Ruby Rose

is a

Diamond

in the

Rough.

It is

a

fun place to

explore,

or

get lost in,

or shop

or

to just spend

an hour

or two

chatting with

Stephanie.

Stephanie

is the

proprietress,

the owner,

the stylist

and junker extraordinaire,

She

finds

"stuff"

Very, very cool

and beautiful

stuff that she

displays it

in such a way

that you know

you have to have it!

Personally,

I

am a

sucker

for

old,

worn

luggage

pieces...

ones that you know

had

a story

or

an adventure

behind them.

We use

suitcases

all over our house

for storage

and display

Stephanie's

luggage

finds

are the best!

Steph

also

has an amazing

eye

for linens

-

beautiful

vintage

linens,

soft

and worn

All around

Ruby Rose

are

hidden treasures

Originally,

Stephanie

was

a

clothing

merchandizer

...

she

loves

clothes

-

beautiful clothes,

designer clothes

with

little

price tags.

Stephanie

is

starting

a

designer line

of

vintage couture

for Ruby Rose

She has

Betsy Johnson

and Ralph Lauren,

perfectly

worn

Levis 501's

and

gorgeous

Italian

leather boots,

and

handbags

Ruby Rose

is a feast

for

your eyes

and

so easy

on

your

wallet

sometimes

I pop

by

Ruby Rose

with no

wallet

at all

and just

chit-chat

with

Steph,

or Helen,

or Ruby

or Kathy

or one of the

other

fun gals

that

is

hanging out

....

open

Thursdays

and

Saturdays

and

sometimes other days

....

you can

call

and

make

an appointment

for a visit.

FUN!

I thought there were Seven Sisters..

Darn!

All twenty- one years

that I have lived in

San Luis Obispo,

I thought

that

there were

seven sisters,

(aka seven volcanos)

that stretched

between

SLO

and Morro Bay.

Today,

I come to find out that

there are actually

NINE SISTERS...

Who knew?

I thought these

musings with

Toulouse

would be a fun

platform

to share

fun stuff to do

and

to explore

around

San Luis Obispo County

and beyond

....

hiking the

Seven,

uh,

NINE Sisters

was one of the activities.

Toulouse, Annie and I parked

in the neighborhood below the first sister,

Islay Hill..

and we,

(Annie and I)

went a wanderin'

We walked by the

old Adobe House

in

The Arbors neighborhood.

I tried to find out this Adobe's significance,

to no avail..

The entrance to the hike is at the end of Sweet Bay Drive...

great name

SWEET BAY DRIVE

Warnings for poisen oak

and

mountain lions

and

such

were posted

but we

weren't

scared!

The views

of the Edna Valley

and it's

vineyards

are magnificent.

We are looking towards

Tolosa Winery

Edna Valley Winery

and

Baileyana

heading up Islay

facing west

you see

two more

"sisters"

San Luis Mountain

and

Bishop's Peak.

(a clearer view of those sista's)

you get some

good cardio

heading up the hill,

but it won't

really

kill

you

The

views

from the top

are

really

pretty

(especially of the Edna Valley)

hi, Annie!

Hi Everybody!

Wear

shoes

with

good treads

of them

...

the

path

down

can be dusty

and

slippery.

Next Sister, San Luis Mountain.....

Two Days off - continued.....

Carmel

is

my favorite

place

in the world!

Yup!

it surpasses

my fave cities in

France,

Germany,

Switzerland,

Belgium.

It surpasses

San Francisco

and

New York!

I love Carmel!

We arrived on a

perfect

summer day-

no fog.

The

sun

was heading

down

towards

the horizon

We looked at our watches..

and

noticed

that it was

"Yappy Hour"

..

time for

a cocktail

at

The Cypress Inn.

We love

the interaction

of

people,

their dogs and

cocktails..

always a fun

combo...

plus,

the setting

of the

Inn

is warm,

friendly

and charming

inside and

out.

Back home

Huckleberry was waiting for us...

(Nottie and Phinn were asleep)

Nights in Carmel are almost always cool...

aaaahhhhhh such a good night's sleep..

next day

Huckleberry

and Phinn

are seven months old...

Nottie's job

was to show them

the beach.

Carmel's beach

is

very

VERY

dog friendly

(plus, good dog

owners know the

importance

of picking up

their dog's pootie).

Off the leash

Nottie

took off

after

a seagull...

..

followed by Huck

Poor Phinn, he ran through a big sea puddle, got a snout full of salt water and

then, hoping for relief, ran his nose though the sand.

need

I

say

more?

