Recalling a couple of stressful December visits at Toys-R-Us, where dodging toy-stacked shopping carts, wading by walls of toys and trikes and lingering in lines of prickly parents playing Santa, it wasn’t much better visiting the children’s department in mall stores, equally crowded and stressful. Certainly chain stores promise bargains, but I felt a longing for a quiet, unrushed visit to something like a shop run by a shopkeeper. Owner of Posies and Ponies at 7449 Girard Ave., Mara Martin was everything I wished for. She greeted me with a smile as light and bright as her children’s boutique, where the toys are vintage, old-fashioned and need no batteries. This new children’s boutique is a throwback to the kind of store that calms you down and clears your head while shopping for the perfect gift. A custom T-shirt with the letter of the child’s name sewn on the front is available. Just look at the designs on boxes on the wall. Wander around and check out those wooden toys, indestructible and creative. Sit in one of the inviting chairs and chat with the owner, who appears unrushed, engaged in you only and happy to have found her niche in retail in a town she grew up in, left for a new life and returned to again. In 1940, Thomas Wolfe’s novel “You Can’t Go Home Again” was posthumously published to great acclaim. Mara Lee Martin is a long way from Asheville, N.C., and Wolfe’s philosophy. She has happily returned “home.” Martin grew up in La Jolla. “I didn’t realize until I went away to college the incredible memories I was making in La Jolla: going to the beach, driving down from my La Jolla Rancho Road home to the village; we used to call it downtown.” Mara attended Decatur, Muirlands and graduated from La Jolla High in 1981. She was an art major at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. “I was interested in graphic design, but realized through the whole process that I couldn’t be creative on demand. When it happens, it happens; when it hits, it hits,” she said with a wide-eyed smile. Instead of graphic design, Mara ended up in Los Angeles in the film industry after a two-year stint co-managing Express at Beverly Center after college. “Somebody said to me, ‘Hey, do you want to work on a movie?’ Of course I thought this meant as an actress. Instead, I was invited to work in construction in 1987 for $80 a day, not too bad a salary. Then the art department heard I was an artist and had me painting sets. From there I joined the folks with the finger on the pulse, the directors, who trained me. I was accepted into the Directors Guild of America eventually. ” ‘Melrose Place’ was the show for which I was the assistant director. It was there I met my husband, Jean Luc Martin, a retired Cirque du Soleil performer who was a stuntman and knife thrower,” she giggled. “The cast and crew were like cockroaches when the lights are on, scurrying out of our way so that we could have time together.” Jean Luc, who hails from Louisiana, eventually left his knife throwing for producing and development. “It didn’t matter where we lived since he traveled a lot to places like Arizona, Texas and Indiana,” she said. “We have two children, Melisande and Charlie, ages 9 and 7 respectively.” When asked about the unusual name of Melisande, Mara said both she and Jean Luc had French roots. The children were 3 and 1 when Mara figured out she couldn’t handle a successful career as parent and professional director simultaneously, so she decided to be a stay-at-home mom. “I wanted to return to La Jolla to be near my first family. I live near La Jolla High now. When I was in high school, I used to park my car in front of my current home, never imagining I would eventually live there.” “Posies and Ponies opened on Dec. 9 and is a dream come true for me. I love to sew and made many of my children’s clothes. People commented on the cute T-shirts with unique designs,” she said as she showed me a wall of designs available. “My husband and I decided to open this store on Girard next to the Pannikin, where I worked when I was a young teen. We are open Tuesday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., and Sunday hours are 9:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. We draw a lot of foot traffic from the Farmers Market at La Jolla Elementary, which is where my children go to school. They walk over to the shop at 3:30 p.m. after school and do their homework in the back of the store.” Posies and Ponies is such a nice environment to be in all day. It is beautiful inside, and the lyrics of Victor Herbert come to mind: “Toyland, toyland, little girl and boy land, when you dwell within it, you are ever happy there.” Mara has reconnected with core friends from even her Decatur Elementary School days. “My family, mom and stepdad, live in La Jolla. My dad and stepmom live close by in University City. I have two sisters in San Diego, nieces, nephews… lots of family support.” Her youngest sister teaches elementary school in the wine country. She could see herself opening a second Posies and Ponies in that area. While big toy stores and department stores are a necessary part of our culture, Posies and Ponies is a respite from the stress of shopping. With its classic toys and games, unique apparel for little ones and gifts for a new mom, Posies and Ponies has perfect gifts for babies, toddlers and children. The talented shopkeeper is worth a visit, too.