lolly-willows

from there to here

2011-07-30T06:44:00.000-07:00

i've had a few people ask me about my blog lately, even al told me the other day that i needed to update this baby. well a lot has happened since november. i quit my job, suffered through another semester of school, planned our wedding, got married, took a semester off from school, and went back to work. after feeling miserable for about 9 months, i feel happier now than i've felt in a long time!

we've gotten some amazing gifts over the last several months and have had a blast using all our gift certificates to buy all the stuff we never felt we should before. our first wedding present was the beautiful heath shallow salad bowl from jen.

next was the large serving bowl from tricia, in aqua/turquoise -- two of the best colors ever invented.

we received a lot of gift certificates for heath and i bought the yellow vase i'd been eying for years. i was attempting to replace my ben owen vase -- which i broke a few years ago -- a gift from aurin and drew that i treasured. one day i'll get another, but i do love this heath piece.

we received this mustard colored bedspread and used some of our macy's money for these sheets that remind me of cotton ticking (but they are black, not blue).

leigh sent me these enamel ladels from labour and wait.

cristal gave us a homemade wedding cake.

we received all of our heath place settings.

and we got our first le creuset in avocado green. today we're off to ikea so i can buy a desk for the cabin. working up there on the sofa is not so great. i've been cleaning our house and cabin like mad, getting rid of stuff we don't need, organizing, tossing, donating..... i have the bug. but it feel so good to bring all these new treasures into our world.

winter time river exploring

2010-11-29T16:49:00.000-08:00

we headed up to the cabin this weekend to enjoy three days of chilly bliss. when we arrived on friday morning it was a frigid 35 degrees *inside* the cabin! al got the fire going while i unpacked food, then he took off for his last dive of the season. i alternated between homework and adding logs to the fire, and finally got it nice a toasty inside. that evening we finally tried to the underwood bar and bistro, and our cocktails and burgers at the bar were heaven.

during our saturday walk at steelhead beach, we found a hachiya persimmon tree and filled our pockets. i'll make persimmon pudding in a week or so when they are ripe. it felt really jungly with the bamboo and overgrowth. next we headed out to hop kiln to load up on their horseradish mustard, but when the skies became dark and another set of rained rolled in we found ourselves sipping wine.

sunday we packed some lunch and went off to find the where dry creek and the russian river meet. this was harder than we thought even with our fishing hole map, so we paid a visit to lambert bridge winery for a little warm up. they gave us a tip on how to get to dry creek, and we bought a bottle of their 2008 zin. we soon found the river and creek meeting place, saw a beautiful sky and a this very sad sight.

now we're back home to work and school. tomorrow is my last day working for the next year. i've decided to increase my school load so i can get this program done! i'm really working at making myself feel at peace with this choice, it feels like such a strange time to give up a job! but alas, the decision has been made and all will be fine.

finally gave in

2010-11-10T14:56:00.000-08:00

and bought these silk blend patterned feral childe leggings. i'd been looking at them for weeks down at curator. they were on sale and i am over my cold. that's all.

getting there

2010-11-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

things are slowly moving along on the wedding front. we've secured our photographer and last week my dress arrived. it's from the 60s and needs some attention. there were some rust stains from the covered buttons and i was able to get them out using this magic potion mom sent. there are a few more places that could use the potion, and i'll have to replace the buttons. it also needs a new sash.
i had pictured al wearing a forage bow tie or a liberty of london tie, and jen suggested i use liberty for the sash as well. now i'm completely distracted from my digital curation project, drooling over all the possibilities. i'll head over to britex one day soon to see what they have. might have to get my local londoner leigh to do some scouting as well.

it's been a long time

2010-10-15T17:33:00.000-07:00

dear little blog i apologize for being a bad blogger. once i came home from my visit with leigh i was just not in the mood to blog. i've had a lot on my mind. a few weeks after returning home, al proposed! i immediately became overwhelmed when school started, work got busy and i began thinking about the wedding. so i'm sorry, i have been spending so much time on my laptop that the thought of blogging just didn't sound fun. so we have a date, and a venue. that's it. so much more work to do. i'm pretty sure i'll make myself a birdcage veil, or i might pop into lovejoy's attic to look over their veiled vintage hats, i saw some really cute ones in the window recently. i need to project manage this wedding and i'm just not in the mood. i wish i either didn't have school or work, but alas i have both. and i have insomnia.

