valentine's day Tagged: Five Things to Love About My State

I have been tagged by the stylish Callie Grayson of the Grayson: A Different Shade of Grey blog. Thanks Callie! The subject is five things I love about my state. After reading her post, I realized it was not about my state of confusion, or even the continual state of chaos in my house....I had to find five things to love about my state of California.

Well....I must say, I think I have a slight advantage here. So here goes:

1) I love the weird stuff we have in California like:

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The Devil's Postpile

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The Tufas at Mono Lake

Stalagmites and Stalactites in the California Caves in the Gold Country

2) I love the extremes, like:

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Mt. Whitney, the highest Peak in the contiguous United States

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Death Valley, The lowest place on earth, and the hottest in the United States valentine's day

The Redwood Trees, the biggest trees on earth valentine's day

Lake Tahoe, the biggest Alpine Lake in the United States

3) I love the varied architecture and architects, like:

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Frank Lloyd Wright's Walker Residence in Carmel

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Greene and Greene's Gamble House in Pasadena (where I grew up), a prime example of Bungalow Style Architecture

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Frank Gehry's Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles

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Julia Morgan's Hearst Castle

4) I love that we can do all this within a few hours drive:

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Horseback ride in the Mammoth Mountains in the Eastern Sierras

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Fish at Lake George
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Cross Country Ski in Bear Valley

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Play wave tag in Newport Beach


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Hang out at the beach in Laguna

5) I love that California has a Cuisine named after it and world famous wine country:

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Alice Waters, co-founder of the esteemed restaurant, Chez Panisse, in Berkeley, California is usually credited with originating "California Cuisine". The emphasis on using fresh ingredients in season grown by local farms garnered her reputation as the proprietress of one of the top 50 restaurants in the world.

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Photo by Brent Miller, WineCountry.com

Then there is the Napa Valley, or what I like to call "the Valley of the Gods". It is stunningly beautiful and produces some of the best wine in the world.

OK....that is my five things.

But, as much as I have tried, I cannot wittle it down to five. I have to add:

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What would we do without it?

And this:

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California, the home of The Happiest Place on Earth

Kay....I'm done now. And I am tagging:

Pigtown

Cote de Texas

Lime in the Coconut

The House of Edward

Visual Vamp

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Greene and Greene, Julia Morgan..these are names that conjure images of old California architecture: California Bungalows, Spanish Colonial, Monterey style. Architect Donald Goldstein and designer Jarrett Hedborg bring these aesthetic qualities to life in their renovation of this Spanish Colonial Revival home in Los Angeles California.

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Growing up in Pasadena, I became very familiar with Greene and Greene architecture. We were in and about their homes almost daily. I would pass by the Gamble House every day on my way to school, and had a friend who lived in another Greene and Greene home. My Aunts and Uncles lived in Spanish Colonials, and we had a Prairie Style house. So when I saw this old style California interior, it conjured up very vivid and fond memories. In the image above you see a Roseville Pottery vase to the left and a Daum Crystal vase to the right, both circa early 20th century. Painting in rear by Alfredo Ramos Martinez, front by Jessie Arms Botke.

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Another example of vintage Roseville Pottery on the K'ang-hsi coffee table from Rose Tarlow-Melrose House. I love the beautiful collection of art and antiques brought together in this living room in a very fresh way.

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The pottery in the Dining Room is early 19th century Weller. The Plein Air painting of pack horses is by Herman Struck This, mixed with the Chinese console, iron gate, the pewter tea paper covered ceiling create a successfully unique combination. I also envy the Fortuny covered Chippendale dining chairs from Rose Tarlow!

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This bathroom, with it's beautiful Ann Sacks tile work, is what initially caught my attention in this article. I was working on a Prairie Style home and wanted to show my clients a bathroom with Craftsman tile that would work for them. This certainly works for me!

House and Garden July 2005, Photos by John Coolidge