Theatre of Dreams

Magic.
It's what Christmas is made of...it's that feeling of excitement and wonder you have as a child when you're waiting in line to tell Santa what you want for Christmas or when the lights on the Christmas tree are lit each night.  I think the older you get the harder it is to feel that childlike magic.
That being said, I did something this past weekend that I have always wanted to do.  Something very magical...just for me.   A friend and I took the drive up to the Bay area to Wendy Addison's "Theatre of Dreams" Christmas Open House.  Talk about a little slice of heaven...where glitter and stars and whimsical creatures all live together in a magically enchanting little shop with Wendy presiding as the keeper of all extraordinary things.
Wendy's studio and shop can be found in the tiny secret town of Port Costa, California.  The once bustling port town is now quiet and serene with about 200 residents, 2 restaurants and one hotel, The Burlington (which looked like it may fall down at any minute).  We arrived in Port Costa about 20 minutes before the shop opened and even though it was lightly raining my friend and I wondered up the street snapping some pictures of the old buildings, some built in the 1800's (that's old for us here in CA).  I thought I would share some of the pictures with you before I take you into the shop.

Wonder what happened to number 17?

The chic restaurant in town, Bull Valley Roadhouse was closed since we were there at 10am but the menu in the window sounded fabulous.  Looks like they open at 5 for cocktails and 6 for dinner, Thursday through Sunday.

Across the street from Bull Valley Roadhouse and next door to Theatre of Dreams was this sign, You Are Here...I thought, "you're right, I am".

Just 10 more minutes...snap a few pictures, peer into the windows, feel your heart race just a bit.

And then Wendy Addison herself pokes her head out the front door and says, "please, come in from the cold".

I am never going to be able to tell you how incredible the shop was with the soft lights, lit candles and abundance of silver glass glitter.  So I will just say it was everything I expected it to be.  It was one of those places where you have to look up, down, under, and in to try and grasp all of Wendy's beautiful pieces.

Oh, if my budget would have allowed it, I might have gone home with this beautiful angel Santos holding a glittered egg. 
The giant glittered star you can see on the left is a tree topper.

I love these giant scissors hanging from the ceiling.

So many things I am seeing in the pictures that I might have missed in person.  I don't think I even noticed there was a blackboard on the wall behind the display cabinet.

Well, that is my short tour of this magical shop.  I hope if you live in the Bay area (and even if you don't, like me) you will find the time to take the drive out to Port Costa.   It may be off the beaten path but sometimes, just sometimes it take a bit of effort to find someplace so magical.  If you can't go this year put it on your list for 2013, you won't be sorry.
Here are a few of the special pieces I purchased from Wendy...

Theater of Dreams is open 3 more times before Christmas

Friday and Saturday the 7th and 8th

Friday and Saturday the 14th and 15th

Friday and Saturday the 21st and 22nd

10am to 4pm

Theatre of Dreams

11 Canyon Lake Dr.
Port Costa, CA 94569
(510) 787-2164

On a fun side note, I am participating in Ellen Hutson's 12 Tags of Christmas with a feminine twist.  Since Tim made the change this year to do one tag per month, instead of 12 in December (btw, I love that change).  Ellen is filling in by having 12 ladies share a Christmas tag from the 1st to the 12th.  We are already on day 3 so if you follow the link you can see the first 3, then stop by to see the rest as they are revealed each day.   Leave a comment each day to win a 25$ gift certificate.  

Ellen is also sponsoring a challenge...post a tag of your own, inspired by one of the 12 tags and be eligible for a $150 gift certificate (read about it in the CLASSroom).  That sounds mighty good to me.

December 1 - Sharon Harnist
December 2 - Claudine Hellmuth
December 3 - Julie Ebersole
December 4 - Jennifer McGuire
December 5 - Kittie Caracciolo
December 6 - Teri Anderson
December 7 - Julia Stainton
December 8 - Kelly Marie Alveraz
December 9 - Paula Cheney
December 10 - Maile Belles
December 11 - Carolyn Peeler
December 12 - Ellen Hutson

cheers!

paula