Seeing the light ...

Maya over at Completely Coastal sent me this photo of Castle Hill Lighthouse in Newport, Rhode Island. Beautiful! I've had a book in me about a lighthouse, so maybe this is a sign :-)

It looks like sunset to me, but could it be daybreak? Maybe Maya will pop in later and let us know.

Also wanted to announce that the winner of the 'small-talk' sign from juliesbeachshop.com is ... LAURA LANG. Congrats, Laura! Thanks to all who signed up for my occasional newsletter. Watch for fun exclusives in your inbox soon!

And have a beachy day, my friends ~ wherever you are :)

Here comes the judge ...

Remember back in school when the teacher would start a story with just one line? And as it went around the class room each student took a turn to add to it? Remember how funny they would get or how cool they would sound? Now it's available on a blog. Join in! Have some fun! Share your creativity!

That's the lead in to Tamara's Ad-Libbing Blog, and this week, she's holding a contest for the best lines that add to a story. Fun part for me is I get to judge :) Fun part for the winner? They'll receive $25 to Amazon (woot!)

So ... lots to win this week. Subscribe to my mailing list and you might receive a cool beach sign (see post below). Give ad-libbing a try and you might win bucks to Amazon.

On another note, our water heater blew out this weekend and the water's been so brrrr. But the plumbers are here now so woo-hoo, hot water is on its way. Off to grab a shower, and wash some dishes, and do the laundry ... ah, necessities!

I'll check in on the contests soon, though, so have f-u-n with those. And have a beachy day, my friends ~ wherever you are!

Happy Birthday to Me ...

and a gift for one of you! Sign up on my blog sidebar or website for my occasional newsletter and be entered to win this 'small talk' sign available in Julie's Beach Shop. This 8.5″ wide x 2.75" tall reads: May you always have a shell in your pocket & sand in your shoes.

Is that cute or what?!

This giveaway ends Wednesday, April 14 at noon 'cuz I'm getting ready to send out some news soon. If you're already a subscriber to my newsletter, THANKS and don't despair! I plan to offer more giveaways in the near future.

Have a beautiful and beachy Sunday, my friends ~ wherever you are :)

Caron's Beach Photo

Meet fellow beachcomber Caron, a Twitter friend and the author of the warm and happy Everything Coastal blog. She recently moved from the Pacific northwest to the Bay area of California and runs an online shop called Caron's Beach House with to-die-for coastal decor. Caron sent me this photo from a recent weekend visit to Stinson Beach, just north of San Francisco.

"I always think that kids are so wonderful to watch at the beach," she said, "No fear of the wave, the cold or the wet sand."

I totally agree, Caron. Thanks for sharing your photo with us!

spring break at the beach

So busy writing and traveling these days that I sort of forgot spring break started this week. Tons to do, and yet the weather has been warm and the kids are home, so we've taken advantage of the extra minutes away from school (and work for me). I posted one of these pics on my Facebook page yesterday from my visit to a friend-of-a-friend's beach pad in Carpinteria. Oh!...to move there forever. I think heaven'll have a view like this, don't you? :) Seriously, the photos just don't do justice to this quintessential beach cottage!

Ah, well. Couple of things for you today ~

SuperMom is giving away a copy of Sweet Waters via her blog, What You Reading Now? Stop by, peruse her blog, and leave a comment, and you might win a copy to read on the beach/lake/cruise/etc. this summer :)

Also, thanks to those who've sent their beach photos. I've got room for more, so keep 'em coming! Make sure to send me the link to your blog or website too so I can post that along with your photo. The first submission goes up this Friday.

In the meantime, have a beachy day, my friends ~ wherever you are!

Wanted: Your Beach Photos

The sun is out on the central coast, and it has inspired me to clean up my house and yard. Something about those warm rays of sunshine gets me motivated to throw on some flip flops and give my home a (loooong overdue) makeover. Okay, so far I've only gotten through one room, but at least it's a start!

But some bloggity friends live in areas where the sun's still playing hide and seek, so I thought it would be fun to inspire them from afar ... with YOUR photos. Have one you'd like to share with us? If you've been on a beach vacation or live near the water ... even a lake, feel free to send a snapshot to julie (at) juliecarobini (dot) com. Or maybe you're one of those still socked in by snow. If you have a picture from a beach trip, send it on. I'll do my best to post them between now and summer, along with a link to your blog.

Okay, I'll start. This is a pic from our recent trek to Santa Monica for my daughter's beach soccer tourney. I stood at the edge of the pier and snapped this shot north toward Malibu. GREAT weekend in So Cal!

