Ricki Jill

Showing posts with label Tales of the Traveling Totes. Show all posts

Hello, My Lovelies! Welcome to another Tales of the Traveling Tote post!

This might be the worst post ever photo-wise because I was on Grandma Duty for our family trip to the beach!

I have so many fond memories of taking our girls to the beaches of 30-A Florida. I can remember visiting as a girl before Seaside existed, when it was Grayton Beach and Santa Rosa Beach. Seaside was established when I was in college, and our first trip as a family to Seaside was when Shanley Belle was one year old.

Now it's time for another generation to discover the beauty of this area of Florida.

Shanley Belle, Christopher, and our Little Starling flew down from Detroit last month and met us at the beach. Of course I was in heaven because I got to do alllllll the Grandma Things, including babysit while Mom and Dad had dates. That's the main reason that I didn't take many photos because I was too busy! Also, Shanley and Christopher don't want any photos of Starling on the Internet, and I don't blame them.

But she is so cute. You will have to take my word for it! She has the best features of both her parents, and she might even be a redhead. The jury is still out on that one!

Below I'll share a few photos from our trip with captions.

This is a very famous view of Western Lake with the strand of pine trees in the distance.

It has inspired many artists, and we have a small watercolor of this view in our home.

We had only one rainy day the entire week we were there. We were lucky, and the weather was also unseasonably cool.

On the rainy day we took a drive to Rosemary Beach and did a little shopping. Shanley and I always enjoy shopping at indie bookstores when we travel.

This is the post office at Seaside. The flag is at half-staff in honor of Dolly Parton.

La Countess de Monet would've been very upset if I hadn't taken her to my mothership, Sun Dog Books. I didn't buy many books for myself, but I purchased several for Starling.

We've been eating at Pickles since forever. It was one of the first businesses in Seaside.

A view of the beach from the Watercolor Beach Club.

My daughters and I discovered the neatest shop in Seaside called Poeta.

It was the shopping hit of the trip.

Everything in the shop was quilted, and the fabric patterns were so cute.

I purchased a nice pencil case for my art class and a journal.

I also purchased this adorable bracelet because of course I did!

I will cherish the memories from our trip, and I hope that there will be many more in our future with Little Starling.

Please visit the other participants' posts. I promise they will have more and better photos!

Debbie with Miss Aurora @ Mountain Breaths

Emily with Miss Courtney Childs@ The French Hutch

Patti with Miss Kenzie @ Pandora's Box

Linda P with Miss Lola @ Life and Linda

Rita with Miss Luna C @ Panoply

Sarah with Miss Merri Mac @ Hyacinths for the Soul

Jackie and Miss Madi K @ Purple Chocolat Home

Ricki Jill and Countess De Monet @ The Sketchy Reader (You're here!)

Join us in January for fall and early winter adventures!

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill

Tales of the Traveling Tote: Florida's 30-A Beaches

Tuesday, September 15, 2026

Hello, My Lovelies! It is with deep sadness that I write today's Tales of the Traveling Tote post.

Our beloved Jenna Meon from The Painted Apron blog has passed away. She was a very sweet friend to me and a fellow artist. I was fortunate to know her not only virtually, but in real life. I enjoyed getting to know her, and I am missing her so much.

Jenna, Emily from The French Hutch Blog, and I enjoyed getting together and do the "ladies who lunch" thing.

The top photo is at the carousel at the Galleria.

The Christmas tree at the Grand Bohemian has our totes nestled underneath

The last photo is a picture of Jenna and Emily in Jenna's backyard.

This is a photo of my mug at Jenna's house. I took it for the "Where in the world is...." post that we Traveling Totes ladies shared in 2019. Emily and I traveled to Jenna's house!

These are a few of Jenna's colored pencils and alcohol markers that I took at her house.

Here are three things that I want you to know about Jenna:

1. She was kind, and she was an encourager. Jenna was very thoughtful, and she liked to share. She cared and listened to me during trying times. I also loved how she encouraged me in my pursuit of art.

2. She was a gifted artist. Not only did Jenna and I have collecting MacKenzie-Childs in common, we also had art in common. I will miss her Fearless Friday art posts, and it's fitting that her last post on October 17 was a Fearless Friday post.... and it was about wine!

3. She had a wicked sense of humor. She made me laugh, and this year especially as I've faced challenges with caring for my mother. She always wanted the "tea" when I visited her, and her commentary was always laugh-out-loud funny.

The last time I saw Jenna was in September, and I was telling her all about my art teacher's opening reception for her show at the Canary Gallery in downtown Birmingham. This was probably our last conversation, actually. Jenna would probably want me to share it with y'all because she was always all about sharing art.

My sweet and beautiful art teacher Dori

The opening reception was a huge success, and there were lots of people in attendance. The gallery also sold several of Dori's paintings. Dori also taught a creativity workshop at the gallery in October in conjunction with her exhibition. I attended it with a friend of mine, and we had so much fun!

I know that Jenna would roll her eyes at this post (except for the part about Dori's opening reception). She would tell me to stop it and go make some art.

And I will do that today in honor of Jenna.

Please make sure you visit the other blogs in today's hop and enter our giveaway.

Debbie with Miss Aurora @ Mountain Breaths

Linda P with Miss Lola @ Life and Linda

Patti with Miss Kenzie @ Pandora's Box

Rita with Miss Luna C @ Panoply

Sarah with Miss Merri Mac @ Hyacinths for the Soul

Jackie and Miss Madi K @ Purple Chocolat Home

Ricki Jill and Countess De Monet @ The Bookish Dilettante

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill

Tales of the Traveling Tote: In Memoriam

Monday, December 1, 2025

Happy Monday, My Lovelies! For this edition of the Tales of the Traveling Tote, I'll be sharing what I've been doing while under medical martial law.

Tales of the Traveling Tote: Surviving the Lockdown

Monday, June 1, 2020

Happy March, My Lovelies!

Welcome to another Tales of the Traveling Tote post. We have been in Alabama since my last post in December, enjoying the holidays with family and friends, and preparing for Shanley Belle and Christopher's wedding. I'm working on a couple of lengthy posts about the wedding, and I'm waiting for the rest of the photos from our wedding photographer. Stay tuned!

Photo by Chrissy Rae Photography

Although I haven't traveled out of town, I have managed a field trip or two. Today I'm sharing the Vintage Market Days event here in Birmingham. It was my first visit, and honestly I was a little underwhelmed overall. There was one vendor I really loved, and a couple of others I liked. I could've skipped the rest of it. Most of the vendors were selling items not to my taste. But the market did have a wide variety of items, including several booths with vintage clothing. I left La Countess de Monet in the car because I took in my camera and case. It was crowded, so I'm happy I left her safely in the car.

Below I'll share with you a few of my favorites. They include: spool and button crafts; pretty bottle crafts; quilted runners; pretty shabby chic lampshades; antique bottles; antique milk glass; architectural antiques; prints; and dough bowls. I bought a couple of items for Christopher and Shanley Belle's adorable little Tudor cottage (I'll share at a later date). I regret not buying a quilted runner for myself, and I am absolutely inspired by the botanical/zoological prints. I want to draw and make a few of my own!