Desert Friends

Last week I headed to the desert for a short visit with our friends Eric and Whitney, who recently settled down on a decent chunk of property deep in the dusty back lots of 29 palms. A renovation we've watched joyfully from the sidelines, marveling at their steady and consistent progress made apparent with each new visit we've made since the season they first landed there. What I've come to love most about this particular renovation is how every square inch of this place has been constructed with such careful consideration, design that takes so much from what is free and available to them from recycled materials left on the property, making use of their own surroundings, working it to their custom needs and design preferences. Placing equal balance on both practical and artful necessities. A home that in the end, will come to fully reflect everything they love and stand for as artists and lovers of nature. And that, in itself, is something I can surely stand by.

In separate but equally exciting news, Whitney - who's been featured here more than a couple times for various reasons - is on the verge of having her illustrations published in a children's book written by her uncle. It's a collaboration a long time in the making so it's release warrants a cause for major celebration. During my visit I got to flip through some of the initial raw sketches for the book, read the story and photographed a few aspects of it to share (along with clearer details) on The Ma Books just as soon as it is made available for purchase. A link I can't wait to share with you all seeing how much I enjoyed the book myself.

All in all, it was a great afternoon. A perfect excuse to get away for couple hours & catch up with old friends, toast new ventures, introduce our newest boy and devour a couple slices of Whitney's infamous home made gluten free pizzas. A recipe I must remember to track down next time I'm there.

As for life around here, we are, as usual, painfully busy. Tired, but well. I'm hoping to find some time to carve out for some more blog posts here that I have piling up, but it's a promise I know better than to make at this point. We have a full plate. To say the least. And the baby is growing like a weed which means when I do run into spare time, brief as it remains in spite of having the boys at school for a few days throughout the week, I usually just want to sit and play with him. Watching him grow. So that piles of laundry stay put and blogs go sorely unattended for now.



In the meantime, hope all is well on all your ends.
And please keep an eye out for a follow up post once the book is ready on The Ma Books. If you're not following already, you probably should.
Lots and Lots of great woman to read and fall in love there.

Xo
J