Send me those pics! And have a beachy day, my friends ~ wherever you are :)

Halleluia

Enjoy your family, friends and blessings today.

Happy Easter!

up in the trees

Hey Friends! Spent a week in the beautiful northern California redwoods at Mt. Hermon. With so much to do at the writer's conference, I was thankful for all that fresh oxygen and easy-on-the-eyes scenery around me!

My mom, Elaine Navarro, and I shared a room that had a view of towering trees. Ahhhh! What I love about this area is that we're in the mountains, but the beach is a mere 10-15 min. drive away. Crazy, huh?

While I was away, SuperMom posted a review of Sweet Waters over at her What You Reading? blog. If you haven't had a chance to pick up my latest beach read, stop on over and leave a comment ~ you might win a copy, gratis!

Off to cook dinner for the fam. Have a beachy Friday, my friends, wherever you are :)

Writing with the fishies

I started this post DAYS ago, but mi familia has needed me extra lately, it seems. Preteen girl had a "Country Report" due today (A shout out to Rel of Relz Reviews who lives in Australia, my daughter's assigned country :). Another daughter has a wacky schedule, so I've been taxiing her a lot. And I've also been getting ready to head up to the Mt. Hermon Christian Writer's Conference tomorrow, a beautiful spot among the redwoods!

Excited about the conference, not only because I'll have the chance to hang with crazy writer-people like myself, but I also need a break from the chaos (read: worries, messy house, etc.). Seriously, I've begun to feel like those confused, crowded and manic fishies in the picture.

And although Mt. Hermon is on a mountaintop in Northern California, it's only a short drive to Santa Cruz beaches ... woot! Have a beachy weekend, my friends ~ wherever you are :) I'll post "celebrity sightings" as I can.

Closer to 'Shore' ...

What a delightful and heartwarming read! A Shore Thing is a beautiful book about family, friendship, love, commitment, keeping promises, faith, and hope. ~Tweezlereads.blogspot.com

Received the galley of A Shore Thing at 7:55 am. Woot ~ love the way B&H designed the pages. So far, pre-release reviews have been favorable (double woot :) Love the one above. Here's another nice one, recently posted by Carrie Padgett on her blog Chocolate, No Nuts.

By the way, this is a pic of my wily shelter pup, Charlie, the inspiration for the cover of A Shore Thing. And oh, yeah, I'm in the pic too ...

Have a beachy day, my friends ~ wherever you are :)

Sea Things

So yesterday I finished the draft of my 2011 release. Still not sure what we're titling it :) Then I ran across this picture that my daughter took last summer at the Denver Aquarium. See the open anemones there on the top left? The heroine in the book I just wrote develops an affection for the creatures. For research, I used a 20 page college term paper that I wrote on the anemone way back when :) Knew that paper would come in handy some day! Lol

Thumbs up

Had an icky morning and needed a laugh. And a trip to the beach. This cartoon provided both. Ha!

On another note, saw that Sweet Waters is down to 10.19 on Amazon today. Sweet price, if you're interested (cheaper for Kindle). A Shore Thing priced the same for now. Huzzah

Have a beachy Wednesday, my friends ~ wherever you are :-)

A bit of Italy in California ...

After the first day of beach soccer, we stopped by my brother and wifey's house in Venice. They live near the canals, which were created in the early 1900s to be reminiscent of Venice, Italy. My brother proposed on one of the bridges ~ oh so romantique! Until a few years ago, I'd never been there. And I grew up near LA so that's just weird. But now I've been to the canals twice, and love 'em. You can stroll along and say hello to people chillin' on their back decks. Very pricey area but also kind of understated and quiet.

Of course, just a few blocks away is Venice Beach. Which is anything but understated. For instance, a clown on stilts crossed a busy street in front of us, but I was in too much awe to snap a picture ... Lol

More on the Venice Canals.

Beach Soccer

Never been to a beach soccer event before, but pre-teen girl's team played in one today at Santa Monica beach. Sand spraying, players falling, soccer balls bouncing in weird directions ... super fun to watch (but brutal to play!) Had to put ice on pre-teen girl's bruised foot after two fast paced games.

Between games, some of the girls and my brother, Dan, from Venice took a couple of trips on the pier roller coaster. Great end to a stressful week!

