Thursday, December 22, 2011

Big News, HUGE Giveaway and Fun How-to Video ... awesome giveaway!

 Happy Holidays Everyone,
 I so excited to announce that I have started a fun Youtube channel!
Debi's Design Diary on Youtube will be all about how-to craft and home decor projects.
 I will post several videos a month, sharing my step-by-step instructions on how to create lots of beautiful items for your home. I will be sharing my secrets  and my experience with you of over 20 years of  creating and selling my handmade designs. My videos will be full of ideas for repurposing vintage items into great home decor and I will be doing some really amazing room makeovers too,
AND, will be lots of giveaways starting today!


I am going to give away one Sandman kit for every 10 people who subscribe to my YouTube channel!
That's a one and ten chance to win!
 All you have to do is watch the video above and SUBSCRIBE to my channel. The winners will be picked at random and announce here and on my Facebook page in January.
 Coming up.... next month, How to make a seashell mirror like the one I made on ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition, and yes I will be giving that mirror away to one lucky subscriber.... stay tuned!
Sincerely,
 Debi

Remember you gotta subscribe to win...

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

The Mermaid's Mercantile is this Sunday!

Watch the video find out the New name of the shop and get all the details here!
we will be open from 10am- 5pm
Our garden will be full of colorful and fun handmade and vintage treasures!
We have something fun and unique for everyone on your list!
Hope to see you soon!
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
Debi
you can call us at 858 755 7630

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

How to make Sea urchin cupcakes video!

Here is my first DIY video!
I will be posting all of my new videos coming up on my other blog, which is DebisDesignDiary.blogspot.com
If you like this video please subscribe to my youtube channel!
You can order a kit to make a batch of Sea Urchin Cupcakes on my Etsy shop.
www.etsy.com/shop/debisdesigndiary
I will also have a few dozen finished cupcakes for sale at the next Mermaid's Mercantile
on Nov 27TH!
Hope to see you there!
Sincerely,
Debi

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

The next Mermaid's Mercantile is Nov 27TH!

Thank you all for the wonderful and encouraging comments on my last post!
I was so touched by your kind words, a comment or thoughtful word can change your whole day.
With new inspiration,
I have decided to create a DIY web show on my own...
This video is the first of many to come.
I am already working on the next one, a DIY tutorial, how to make sea urchin cupcakes!

stay tuned, I hope to finish this one by next week.
I also want to create a tutorial on how to make this vintage seashell wreath for the holidays!
I am up to my eyeballs in ideas and can't wait to share them all with you!


It is the first time I have ever shot, produced and edited a video by myself.
I hope you like it! and I hope to see you all on November 27TH!
I will post again with some photos of the artists and vendors and what they will be selling!
Sincerely,
Debi 

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

The Help that comes from above.


A fellow merchant stopped me on the street awhile ago to say that she really enjoyed reading my blog!
My response, "oh I feel so guilty,  I rarely post and when I finally do I labor over the thing to the point of exhaustion."
She said, '"keep doing what you're doing, only post when you have something to say and keep putting your heart into it."
Wow, I thought as walked away, some people actually read my words.
That was months ago, busy and uninspired I have not posted again until today.
You may already know that I have dreams of hosting a show. I have known that I wanted to be on television since I was a child.  I have always wanted to make something, that will inspire and entertain, something that the world has never seen before! These big dreams that I have are a mixed blessing to say the least.
 I have had many successes and many, many closed doors. I have tried so many things, auditions, submissions projects, too many to count, I do not want to put you or myself though the pain of reliving it all  again just believe me when I say that I have tried a lot of things.
  I don't know how to explain what drives me except to say that, 'I  just have to'. Most of the time I keep so busy that when the "no thank you's' come, it only stings a little, but once a awhile I will find myself hammered by self doubt, words like 'wasted life, missed opportunity' and coward' race through my brain and torment me. I found myself stuck in one of these moods last week, I woke up feeling it creep in. The contemplations of what to do next, the reflections of my failed attempts and the question, why can't I find satisfaction in what I have accomplished and just let go of the seemingly impossible dreams that plague me? Then I said a prayer, it went something like this,
"God, I am tired, I'm discouraged, I don't have a plan, I've tried so many things, what do I do now? If I am really supposed to keep trying at this then please send me some inspiration, and  some direction!"
That morning I logged on to my email and saw a headline  that said,  'Best selling author, Kathryn Stockett rejected 60 times before published' I read Kathryn's interview  as she recounted her story and her words struck me, "what if I had given up on try #15? or try #60? Then she said, I did not know how to make myself give up" I could definitely relate to that.  Kathryn's book ,  'The Help' was finally published became a best seller and recently has been made into a film!


