COAST TO COAST

Yes, I know it's been awhile, but before I explain why I haven't been blogging lately. I'd like to share some exciting book sightings.

ROCKLAND, MAINE
Just before Labor Day, my friend Judith was vacationing in Maine and went into a cute shop called SEAGULL COTTAGES.

She was so thrilled to see Waterside Cottages on display that Jim Stewart, the shopkeeper, came over to see what was going on. She asked Jim if she could snap a few photos. He asked if I'd be willing to do a book signing in Spring. Maine, here I come!

Judith already has an autographed copy of my book but she reportedly left with several shopping bags overflowing with gifts from the sea.

Visitors and Mainers can stop by the Rockland shop for coastal home decor or visit its sister location in Warren, Maine. There are also outposts in Pompano Beach and Sarasota, Florida. And no matter where you live, you can visit online at www.maineseagullcottage.com.

MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIFORNIA
Clear across the country, last Sunday, I spied Waterside Cottages in the window of A Summer Place (1401 Highland Avenue, Manhattan Beach, CA).

I was on my way from the Inn at Playa del Rey to an Arts Festival in Hermosa Beach. I looked out the car window and shouted, "Stop the car!" There in the window was Waterside Cottages.
When I introduced myself, coastal maven Sue Keporos was as excited as I was.

I snapped a few photos of this special shop. Enjoy the tour!

Make a free digital slideshow

Now, for the explanation of my vanishing act. I'm sorry for the long silence but it has been a demanding summer. I spent much of it nursing Samantha, my wounded chick back to health (see July 2nd post), and helping my mom while she recuperated from a broken knee.

For all of you who sent Samantha get well wishes, she says THANKS. She's now back in the coop with her friends but misses being hand fed and hanging out with me on the porch.

And for all of you who wrote, called, emailed and dropped by to cheer Mom and me on,
THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH!

Tomorrow morning, I'm off to do a book signing at My Island Cottage in Chincoteague, Virginia.

Barbara

P.S. I plan to jump back in where I left off. I'll be sharing some wonderful sea glass finds plus my musings and photos from England and Scotland in the very near future.

WATERSIDE WEDNESDAY: SEA GLASS

No matter where I travel -- this time it was around England and Scotland -- it always feels good to be home again. (village of Avebury)

My itinerary included London, Bath, York, Peebles and Edinburgh.

(Cricket in Bath)

I spent time with my British cousins, attended several classical and world music concerts, saw Shakespeare's Henry VIII at the Globe Theatre and stayed in a Scottish castle.

(The Globe )

I also enjoyed all sorts of fabulous food-- everything from traditional British cookery to trendy Scottish cuisine, Indian curries to Moroccan tagines.(Potted shrimp at Castle Venlaw)

I have lots more wonderful photos and royal decorating tips to share but you'll have to be patient, because today is Waterside Wednesday...

(ruins along the English coast)

And today's post is about sea glass.(©2010 Celia Pearson)

Sea glass is one of nature's semi-natural wonders. It begins its existence as a man-made bottle, plate, jar, marble or stopper before being tumbled by the tides and transformed into a treasure coveted by beachcombers the world over.

(©2010 Celia Pearson)

In 2004, photographer Celia Pearson collaborated with Richard LaMotte to produce the book, Pure Sea Glass. LaMotte, an avid sea glass collector and board member of the North American Sea Glass Association studied over 30,000 pieces of glass to create his definitive history and rarity scale. And Pearson's photos conjure the excitement surrounding water-washed glass.

The book (along with notecards, posters of a dozen illustrations from the book, including the cover photo, and an identification deck of cards) may be purchased from www.seaglasspublishing.com. Pearson's fine art sea glass prints can be ordered from www.celiapeason.com.

(©2010 Celia Pearson)

For those who love the thrill of the chase, collecting sea glass by walking at water's edge is the only way to go. But, those who want a shortcut can gather beach glass online. Tiny shards, chunks and bobbles are often available on eBay.

Etsy.com is the place to shop for seaglass jewelry and home goods embellished with glass. Do-it-yourselfers can frequently score pre-drilled pieces ready for crafting, too.

Jewelry artist Jean Forman of Lucky Sea Glass (www.luckyseaglass.com) says its harder than ever to find gem quality sea glass.

