MIXTURE: CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'

So happy I found Mixture, San Diego's inspiring modern and colorful furniture and accessories shop. It's definitely a must stop for my next visit down south!

According to their website, "Located in a 1940's 2-story, brick warehouse in San Diego's trendy North Little Italy area, Mixture is a modern and contemporary home furnishings and accessories store that blends playful accent pieces with high-style design elements. Many of the products carried are hard-to-find lines, exclusive to mixture. They offer interior design services, original art, furniture, accessories and gifts.

The goal of mixture is to create a fun, friendly, service-oriented environment that takes the intimidation out of modern furniture/gift shopping and features an ever-changing inventory. Developed to take a young and fresh approach to contemporary and modern design, Mixture exudes a relaxed atmosphere, one that welcomes questions and thrives on educating customers on modern design."

BOTANICAL ART

Though my focus is definitely on bright shops selling colorful design, in honor of the beginning of summer I wanted to showcase the bold outdoors.  We discovered these slightly strange succulent topiaries at the walled garden of the San Diego Botanical Garden. Quirky and fun, they are actually pretty brilliant. Who doesn't like a costume made out of sculptural plants? Playing on floral guitars and wearing hats brimming with succulents, it's quite the festive group.

SAN DIEGO: SHADES OF GREEN

Got the chance to see the San Diego Botanical Garden on our trip down south. Botanical gardens are my favorite places to to visit and I truly can't get enough plant photos. It became a running joke that I had to photograph every single leaf, but sadly that wasn't too off the mark. See my Huntington garden visit here and my Clementine shop photos here. Flowers are always my favorite subjects for painting and for shooting, and these leaves were especially sculptural and vibrant. My new lens was pretty fun to try out too.

ANTHROPOLOGIE: BEAUTIFUL DETAILS

A few of my favorite details from the Chelsea Anthropologie, from coin purses to table napkins.

BOLD PATTERNS: SUMMER NAVY