last day

2010-06-24T23:11:00.000-07:00

today is friday and my last day in london, tomorrow morning i'll be in a taxi to heathrow at 7:30 am. wednesday morning we decided to go back to the east side because i really wanted to eat at the albion cafe, and leigh said their fish and chips were really good. since our first attempt for some didn't look so hot, we made the trek and it was definitely worth it.

we ordered a side of mushy peas with mint and lettuce hearts, and tried to stuff it all in. we were disappointed that we didn't have room for pudding after we saw the sweets in the next room.

we had lois so the morning was pretty full getting over to albion on a few trains and after strolling the streets for a little bit we decided it was time to come home. we grabbed some groceries for me and lois because leigh and andrew had a date and a babysitter for the first time in months. lois went to bed, i watched a little tv and hit the sack. i've been so pooped every day, leigh is doing a good job at wearing me out like she said she would.

thursday lois had another full day of school and leigh and i headed over to islington. i wanted to visit toast and we wanted to walk along regent's canal.

we found some great shops and both loved smug. there were a lot of things in this shop that we both wanted but my suitcase is already too full and i'll need a 2nd piece of luggage or a box to ship home.

leigh and i really loved these woolen blankets at smug, and thought they would be really expensive. lizzie, the shop owner told us they were only £18 (we thought she said £80 which still sounded like a deal to me), and were made by the afonwen woollen mills north wales from recycled wool. i snapped one up even though the thought of this wool blanket anywhere near me in the current weather sounds awful. it will look great on my bed at home.

our last stop was at the elk in the woods for lunch. this place is very cute inside with lots of interesting wall decor -- from skulls to beautiful wallpaper.

since we were without lois we decided we needed a cocktail. i ordered an elderflower martini and leigh had a grapefruit mojito, and they both sort of went with our lunch of beetroot and walnut spread, peas and leeks, and calamari with sugar cane dipping sauce.

after lunch it was time to hit the road back home, we both needed another nap. we've had many early mornings with lois, this morning she was up around 5:30 so it won't be hard to wake up tomorrow to head out for san francisco. leigh, andrew and lois, thanks for a wonderful trip. i've had more fun that i imagined i could and i'll miss you all!

back in london

2010-06-22T08:53:00.000-07:00

my london days are coming to an end soon so leigh and i are trying to figure out our final destinations. we went back to liberty today so i could get some gifts. i needed one more stroll through the store, it's so gorgeous. next we were off to selfridges for some more gifts and window shopping.

i got a lot of beautiful chocolates but couldn't keep these english rose and violet creams in the box, we had to split one walking down the sidewalk.

our plan was to get some fish and chips for lunch, i haven't had any yet while i've been here, but we stumbled onto foxcroft and ginger in soho and we were so happy we ate there.

i had a chorizo and butternut squash sandwich (with rocket of course) and leigh chose a salted beef with cucumber mayo. they were both huge and delish. we loved how they were served on wooden boards lined with butcher paper, with a little pile of pepper and maldron salt on the side.

after lunch we each needed a coffee to wake up. they use monmouth coffee, which i hadn't heard of until today, and it was very good. mine was served in one of those porcelain cups that looks like a crushed plastic disposable cup. they remind me of lauren and derek, but maybe because leigh told me she sent them some.

it's really warm so we came home on the tube, grabbed lois from school, and sat in the garden for a bit. andrew went to milan for work and is one his way home so we're making him a nice dinner to thank him for keeping lois all weekend while we went to paris. time to get crackin!

goodbye paris, i'll miss you!