Feeling some of the inspiration that I prayed for and a lot of curiosity, I went to see this film.
I got rid of my TV years ago, and I rarely go to see a movie.
After the movie was over, I sat in my seat, not ready to leave the theatre, I was in awe of this woman, her tenacity and how she created this book that became such a beautiful, powerful film.
I almost never stay to watch the credits roll but something  kept me in my seat that night. As the theatre emptied out my friend said, "wow that will probably be nominated." and I overheard a couple say Oscar as they left.  As I chatted with my friend we were the only ones left still sitting, a name on the screen caught my eye, "whoa, Tate Taylor" ? I said out loud, my friend said, "what? who's that? do you know him?"
My first thought was, 'oh Tate, I remember he said he was from Mississippi, he must have acted in this? Then the words writer, and director rolled up, and I said, " What? how did he do that? This was a 25 million dollar film, when I met Tate a few years back he was the standard boy from a small town moved to Hollywood to make it big.
                 (Tate Taylor in the middle directing his lead actresses on the film set of The Help.)

Tate came to my shop to interview me in 2004, he was a writer sent by Coastal Living magazine.
My shop had been open a few years and one of my big dreams was to be featured in the pages of Coastal Living magazine. I just knew that this was going to happen, I knew it before I ever opened for business. Never mind that I had never seen a story on a business in Cl that was more than a page long, that most of their stories were on very expensive beach homes. A customer who was a writer told me that the proper protocol for getting into magazines,  was to get an agent who would pitch my story,  I needed some professional photos and a query letter, that I should not contact the editor directly but send it to their secretary and  then if there was interest  send more information. Well at that time I did not even own a computer and I knew that If I had to do all of that I would never do anything.
I decided to disregard this advice and do what I could do with what I had. I borrowed a camera took some very regular snapshots of my store, wrote a story, and arranged it all into a very homemade, very amateur  looking scrapbook which I sent directly to the editor in Birmingham Alabama. Two weeks later my phone rang and it was editor Kathy Still Johnson telling me, "we just love your store' in her pleasing southern accent. then she said,
" is your home a cute as your shop?, could you send us some more photos ? you see. Coastal Living does not produce features on businesses, the story needs to be about how you live and your work."
 'Well I said, "sure, my house is real cute, no problem....."
 When I hung up I was super excited that they actually called me! and I was also super panicked, my house was not cute at all, it was a 400 square foot mess, my last priority a one room loft with a giant hole in the roof that used to be a skylight, my landlord had nailed down a big unsightly piece of plywood because he did not want to replace it and you could see daylight through it. I was also struggling financially as I worked to get my business off the ground I had basically no budget to decorate, the only thing that I had going for me was, If there was one thing that I knew I was good at, it was interior design and creating something fun and whimsical out of nothing.
My plan was to set up and photograph a few cute corners in my loft, trick them into thinking my place was magazine worthy and buy myself enough time to decorate it properly before they sent a photographer out. Somehow this plan worked and they set a date to shoot my shop and my home that was  6 months out.

