Pearl

Hello from Santa Barbara!

Here I am, sitting on my mom's bed, drinking a glass of white wine after a jaunt down State Street. I bought a gold Ganesh ring from a store that had prayer beads and peace flags and flouncy pants and all that sort of stuff and it made me think that if I lived here, I would turn into that kind of person... who makes art out of driftwood and does pilates on the beach and has both icons of Catholic saints and statues of Hindu gods all around her house... That's Santa Barbara for you... Founded by Franciscan monks and Spanish conquistadors, currently populated by upper middle class hippies. It's magical.

One of my favorite gifts I received for Christmas was an edor pearl necklace. I am loving simple and delicate jewelry right now. Less is more. Aside from my Ganesh ring of course. I also bought a thin, gold band from a boutique of State Street. I like wearing it on my left ring finger, even though I'm not engaged... Think of it as a "I'm taken" ring.

On Christmas Eve, my mom and I attended her church's candlelight service and it was really beautiful, singing all the classic Christmas songs and talking to old family friends... Then we had the traditional Mexican food feast at my grandma's. I made sure everyone had a margarita in their hand. My poor grandma is losing her memory, so that is hard to deal with. Patience is a necessity.

Tomorrow I head back to Seattle. Back to the horribly dreary weather. That's the compromise I make. There's always a struggle when one essentially has two homes. But I'm excited to see my boyfriend. And my cat. And have a few more days of vacation. So that's where I am currently.