christmas begins in corona del mar, california

Since I began blogging, I read a lot of home blogs. Around this time of year, the "shelter" bloggers break out their Christmas posts. Immediately after Thanksgiving, there is post after post of beautiful Christmas homes. It seems like they snap their fingers and voila! It's Christmas.

I have to ease into it and I can't be the only one. (Yes, we really do have a dolphin door knocker. It came with the house.)

Orange County Fair #2: Furniture at the Fair

Next to the food at the fair, the best part to me is the competitions (I know you thought I was going to say tattoos but I will get to that later). I think it is cool that at country fairs all over the country, people enter items in contests. And, the contests run the gamut, from food, to crafts, to agriculture. I like the welcome statement on the competitions page, "For 123 years artists, craftspeople, farmers and youth have entered competitions at the OC Fair. In 2012, the spirit of competition is alive and strong in Orange County."

I am a bit of a furniture-a-holic, so the very first stop I made was the woodworking competition. Here are my top ten picks, and all of them are distinctly modern, presented here in order of traveling through the exhibit (almost like you are there).

#1. This wonderful Nakashima-inspired chair handmade by Tyler Smutz of Killstress Designs (get the play on words kill-stress) is one of my favorite pieces because of the unique two legs. If the maker is this Tyler Smutz he is also a Broadway set carpenter, what are the odds? 

Tyler Smutz Chair

Orange County Fair #1: Food at the Fair

I have a love-hate relationship with the Orange County Fair. I hate all the bizarre food, the crush of the great tattooed masses and the general dirt and noise. And, honestly, I love it. What could be more mid-century than a county fair?

I bring to you a series of posts about the fair. You will feel like you are almost there. The first post is about the food. A true fair person would have eaten the food and told you how fantastic it is, but alas, I can only show you what looks interesting. I am just a tiny bit afraid of fair food. If this gets you REALLY hungry, the fair is running July 13-August 12. You can try it for yourself.

On A Thursday night, people filling up the picnic tables for Fair food.