update on the firestorm.

I went to bed last night at 3:30am after catching up on my Grey's Anatomy with the excitement that I would be waking up the next morning with an exciting trip to LA to visit the Felt Club and Ghetto Gloss' Silverlake Art & Vintage Show. Within an hour, my plans for the day had completely changed. At 4:30am, I got a knock at my door from my mom telling me that the fire was closer.

Yesterday, all we saw were heaps of black smoke stirring up into the sky from the mountains across from us. But when I woke up at 4:30am this morning, spurts of blazing fire were visible from our house. And it only called to deal with the idea of a mandatory evacuation as a likely reality.

We spent the next couple hours packing our cars with more necessities, and waited until the sun came up. When it did two hours later, the sky looked clearer but before we knew it, more smoke was looming over The Country Estates, and we were put under a mandatory evacuation. We got out of Diamond Bar at around 8am this morning, and we are all staying at my aunt's house in Hacienda Heights.

We've basically spent all morning watching the news with all the stations focusing on the fires in our city and with our housing community constantly being labeled as "in danger." And even though the fire was within a mile of affecting the houses on our street, the fire has so far been under control thanks to our dedicated fire fighters. Eight hours later, we are still hearing the positive news that no houses in Diamond Bar have been affected.

Let's just hope it stays this way until this is all over.
And boy, do I hope it will be over soon.

To all other Southern Californians affected by the firestorms, please be careful and take of yourself and your family members. You will be in my thoughts as well.

xoxo,
Steppie

P.S. An awesome photographer, former coordinator, and awesome friend Louis Trinh of Tikko Studios has amazing photos of the fire that affected his city of Chino Hills. I'm glad to hear him and his family are safe, and I recommend you take a look at his blog.

difficult times.

It's a bit crazy on the home-front...
If you're not aware, there's been a firestorm that has been spreading like... well, wildfire in the Los Angeles and Orange County area. One of the areas that has been affected is the city of Brea, which is a very close neighboring city to my city, Diamond Bar. The building smoke has been peeking behind the top of the mountain that is across from our home, so my family and I have been packing our most valuable things into suitcases just in case there's a call for an evacuation.

Luckily, nothing's happened yet in Diamond Bar, and here's to praying that it stays that way.

I actually heard about the fire this morning by a wake up call from my mom, who told me of the news and told me to pack some of my most important things into a suitcase just in case the fire hit our home (not how I want to wake up every morning, for sure).

View from the front of our home right before the smoke got really intense.

So, I ask you: If you were told to pack up a small bag with your most valuable items with the knowledge that everything you leave may not be there when you return... what would you pack?

I think we're asked this question occasionally... you know, random chatty conversations with friends or even during one of those silly "20 questions" games we play on long road trips. It's a thought that crosses our minds sometimes, because it inevitably asks you: "What's most important to you?" But when you're faced with the reality of it, it's sometimes a totally different story.

Since I had originally thought that it would be difficult for me to leave things behind, it was a surprise when I realized that when it came down to it, most things are very replaceable to me. My first instincts were the items I had personal reliance on (sad to say, I'm pretty reliant on my MacBook Pro and cell phone), but aside from a few jeans and t-shirts to keep me warm and from being naked, I was stumped...

Except, when it came to my art.

I can always buy new clothes and find ways to replace all the material things... I could live without them. But when it came to my artwork... and even my hand painted tote bags, handmade journals and cards, art prints, buttons... I was scared I was going to lose it all. All the time and heart that had been put into every single item and to think I'd lose it all to some selfish fire?

Let's just say I quickly packed all of it into my car.

I guess my point is that as Californians are losing their homes to this fire, and even more of us are thrown into a frenzy from the fear of it... it's also really made me realize how important my silly little paintings really are to me. It's so much more than just "inventory" I sell in my Etsy shop or at local craft shows... it's who I am. And I think all us independent and handmade artists and crafters can identify with that.

Because I know I certainly can.

Please comment, I'd love to hear what you all have to say.

xoxo,
Steppie