Hueneme Beach Festival & Sand Sculptures

The ocean is so therapeutic, I think everyone should have one in their backyard and visit it regularly!  I went to the Hueneme Beach Festival today.  I woke up with the urge to go on a little road trip to somewhere I hadn't been before, but wasn't too far away, so I went online and came up with this.  Truthfully, I was lured by the promise of the Sand Sculpture Contest.

Another thing I have always wanted to do is to see some really amazing sand sculptures up close and personal, rather than just in pictures, so I grabbed my camera and off I went.  I've also decided that I need to get there early to watch them being created!  Traffic getting up there and back was a nightmare, and I had to park way down the beach from the festival, but it was a gorgeous day, so I didn't mind the walk, but my feet are not happy with me right now.  The sandals I wore were not exactly the thing to wear for a long hike!  LOL!

The first thing I saw was these very large kites.  I thought they were very pretty against the sky.  

I really enjoyed the sand sculptures I found, but as you can see here, there weren't very many to peruse, but I did enjoy them anyway!  I got there a little late in the afternoon (took me twice as long to get there as I had expected!), and am not sure if there may have been a couple more that got destroyed before I got there, or if these were, in fact, the only ones!

After I snapped these pics I wandered over to the booths to see if there was anything there I couldn't live without and sure enough, they had some things there I simply had to have.  I picked up some scented salts to freshen up the house and some Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar which the vendor assured me would taste heavenly over some vanilla ice cream.  Good thing tomorrow is market day and I can pick some up to go with the vinegar!  Mmmmm, doesn't that sound tasty?  Ice cream and vinegar? Yum, yum!  . . . we'll see . . .  I got to taste test some other flavors and really enjoyed them, but they were a bit too pricey to stock up!

And, I got another little item that I will have to share with you later!  I got some for my mommy, too, and don't want to spoil the surprise for her!  Shhhhhhhh!  But, I can tell you it is sooooo unusual, I HAD to get it!  I was amazed by and have never seen anything like it before.  The vendor told me to go ahead and touch them and I was blown away.  I will share photos and a description in a later post!  I'll just give you a little hint for now, . . . it would be a great thing for a halloween party, but that is not what it was meant for!  ;-)

There were all kinds of vendors there and I was tempted by a few other items, but managed to resist . . . mainly because I hadn't stocked up on funds before I went!  :-)  I will share some of the other things I saw there!

I thought these peacock yard ornaments were really cute!  They rocked back and forth from their hips in the wind.

I almost got a set of these coasters.  I especially liked the ones with the seashells!

I thought these marionette puppets were adorable!

There was a 70s theme to the festival and this disco band was really fun!  Very entertaining!  And . . . get a load of that hair!  "I believe in miracles . . . where you from, you sexy thing . . ."  I kept hearing that song all the way back to my car!  It put a little extra bounce in my step.

On the way back, I walked out on the pier to snap a couple of videos to share with you.  Unfortunately, somehow I ended up losing my hat!   :-(   One minute I had it and the next it was gone!  I think I had taken it off while filming and thought I had put it in my bag, but apparently, I missed!  It must have blown off the pier in all that wind.  Good thing it wasn't one I was particularly attached to!  Guess I'll just have to go shopping again!  ;-)

Anyway, I'll leave you with the ocean breeze and waves to help you feel like you were right there with me having a nice relaxing day.  But, next weekend, I really must pretend to be a grownup and stay home and take care of a few things there!  So, get rested up, get your duster and vacuum ready and your gardening gloves on.  ;-)

For maximum enjoyment, make sure you have your speakers on!

Long Beach Antique and Flea Market

I spent the day doing one of the things I have been wanting to do from some time now.  I went to the Long Beach Antique Market (the Rose Bowl Flea Market is on my list, too . . . maybe next month!) .  The LBAM is held the third Sunday of the month and it seems I always think about going right after it is held and over the next month, I promptly forget about it again until it is too late.      :-(    But, this time, I had decided I was going to go no matter what.  

I had been working on getting some things moved around my place yesterday.  I had put in a long, hot, grueling day weeding, pruning, watering and moving a lot of my potted trees around and was very sore at the end of the day!  And did I mention it was HOT! ! ! !  I had run a quick errand and when I got back, I just sat in the car a bit longer than I needed to just to sit in the air conditioning, which I had running full blast, with my face right in front of the blowers!  Awwwwwww . . .  

Come morning, I was still pretty achy and I wasn't sure about all that walking today, but, I had decided I would not miss it this time, so I went and I am glad I did.  I didn't manage to get through the whole thing, as I got a late start and it was so hot the vendors were packing up a bit early!  But, I got through more than half of it and did enjoy it and am looking forward to returning sometime, hopefully, I will get a much earlier start!  :-)

They had tons of stuff!  Costume jewelry, crystal, glassware, silverware, kitchen ware, small appliances, vintage clothing, tools, toys, furniture, lamps, garden items, shells, coins, collectibles, knives, musical instruments, and, well . . . lots and lots of stuff. 

Here are a few of the things I saw there.  I have been wanting to get an hour glass, but haven't seen one that I really like.  Though this one is nice, it wasn't quite what I am looking for!  

I couldn't get a good picture of these cute little bird houses.  I couldn't figure out a way to crop out the vehicles or other distracting backgrounds.  They had a fork, with bent tines for the perch in front of the entrance and forks and spoons dangling as wind chimes below.  I'm not sure what Mr. & Mrs. Bird would think about the constant door chimes, but I thought they were really cute!

I really liked this vase . . . I should have asked how much it was!  Blue just always catches my eye!

There were a few quirky items I should have snapped pics of to share!  Like the big stuffed toy tiger that was nearly life-sized!  For some reason, he kind of reminded me of Tony the Tiger trying to act like a real tiger instead of a people.  ;-)

And this is the loot I actually ended up with!  I have been wanting to start collecting cloches and this was one of the most unusual I have seen.  It is a little on the small side, but I love the shape!  And, I am interested in getting a collection of flower frogs, so I picked up a couple today.  I love the blue in the vase (candy dish? ? ? ) and the teeny salt bowl.  I'm not sure why I had to have the cream/blue Wedgewood vase, or the swan, for that matter, but I did.  And I just really liked the decoration on the creamer, unfortunately, this picture does not do it justice.  In case you can't tell. . . I'm really liking blue and white these days!  I saw several bone crochet hooks and decided to pick one up to try it out for doilies or snowflakes!  There was also an awl that appears to be made of mother-of-pearl.  I'm not sure if it will work as well as the other ones I have, but I really liked it.  Mom and I use them to poke holes in the tops of towels to crochet tops on them for hanging in the kitchen.  Finally, I picked up a couple more shells.  I just really liked them!  They were so dainty and fragile looking! 

I couldn't decide which pic of the loot I liked best . . . so I am using both of them!  ;-)

I saw a window that I think I should have bought!  I have been wanting to get one to use just decoratively, and I think it would have been a good one for that!  It was a good-size and paned, but the panes were diamond shaped rather than square or rectangular and it wasn't all that expensive.  But, because I wasn't sure exactly where I would put it, I decided to pass on it.  But, . . . now I'm thinking  . . .  Darn . . .  Well, maybe next time!