daisy, daisy

I never really thought of my self as a daisy girl, but the little patch in my front yard is so happy, stretching their bright faces eagerly to the sun, I've fallen in love. They match the simple fokesy feel of old Topanga Canyon.

crystal clear

While unpacking, I discovered a box, forgotten,unopened since my last move. It contained quarts crystals, dug from the earth with my own bare hands, near Mount Ida, Arkansas. (the most fruitful afternoon of climbing bulldozed mounds of earth I've ever spent)

Admittedly, hippy-dippy crystal lore, espoused by tye-dye clad gurus makes me cringe. But all the crystal energy healing mumbo-jumbo misses the point.... Crystals don't need to be mythologised to be magical. Through the varied, inexplicable dynamics of the universe, far beyond man's sphere of influence, erupted something of clarity and order. That's mind blowing enough.

Crystals are a natural manifestation of near-perfect geometry. A prism is created when the molecular structure of a liquid solidifies into ordered patterns that repeat in three spatial dimensions, under a precise balance of heat, pressure, and elemental chemistry. (You can still see the red Arkansas dirt on these little glimpses of essential truth.)

When formed under imperfect conditions, (i.e. changing conditions) the most interesting variations occur in the rock's shape, and color. It's the same with us, with all life... there is an underlying order, a repetition, but conditions rarely stay consistent long enough for something "perfect" to form. Luckily it's the variations, the constant adaption to change, which gives people and crystals unique character.

As the analogy stands... I would still rather be a clear, luminous, yet slightly quirky crystal, than a dull jumbled hunk of rock. We need some consistency if we expect to be clear, but accept what evolves in the changing conditions of the moment, it makes us who we are.

Wild Sage

Being a hunter-gatherer by nature (well ok, maybe just a gatherer, if I can find me a good hunter than I'd be in business) I stumbled upon a stand of wild white sage. I picked a few stems and brought them home to dry. Wild Sage is edible, and makes a nice incense. The plant can be identified by it's distinctive smell and silvery white leaves. Just don't pick more than you will use. I recommend picking just one stem per plant, as the wild population has been depleted by greedy smudge stick makers, no joke.

On Location

Autumn in Napa Vally is breathtaking. So beautiful, it's worth selling your soul to a film crew for this to be your office...

Wine Country October. For one month I lived, breathed and worked wardrobe on a remake of the film Sideways for the Japanese market. My first feature film shot on location. The experience was priceless, trial by fire so to speak, long hours and high stress. But the leaves were turning the air was crisp and the view from the trailer, positively picturesque.

willow banded oak casks (Frogs Leap Winery)


round red barns

rural oddities

extravagant winery landscaping (Newton Vineyard)

my little office on wheels...

and the most delisous grapes right off the vine

and the wine, of course. What more could one wish for a work day.

El Matador

The saving grace of life in Los Angeles comes with the discovery of hidden natural treasures, remarkably close to home.

Just a short skip up the Pacific Coast Highway, into Malibu and you find yourself in a pirates cove!

You almost expect to see Caption Hook coming around the bend, and mermaids in the lagoon.


Sea cliffs, caves, craggy rocks, tidal pools, kelp forests, and colorful vegetation abound



The beach is relatively disserted, those who you do encounter are friendly, many are European, there is a discreet element of nudist activity but that only lends to the feeling that you are in some far away land