Coast Explorer Blog

A newly expanded home décor showroom at Purple Starfish Gift Boutique in Depoe Bay presents new displays to make you feel at home. These comfy displays feature tableware, lighting, home accents and functional furniture. Among the newest lighting choices offered is the sea urchin lamp with its beautiful coral shade from Elaine Groth. The boutique’s knowledgeable staff can assist you in designing your own comfortable reading nook, seaside sitting room or nautical-inspired getaway. Lamp prices begin at $195. Purple Starfish Gift Boutique, Depoe Bay (541) 765-2336

A WEEKEND OF YOGA at the Cannon Beach Yoga Festival offers workshops for every level and variety of interests. Featured instructors Alan Finger and Sarah Platt-Finger, Julie Gudmestad and Tiffany Cruikshank will be on hand for the festival February 25-27. In addition to 12 yoga workshops to choose from, there are some optional workshops. Nada Yoga: An Introduction to the Musical Art of Raga with Benjy Wertheimer & Steve Gorn is a vocal workshop. There are also two Yoga Figure Drawing workshops with Tolovana Arts Colony instructor David Kinhan.


Registration is open now at the Cannon Beach Yoga Festival website. Register by January 8 and the Festival Participant fee is $295; after January 8 the registration fee is $325. Festival Participants are entitled to four workshops as well as the Friday Welcome Gathering & Marketplace, Saturday and Sunday Morning Meditation and Yoga Lounge, Saturday night Community Gathering & Kirtan with Shantala, and the Sunday Closing Ceremony. Optional workshops are available for an additional fee. You may also register as a Festival Guest and choose from the optional workshops offered as well as attend the Saturday night Community Gathering & Kirtan. See the website for a full schedule of events, workshops and fees.

INSTRUCTORS:

For more than 15 years, Tiffany Cruikshank has taught yoga throughout North America, empowering her students to transform their lives through mindfulness and dedication. Her classes and workshops are full of humor, heart and hard work. In addition to teaching yoga classes, retreats and workshops internationally, Tiffany is the Acupuncturist at the Nike World Headquarters in Portland, Oregon, runs 200-hour and 500-hour yoga teacher trainings and has been featured in various video and print ads for Nike and Lululemon. Her book, Optimal Health for a Vibrant Life, was recently published as a 30-day detox for yogis.

South African Tantric and Kriya Yoga Master Alan Finger began studying yoga at the age of 16 with his father Mani Finger and renowned swamis of the past century. Alan and Mani created ISHTA Yoga (Integrated Science of Hatha, Tantra and Ayurveda). The ISHTA style integrates breath-based flow yoga with alignment, meditation and healing bodywork. Before creating a home for ISHTA, Alan co-founded Yoga Zone, Be Yoga and Yoga Works. Alan has authored several books and travels the world to share his teachings.

Sarah Platt-Finger was introduced to yoga while living in Taiwan as a dancer, choreographer, and English teacher. Her curiosity of both Eastern philosophy and physical wellness led her to the ISHTA lineage, where she received her 500-hour yoga certification in 2004. Sarah helped to create the ISHTA Yoga studio with Alan Finger and Julie Wilcox. She is currently the director of the ISHTA Yoga Teacher Training program as well as a lead trainer. Sarah teaches an intelligent flow class that caters to the wisdom of the breath and inspires the reconnection of the individual to the true Self.

Julie Gudmestad has been active in Portland, Oregon, as a yoga teacher and licensed physical therapist for over 30 years. She has integrated Western medical knowledge with yoga training into a unique teaching style, and has taught many workshops in the United States, Canada and Europe. She is a certified Iyengar yoga teacher and a member of the American Physical Therapy Association. Additionally, she wrote the Yoga Journal column, “Anatomy of a Yogi” for seven years.

Cannon Beach merchants, hotels and restaurants are offering specials and discounts to all festival participants and guests. Cannon Beach Yoga Festival (503) 440-1649

PELICAN PICKS HOME & GARDEN: Fall/Winter 2010-11
Things we love from the readers and staff of Coast Explorer Magazine

Roman Numeral Clock at Star Furniture in Seaside
This large-scale piece fits into décor from traditional to funky. We love this piece because it is art with a wow factor and gives timeless functionality. It can be the centerpiece of a room or complement your design without overpowering it. The clock is 50 inches, priced at $139. Star Furniture, Seaside (503) 738-8999.


Fairweather House & Garden 
Offers Stylish Illumination
The smoked ice lamp from Smithe is a beautiful solution to your lighting problems and is now available at Fairweather House and Garden in Seaside. This lamp is not only elegant and earthy, it is also a national ARTS award winning fashion forward piece that was nominated by industry experts for outstanding design. The lamp is priced at $495. Fairweather House and Garden, Seaside (503) 738-8899.