                                          (above, one of the pages from my homemade scrapbook)

(another page of snapshots that I took of my loft six months before the Coastal Living photo shoot)

I worked like a banshee on my house for the next 6 months, I painted the walls to look like the inside of an abalone shell, I pulled out all the tricks I had up my sleeve, I owned a ratty sofa that I could not afford to replace so I painted that too and glued seashells to it! I made the most beautiful seashell mirror I had ever made and I painted a giant pink seahorse over a sad looking painting that I bought for a dollar at a yard sale and I covered up the giant hole in my roof with a dozen paper parasols. I literally worked daily up until the night before they were scheduled to arrive. I wanted to make sure I did everything I could to make the best of this opportunity.
In my mind Coastal Living was the epitome of all design mags, I pictured the editors to be like the characters in  the  1980's TV show, Designing Women. I also thought that they would personally come out to my shop to do the story and I couldn't wait to see their reaction to all of my hard work!
I was green,
and naive,
 and very very lucky that they were doing a story on my humble little shop
at all.
What actually happened on the long awaited day of my photo shoot was they sent two young hip freelancers from LA to write and shoot my story.
Tate Taylor pulled up in his pick up truck, flip flops, tee shirt and shorts, he was kind, he was polite and I am pretty sure he was not too blown away by my work. He was a guy, (my shop is a girl's paradise) an  aspiring actor and writer, freelancing as a means to realize his own big dreams.
So much for my visions of a Dixie Carter type,  dressed in Lilly Pulitzer, falling in love with my designs and offering me a design column at Coastal Living.
When the  7 page story finally published a year later I was very happy with what Tate wrote, I asked him to write about how I started my shop from scratch and recount my 'if I can do it, anybody can' story. I wanted the article to inspire people to do follow their own dreams, I did not want it to be just another story on design and decor and it wasn't .

Tate's story in Coastal Living was priceless to my business, it tripled my sales, opened doors to my work being featured on Extreme Home Makeover and many other exciting things happened because of Coastal Living.

Still wondering how Tate came to direct this film, I went home that night and started reading about the film online. As I read interviews of Tate and Kathryn, I thought to myself, now I understand what God meant when he said Faith will move mountains.
According to my understanding of what I have read, Tate and Kathryn were childhood friends, they grew up together in Jackson Miss. After Kathryn had written her book and was rejected over 60 times she gave the manuscript to her friend Tate , she asked him to tell her if it was any good because nobody wanted it. Tate saw what others did not see in his friends book and encouraged her to keep trying. He told her that he wanted to make a film based on her book,  he could see that eventually the book, would be published and  become a best seller, and he wanted to make sure that he was the one to make the film,  having grown up in the same town under similar circumstances he just knew that he was the only one to tell this story properly, he was concerned that Hollywood would warp the story, or worse buy the rights and let it sit on the shelves for  years which is apparently a common practice in the film industry..
 Tate pestered Kathryn until she agreed, all of her friends and family advised her not to give the rights to Tate, who had only produced two small Indy films, but she did agree. Tate started writing the screen play and was actually finished with it before the book was ever published!
When Ms. Stockett's book became a best seller Hollywood did come calling for the movie rights just as Tate predicted, but  Tate already had the rights and everybody was asking who is Tate Taylor?
These LA producers were not too convinced that this new comer should write and direct this film. Knowing that Tate indeed did have legal rights, they said, "well we are going to need a screenplay before we can consider you as director. I bet they were surprised when Tate promptly handed them the screen play and probably said,  something like, 'here ya go'  In my imagination I can see the disappointment in their faces as the realization set in that what they were reading was well written and Tate had earned his right to direct this film. In fact, Tate had so much faith in this project that he already had a lead actress and a backdrop for the movie prepared.
I wondered how Tate felt when Stephen Spielberg green lighted this 25 million$ project?  Was he saying, 'oh shit I really am the director!'  I have asked myself, when I finally get what I have been working towards for so long, will I be scared?
Tate was asked if he was scared, with so much money invested, so many big name actors to direct, a dream works production.... his answer, "if it had been a film about robots or something that I didn't understand, I would have had a panic attack, but this story is important to me, it's what I know, and I knew that no one could tell this story better that I could. I was never afraid."
Wow...  I love that!  What I love even more is that this film directed by this newcomer, totally kicked ass! It will no doubt receive many awards.
I sit here writing to you and I know that God has indeed answered my prayer for inspiration, the direction I asked God for however is still foggy.
The deadline to submit a video to HGTV this year is Oct 21st and I am not sure I want to audition again.
I do know I want to keep trying, but what to do now is a mystery to me.
Part of me wants to just start doing it on my own, in my own amateur unpolished goof ball way, put it online  and see if anybody likes it. (you can see some of what I am talking about on my youtube channel just type in Debi Beard)
The big dreamer part of me wants finally get picked for that show win it and create the best design entertainment show ever in the history of network TV.
it is also said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.
What do you think?
 It has been said that, wisdom is in a multitude of counselors "
 I would love hear to your comments, tell me if you think I should send another audition tape to HGTV, if I   do this will be my 7th attempt!
What should do in my five minute tape this time?
What do you think they want to see?
 Should I forget it this year and do something else? 
 Go ahead give me your  constructive criticism, new ideas and advice. I want to hear it and I can take it.

