Birthday

It was my birthday yesterday, so on Sunday I threw a big picnic in Elysian Park to celebrate.  It was a gorgeous day, perfect for lounging outside with a group of lovely people eating delicious food, playing charades, drinking mimosas, and hanging out with all the cute dogs in attendance.  I went a little crazy making food for the day which included my dream cupcakes with edible flowers on top, home made caramel with Cyprus sea salt, chocolate covered strawberries, sun-dried tomato pasta salad with mozzarella and basil, cous cous salad with Marash pepper & chocolate chip cookies with oreos inside of them.  It was laid-back and relaxing, which was exactly what I had in mind when I planned the day.
Yesterday, Brian (the most amazing boyfriend in the world) surprised me and took me on a ferry to Catalina Island for the day.  I had never been to Catalina before, so I was really excited.
After a smooth, hour long ferry ride, we arrived in Avalon.  As we pulled up, the town reminded me of a quaint seaside village in Italy, but with colorful, old California style buildings.
We spent our day eating ice cream, making friends with seagulls, speeding around in a golf cart in the cliffs above the town (nobody in Catalina has a car...everyone drives golf carts!), drinking strawberry mojitos, eating freshly shucked oysters and clam chowder, and enjoying the lazy quietness of the Island.
We watched the sun set on the Pacific Ocean on the ferry ride back home, and I wished that the day didn't have to end.
I saw some beautiful campsites on Catalina Island, and I definitely need to go back soon for some camping (and maybe grill some freshly caught seafood!).
It was a really fun & special day that I couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable birthday.


On another note, Scout & Pine is now on Facebook!  'Like' the page to get updated every time the blog is updated, or when I share other points of interest that otherwise won't be on the blog.

Flowers Are The Things We Know

Anabela & Geoff run Fieldguided from their home in Canada.  Their screen-printed tote bags are made from quality canvas & ink, and are crafted with lots of love (as if it wasn't obvious enough how much love goes into these creations, the bags are even packaged beautifully).
They also run a blog, which is filled with tons of inspiration & snapshots from around their house of plants, clothing finds & of course, cats!
I ordered one of their totes, with a dreamy quote taken from Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra's "Some Velvet Morning."  I had ordered a few boxes of Rit Dye, which I have been planning to play around with, and being inspired with Fieldguided's own dye experiment, I decided to try dip-dying the tote on my own.

I used tan Rit Dye for a more natural look.  I am really happy with how it turned out (imperfections and all), and I can't wait to use this technique again soon!  Thank you to Fieldguided.
P.S. I was pretty gentle during the dying process and I wouldn't recommend putting the tote in the washer or dryer.  All washing should be done by hand.
P.S. Here is the song that the quote on the bag is from

Tim Walker's Dream World

The first time I saw a collection of Tim Walker's photography, I fell in love.  His photographs evoke the kind of magical dream world that I sometimes fantasize about where I live in an abandoned manor in the South of France surrounded by aquamarine & purple cats, have decadent tea parties with salt-water-taffy sandwiches, take sunset boat rides in a lake full of wildflowers, and go camping under the stars with my friends.  If only such a world truly existed.  Tim Walker's photographs (which have graced the pages of Vogue for over a decade) almost make this dream into a reality.

Tim Walker Photography