Ebb & Flow: Piles of Life

Piles of bills, mail and magazines accumulate on my desk at home, ("I'll get to you tomorrow!" I say to the pile, with all good intentions as I give it a pat and walk out the door). Tomorrow becomes today. Another day and there is yet another tomorrow. Weeks of tomorrows flee and I can hardly glance at the sorry pile! After a while I start to ignore said pile; I just pretend not to see it. How long can you avoid it? Does it have to spill to the ground in Jenga-like defeat?

Due dates loom and the psychological torture of the pile peaks. Breathe. OK. Now. Seriously, NOW. False start. Tomorrow is now. OK, I WILL. Shake it off. I am. Sit down and take a minute, maybe five and go through it. Huh. That's it? All that build-up and now it is done. Free and clear. Now I can go outside and play!

The result is a complete sense of relief, accomplishment and the added bonus of having a desk cleared of clutter: emotional and otherwise. Why did it take so long to tackle? Why did you let it manipulate you so? Is it for the relief? The great exhale? Are the piles like the tides, ebbing and flowing on your sandy shores of a kingdom called Procrastinate?

No doubt the girth of the piles are a direct reflection of what's going on inside. (Side-note:I also believe that your car is a reflection of how you are feeling about yourself and your life. Often I find that the volume of the pile directly correlates to the filth of the car. Perhaps there is a connection between having my car washed and posting today after four months of total abandonment?)

That being said...Today: I post. Tonight: the piles get the smack-down. Tomorrow: we'll see . . .

Paper Trail

Cavallini & Co. has some of the best gifts, cards and paper around. Here is a round-up of some of my faves:

For gifts as festive as the tree:




For all the pretty pictures:

Dreaming of a Write Christmas

I love, love, love holiday cards. Now I just wish that I was better at sending them out! These Series III cards from Potion Brand might inspire me to make new resolution this year! You can order them from TrunkT. $18 for 12 cards and 12 envelopes.

Ornamental

It's the first day of December! Maximize the astral influences with a monthly overview from Susan Miller's Astrology Zone . Her horoscopes are lengthy, informative and fun.

Christmas is on the way and it's time to dust off the ornaments. Why not add a few new treasures to your collection? I love this classic blue Wedgewood ornament.

Spirit Renewal

My reason for not writing this past week is that I was spending a wonderful and relaxing vacation with my family at the Hotel Hana Maui . Perched on a lush grass hill that rolls down to craggy rocks and a pounding Pacific are the Sea Cottages, where we stayed. No phones, no radio, no TV, just you and your imagination. There is so much beauty and so much spirit in the sea -- not only in the mercurial jewel tone shades of blue, but in the sheer force of the impact, the sound and the spray.

The staff at the hotel become an extension of your own family. They are generous and warm and genuinely happy to help and to welcome you to what is essentially their home. Many of the employees are third generation and most live in Hana.

The Honua Spa was voted #2 in the country and along with being beautiful, and serene it also has cutting edge treatments. Maybe cutting edge is the wrong word (words), because the Tai massage that I had apparently dates back to the Buddha. Cynthia is a gifted masseuse/healer and has been with the hotel for 12 years. The Watsu treatment is relatively new to me, but apparently has been around for 25 years or so. Being nearly submerged for nearly an hour, floating without restraint, being guided and stretched, while music played in the water, was an unusually freeing feeling. Fin, my therapist, was excellent and like Cynthia, very much a healer.

I can't wait to try these treatments again. If anyone knows of or has had a wonderful experience with these two treatments, please let me know!

These are some places I intend to try:

Thai Sabai in Westwood and Thai town.
From their site:

Brief History:
Traditional Thai Massage, also known as Ancient Massage or Thai Yoga Massage, dates back more than three hundred years in its present form, with its origins going back more than 5,000 years to ancient India and China. While Thai Massage combines elements of Ayeurvedic medicine, Hatha yoga and Chinese acupressure, it has evolved into a system that is entirely unique and is widely regarded as one of the best systems of therapeutic massage.

Benefits of Thai Massage:
Many health benefits have been associated with Thai Massage, including:

Relief from stress and muscle tension
Relief from aches and pains
Improved circulation
Unblocking and balancing of energy flow
Detoxification of the internal organs
Improved alignment
Increased flexibility and range of motion
A general increase in energy
Improved mood



WATSU (WATer shiaTSU) is a little bit harder to find in LA. Two Bunch Palms in the Desert has a bunch (heehee) of aquatic therapies .

Fire Place

Need a place to hang your stockings? These tabletop logs by Carl Mertens are just right for a home without a hearth. Now all you need are the marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers! Find them along with a host of other creative gifts at Green Grass Design .

