With all the coastline we have in California, almost 1000 miles (and really it's more than 3,000 if you count all the insies and outsies of the coastline) you would think there would be lots and lots of houses right on the beach, right?  But no, there are not all that many.  There are many houses with water views because of the mountain ranges that hug our coast, but beach houses on the sand are rare.  So if you have a house on the beach, well then, it almost has to be a beach party house.  Because a beach party at a California beach house is really the best kind of party.

Our friends have a beach house in Santa Cruz County and always find the time to have a few beach parties a year.  They love opening their house on July 4th (America's Independence Day) for their first big party of the year.  They are very generous hosts and their guests are blissfully unaware of the window washing, patio cleaning, furniture scrubbing and plant pruning, not to mention the cooking that has been going on non stop the week before.  We are all just happy to attend and enjoy the sun, the sea, the friends and the food.

The day was blue, bright and crisp, just a perfect northern California beach day.  There we were, with smiles on our faces and wine glasses in our hands, cool sand under our feet, music in our ears, views, bonfires, fireworks and s'mores, pure heaven.























A few things of note:

Just before dusk, a huge flock of at least 20,000 plus shearwater birds put on quite a show.  They are a type of long lived seabird that migrates great distances and might have been on their way to New Zealand!  They were flying low and feeding most likely on a swarm of anchovies.  The show went on up and down the coast for what seemed like an hour.  Amazing gift to see that, I could barely take my eyes away.

Also, I took a beach walk with a lovely woman whom I'd never met.  I asked her how she knew our hosts and she said she met them through Manresa, a fabulous restaurant in our area for which she supplies the vegetables.  I gasped, "So you are THE Cynthia Sandberg of Love Apple Farms?"  She laughed at that but she is a bit of a celebrity around here if you are a gardener like me.  She has a large farm in the Santa Cruz Mountains and practices biodynamic farming and of course is completely organic and sustainable.  My husband and I plan on visiting her farm and I'll make sure I post about it.

The band was The Wild West Show.  So good, so fun, a blend of country rock and blues. We loved them. 




It won't surprise you to know that both hosts are fantastic cooks.  One day I'll have to post about their home garden, bee hives and poulet palace!  Casey posts her favorite recipes on her new Facebook page, Recipe Repetoire.  I especially loved her smoked trout pate.

Hey!  We haven't gone to a dinner party in a long time have we?  Well, let's put on a little lipstick and one of our prettiest sweaters because Kathy and Lee have invited us over!  It's always FUN to go to their house.  We have had plenty of laughs with this fun couple and some of my funniest memories are when we've been with them.  Kathy rolls her eyes when I tell this story, but I can't help it.  Once when we were clothes shopping together the sales lady ran up to her and begged her to try on their new leggings, because she would look perfect in them, she being tall and beautiful and all.  Kathy's response?  "No, I really can't wear those, my legs are just too long and thin."  Don't worry, I gave her a good slap for that one.  Being somewhat vertically challenged I cannot imagine that legs could ever be too long or thin.  Ahem.

Well, on to the evening!  The table was so pretty set with their collection of Vietri Campagna.  I have another friend who owns this set too and the table really looks best when you mix and match the patterns up.  This is an old pattern and has been in production in Italy for hundreds of years. 

I love a big bay window behind the kitchen sink.  Plenty of room for pretty flowers and plants.