Most of our free time lately has been consumed with house rennovation, which put me in a bit of a (all work no play) funk last week. So we took a well deserved break this weekend to catch our breath and take in the beauty up here. We decided to head toward Youngs Falls, after taking a trip up coxcomb hill to the Astoria Column for a clear view of our town unhindered by clouds or mist. The lady at the gift shop was very sweet when we asked for directions to the falls, explaining how we've just moved here. Her response after pointing us the right way was, "Welcome Home". Yet even equipped with directions and all of our good intentions we still missed our turn and drove too far. We passed old dilapidated barns, and fields with grazing cows, and drove through winding forest roads. During our meanderings we found a lovely garden nursery called RainTree where I fell mad in love with a Japanese maple with it's bright yellow fall colored leaves planted on the grounds (pictured above). I found a smaller one there, on our way out and just had to bring it home. It was so long that it ended up lying sideways between us for the rest of our adventure. From there the seven mile marker noted Cannon Beach, and since we had driven that far already there was no sense in stopping... After weeks of longing to visit, suddenly there we were. I loved the beachy town, with it's wooden shingled houses, sandy streets, and nastursiums trailing over the fences, shutters cut like crescent moons, and beach sand so soft and cool to the touch that I never wanted to leave.
Back at home it's been all about Shawn and I wielding paint brushes. He's outside, I'm inside... I've been pulling Benjamin Moore colors from Domino Magazine, and the Pottery Barn Catalog. I could never doubt either source. Down in the photos below you can glimpse the new color of my studio walls, inspired by an article on laundry rooms in Domino. This color was paired with a black and white damask cotton fabric. Once the color was actually up on the wall, in all of it's bright blue glory... I thought, "wow, it matches my website perfectly"! Besides the exterior color and the studio, the rest of the house is decorated in deep jewel tones. Like these. I once read somewhere that home decorating is usually reflected by the color of the clothes you wear... true?!
Astoria is filled with all kinds of small town quirkiness. Last week the mayor was arrested, 100 sturgeon were mysteriously stolen, Shanghai'd in Astoria performed in Drag at the local theatre, and ghost hunters were meticulously at work. I look forward to reading the Astorian's headlines every day... Really, they just keep getting better.
Labels: Astoria, The_North_Coast
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posted by Liquid Sky Arts at 8:51 PM
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