Dichroic Glass Art Decor at 
Purple Starfish in Depoe Bay
We love the visual impact and kaleidoscope of color in these fused dichroic glass pieces at Purple Starfish. These sculpted human forms are created by artist Karen Ehart and range in size from 16 to 36 inches. Prices range from $900 to $2500 depending on size. Purple Starfish, 
Depoe Bay (541) 765-2336.

Woven Essentials Upholstery Fabric 
at Mead Interiors
These gorgeous upholstery fabrics from Mead Interiors in Astoria recently caught our eye. We love the luxurious textures, vivid colors and intricate and elegant design patterns. Some of these fabrics were recently used to reupholster booths at Camp 18 Restaurant on Highway 26. Mead Interiors, Astoria (503) 325-0701



Got something you love that deserves to be a Pelican Pick? Send it to us at: editor@coastexplorermagazine.com and you may see it here in a future issue.

Real estate experts from Washington and Oregon Coast communities 
offer their take on current trends in water-view properties.

Beachfront properties seem to come to mind when thinking about homes that overlook the water; however, many communities offer homes that overlook bays, rivers and lakes that are just as breathtaking. Our real estate experts show us various view properties available along the coast and share their take on current trends of water-view properties.

In the past, an ocean view has commanded top dollar. Marianne Pittard, broker at RE/MAX River & Sea in Gearhart says, “Prices have adjusted significantly in the past two years and now opportunities are in abundance as evidenced by the number of listings under a million dollars.” In turn, those properties in the upper million-dollar range have also come down significantly.

High atop a hill sits a crown jewel in Astoria, the Henry Hoefler house (pictured above). From its vantage point, this home delivers 180-degree views of the Columbia River and Washington coastline. This historic jewel, offered at $1,115,000 is situated on over an acre and is a rare blend of Mission and Craftsman architecture that has been thoughtfully restored and mechanically updated.

At the other end of the pricing spectrum, Pittard shows us a Lindal Cedar Custom Home on the canal at Cullaby Lake. This well-appointed three-bedroom home is offered at $294,900 and features a Northwest lodge style with vaulted ceilings and exposed beams as well as maple wood floors.

Currently listed by Windermere Manzanita is the 2000 HGTV Dream Home featuring breathtaking views of the Nehalem Bay and estuary. Magical setting and décor come together in this home to make it a fantasy retreat for a list price of $599,000.


On Nehalem Point sits a two-bedroom riverfront home with large natural timber construction suited for the unspoiled beauty of the point. This home, offered at $399,000 boasts views of the Nehalem Bay and the river. Broker and owner of Windermere Manzanita, Walt Covert, tells us, “The prices for view properties are the best we have seen in ten years.” He also says that choice, good pricing and low interest rates won’t last forever.

Located on Willapa Bay in Washington is a home that offers over eight acres and 275 feet of bay frontage. The 5000-square-foot, five-bedroom, lodge style home has comfort, style and serenity and is priced at $1,485,000. Pacific Realty’s owner/broker, Leslie Brophy says, “Although many folks seem to be looking for bargains, this year we have sold some singular properties on both the ocean and the bay.”

The housing market is in a constant state of flux in the current economy but coastal homes are still being bought and sold on a regular basis. More importantly, homes with amazing water views have become more accessible to buyers in all price ranges. Our real estate experts concur that now is a great time to acquire that property with a view overlooking the ocean, river, bay or lake.

Seaside Aquarium is home to a Giant Pacific Octopus and other interesting creatures.

Beneath the waters of the Pacific Ocean lives a fearsome-looking creature – the Giant Pacific Octopus. Living an average three to five years in the wild, these invertebrates grow to an average of 110 pounds, but the record size was over 600 pounds with an arm span of 30 feet across! Usually reddish-brown in color, octopuses use special pigment cells in their skin to change colors and textures to enable them to blend in with their surroundings. These creatures are so intelligent they can learn how to open a closed jar with food inside it. (The hard part is getting the jar back!) Octopuses hunt at night, feeding primarily on clams, shrimp and fish, but have been known to attack and eat sharks and birds, tearing the flesh with their sharp beaks. According to Tiffany Boothe at the Seaside Aquarium, the sex of an octopus can be determined by the third arm from the right eye. If there are no tentacles on the arm, it’s a male. The Giant Pacific Octopus at the Seaside Aquarium is a male weighing 35-40 pounds and his reach, arm to arm, is about six feet. You can see this and other interesting creatures at the Seaside Aquarium, 200 N. Prom, (503) 738-6211.