Palisades is a little different because of the clebrity thing; today Ronnie and I saw Julia Louis-Dreyfus leave on a bicycle, the front wicker basket loaded down with produce and various reusable bags hanging off the side. Ronnie said it first: he would have LOVED to have taken a photo of her, as I would have, but we don't-- she is a regular; she is a celeb who practices what she preaches and we are so in respect of her for that...so, no shots of her here on the blog....unwritten rule....cheers Julia....
Today I bought more produce for my Mom so we can juice this week; that's her "kick" lately. Here is my basket today of beets, chard, celery....there is a new addition this week, of fresh garlic. Now perhaps I have missed this one in previous years, or dismissed it as a small leek. but here it is: the farmers market answer to a tail feather, no?.....
The garlic was given to me by John, whom I usually call Bob, for some reason. Today I asked him to pronounce his last name, Svedesinksi or something uncommon like that....I have dubbed him Johnny Suede since that is what his name sounds like. And I will remember a little monicker that. Sounds pretty cool, doesn't it? Johnny Suede is a real character: he is a lot of fun and really engages his clients; I said, hey, I want to give you a few produce bags etc etc. A few minutes later I dropped some off to him. Give them to your regulars and let me know the reaction. I got the carrots from his neighbor, but they are small baby carrots like my Mom loves.....
I had my colored net bags out today and sold well on those:
My neighbor who sells dried fruits had his two daughters with him today; they made a nice little bed out of produce crates!!! I asked him if I could take a photo of them and he said of course, take the photo, take the kids if you like :) here are the girls:A minute later I gave both girls a pink produce bag, which ended up immediately on their heads as hats, then held their shoes, which were set aside from the crates out of view here;
A moment later, a man appeared with a large net bag FULL of little paper bags filled with produce and mushrooms. "Someone is giving them away over there" he said with excitement; upon further discussion, it was from Johnny Suede, and yes, he is a regular shopper, and just THRILLED; he was able to get all of his purchases in one large produce bag and he said he'll bring it back next week:
Here are some of the flowers I bought for my sister today; lovely lovely and not expensive; pretty soon I will have to post only on the flowers, because they are really spectacular lately:
Johnny Suede gave me some "fresh garlic", as I mentioned; he offered me a green leaf to eat as he chewed on a stem...I can't I said, I have to talk to clients!! Look too at the green (organic) Swiss chard below the garlic; it was fantastic with anchovies on Monday:
Later on Sunday, I chopped the garlic, and it went into a saute of garlic and mushrooms over a steak; was it ever GREAT; mild yet pungent!!!
I made the dinner for my parents. It was odd; over dinner we watched what I wanted: rerun of I Love Lucy. Over dessert of vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberry sauce, we watched what they wanted: Laguna the Real OC. Talk about a generation gap!!!
Next in the layout was the dessert table: do I love burlap? YES! Here layered in with some pressed damask tablecloths and French silver and other goodies. The lace water bottles are Evian, designed by Christian Lacroix; every year Evian does a limited edition bottle, though it's hard to find in the US. Here is my shot of the table:
And here is the one in the magazine:
I wanted an old world theme, so we had lots of neutrals, greens, and white flowers. Most of the flowers were from the Pacific Palisades farmers market, and a lot of greens came from the garden; especially boxwood, which was used on this page for accent for the napkins, on the little rum cakes. I like greenery with the ice and bottles; it has a nice look, and avoids the klinking of bottles.
My friend Susie did the food for me, and it was a treat to not have to do all the food; it was all super yummy and included Beef Wellington in puff pastry with various sauces:
And salmon:
The magazine did a nice montage of various elements:
Here is another page from the magazine: when I first saw this, I was aghast: my silver in a pile! Why didn't I have time to organize it? But everyone thinks it is "attainable" and not too organized. I love how the roses looked here:
We hauled the pine "bakers table" desk outside, which has over the years been waxed to a nice cognac color and has served me well:
what you can't see in the magazine are the jeans Louie is wearing:
I did ask everyone to bring a toy for the little girl, so I wanted to have them leave with a gift: orange blossom, wildflower and avocado flower honey in three sizes of jars, with silk remnant tops tied with fine jute string; you can't see the tags well, but they say "with thanks and sweet puppy kisses - HONEY" and overstamped Merci. Also honey-scented soaps in tiny guest-sizes:
There are several pages from the magazine I can't upload, including the tea service:
It is so amazing to see your home in a magazine, I thank Jacqueline and the Editors of Romantic Homes for honoring us by having us in this issue! 
This is closer to the true look, below; the trims are Dutch and are all vintage metallic threads; I got them to use for the liners for the rolling carts:
I tried a tuxedo-stripe look on the orange:
And while I was there dropping off, I picked out a cute little gift for my friend Michelle, who has just had major surgery and needs a little cheer; look what Darren does:
The box opens to reveal a glassine bag holding "the gift":
On a bed of pretty green paper shred:
And then you open the envelope to find your gift, a girl Bear as part of a set of circus animals: 
It will be perfect for Michelle, along with some flowers...it's totally "her!"
I am going to give Darren some pink and blue net bags too for his display. I'll have shots of his window full of baskets and his shop tomorrow.
Here is the bunch I bought last spring:
The same day of the Elle shoot, we had a demo by Pali High students against plastic bags; here is the Plastic Bag Monster; they went through the market to raise awareness against plastic bags; he was pretty shy about having me take his photo!!
and of course there were tons of pretty flowers; not as many roses as I thought, but lots of pink; look at these gerbera daisies from Hector at CdM:
Pink flowers look great, of course, in a pink basket and with your chocolate lab on the other arm:
My neighbor lately at Pacific Palisades has been Ann of Ann's Candyworks; I was thinking today about why I am such a proponent of the markets and the vendors there. I think it's because this is the ultimate small business: the farmer, the florist, the baker, the fish monger, the egg farmer & jam maker, the soap and candle maker. I hear the in's and out's of their days and their lives. It's not always easy, but they are committed to providing a top quality organic product. It's the ultimate small business.
Ann works so hard to not only bake all of this, but to make it look simply pretty; cute little packaging. Lots of Belgian chocolate brownies, toffee, various breads and fudge; she has a great following; Jennifer Garner is one of her regulars. Ann's Candyworks: Venice CA 310 463 2106. Ann is one of the nicest ladies you'll meet; is she southern? I will have to ask. All I can say is YUM!
