Salon de Maria Blog

Most people think California is all about glamorous celebrities, the beach, easy breezy living, and palm trees.  As a long-time resident who has lived in just about every major city in California except for Los Angeles (I vowed "never" to live there, but you never know!), I've traveled up and down this gorgeous state which is home to a wealth of agriculture. 

There's a long stretch between San Francisco and Los Angeles which has been torture for me to drive in the past because it's just a straight drive with miles and miles of flat land.  Fortunately this past weekend I was a passenger on a trip to Magic Mountain with my family who live in Central California...When lo and behold, I caught a shot of one of those oil drilling thing-a-ma-jiggers...

Not really sure why I was so intrigued by this picture. It's just something out of the ordinary that many tourists don't get to see.  Now you know.

And here's a shot of the grape vines which also grow in Central California, but are very common in Napa Valley, of course. 



I'm taking a trip to Napa in the next few weeks, so stay tuned for pictures! 

Posted by Maria Palma at 04:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I must admit that I engage in mindless TV watching at times and one of the shows I've watched is The Girls Next Door featuring Hugh Hefner and his lovely ladies.  From a psychological and moral perspective I find it interesting to watch because I wonder what the attraction is to being a Playboy Playmate.  People judge these women for taking off their clothes for money, but you have to wonder if it's any different from a woman taking off her clothes to pose for a painting or drawing.  In a drawing class I took in college my professor hired a nude model and we had to sketch out a drawing of her.  Nobody seemed to object.

Anyways, during a recent The Girls Next Door episode, the girls visited Alaska where Hefner's girlfriend Holly Madison is from.  After seeing all the beautiful Alaskan scenery, I started thinking about possibly going on an Alaska cruise tour.

Here are some beautiful photos of Alaska that I came across at Flickr... 

Posted by Maria Palma at 09:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

One of my life dreams is to get a RV and travel to every state in the U.S.  I imagine being one of those wandering traveling writers...especially when I hear about events such as Uptown Saturday Night in St. Augustine, Florida.

History lesson for the day:  St. Augustine is the Nation's Oldest City and was actually discovered even before the pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock!

However, what I find fascinating and one of the reasons I would visit is the unique St. Augustine shopping opportunities and being able to meet all the artists from that area.  I was looking at pictures of St. Augustine and saw many antique stores and art galleries that line the streets of this charming city.  It reminds me of San Diego in a way. 

I get a kick out of finding treasures for the home and giving them new life.  Before I got into painting and making jewelry I used to scour the thrift shops here in San Diego looking for milk glass and vases to create flower arrangements. 

Well, Uptown Saturday Night in St. Augustine is a huge event that takes place on the last Saturday of October and November.  We've already missed the Uptown event this past Saturday, but the next one will take place on November 24th.  Many of the shops will open houses where they serve wine and refreshments. 

St. Augustine has now been added to the list of cities to visit when I get that RV! 

Posted by Maria Palma at 09:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)