2010-06-21T00:48:00.001-07:00

our three day weekend in paris has come to and end. sunday is a sleepy day to spend in the city as most things are closed. we ended up with some rather cool and wet weather so our plans of sitting outside in the gardens were dashed. giovanni, whom we rented the apartment from, met us early to get the key and called us a taxi. we dropped our luggage off at a locker at the train station and headed back out to walk around ille saint louis. it was too cold and early for glaces at berthillon, which was sad, but next time.

after walking around a bit with only stohrer pastry in our bellies we ducked into a restaurant for some eggs, bacon, croissant and coffee. because most stores were closed, we snapped a few photos then walked over to notre dame for a peek.

it was very windy as we headed over to the louvre. we hadn't planned on going in, but instead wanted to walk around the outside and down the jardin des tuileries. the skies were gray and cloudy and we got some great shots of the louvre looking very ominous.

next we wove our way through the streets up to the arc de triomphe, trying to stay off the touristy champs-élysées as much as possible.

the rest of the day was spent walking through the streets trying to find something yummy for lunch. we ended up at a cute little cafe near the L'église de la Madeleine where we downed some onion soup with a peitit Mâche salad and delicious potatoes. We were so warm and cozy we decided we needed one more cafe creme and a gateau au chocolat before heading back out for the train station. i didn't take many photos yesterday, i think i was so tired and...well... cold.

paris, tired but a good tired

2010-06-19T10:25:00.000-07:00

our apartment, the richelieu

it is our second day in paris and we've continued to walk non-stop as we have done in london. katie met us friday and we all walked up to rose bakery. katie thought it was funny that our first meal in paris was at a british establishment, but she had never been and we all loved it.

my lunch

cakes at rose bakery

after lunch we walked around the marais and got ourselves a bit more oriented.

the bibliotheque historic

bon bons

katie left to meet a friend for dinner and leigh and i came back to the apartment to rest for a few minutes before my birthday dinner at le fumoir. our dinner was delicious and we had secured a reservation in the "library," which turned out to be a dark and cozy room filled with books. we didn't want to leave but two hours later we were stuffed and so tired that we were happy to have a very short walk home.

i slept badly that night so it was 8am before we woke up, and we got off to a late start. on the advice of the apartment owners, we stopped in for pastries at stohrer's.

leigh got this shot of me looking at postcards before we went inside

next we walked a few short blocks to the bilbiotheque nationale. i was a bit overwhelmed and unfortunately hadn't really made a plan so we looked into some of the reading rooms and headed off to the centre pompidou. a few hours looking at braque's, picasso's, matise's, and léger's and we needed to eat again.

after eating, our next stop was pierre herme, which entailed a walk across the siene and down to st. germain. after snagging some confiture de framboises a la violette, which i had been dreaming about since katie brought me some two years ago, and some sablés citron, we were off to the have a glass of wine then stroll through jardin du luxembourg.

the wind kicked up and the rains came in so we hopped into a taxi to come home, warm up and plan our dinner outing. we're both very tired, but in a good way. the city is beautiful and inviting and it does feel like you are walking through a movie.

chelsea

2010-06-14T08:37:00.000-07:00

another great day today, i keep thinking that each day is better than the last. we walked through battersea park over chelsea bridge to chelsea. the neighborhood is gorgeous. we go on lots of amazing strolls every day, but the destination today was the chelsea physic garden which was on my list of things to do and on leigh's as well. we were lucky to get another sunny morning and soon stripped off our jackets and sweaters and we were still really warm.

the homes surrounding the garden are so beautiful, you can tell this neighborhood is ritzy.

lots of lavender in this section, lots of bees, too!

the dark brown building behind the greenhouse above is so stunning, i want to go inside.

old greenhouses, filled with botanicals from different parts of the world.

so many lovely poppies and aliums all over.

after a long stroll around the paths and lots of photos we were ready for lunch. we stopped at daylesford organic and had a two wine lunch - lois was a handful and we needed the juice.

east side

2010-06-13T12:23:00.001-07:00

leigh and i had a great day today on the east side. andrew was feeling generous (when is he not) and offered to stay with lois all day which made our day nice and long. we started at the columbia road flower market which was jam packed with people so i didn't take a single photo. after that we went into some of leigh's favorite stores and i had to force myself not to buy something in each one.

we started at jessie & buddug, so many cute embroidered things. after that it was tea at vintage heaven, where we had cream tea in the back tea room. there were so many things in this store that i wanted, but just got the two of these blue and pink cups.