Kathryn Stockett was asked what inspired her to write 'The Help'?
She said it was her maid Demetri, who helped raise her, whom she loved and missed. Demitri passed away when Kathryn was 18 and she  longed to hear her voice again, seeking comfort she began to write in Demitri's voice.
I lost my childhood friend Shayne two years ago. and sometimes I can recall his voice so clearly, rooting for me, cracking jokes and encouraging me in his own sarcastic way.  Shayne was like Tate in a lot of ways, he lived and worked in Hollywood, he had dreams of making it as an actor, he was smart, talented and driven and he would help me when I had a new idea, in fact he helped me edit the submission  I sent to Coastal Living.
The last time I saw Shayne he was in the hospital using all of his courage to stay alive. He was hooked up to so many machines that he couldn't speak. so he wrote to me on notebook paper asking me, 'what are you working on now?' When I told him that I got a callback out of an open call of over 10,000 he gave me two big thumbs up, when I said 'yeah but I didn't get it he said (wrote) "keep trying."
Shayne was my best friend of 28 years, he was charming, easy to love and had so many friends that loved him dearly. Shayne's life was cut short and for reasons that I do not understand, there was never a proper memorial for him. I never got the opportunity to stand up and say publicly what he meant to me and what an extraordinary man he was. I promised him in the hospital that I would tell everyone how brave he was and and how hard he fought. Shayne was my Tate, many times I witnessed him demonstrate the type of courage and faith I have written about here.  This post is dedicated to my friend,
Shayne
                                                     Shayne and I, at 16 years old.

                                             Here we are at our 20TH high school reunion.

                                                                      Shayne Arik Ireland
                                                                      March 19, 1966
                                                                      March 6, 2009

                                                                This one's for you my friend,
                                                                Sincerely,
                                                                Debi




Thursday, June 30, 2011

Come Celebrate the Red, White, and Vintage Blue This Sunday!






Are you ready for the 4th of July?!  Come celebrate with us this Sunday at Out of The Blue on Cedros in Solana Beach.  Debi (shop owner) and all the vendors have been working like crazy to put out our best handmade items and vintage goodies!  Debi has transformed the store and garden into an incredible place of vintage splendor!  You won't want to miss this spectacular flea market!  





There will be beautiful handmade jewelry, fabulous old religious goodies (virgin mary, rosaries, etc), old quilts, crinolines (yes...that's a plural!) in all sorts of colors and styles, linens, hats, awesome furniture and yard decor such as pink, white, and aqua bird cages (yes...plural again!), pink adirondack chairs, pink metal pool lounge chairs, etc.


  Oh...and if you're an artist yourself and need supplies, there will be plenty of those as well!  Old keys, ephemera packets, wallpaper, embellishments, old buttons, lace, etc.  Please stop by!  All the vendors are super nice and we can't wait to meet you and share our treasures!  









Tuesday, May 31, 2011

the Next Mermaids Mercantile is June 26th! vote on what you think the JUNE theme should be!

