossroads Carmel Shopping Center)
Hours: Mon-Sat 10am to 6pm and Sun 11am to 5pm
Phone: (831) 620-1200
Helpful Links: Store Website
My latest snag from Clementine. As a coffee addict, I appreciate the size of this mug in addition to the cute inscription! Thank you for visiting my blog! Wishing you peace, love & happiness!
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Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville, California
With autumn in the air, nothing is more fun than visiting the apple orchard. When I lived in the Midwest, I would giddily make my annual pilgrimage to the local apple orchard, bundled up in a warm sweater and hat. I would join others piling onto the hay wagons that would be pulled by a tractor out into the orchard. There, we were abandoned with bushel baskets to pick apples from trees in the crisp, cool autumn air. We returned later to the apple barn with our haul. At the apple barn, there was hot apple cider and fresh, warm cinnamon donuts. I have so many fond memories of this, I was feeling pretty bummed to be orchardless in California, that is, until my friend Lauryn told me about Gizdich Ranch. 
While you don’t need to bundle up at this apple orchard, and there are no hay wagons, hot donuts or cider, it is a true gem. Located in a quiet, rural area, the 60-acre Gizdich Ranch has a reputation for being a local favorite. It is located at 55 Peckham Road in Watsonville, CA, 31 miles north of Monterey and 94 miles south of San Francisco. They have been in business for more than 80 years. As you drive through the quiet countryside to Gizdich Ranch, you will notice quaint Victorian houses with gingerbread porches, old-fashioned windmills, and little red barns. It almost feels like you have traveled back in time to a place where people churn butter, make quilts and drive to church every Sunday in a horse and buggy. It’s just that cute.
No matter the season, Gizdich has something good in store. In the spring and summer you can pick strawberries, olallieberries, and boysenberries, and in the fall, apples (or you can purchase them already picked). Gizdich is especially famous for their freshly baked pies. You can buy pie by the slice or an entire pie. You can even get a scoop of ice cream with your pie. Or, you may prefer a homemade apple dumpling drowning in a to-die-for caramel sauce. They also carry homemade jams, fresh pressed apple juice and other yummies, doodads, and gimcrackery. The apple juice is often sold out for good reason, it is delicious! If you are wondering about what to serve for dessert at Thanksgiving, you can pre-order pies here. Gizdich sells around 6,000 pies this time of year!
While the produce at Gizdich is not certified organic, they use many techniques, including applying beneficial insects and organic sprays, to avoid the use of pesticides. I snagged some heirloom Pippins (grown by George Washington on his estate in Virginia) and they were super crisp, sweet and tasty. Pippins are just one of 17 apple varieties available at Gizdich.
One of the most popular flavors for jam and pie is ollalieberry. If you are from the midwest, like me, you have probably never heard of ollalieberry. Olallies are a cross between blackberries and red raspberries and let me tell you, they are heavenly!
If you are hankering for something more substantial to eat, Gizdich’s has a deli that serves picnic lunches including sandwiches, chips, cookies, an apple, and a drink. There are picnic tables and benches where you can sit down and enjoy your goodies. There is also an antique shop on the premises which was closed when we were there.
Hours: They are open every day from 9 am to 5 pm
Helpful Hints:
- Weekday mornings are the quietest, by afternoon the school buses are arriving and you will be standing in lines or dodging the kiddos
- If you are picking berries, bring your own take-home containers; Gizdich provides containers for picking only, there is a fee charged for boxes to take berries home in
- If you will be outside during hot and sunny weather, bring sunscreen and a hat
- It can be dusty here with dirt roads
- Credit cards are accepted as well as cash
- Signs can be a bit confusing, we ended up at the pick your own orchard and had to continue further around the corner to the actual farm and store.
- You can place phone orders before you arrive
- Ample parking is available
Contact: Call 831-722-2458 or visit their website Orchard
Thank you for visiting my blog! Wishing you peace, love, happiness, and a very lovely autumn!
