Growing up on a small island in SE Alaska, I spent my girlhood playing on & under the fishing docks and combing beaches... crafting my own little mansions from soggy wood, rocks & moss  and my play food from mussels & bull kelp.

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Donning seaweed crowns, my girlfriends & I were  enchanting mermaids , adorning ourselves with whatever finery we could fashion from the beach and embarked on make believe adventures far across the sea...

 

MANY YEARS LATER, MY LIFE HAS EVOLVED TO REFLECT MUCH FROM THOSE EARLY YEARS OF CHILD PLAY:

             

A sense of adventure & deep-seated need to create brought me to a place where the things I loved back then are what my life is about today, but in a big-girl way! 

 

I''ve done a few kinda crazy things along the way... like catering a large wedding from a travel trailer (no one had an inkling we'd just sold our property & I no longer had my big kitchen to work from). I told my husband to just shoot me if I ever tried to do something like that again! Another time, I found & went on to buy a dilapitated old seaside motel when my husband just stopped for gas(or so he thought!)  on the Oregon Coast. That's another story... but, really, it was the fearless "siren of the sea" in me merely following dreams and possibilities...

            

A PASSION FOR HOUSES!

Designing living spaces that are functional, personal & beautiful

 

My 1st grade report entitled "My Story", after drawings of my family & cherished dog Blondie, includes a floor plan I drew (6-yr-old style) of the house I would someday have! I don't remember drawing it, but it's interesting  that even at that young age, I just naturally included a house plan.  (I became a wanna-be architect, however outsourcing to certified draftsmen & licensed enginerrs served me quite well.) 

         

My fun with home design includes 15+ homes we built and/or remodeled, our 2 casas in Mexico , the transformation of a run-down Oregon coastal motel into a lovely boutique inn,  a stunnung Nantucket retreat & wedding venue on ocean cliffs, the design & creation of a trendy tropical restaurant just north of Puerto Vallarta, & design work for clients who were building new homes. ncluding my latest project of turning one into a duplex, with a fun & artsy view apartment above Marina

Creating & appointing  vacation homes guests love to return to is great, but they good friends that many of them have become is the true "icing on the cake"!  Be sure to click on my HOUSES link, then click on the houses to see lots of photos & how to rent one of them!

 

EXOTIC FAR-AWAY PLACES:

Those imaginary trips spurred a wunderlust that took us "south of the border"... down Mexico way, to be exact! 

 

I took an  impromtu trip to Puerto Vallarta with my Dad in 1995, fell instantly in love & my husband didn't put up much of a fight! ... Nine months later, we were the delighted if not a little surprised owners of Casa Susana... our own  home in a foreigh country.

 

 We've wintered in La Cruz de Hunacaxtle, Nayarit for 22 years, hosting  guests at  Casa Susana and Casa kaeli.  Read about our fun adventrues in my Mexico Blog. If you've dreamed of living "in paradise"... we need to talk!

 

CREATING FEASTS:

Friends & food, what memories are made of them!  

 

My son once said, "My mom is the only person I know who can make a gourmet meal from an empty refrigerator!"  I love to create yummy dishes from whatever's on hand...  I do wonder though, would I "freeze up" & blow it if I were ever on "Chopped"??

 

We've been very blessed "foodies"... from the succulent fresh seafood we took for granted in Alaska... to hosting gourmet seaside weddings on the Oregon Coast, featuring the fresh bounty of that State... to enjoying our casas' guests as they first  experience the magica romantica of leisurely dining "al fresco" under tropical starry skies!   

 we took for granted in Alaska

Mexico's wonderful flavors inspired some nice adaptions to our favorite pacfic northwest dishes! SalsaSuzy's Palapa Parties (a recipe book of sorts) is in the works;  I'll  be posting a few entries from it on my blog.  I just can't resist photographing  beautiful food, so there's that too...

 

​ SPARKLING SEA GLASS & OTHER SHINY THINGS !  

I discovered kiln-fired glass and knew I'd found my creative "home". 

 

Take a look at my "Sirena's del Mar", fun & funky, yet rather exquisite  glass & mixed media  damsels of the sea (mermaids).  Made of hand cut kiln-formed glass, metal, vintage jewelry & bits of seaweed, they are my adult version of playing with bits of pretty things on the beach.  You'll find other beautiful pieces on my online store as well:  things for dining & wining, sushi servers and artsy specialty items that bring more joy to your everyday living. 

 

NEVER STOP ADVENTURING...

my newest discovery, painting in acrylics.

 

In 2016, a few girlfriends and I  went to a DIY painting class in Bucerias, Nayarit. We had so much fun that we've  made it a twice-a-week affair and paint our little hearts out in a fun open-air  gallery on the popular "art walk" street. Very talented artisit Michael Carlisle and his wife Floydilou (FloyJoy Gallery) are inspirational artists/gallery hosts/encouragers; indeed because of their generous and open, fun-loving spirits I can now say I'm an internationally-exhibited gallery artist now!! LOL.  

 

Don't pass up the chance to try something new! For me, this time it was picking up a paintbrush. Who knows what it might be for you?? 

 

DoonLas   

 

                   

 

 

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            My heart belongs to my biggest blessings, beautiful artistry in human form:

              our nine grandchildren:  Gavin, Maddox, Ava, Eden, Maryn, Trey,  Xander,

              Trent and Kaeli. They inspire & delight me in so many ways, and make life richer.  

                                    I can't wait to see where all their dreams take them!

            

       

person I know who can make a gourmet meal from an empty refrigerator."  I

Mosne