Send us your vote or come up with a theme for us! the most 'liked theme will be selected and posted on June 15th!
here are a few ideas!
#1 'Lucy I'm Home' -all things fun and vintage from the 50's including vintage dresses and vintage kitsch!
#2 The Vintage sewing circle- vintage fabric, trim, and notions and lots of fun DIY projects using vintage bits and scraps!

#3 'The Vintage Doll House'- everything to doll up your home in vintage style, vintage painted furniture, pretty chandeliers, pin tucked sofas and dolls too!
#4 Leave it to Beaver's Mom!'- fun vintage kitchen goods, dishes, aprons, cakes and pies!
Vote on one of these or send us your own idea today!
You can vote on our FACEBOOK page too, come on over and give us a 'like'!
hope to see you on June 26th for another fantastic flea market.
Sincerely,
Debi

Thursday, May 5, 2011

the next Mermaid Mercantile is May 15th!

Join us for a fun day of vintage shopping, coastal breeze, and sunshine!
Over 20 vendors selling Vintage and Handmade treasures in the gardens surrounding our historic cottage.
10am- 5pm at 315 south Cedros Ave. Solana Beach, Ca 92075  phone #858 755 7630
in te heart of the Cedros Design district.
Daily store hours Tuesday-Saturday 11-5pm Sunday's 12-5pm

Monday, March 21, 2011

It was a 'Moulin Madhouse'yesterday!


( photo by Laura Christin, http://www.laurachristinphotography.com/ )
Yesterday was a beautiful blurr... we had our Moulin themed Mermaid Mercantile to welcome Kim Caldwell (AKA alchemist of all things amazing and magical) and a bus load of wonderful ladies who made the trek down from LA in the rain to shop our event.
I had been preparing for this event, working into the wee hours and getting just a few hours of sleep all last week. By Sunday morning everything was perfectly placed, pretty and stocked full of vintage goodness. All 20 of my creative genius, vendors had been creating up a storm, literally.
 The weather report called for rain......, wind, hail..., radiation plume.... yikes!
 In spite of this I was determined to carry on with the show, accuweather said no rain untill 7pm Sunday night.
One by one all 20 of my vendors called me, "what about the rain Debi?" are we still going on with the event?
Kim Caldwell called asking if we we planning to hold our outdoor event rain or shine? Her group still wanted to come even in the rain...
I had a conversation with God, my Mom and myself.  I gave myself a pep talk, my Mom gave me a pep talk... "Debi carry on, have faith, better to be ready for the best than to give up in the last hour. No matter what happens, you will know that you gave it your all."
I am not one to give up easily and neither are my vendors...
All of my artists showed up Sunday morning set up their spaces under the ominus clouds, and created vintage magic. Their tents were sparkling, the garden was a wonderland of beauty and chatter. I have to say,  I love these women, beyond words.... they amaze me every month with the work of their hands and all the wonderful 'vintage pretty' that they proudly display. Each lady has her own special touch. Every time we set set up for our show, I walk through the garden, my heart races, the beauty is indescribable, a colorful quilt of creativity and individual personality. I have held the Mermaid's Mercantile for two years now. I have been blessed to get to know these women and have honor to showcase their talent. They inspire me, humble me and have caused me to refine and perfect my own work.  In the next few months I am going to post on each of my Vendors so that you all can see them all through my eyes.
Tonight as I type at my computer, I am a tired girl, recovering from the storm and filled with gratitude.
The wind and the customers showed up Sunday morning, then the bus pulled up.... I stood waiting to welcome  these ladies as they stepped off the bus,  I was dazzled by each of them , creative sisters, a sea of stylish clothes,  amazing handmade jewelry, pony tails and pink hair. I felt like I was five years old again and it was my bithday party! With the wonder of 2011 technology I had gotten to know some of these women  vicariously through their blogs, I had ooohhhed and awwed over their creative handiwork and gotten a peak inside their magical lives. I was super excited to meet them in person!
I wanted to chat with them and tell them how much I enjoyed what they had posted in blogland, but there was no time for that, they started shopping immediately, these ladies were serious vintage shoppers, discriminating, savvy and ready to bargain.
In a matter of minutes the line behind my cash register was all the way to the back of my store, they purchased every petticoat, vintage box and train case in the place. I sold things that were tucked away hiding in corners and drawers that I forgot I had! Some of my best treasures have found new homes. These women came and went like a whirlwind leaving behind an empty looking store that looked as if it had been completely picked over shaken upside down.
 As they prepared to go, Kim let me board the magic bus to say goodbye, she gave me her microphone and I thanked them all for coming, but what I wanted to say was, "you like me, you really really like me!"
As I write this post I would like to say thank you again to all my customers, I thank the lord there are people out there like you who appreciate handmade work. In our current economic climate it is more challenging than ever to make a living as an artist.  It has been 14 years since I opened my shop, by the grace of God and several miracles my doors are still open. I am blessed to have my efforts supported, and I am honored to share that blessing with the women who make the Mermaid's Mercantile what it is.
I have lots of photos to post from our event, which will come later in the week. If you attended on Sunday, please email your photos so I can post them. (debidot@yahoo.com)
Our next event is planned for May 15th, I ordered lots of Sunshine and flowers, hope to see you then!
Sincerely,
Debi


Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Artist Spotlight - Janina Farias - She-Devil Confections

I still remember the first cake I baked. I was about ten years old and Vicky, our Bluebird troop leader, let us take turns adding to a box of yellow cake mix. I watched her pull the cake out of the oven using oven mitts and thought, “What’s the big deal? I can do that!” Days later, I called my mom at work and asked if I could bake a cake on my own. I figured she’d be too busy to say “No” and wouldn’t want to listen to my protests anyway. I was right. Later in life I’d use the same tactic when I wanted permission to shave my legs and wear make-up.




After that first time, I baked constantly. I baked more than even a ten-year-old with an insatiable sweet tooth could eat, so I’d give my creations away to anyone who would take them off my hands. My ballet teacher, the housekeeper, my grandparents, they all became members of Janina’s Cake-Of-The-Week Club. I loved the taste of cake batter and licked the beaters quickly so I wouldn’t have to share with my sister. I don’t know how long my baking fervor lasted until I got bored with packaged cake mixes and moved on to something more exciting, like boys.






It wasn’t until a high school Home Economics class that I baked my first cake from scratch. It was a German Chocolate Cake and making it was far more exciting that using a mix. I sifted, I measured, I melted chocolate, and I made a mess. I felt like a cross between Betty Crocker, a mad scientist and Party Animal Barbie. The difference between scratch baking and using a mix was like the difference between Oprah Winfrey and a drunken co-ed. My German Chocolate Cake was like Oprah: dark, rich, and complex. My packaged mix cake was the drunken co-ed: cheap, easy, and forgettable. Again, I baked often and ate a lot of cake batter. Then I hit my early twenties and set down my spatula in favor of bad boys in rock-and-roll bands.


Even in my wild, wild twenties I still baked from time to time. I’d whip up plates of chocolate chip cookies for roomfuls of party animals with the munchies. I even dabbled in cake decorating and created Ninja Turtle and Shamu cakes for my nephews. When my son came along, I designed an elaborate three-tier circus themed cake complete with carousel and legions of clowns for his first birthday party. It never occurred to me to count the number of servings. I ended up giving away enough cake to feed the Duggars for days.


Again I set my spatula down. Working fulltime, often at jobs I hated, combined with the demands of single motherhood left me with little energy to bake more than the occasional pan of brownies or batch of cookies for my son’s class parties.