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Surfing Museum Lighthouse in Santa Cruz
“Let’s go surfin’ now, everybody’s learning how, come on and safari with me” begins the popular Beach Boys song “Surfin’ Safari”. This could well be the theme song of the beautiful seaside city of Santa Cruz, California. Surfing is an obsession here. Legend has it that three Hawaiian princes first brought surfing to America while visiting Santa Cruz in the 1800s. This is the story of how a lighthouse built shortly after the civil war transformed into a shrine to surfing culture. 
The beach north of the museum offers a serene view. Santa Cruz’s original lighthouse was completed in 1870, constructed at Point Santa Cruz and modeled after the Ediz Hook Lighthouse in Washington Territory. By 1878, the prolific formation of new sea caves along the cliffs at Point Santa Cruz began to jeopardize the lighthouse’s structural integrity, with the potential for collapse. It was removed from its foundation and moved on wooden rollers three hundred feet further inland, using a team of horses.
A handful of lighthouse keepers and their families lived at Point Santa Cruz. The most notable was Laura Hecox, the daughter of the first lighthouse keeper, Adna Hecox. When her father passed away, she became the official keeper, a job she held until her resignation in 1916. Laura began the study of shells and amassed an expansive and well-renowned collection of artifacts, some of which can be viewed today at the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History.
In 1941, the Coast Guard built a twenty-six-foot high tower 200 feet seaward of the lighthouse which became the station’s official beacon, and the original lighthouse and grounds were leased to the city of Santa Cruz for a park. In 1948, the Coast Guard sold the aging lighthouse with the stipulation that it be entirely removed from the property. A local carpenter purchased it and completely dismantled it for the lumber. The city of Santa Cruz later purchased the property at the site of the original lighthouse. The lighthouse that had stood here for over seventy years was gone forever. This could have been the end of the story, but a tragic accident brought about a very beneficial reinvention.
It’s fun to watch today’s surfers catching waves. In the background is Santa Cruz’s beach boardwalk. Surfing can be a perilous sport, and in 1965, a promising young 18-year-old surfer named Mark Abbott lost his life at nearby Pleasure Point surf break. In 1967, Mark’s grieving parents wanted to do something positive to commemorate their son. They donated life insurance money for the completion of a new 550 square foot new lighthouse in honor of their son. The Abbott Memorial Lighthouse was built of red brick and featured a lantern from the defunct Oakland Harbor Lighthouse. A beautiful plaque inside the lighthouse reads “This lighthouse is further dedicated to all our youth whose lives, through fate or misadventure, are terminated before realizing their true potential. May their spirits find new dimension in the unknown horizons that await us all.”
In 1986, the lighthouse became home to the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum, the first surfing museum in the world. In 2008, it was nearly closed due to city budget difficulties. The Santa Cruz Surfing Club Preservation Society raised enough money to keep the lighthouse open temporarily, and other donors soon came forward to rescue the museum.
While I am not a surfer, I was truly impressed by the extensive collection of photographs, videos, surfboards, and other surfing memorabilia in the museum. Notable features include locally crafted redwood surfboards from the 1930s and the very first wetsuit invented by Santa Cruz native Jack O’Neill. You really feel the passion that this sport has elicited in people and the historic role (over 100 years) it has played in the area. Santa Cruz is highly respected in the surfing world. In 2011, Santa Cruz received approval as a World Surfing Reserve, ranking highly on criteria such as wave quality and consistency, surf culture and history, and its unique environmental characteristics. There are over 23 surf spots in the region, including the iconic Steamer Lane and Pleasure Point.
It is a beautiful place to relax and contemplate the sea and sun. The museum/lighthouse has been a staunchly revered local landmark and hosts the annual “Caroling Under the Stars” tradition each Christmas. Admission to the museum is free but donations are welcome. There are numerous benches around the area and it is wheelchair accessible. It is a beautiful and peaceful place to sit and watch the surfers, enjoy a picnic lunch, or just bask in the sunshine while enjoying the beautiful beach.
