At Seawall With Dog and Dinosaurs

I did this sketch at the seawall the other night.  I didn't have time to paint it then (if you read the text in the sketch you'll know why) so I just added some colour now.  I'm playing hooky from work today.  Will go in later, but right now I'm needing to fill my soul with a little art, a little music, and a little actual daylight.  Thirteen hour days inside a mall, which is how I spent my yesterday, does not a summer make.

Note to self: Find more excuses to go outside and play.
 

Pirates and Canucks

Ahrrr matey.  There's something about a black and white striped top that screams pirate, especially with swashbuckler boots.  Maybe the only things missing from this outfit are the eye patch and the parrot, but I felt great in it all day.  We were hauling boxes in and out of storage at the store, and these boots, already twice revived by the cobbler, are remarkably comfy.  The choker is from a very cool little store that used to be (maybe still is) on Ellis, just off of Bernard in Kelowna.  The gafas are my new 'lucky brand' frames that I bought online.  The handbag was a gift from one of our suppliers (OPI, where the 'chick flick cherry' nail polish came from).  Both the sweater and the capri's are about one million years old.  I'm thinking they were Winners finds, but honestly I don't really remember.

Today, Game 7 day, I will be wearing blue and cheering on our 'Nucks' to Stanley Cup victory from a Yaletown bar with some friends.  This cup run has been the biggest wave of city spirit to ever hit Vancouver, definitely more than the Olympics, and maybe even more than Expo.  Crazy.  And we're right in the heart of it.  I can hear the roar from the stadium and the streets as I watch the goals on TV.  The parade up our street after each game, home or away, is unbelievable.  And it's all just been a warm-up for tonight.  Should be interesting.

New Style Obsessions

I have a few new obsessions lately.  One of them is work, which is why it's been SOOOO long since I posted (thanks, Hap, for the nudge).  I'm spending seven days a week in our stores right now, hiring, training new staff, etc.  I'm in the mall before it opens and there usually until after close.  I know it's temporary, and the days are actually pretty fun.  We're in the beauty industry, so things are pretty, and the new staff are all great people to pass time with.  I spend so much time now in consumer/fashion land, and that's led to my other new obsessions: painting my fingers and toes (means I'll chill out and stay still while they dry, plus nail polish is one of our best selling items so it makes sense to 'be polished'), fashion blogs that I cruise while waiting for my nails to dry (http://www.stylelikeu.com/ and http://www.deluneblog.com/ are two of my faves), and buying funky eyewear online (http://www.clearlycontacts.ca/,  good deals). 
So, that's where I've been; in a mall, living off of starbucks coffee and food court fare.  I squint in direct sunlight and know every word to the top 40 songs that play over and over on our instore music system.  The new staff is almost trained though, and there's a light at the end of the tunnel.  Two, actually.  At the end of August I'll be heading off with 499 other industry folk to a conference in Cancun, and two weeks later I'm taking my beautiful mom on a one week cruise to Alaska.  Paint bag will be joining me on both trips.  And maybe a few bottles of nail polish as well.

Ah, Betseyville!

Text says:
"Oh, how I love this house!  I spotted it online when I was googling Zihuat before our trip.  It's about 40 minutes south of Z, belongs to American fashion designer Betsey Johnson.  We thought we'd go for a drive (thanks for the car Pablo!) and see if we could spot it.   The next thing I know we'd talked our way in the front door and were given a guided tour by the caretaker.  It is magnificent, if a little faded; two pools, main house plus 3 casitas.  There are a few bucket list items that could be crossed off by buying it.  Did I mention it's for sale?"


and again in Spanish:


¡Me encanta este casa! Lo he visto en el internet cuando estaba googling Zihuat antes de nuestra viaje.  Es aproximadament cuarenta minutos sud de Z, y la dueña es Betsey Johnson, la diseñadora famosa de eeuu. Pensamos que hayamos ido a dar un paseo en coche (¡gracias por el coche Pablo!) para buscarlo.  Y de repente, estabamos en el tour con el vigilante que vive alli.  Es magnifico, la casa, si un poco descolorido: dos piscinas, una casa y tres casitas.  Hay algunas cosas en mi 'lista antes de partir' que podrian ser tachados si lo compraríamos.  Y ¡está en vente!