Although sea glass can be found along almost every shoreline, I recently learned about two locations that are particular paradises for glass lovers.

The first is Glass Beach in Fort Bragg, California. The story of how three protected coves came to be blanketed with sea glass is the stuff of legends involving brothels, earthquakes and town dumps. Lisa D Walker tells the intriguing tale in her book Glass Beach (available at www.Blurb.com/bookstore/detail/813540)



The second heavenly destination for glass afficionados is England's North Sea coast. Lisl of Out of the Blue Jewelry (www.naturalseaglass.com) sources gorgeous glass that can be traced back more than a century. It comes from a Victorian era glass factory that discarded its surplus and scraps into the North Sea. To learn more, try the link below.
http://naturalseaglass.com/index.php/whatisseaglass/about-our-sea-glass/england.html

I'll be featuring more about sea glass next WATERSIDE WEDNESDAY. Stay tuned.

*** MARK YOUR CALENDARS***

On Thursday July 8th I will be the featured guest on the Washington Post's Home Front live chat with Jura Koncius. Please join us with your waterside decorating questions and comments. One lucky chatter will win an autographed copy of my book Waterside Cottages.

SEAGLASS SOJURN

It's been a busy week. Sea Glass lovers have been calling and e-mailing me from all over the world! Some make sea glass jewelry. Others want to chat about coastal-inspired paint colors.

I'm planning a comprehensive glass post but it will have to wait until I get back from vacation.
My flight leaves for London tomorrow at dawn. Meanwhile take a peek at this British sea glass. It dates back to Victorian times and comes from the North Sea.

With luck, perhaps I will find a few pieces to bring home.

If you'd like to be included in my Sea Glass post, send a photo or two and tell me about your collection or craft.

Cheerio!

(Photos by Dan Mayers)

MORE WINTER ESCAPES

It snowed again yesterday, and this time I've mentally escaped to sunny New Orleans.(Photo by Phil Mantas)

It all started with Zeitoun, a book by Dave Eggers, that was loaned to me by a friend. I started reading it just before bedtime on Friday night and rode out a good part of Saturday's snow storm following the non fiction trajectory of Hurricane Katrina and its effects on the Zeitoun family.

Then, this morning, while trudging up a snowy hill to check on the chickens, I glanced back at the house and noticed something sticking up out of the snow in front of my garage. It was a package left by UPS. Despite being buried overnight, it contained an undamaged copy of My New Orleans, a coffee-table-worthy cookbook by Louisiana chef John Besh.

Hmmm, seems to be a theme developing here...

My love affair with New Orleans began when I was in college and was invited down to Mardi Gras by a pen pal. I quickly discovered the city's multifaceted personality and have been traveling back there in real life and in my daydreams ever since. Yes that's me circa 1970s.

On my first trip, I watched Mardi Gras parades in the city and horseback revelers going house to house collecting ingredients to make a community-sized pot of gumbo out in Lafayette.

I heard Cajun music played live in a gas station and the witnessed the terrifying remnants of a Klan cross burning in one of New Orlean's suburbs.

I also fell in love with the food. Hot and spicy, and unlike anything I ate back home in Brooklyn.

Since that time, I've returned to NOLA for business and pleasure, concepts that are consistently blurred in this intriguing city.

Anyhow, getting back to My New Orleans...


What makes this cookbook special is that the recipes for classic versions of crawfish pie, gumbos and etouffees are set in a framework of the city's culinary history and the reminiscences of the extended Besh family's kitchens.

From what I've read so far, it's definitely worth adding to your cookbook collection.

Lest you think I'm just frittering away a perfectly good snow day, I'm actually doing "research" for Superdog Sunday.

Next weekend is Belgium's birthday. He'll be 12! Belg and his brother Ike who lives in New Jersey and his buddy Chase like to celebrate together. So there will be a crowd.

This year, the furballs are also sharing their birthday weekend with the Super Bowl's Saints and Colts.

I'm planning to cook up some authentic N'Orleans. Sorry Colt's fans, I have no idea what delicacies folks eat in Indianapolis.

Besides, what's not to love about Crawfish Etouffee, Grits and Greens.

And while Belgium might prefer a burger as the base for his birthday candles, I think nothing could be finer than a home baked Pecan Pie.