Fast forward about 19 years to the day I met my sister Debi. We had just enjoyed a Thai dinner and I announced that I was ready for a sugar fix. Debi took me to a nearby cupcake bakery. It was pink. It was sparkly. It was all girly gorgeousness. My son waited outside.(I think he was worried that his testosterone levels would drop.) And the cupcakes! Oh the cupcakes! They looked like edible tutus. Pirouettes of sugary buttercream frosting topped with arabesques of edible glitter. I agonized over my decision and settled on three mini-cupcakes. I took a bite and thought, hmmm, maybe the next bite will be better? I tried the next flavor. Nope. I tried the next. Meh. They were bland, mealy, and just plain disappointing. I muttered to Debi, “Mine are better.”


“You should do it then.” That was it. With those five words this woman, this sister I’d known for a mere couple of hours changed the trajectory of my life. The seed had been planted. Why not? Why not get paid to do what I love to do? My shelves were full of cookbooks. While everyone else was watching American Idol, I spent hours watching the Food Network. I called it my food porn. Forgotten baking memories started rising up from deep within my brain. I was stunned to realize that I’d been a baker most of my life.


Debi had told me about The Mermaid’s Mercantile. Intrigued, I checked it out and was floored by all the amazing artwork assembled in one place. It was one stall after another of feminine, vintage delight. The Mermaids were so welcoming and were clearly having a wonderful time in each other’s company. I just had to be a part of this sisterhood of talent. When I asked Debi if I could have a space at the Mercantile to sell my cupcakes, she said something along the lines of, “YESSSS!!!”


From that point on I dreamt in sugar. I could think of nothing else (except, perhaps, men, and maybe wine). I baked two, sometimes three times a week. I tweaked some flavors and abandoned others altogether. I decided on lavender cupcakes with rosewater buttercream and deep chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting for my first sale. They were a hit! I reveled in the way my customers moaned and their eyes rolled back in their heads when they took their first bite. I still do. It’s how I know I’ve nailed it. My repertoire has expanded to include flavors like chamomile, chocolate chipotle and piña colada. I have several repeat customers who seek me out now and I’ve even catered a few parties.






It didn’t take long for me to realize that the kitchen was my calling. I’d been working towards a nursing degree and hating every minute of it. Nursing seemed like a good, solid career path, but I had a hard time mustering up any enthusiasm for it. I dreaded the thought of a future filled with other people’s body fluids. So I changed course and enrolled in pastry school. Now THIS was a career I could get excited about! Since then I’ve been reading non-stop: chef’s memoirs, cookbooks, baking textbooks. In short, I’ve become a pastry geek. Everything I’ve read tells me I’m in for long, stressful work shifts in a hot kitchen to the exclusion of a social life and ever seeing daylight. I can’t wait to start!

Please be sure to visit my blog!
http://cupcakeinshe-devilpanties.blogspot.com/








Wednesday, March 9, 2011

The next Mermaid's Mercantile is March 20th! Moulin Rouge Theme!

Vintage and Handmade wares from 20 talented vendors!
If there is a  little vintage gypsy showgirl in you,
you will not want to miss this!A Staged photo booth awaits our customers! Come change into Vintage costumes and take your pictures in a fun theatrical setting!
A magnificent day of shopping, vintage goods at great prices, furniture, chandeliers, handmade jewelry, hats, clothing and so much more!
Sunday March 20Th 10 am -5pm
315 s Cedros Ave
Solana Beach, Ca
92075
in the gardens of our charming historical cottage,
858 755 7630
Exciting news!
Look for the Mermaid's Mercantile featured as the next 'local of intrigue' in the May issue of Somerset Life!
We are tickled pink to be included in such a beautiful magazine!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Annie Sloan coming to give paint demo this Monday!

Come to Out of the Blue on Monday March 7th  from 1pm-3pm
to meet paint legend Annie Sloan!
Annie will be demomstrating the ease of chalk paint and signing her two latest books,
"Creating the French Look" and "Quick and Easy Paint Transformations"
Annie is one of the worlds most respected experts in the field of decorative painting and probably the main reason for the painted furniture revolution though her unique chalk paints and creative aproach.
come join us for a complementary afternoon of paint education and fun.
315 south Cedros Ave
Solana Beach, Ca 92075
Call us at the shop for questions,
858 755 7630