Ho, Ho, Ho . . .I know!

Ok, I know it's not even Thanksgiving, but I couldn't resist telling you about these fun Christmas stockings from the girls at Hable.

A note about the Pack of Dogs stockings: "Our wool felt stockings are hand made in Hungary by a womens' cooperative that uses traditional applique techniques to produce our designs."

Though it is just before Turkey Day, you might want to get a jump on these -- they are limited and selling out fast!

Home Plate

I love these illustrated plates from John Derian, called The Tree of Life . They are available at Lille along with these other wonderful things, also from John Derian :

Bowled Over

These just made me smile. My Nature Bowling Set is for baby to help develop motor skills. I think it's just too darn cute and it's at the always amusing Patina .

Baby Style

For lovely and entrepreneurial moms Olivia Haskell-Kazanjian and Ellen Uzarowicz, there just wasn't enough stylish baby gear. Their home grown company Right Bank Babies is now solving that problem for families all over Los Angeles. Everything from car seat covers to jumpers to burp cloths are all in sophisticated, classic and whimsical prints.

The Frame Game

Forget bulletin boards, line your walls with this terrific wallpaper called Frames from artists Taylor and Wood. Make it your own with pictures, drawings, paintings and photographs. This would be so great in a child's room. It is available at Graham Brown .

Sea Worthy in San Francisco

What a wonderful shop-gallery-florist-all-around-delightful-shop in San Francisco! For those of us not in the Bay area Rose and Radish is thankfully online. Too much to choose from, my favorites are many:

From the Netherlands, these birdy bookends are under the KIDS section, but would be just at home any grown-up bookshelf.

SQUIRRLEY! Also from the Netherlands, these Squirrel plaques are bright eyed and bushy tailed! Well, in a ceramic kind of way . . .

Celebrate Los Muertos

This is my favorite time of year and Halloween is my favorite holiday. I missed posting something about the holiday because I was so busy preparing for it!
The veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is so thin this time of year and as the winds whip up and blow relentlessly, you can almost feel the proximity of the unseen. Mystery and magic are afoot. Today is All Saints Day and the first day of the Mexican holiday Los Dias De Los Muertos or The Days of the Dead.Today families remember the infants and children that have died and tomorrow, All Souls Day, friends and relatives that have died will be honored.

Traditions and customs vary with the region, but the basics are pretty much the same. Families get together at burial sites, prepare altars , prepare special food and give offerings to commemorate the spirits of the dead.

Regardless, it is a joyful celebration of the dead that ought to remind us to continue to live.

Olvera Street celebrates

Write Now

I couldn't be happier that the hand-engraved paper luxuries from Mrs. John L. Strong are finally available on a newly launched website. These tranquil Buddha notes were given to me by a dear friend and I think they are the epitomy of craft, luxury, simplicity and spirit. There are also wonderful gift ideas such as a fresh crop of cedar pencils, exquisite calendars and boxes for every room of the house.

The Big Easy

"Essential paper for artful living" is the motto of SCRIPTURA on fashionable Magazine Street in New Orleans. Postmark New Orleans is the latest in the Celebrate New Orleans line of cards that the shop has developed to honor the city that Katrina threatened to take away.

Fall Feet First

These hand-embroidered slippers from Bonnie Heart Clyde will keep you stylishy grounded or (ahem) ready to branch out. They're available at DOE in San Francisco.

Charmed I'm Sure

You've no doubt seen jewelry designer Maya Brenner's stately state necklaces but for all sorts of luck and a reminder to be zen in the face of twisted traffic, conniving co-workers, irritating in-laws or whatever else might threaten to unruffle your feathers, I love the Watch Over You necklace .

Out of Africa

"As this Swahili proverb says, all things are possible if you just take it little by little, step by step. And, little by little, we can make a difference, one person at a time." begins the introduction from Beth Peterson on her website, Haba na haba, hujaza kibaba, which translates into "Little by little, fills the pot."

The site spotlights a collective of artisans from Tanzania and portion of the profits support job training and educational opportunities for at-risk youth in Tanzania.

Sipping Spirits

Melkon and Litty developed Modern Spirits Vodka because Litty didn't like the medicinal taste of vodka. The sophisticated infusions of flavors such as celery peppercorn, tea, chocolate orange, candied ginger, black truffle and grapefruit honey elevate this enlightened spirit to sipping status.

Sea Light

Soothing sea lights glow warmly from Amy Cooper’s studio in England, where she masterfully crafts these otherwordly lights that are inspired by, “coastal life, as well as 'hidden nature'- microscopic biology such as pollen, spores and seeds.”

"Pollen"

"Sea Urchin"