Hopefully, I'll be able to make it up my driveway in a day or two to go grocery shopping. Meanwhile, there are over 200 southern style recipes to check out.
Snow? What snow?

WATERSIDE WEDNESDAY: ALOHA

One of the little known pleasures of writing a book is that you rediscover old friends.
A month ago, a very talented Virginia decorator who I had lost touch with saw my book and sent me an e-mail.
She was living in Hawaii for the past six years and had recently opened a home boutique called Nest. She wanted to stock my book.
From experience, I knew that everything that Sandi Wickersham does, she does well, and I asked her to send me a few photos of her shop and recent work. Above is a bedroom she redid for a client. All of the other photos in this post were taken in Sandi's shop in Kihei on Maui.
When Sandi told me that my book, Waterside Cottages, was perfect for her shop, she wasn't kidding! Perched on a shelf, it really does look right at home at Nest.
Here's a closer view!
Born on a farm in Washington State, Sandi grew up surrounded by green hills, apple trees and a host of horses, cows, and chickens. For some reason, she always dreamed of living by the sea.
Her father encouraged her to draw. As an adult, Sandi gained recognition for her primitive style paintings of daily life at her family's farm, country fairs and other country scenes. She also painted her Caribbean fantasies filled with flamingos, frothy surf and stacks of shells.

Despite her success as an artist, Sandi has worked as a dental hygienist in California, opened an antiques shop in Texas and designed quilts and bedding for a company in New York City. Today she frequently incorporates Hawaiian quilt patterns into her design work.
Sandi and I met in 1993. She was living in a rustic log cabin in rural Virginia, raising horses and painting, and running two home design shops.
Her life seemed practically perfect but moving to Hawaii was her dream come true. To see more of what she's been up to visit www.wickershamdesign.com
If you are in the neighborhood, please drop by Nest and tell Sandi that Barbara sent you.
Of course, you might want to call ( 808-269-3228) first to be sure Sandi's not taking a break.

WATERSIDE WEDNESDAY:Old Leigh

As promised (before the blizzard of 2009), our English seaside tour continues in Leigh-On-Sea.(Photo by Richard Bartholomew)

As it has since the 16th century, Leigh earns it living from the sea.

Once an important port,

(Photo by Richard Bartholomew)

the town's position at the mouth of the Thames also made it a strategic naval defense site in the wars against against pirates and other European navies.

Old Leigh's past is everywhere you look.
From the old port side houses and leaning lampposts ...

... to the traditional lace curtains visible behind shuttered windows.

While it's tempting to look up at the interesting architecture ...

... and the sky-high windowboxes overflowing with flowers
Do so and you will miss the narrow winding cobblestone streets.
Well, now you've seen a bit of Old Leigh, how about a pint at The Peterboat Steak & Ale house?

Great idea!

WATERSIDE WEDNESDAY: SOUTHEND

'Ello. I'm visiting my British relatives, and thought you might like to come along.

A Little Background: My Mom's family comes from England.

Her Mum was a Londoner; her Dad a Liverpudlian (that's what inhabitants of Liverpool are called).

I'm staying with my cousin Suzanne in London (photos of her cute cottage coming soon, I promise)-- but today, we're taking a tour of Southend on Sea.

The name Southend is short for the South end of Prittlewell.

Although this seaside town has been a popular "bathing town" since the 18th century, it's not really on the sea!

It's on the Thames estuary, but there's no reason to nitpick.

Southend has everything you'd want in a seaside town.

There's quaint Victorian architecture...

Amusement arcades...

Rides...

A cliff lift to take you up to the main part of town...

Waterside cabanas...

More cabanas...
And seafood restaurants...

My cousin Suzanne's favorite fish house was closed, and we had to try somewhere else. It was very good. Her Mum Rita (my mom's first cousin) is in the white shirt.
Suzanne's partner Richard ordered cockles.
This tasty British bi-valve comes in a tiny scallop shell.
Southend also has a mile-long pier and a train that carries you out to the end.

There were telescopes at the end of the pier for viewing Kent and several fisherman.
Facing back to town provided a great view of the picturesque town.A storm appeared to be brewing, so we didn't dally too long as we had one more seaside town to visit. Onward to Old Leigh next post.

I'm still having trouble with Mr. Linky, but I'm working on it.