JOOLZ april newsletter just published

Take a look at our April newsletter, full of news and pics of lots of joolz.

legoland!

After all the walking we did on Saturday and a good night's sleep, we were ready to check out of the hotel and head north to Carlsbad, home of Legoland. Like most young boys, Q is absolutely enamoured of legos. He asked Nana, Poppy and Santa for legos for Christmas, and all came through.

He's been to Legoland several times but that didn't damper the excitement. He was rarin' to go!

We were quite surprised that on a Sunday, during school vacation week in San Diego, the crowds were very reasonable and there were minimal wait times for the rides.

Our first ride was a boat cruise through the park. Some of the lego structures are visible only from the water and the ride gave us an overall look at the park:

The Sydney Opera House overlooked the water:

Disregarding time zones, we soon passed the Eiffel Tower:

And then it was on to Times Square. Hometown favorite Kodak was right there:

You can get a sense of scale with the woman standing behind the Capitol Building. Remember, every single structure is made only of legos:

Before going off to ride on some roller coasters and other water-enhanced rides, we had to see the brand new Star Wars exhibit. Opened only a few days before, with Carrie Fisher cutting the ribbon, the Star Wars section of Legoland had both little boys and their fathers in Star Wars heaven. Q was greeted by R2D2, Chewbacca and Darth Vader, all made of legos:

This Clone Turbo Tank was just like the one Q got for Christmas, except on steroids. Notice how the tank has made tracks in the sand and has sand on its wheels. The constructors think of every detail:

It was hard to say goodbye to Legoland but it was time to return to LA. We took Route 1 north so that we could drive through all the beach towns, had a nice dinner at a Greek restaurant in Long Beach and got back home safely, tired but happy. Nana had a great time!

I flew to Denver the next day to visit with our other daughter and her husband and had my first view of Katie looking pregnant. What a trip!

quality nana time

Quality "Nana Time" is hard to come by when your grandchild lives on the other side of the country in LA. And when you own a business and really need to be there, it's a major decision to leave for a week to "play". But I did. And it was great!

One of 5-year-old Q's favorite places is San Diego, with all its wonderful theme parks, animal kingdoms and zoos. Off we went on Friday afternoon, avoiding most of the rush hour traffic. Saturday morning was bright, sunny and chilly. I was ready for high 70's, but the temps were in the 40's. Despite that, Q went swimming in the hotel's outdoor pool after breakfast. His lips turned blue but he smiled the whole time.

After warming him up (and us, too), we took off for beautiiful Balboa Park. Q was ready for action and immediately climbed the nearest tree:

Then we were off to explore the park and its many museums:

This guy was making balloon creatures and Q really wanted a Hulk balloon:

Nana caved:

The orchids in the botanic gardens were magnificent:

We left culture and sophistication behind when we took off for Sea World. The dolphin show highlighted both the dolphins and their trainers:

and was followed by the Shamu show in another arena, currently undergoing massive renovation:

After hours and hours of walking, it was time to go back to the hotel to put our (my) feet up. Next stop...Legoland!

prime real estate

In today's real estate world, it's definitely a buyer's market. How about a buyer getting the building lot for free? Even better.

We left our Christmas wreath up while we were away and came home to find the beginnings of a nest within the wreath. With a fake cardinal standing guard, a real sparrow has finished building his dream house on this free lot. Now he perches on the porch railing and tweets for a honey to come join him in real estate heaven:

wear your veggies!

Most of us receive a gazillion catalogs in the mail, especially before the holidays. Many of them I toss without even looking at the first page, but others draw me in. Several months ago I opened a small catalog featuring handcrafted items...and discovered something so unique I needed to learn more. There were pictures of cuff bracelets - made of vegetables! And they were stunning. Completely unique. Environmentally friendly. Gorgeous. Good conversation pieces. JOOLZ material. I contacted the artist, Margaret Dorfman of Oakland, CA, and placed an initial order. The box marked "fragile", but not "perishable", arrived yesterday. Inside were veggies like you have never seen them before:

This is a 22" necklace made of slices of Thai green papaya. Margaret cuts the fresh fruits and veggies (over 40 different varieties) with an old fashioned slicer and super-sharp knives. Next the slices are cured, dried, pressed and aged in a 10-14 day process.

The slices are then fused to copper disks and finished with a non-toxic, water-resistant clear coat before being fashioned into necklaces and earrings.

The 18" necklace below features small disks of many different fruits and vegetables:

The colors and veins apparent in the pieces are not dyed or in any way color-enhanced. This cuff bracelet, one of 3 we currently have in stock, is made from slices of Mexican papaya:

Another show-stopper is this articulated necklace made of crimson-colored fruits and veggies:

Earrings can coordinate with the necklaces. These are made from blue cabbage and beets:

This Thursday, April 7, I am off to visit my daughter and grandson in LA. Marnie is a naturopathic doctor and her clinic is hosting a medispa from 5-9pm that evening. She asked if JOOLZ would like to have a trunk show as part of their evening event. I immediately thought of Margaret Dorfman's "healthy" jewelry. She's on board, and will be sending a shipment of delicious vegetable parchment joolz to LA for the event. If you're in the area, please stop in:

Balance Westside Wellness

11340 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 301

Los Angeles, CA 90064

See you in LA!

christmas in april

It's Christmas in April at JOOLZ! My many hours spent looking for new work to bring in for our spring/summer season came to fruition today with the arrival of several packages of delicious new goodies. We are adding a number of new artists to the fold, two of whom are shown here:

Jill O'Reilly, from Lexington, MA, has been making updated-classic sterling silver jewelry for a number of years. I first met Jill in Las Vegas 2 years ago and have been waiting for the opportunity to bring in her work. Her cuff bracelets can be carefully adjusted to fit just about any wrist size and her workmanship is superb. We have these and several other bracelets, along with some great-looking post earrings:

sterling 5-band bracelet

sterling cuff with gold-filled wrap

sterling cuff with sterling wrap

Also placed on display today were these fun pendant necklaces by Zillah, WA artist Cheryl Myers. Cheryl takes commonly-seen road and construction signs and makes them into resin and metal pendants on silver chains. Fun to buy, fun to wear, fun to start folks talking. (Cousin Leslee, this bike route pendant has your name on it).

And watch out that you don't get shocked by the high voltage!

The UPS guy dropped off two other packages this afternoon. The Christmas in April fashion show will contnue as soon as I shoot some more pix.

off to "the ding"

One of our favorite things to do while on vacation in Sanibel is to visit the J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. We try to plan our visits to coincide with low tide, and a low tide near sunset is even better. The many permanent-resident and migratory birds fly in to feed on the exposed sandbars and then nestle into the branches of the mangroves to roost for the night.



I caught a shot of this large, white beauty flying toward me:

and was delighted when it came to rest nearby.

We drove along the shell-packed road at under the 15mph speed limit, stopping frequently to take pictures of the birds enjoying their dinner-time. The sun was setting in the west and it was time to return home. Another beautiful day in paradise.