Location: 701 West Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Summer Hours (July 4 – Labor Day): 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (closed Wednesdays)
After Labor Day Hours: Noon – 4:00 p.m. (closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays) and
Phone: 831 420-6289
Helpful Hints: No restrooms are on the premises, but public restrooms are available approximately one block south of the museum on the opposite side of the street.
More Information: Santa Cruz Lighthouse and Surfing Museum
Plaque commemorating Hawaiian Princes who introduced surfing to Santa Cruz in 1885. Thank you for visiting my blog! Wishing you peace, love, happiness, and beautiful vistas!
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Eight Best Books To Curl Up With This Fall!
With fall coming, it’s a great time to curl up in a quiet place with a good book. I have some recommendations that I think you will enjoy!
1. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. This is a ghost story and a bit scary, perfect for Halloween! The story is told from the perspective of a local doctor in England following World War II. It has apparently been made into a movie (released just last month) which I have not seen. The story focuses on a mansion, called Hundreds Hall. The narrator reveals his first experience with the mansion when he was a 10-year-old boy and his mother had been employed there as a servant. He later returns and finds the mansion to be in a state of dilapidation and disrepair. He befriends the once well-do-to family living there and observes the ensuing creepy events from a purely scientific perspective. Various bizarre happenings are easily explained away. Yet, he seems to understand that some things cannot be easily explained. He states to his colleague, “The subliminal mind has many dark, unhappy corners, after all. Imagine something loosening itself from one of those corners. Let’s call it a germ. And let’s say conditions prove right for that germ to develop–to grow, like a child in the womb. What would this little stranger grow into? A sort of shadow-self, perhaps: a Caliban, a Mr. Hyde. A creature motivated by all the nasty impulses and hungers the conscious mind had hoped to keep hidden away.” Warning: may cause nightmares!
2. The Harry Potter Series is inordinately addicting. Yes, adults can read these too. I didn’t start until my boys were grown and gone and I was going through their old books. Once I started, I was hooked! I finally understood their frenzied quest for each new book in the series. Wonderfully entertaining! I recommend starting with the first book and proceeding sequentially.- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Harry Potter an the Goblet of Fire
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
3. Agatha Christie mysteries. Favorites include The Murder at the Vicarage, The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side, and The Mysterious Affair at Styles. I used to scour rummage sales, book sales, and flea markets for every tattered Agatha Christie novel I could find. I love Miss Marple and Hercules Poirot, the consummate detectives. In the Mysterious Affair at Styles, Poirot states to his friend assisting with the investigation, “You gave too much rein to your imagination. Imagination is a good servant and a bad master. The simplest explanation is always the most likely.” Fun reading and the British ambiance in each book is addicting.
4. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. If you are a hopeless romantic and like mysterious men in capes and masks you will most likely find this gothic horror mystery appealing. Basically, the Phantom lurks in the opera house, seemingly appearing in places out of nowhere as if by magic. He falls in love with a beautiful young singer and ends up kidnapping her although he later lets her go. Much melodrama ensues. Although creepy, it is definitely sad, beautiful and poignant and you feel sorry for the Phantom, who will live a loveless life alone in the dark depths of the opera house.
5. The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman. In this tale, Susanna Owens has three children. The children, Franny, Jet, and Vincent know that they are different from other people and have special abilities, but feel unsupported by their mother. Finally, the children visit her Aunt Isabelle in the small Massachusetts town where the Owens family has been both feared and sought out for help over the years. Aunt Isabelle, dressed in black, encourages the children to embrace who they are. The children see the help she provides to the local folk, who are invited into her kitchen to sit at the old pine table. “The price for a cure might be as low as half a dozen eggs or as high as a diamond ring, depending on the circumstances. A token payment was fine in exchange for horseradish and cayenne for coughs, dill seeds to disperse hiccoughs, Fever Tea to nip flu in the bud, or Frustration Tea to soothe sleepless nights of the mother of a wayward son.” Monterey is mentioned in this book, as Vincent, a musician, participates in the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. Vincent’s two granddaughters, Sally and Gillian, end up being raised by Franny and Jet in Practical Magic after their parents die in a tragic accident.
6. Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. “There are some things, after all, that Sally Owens knows for certain: Always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder. Keep rosemary by your garden gate. Add pepper to your mashed potatoes. Plant roses and lavender, for luck. Fall in love whenever you can.” You have probably seen this quote morphed in one way or another onto plaques and signs on Etsy. Hoffman’s use of creativity, superstition, and vivid description make her books wonderfully entertaining reads. She also tugs at your heartstrings with the losses and lessons her characters experience. Once you are hooked you will be back for more!
7. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I will be forever awestruck and imprinted by the amazing characters in this book, including the scary convict, sweet Pip, beautiful Estella, and creepy Miss Havisham. Pip assumes his benefactor is Miss Havisham; the discovery that his true benefactor is his convict shocks him. I have to say that Miss Havisham is the weirdest character ever and that is what makes this book so interesting. A wealthy spinster, once jilted at the altar, she insists on wearing her wedding dress for the rest of her life and lives in a ruined mansion with her adopted daughter, Estella. She keeps all the clocks in the mansion set at twenty to nine, the exact moment her fiance ran off, leaving her at the altar. She tries to make Estella jaded towards men and plays sick games with poor Pip. She is one of the most strange and grotesque characters in the story. Pip states “I saw that the bride within the bridal dress had withered like the dress, and like the flowers, and had no brightness left but the brightness of her sunken eyes. I saw that the dress had been put upon the rounded figure of a young woman and that the figure upon which it now hung loose, had shrunk to skin and bone. Once, I had been taken to see some ghastly waxwork at the Fair, representing I know not what impossible personage lying in state. Once, I had been taken to one of our old marsh churches to see a skeleton in the ashes of a rich dress, that had been dug out of a vault under the church pavement. Now, waxwork and skeleton seemed to have dark eyes that moved and looked at me. I should have cried out if I could.” In adopting Estella, she seeks to protect the girl from the hurts she herself has suffered and she trains Estella to love no one. Estella ends up not only unable to love men but unable to love Miss Havisham. I love Charles Dickens!
8. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. In this story, a headless horseman wreaks havoc on the townsfolk. He is believed to be a Hessian soldier who lost his head to a cannonball during the Revolutionary War. In the story, he rides forth nightly to the scene of battle in search of his head. Ichabod Crane, a lanky schoolmaster competes with Brom Bones for the hand of 18-year-old Katrina Van Tassel. One autumn night, Crane borrows a horse named Gunpowder to travel to a Halloween party at the Van Tassels’ homestead. The horse is described as “a broken-down plow-horse, that had outlived almost everything but its viciousness. He was gaunt and shagged, with a ewe neck, and a head like a hammer; his rusty mane and tail were tangled and knotted with burs; one eye had lost its pupil, and was glaring and spectral, but the other had the gleam of a genuine devil in it. Still, he must have had fire and mettle in his day, if we may judge from the name he bore of Gunpowder. He had, in fact, been a favorite steed of his master’s, the choleric Van Ripper, who was a furious rider, and had infused, very probably, some of his own spirit into the animal; for, old and broken-down as he looked, there was more of the lurking devil in him than in any young filly in the country.” Upon reaching the party, Crane proposes to young Katrina but is spurned. As he rides home, dejected, he encounters a cloaked horseman and realizes that his companion’s head is not on his shoulders, but on his saddle. Ichabod rides for his life, but as he nears the bridge, the horseman rears his horse and hurls his severed head at Ichabod.I like movies, but honestly, I think books are so much better. Wishing you peace, love happiness, and fun reading!