counting down the good times

Over the past 20 months my blogging adventures have 
happily and photogenically coincided with my Derya adventures

so many of our good times together have been recorded for posterity

here Derya as my Etsy Valentine
here Derya as my craft show accomplice
and here Derya as my all time favorite jewelry artist


Last night we headed out to Santa Ana Artist Colony's' First Night
which was a dual Dia de los Muertos celebration as well
There was LOTS of good art being exhibited last night
here are just a few of my favorites

having only my cell phone camera to record the festivities
I wasn't really able to do justice to the Day of the Dead
altars and displays and amazing makeup
but here is my best shot at giving you a little taste

there were some amazing altar pieces the one above was in remembrance
of Johnny Cash but there were many moving personal tributes
to friends and family members
Mexican culture is very strong here in Southern California
 last nights festivities made me really curious about 
the history and meaning Day of the Dead rituals
if you're curious too check out this
article on Wikipedia 

it was a lovely evening which ended with Asian Pear Martini's
sipped while sitting around the fire-pit at the Lazy Dog Cafe
lovely and bitter sweet
because in a few short weeks 
Derya and Soner are moving to
Salt Lake City
they're move is all good news
new job house hunting and adventures galore
 which is wonderful for them
but kind of SUCKS for us
Derya and Soner are that very special and rare couple combination
they work perfectly both individually and as a pair
James and I have been lucky to have their friendship
and we will both miss them very very much
seriously...