TRAUMA

That little voice that

says

"flee"

screamed loudly

in Phinny's

ear

and they ran

and ran

and

ran

..

.

Tired

and

happy

we headed

back

home

and

rested by the

fire

(can't get rid of the underline)

It was a relaxing

and fun

two days off.

Thanks, John, for the GREAT Huck, Phinn and Nottie pictures!

Two Days Off!

If you are

lucky enough

to get two days off

...well then,

take

a

road trip!

Toulouse

stayed

at home.

He is a bit

too small

for me,

John

AND

Nottie, Huckleberry, Phinn

and the camera.

off we go

.......

About an hour

north

from

SLO

begins the

Salinas Valley,

appropriately

named

"The Salad Bowl to the World"

Acre after acre

of

crops

growing,

being harvested,

harvested

or

being planted

It is quite amazing,

thinking

about

the amount of

food

that is grown here

and

is shipped

E V E R Y W H E R E

all around the world!

Strawberries,

broccoli,

lettuce,

peppers,

beets,

spinach

wine grapes..

anything

grows

in

the Salinas Valley.

I love the town of

Spreckels!

Spreckels

is a charming little place

in the

heart of the Salinas Valley.

It has quite a history.

Ever heard of

Spreckel's Sugar?

I remember my dad

telling me about the

plight

of

Claus Spreckels

and his

sugar beets.

...then there

was

story about

the

old maps

of Spreckles

drawn on

paper napkins.

The original

sugar beet

mill

was damaged

in the

1906 Earthquake,

and

financially

ruined

during the

depression

by the

Curly Top Virus

that

killed the beets

...

poor beets

Highway 68 heads west towards Monterey and Carmel from Spreckels.

There is so much history here...

the Steinbeck Museum

Monterey County wineries

Fort Ord and

California State University Monterey Bay

Pebble Beach

17 Mile Drive

Carmel Valley

The Monterey Bay Aquarium

etc.....

Fete d'Arte

Le

Premier

Fete d'Arte

Petit Soleil had it's first

art festival!

It was a fun,

albeit quiet day.

The weather was lovely,

the art and crafts

amazing,

the

CHOCOLATE

was

decadently lush..

and the company,

guests and participants,

was delightful!

The front courtyard of

Petit Soleil

was transformed into

a

French Street Faire.

(there's Natellie,

the "art" artist

standing in front

with her art)

I almost got hit by a car taking this picture

from the street

These beautiful flowers

were mixed media

of paint and collage

stunning!

More collages.

These are drawings

on vintage

music and

maps

and

old letters.

I

I could faintly hear

Natellie

singing

when she was sketching

these

cuties

in the hutch

la la la

"These are a few of my favorite things"

The paintings

below

are

breathtaking..

silhouettes

of

girls holding

balloons

and

umbrellas

under golden rain drops...

breathtaking!

Her class

drawings

(below)

of people in motion

were

incredible!

She said that

the models

move every

twenty seconds

and you

have to capture

the pose

and draw it quickly..

And here comes Kenzie!

Kenz is

the

"hat artist"

She is sporting

a

KENZIE KREATION

beanie

that she created

and crocheted.

So Cute!

She also makes

berets

and slouch hats.

I think these will fly

out the door when the weather gets chilly

The colors and styles so

fun and

happy!

Very creative and talented young ladies!

Oh

My

Gosh!

Speaking of talented..

This is

Danna!

She makes

...ready?

GOURMET,

ORGANIC

DARK CHOCOLATE

PEANUT BUTTER CUPS!

so delicious....

And,

SO BEAUTIFUL!

(someone called the peanut butter cups

"a symphony in my mouth")

The packages are

works of art

in themselves!

Hand -stamped tags

and beautifully

wrapped

in cute little boxes

tied

with

raffia

We also had

luscious

samples

of chocolates

from Sweet Earth Chocolates

they have

a

little

chocolate cafe

three doors from Petit

filled with

chocolate heaven!

It was such a fun day!

I hope we can repeat it

next year

and

add a few more

talented

and creative

peeps!

Below is a picture of

Jana,

with Natellie.

Jana

got this

drawing/collage

from her mom as

a belated

birthday gift.

AND,

then

Jana came back and

bought another

of

Natellie's

drawing/collages,

a

Chanel #5 bottle!

The ultimate compliment,

I think!

If you are interested in Natellie's art, you can find her on

Facebook

"Natellie Saia Art & Design"

If you are interested in one of Kenzie's charming little hats,

you can call

Petit Soleil,

bed et breakfast

Happy Shopping!!

Dianne