Happy Sunday tomorrow ~ don't forget to move your clocks forward! More pics on Monday :-)

American Idol, the results

I chose this YouTube clip because it's all audio. Sweet kid, unique voice, not same ol'. So sorry Alex did not make it into the Top 12 (for the record, my teen daughter has promised never to watch AI again! :)

Hope he gets a record deal soon. We got this one wrong, America. Also sad to see Katelyn and Lilly go (what?!).

Happy Friday, my friends. Have a beachy weekend ~ wherever you are!

American Idol, the Guys

I've gotta say, the guys sang better last night than I'd predicted. My faves: Aaron, Tim, Casey and (this one's for you, Ang) Alex. I know Big Mike got the kudos of the night ~ Kara sobbed ~ but it didn't move me that much. Fickle, fickle, I know, but I'm on the receiving end of such fickleness sometimes myself. One reviewer will say that a book I wrote touched them deeply, while another will say they didn't get the story at all. Go figure.

Honestly, I've no idea who'll be out tonight. I'd have to guess maybe Andrew and Todrick. Andrew got slammed by the judges and Todrick is seen more as a musical theater performer/dancer. Tough night for anyone to leave considering the remaining contestants will be in the Top 12.

I'll probably watch from Twitterland. Maybe I'll see you there? :-)

American Idol, the Girls

Favorites from American Idol last night: Didi, Crystal, and Siobhan. Liked Katelyn and Lacey too. Btw, does anyone else think Ryan has a crush on Katelyn? Seems obvious to me, but I'm writing a romance right now so maybe I'm over thinking the way he looks at her just a beat longer than the others... Lol

Who do you think'll go? Hmm ... if I had to guess I'd say Katie and Paige.

Okay, I couldn't help putting up this pic of Danny Gokey doing the white man's overbite. Such a cutey patooty he is. Last year I wrote an article about Danny comin' to Ventura. If you missed it, you can find it at this link.

Off to work (and more coffee!). Have a beachy day, my friends, and don't forget: the guys sing tonight!

The busy season

Look closely and you'll see the ocean shimmering beneath that ominous cloud. Pre-teen girl had a couple of soccer scrimmages in Malibu over the weekend and she played early to beat the rain. That's the view from the soccer field at Malibu High. Nice, huh?

Life's been crazy-crazy busy lately, more so than I like. We all have our seasons of that, and this seems to be mine. I could've skipped the soccer match and stayed behind to work, but something about driving along PCH on a drizzly day drew me. Teen daughter and I watched my girlie play soccer while huddled beneath a wool blanket, then we left just as the first few drops fell. We stopped for coffee in the Trancas area, then enjoyed the ride along the coast (thanks, hubby :)

Today, it's back to work! How about you? Did you get the chance to enjoy the weekend, even if only for a little while? Maybe a little Oscar party or something? Lol Hope so!

Have a beachy day, my friends ~ wherever you are!

Tsunami watch

Had a little excitement in Ventura over the weekend. That's me on the left with my friend, Angel, watching her boat dock float away. The earthquake across the world in Chile sent water surging through the Ventura harbor, wreaking havoc on more than a dozen boat docks attached to homes. Such a bummer, but no lives hurt or lost, so that's the good news. By the way, to the news helicopter pilot buzzing the beach area early Sunday morning, may you soon be awakened by the sharp call of an air horn in your ears...

AI says goodbye and a beach break!

Sad to see Joe an Janelle go, since both have nice chops, but wasn't surprised about the other two. Although I have to say, Tyler in a bathrobe and short boots make good television...Fox'll probably lose a few Nielson points for letting the 70s throwback go. Btw, Kris Allen's getting better and better, don't you think?

On to other things...

Yesterday I got super STUCK on the novel I'm writing. Unusual since I'm nearing the end and this is the spot when, normally, I'd race to the finish. But there's been a lot going on in our family lately, plus a cold last week, and I think my brain had all it could take. So yesterday afternoon, I threw on sweats and running shoes and hit the beach. Only for a little while, but woo-hoo, it opened things up for me. I realized that sitting alone in this tiny office every day doesn't exactly dredge up incredible creativity. Other than text messages with my kids all the livelong day ;), I was beginning to feel closed in and unimaginative.

But all that ocean spray awoke my senses. I watched waves crest like jade walls and fat plover skitter at my feet and the tide wash over glittery, smooth rocks. Ahhhh! It was good to get out of this office and go somewhere other than the grocery store and my kids' schools.

Here's hoping YOU can find a way to take a break at one of your favorite spots. Have a beachy weekend, my friends ~ wherever you are :-)