Ok, I'll stop torturing the Spanish language.  I know there's a million mistakes here.  Please feel free to tell me.  I'm wanting to get a better understanding of Spanish grammar.

The house really is amazing.  We spent a couple of days thinking we were going to put an offer in.  What held me back is the fact that it needs a LOT of work, and soon.  And it may be a little too remote for us.   A girl can dream though.

The view from Rana Rene

Text says:
We're at Rana Rene, noshing, sketching and watching the world go by. I just bought a little mariposa from 5 year old Alejandro who works this part of the beach. Around the point here on the right is the home of the drummer from Supertramp, or so says our waiter. How fitting for us, since they're Greg's favourite group, and their song 'Downstream' has huge meaning for us.
And it goes a little something like this...
"Took a boat Sunday, Down by the sea. It just felt so nice, you and me. We didn't have a problem, or a care. All around was silence, everywhere."

We went out to Barra de Potosi yesterday and looked at a house. It belongs to fashion designer Betsey Johnson. We're seriously considering putting an offer in on it.

More to come.

Playa Las Gatas, Zihuatanejo

text says:
We caught a little ferryboat down at the marina and came across to Playa Las Gatas. It's pretty cool over here. There's a big long strip of restaurants that will provide beach chairs and a wide range of offerings if you choose their location. We walked out to the point where we found this cool eco-info center, then settled in for some serious r + r. We went snorkeling, which I wouldn't do here again. It's all rocky and coral-y. We saw about four fish and spent ten minutes getting trashed by the waves on a big bed of coral just past where these boats are. Not fun. On my toes I'm sporting OPI's 'Yoga-to-get-this-blue'. At home it looks black. Here the sun makes it glow neon blue. Bring it on, I say. Here comes the sun doot 'n do do... it's alright.
We bought some 30 sunscreen on our way to the ferry. Wish we'd thought to use it. Apparently one squirt doesn't cover you for a full day in and out of the water. Who knew?! We are back at Rob's, nursing our sunburns. We went out last night to see our new friends play at Paccolo's, but it was full. We headed to Coconuts where there were some other groups playing, including the two rocker women I most wanted to see at the festival, but it too was full. Then we thought 'Hey, I bet you can see it perfectly from the rooftop of Don Memo's'. We headed up, and sure enough we had the best view in the house! It was awesome. We would have spent a few hundred dollars at Coconuts, and instead we spent a few hundred pesos, had a great meal, great seats, and loads of fun. We made reservations to sit at that table again for Friday's show. Our table is right under the cupola that I sketched a few days ago.

Club Intrawest Zihuatanejo

Spent the day at the Club. My brother Rob has been coming down here for the past three winters working at the club doing member updates. It's a beautiful place; everything I always thought it would be. I worked for this company for many years as a sales person, coach, manager and sales director. I've worked in Whistler, Vancouver, Mont Tremblant in Quebec, Blue Mountain Ontario and San Destin Florida. Every location has its charms. This site was just being finished when I last worked there. Maybe club locations are like seasons; my favourite one always seems to be the one I'm in at the moment, but it certainly seems to me that this'd have to be the winner.

We helped clean up after the tequila tasting event for members at the club (interpret that as you will, there were no mops or rags involved), then left the club and went to Don Memo's for dinner. It's the domed building I sketched the day before. Good food, fun spot, Memo is super friendly. Everyone wants to tell me how much they love my hermano; what a big heart he has. I know, but it's nice to hear it.

We left Memos, then stopped at the bar underneath La Hija del Capitan. There were some really good local musicians there. One of them was a guy my brother knows named Eric who made a guitar sound very different than we do. He also has a good gritty singing voice. Greg and Rob decided it was a good time to see if the chipotle burgers were as good downstairs as they are upstairs at La Hija. Well boys, it's the same kitchen. I couldn't even look at the burger after our feast at Don Memo, but they wolfed it down, and yes, it was apparently as good. We stumbled home, full and happy. Yay Zihaut.