Friday, June 18, 2010

Take Steps Los Angeles

The weekend after the Take Steps Santa Barbara Walk was the veteran Los Angeles walk and a small group of us joined the festivities for Crohn's and Colitis Awareness and went to Griffith Park to see what we could learn for our walk next year! 800 people strong and canines joined the fun, and the energy was high and upbeat. We learned, and we enjoyed ourselves.


Perfect combo!

In my own backyard

Not literally my backyard, but close enough. There's a lovely park called

Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens, and as some people say

Alice Keck Park Park

because Park is Alice's last name. Confused? Don't be.





Look at the lily pads and you can see someone peeking out.

There are numerous turtles in the lil' pond.







Thanks for browsing with me in our paradise we call home. Santa Barbara.









Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Embrace, Evolve, Emerge

When I received the call asking me to be on a panel of women entrepreneurs for an upcoming conference,, I found myself a little out of my comfort zone.

Because I felt that way, I knew I had to do it.
I was on a panel of 3 women and we answered questions at the conference about our business and each of us were giving our versions of our business plans, etc. Since I have 3 businesses, I certainly had lots to share. I was invited to stay after and enjoy the rest of the conference put on at the University of California, Santa Barbara byt he Professional Women's Association.
I did stay and went to a few other sessions and absolutely had a growing experience. The lunch was superb and the people I met and chatted with were all amazing.
I left feeling empowered, and realized that was exactly what I needed.

The view of the lagoon right outside from my panel's room!


Dianne led our panel and asked the questions and then the audience had their own questions.










Whimsy in Westways Magazine !

Both Whimsy stores were recently featured in Westways Magazine in the SHOP

section of the great article! The feature came out in San Diego a few months ago and the June issue in the LA region. We have had many folks drive up from all over with the article in their hands. We welcome you to discover both our stores so please stop in and say hi!

Both shops open 11-5 everyday.

Whimsy (Home and Garden)--5042 7th Street 805.684.7211

Whimsy (Town and Country)--962 Linden Avenue 805.684.1222

Take Steps Santa Barbara

For the past year, a handful of us took on the inaugral Take Steps Santa Barbara Walk and we met weekly and worked hard trying to get our Walk to be a success, despite not enough PR help from our town....but we held hands with Jo Bender, the Walk Manager based at the Crohns and Colitis headquarters in Los Angeles, and made this important awareness project

become a reality on June 6, 2010.

Making noise , raising awareness and raising funds to find a cure is what the purpose of this walk is and through networking with our tiny committee, we managed to bring 175 people to support our cause.

We had Owen Plant of the Sunshine Brothers play his beautiful tunes for us and he alternated with Rebecca Chapman, who is an amazing 2o year old living with Crohn's Disease, and daughter of one of our commitee members.


My Mom who has Crohn's was relaxing with her Celtics green headband and
enjoying the celebration with her granddaughter (and my daughter) who came to Santa Barbara from UCLA to join us...

Our Marylan and Ethan team for the First Take Steps Walk !
Next year we will double our numbers! Will you join us?!






vintage hula gals



Come to Whimsy (on Linden) and check out some

adorable vintage bouncy hula gals!

Pop over to Whimsy (on 7th) for lots of vintage treasures from Hawaii...






New Seaside area in Whimsy

Just in time for Summer, Whimsy Antiques (Linden store) unveils a new twist on Seaside decor.Come browse a collection of seastars and vintage decor...

Lovely shell night lights in a few styles...


Shell encrusted mirrors, driftwood signs, bottles of sand from beaches around the world...


A fantastic white rustic table, seaside shutters, a coral chandelier...








Please stop by and see our latest creation and hopefully you will find some treasures

to take home!