next we were off to labour and wait, which i was so excited to see. i bought a few items to take home as gifts: this pale green lasagne dish, two of these little tumblers, a few bone egg spoons, a nail brush, and this folding pocket knife. i'd been wanting to go to this store since reading about it in gourmet or dwell so i didn't hold back.

we popped into caravan and i really wanted one of these lamps, but too large to carry home since i need to bring a lamp post home for cristal. aesop is a new addition to the neighborhood and i was sucked in my the simple packaging and beautiful ingredients. our last stop was the spitalfields covered market in shortage where we had a really nice, light lunch of wine and cheese. we've had that a lot because we are eating so much.

we got on the bus to come home and it was a very long ride, over an hour (i picked the bus...). i didn't mind though. we were upstairs in the very front seats and i just spent the hour enjoying chatting with leigh, sitting, and seeing london.

long days

2010-06-11T05:45:00.000-07:00

i've been in london since early wednesday morning and seem to have avoided jet lag pretty well. leigh was sleepy the day i arrived from being up sick the entire night before, so after we strolled around her neighborhood a bit (and i bought a dress from emily and fin just hours after landing), we came back home to take a short nap. it's light here from around 5 am until close to 10 pm, so the days are really long.

thursday leigh took me out for a long day of shopping after she dropped lois at school for her first full day. we found a seat upstairs on a double decker bus and enjoyed the drive across town. our first stop was liberty and i managed to only purchase some post cards and an umbrella, which i really did need. then we hopped on the tube to lamb's conduit for lunch at cigala, then stopped in a few stores and persephone books.

after a stop at the espresso room, we popped into the top shop so i could get another pair of jeans (it's colder and rainier here than i expected) and then into office for some shoe shopping where i got some lace ups and these little flat converse.

last night we made a nice dinner and then had a few too many drinks. lois was in bed early after her long day at school, so this morning she was up bright and early at 5:30 am! we've all just finished a nap and we're getting ready to head out for a coffee and sweet. leigh is reading a list of things to do in paris from the the people who we're renting our apartment from. next week this time we'll be there!

pre travel travel

2010-06-05T11:11:00.000-07:00

i'm in north carolina visiting my family before i head over to london. i always spend the days running around to see everyone because my entire family is here and it gets exhausting, but i wouldn't have it any other way.

this week me, mom and sis scooped up my 93 year old grandmother, genevieve, and drove from raleigh to asheboro to visit her sister, aunt mary, 89 years old. our goal was to capture some family history for story corps, and for ourselves. too bad i bungled the first part of the recording, we need to get that written down. but we did get some great details on great granddaddy and grandmommy kirkman (my namesake - middle name). aunt mary has an amazing yard and we have some great memories from playing there. it was really nice to go back because my grandmother has long since moved from the house she lived in when we were young. i wish i had more photographs of it and the lake nearby. i photographed some really old photographs on my aunt mary had, they are a bit hard to see.

great grandparents in front of their farm house holding danielle, their granddaughter (4 months) and a kitten who walked into the frame.

lloyd, aunt mary and grandmommy's brother who died as a young boy.

great granddaddy kirkman in his wheat field.

great granddaddy again with his collie, ted. the back of the photo says that after "grandpa died and grandma wasn't home all the time - he grieved himself to death." and aunt mary told us this story as well, which made me so sad!

tonight we're heading over to my sister's to cook a huge birthday dinner. her birthday was yesterday and mine is in two weeks. i'll be spending the weekend in paris with leigh for my birthday, but i'm just as excited about celebrating tonight.

gettin out of town

2010-04-30T11:36:00.001-07:00

in about a month i'll be leaving for a month. i'm going to visit leigh in london after stopping in nc for a week to see my family. we've got two side trips planned, one is a few days in paris over my birthday weekend, and another few days in bath. work is crazy right now and i'm writing on my blog because i'm so tired that i don't want to write my paper or study for my first of three finals (which is tomorrow at 10am). i just want to dream about london, paris, leaving it all behind for a month - no work, no school, no nothing. i haven't even had time to think about where i want to go when i get there, but leigh has got a good list going for us and i can read and plan stuff on the plane right?

or maybe just sleep.

bye bye spring break

2010-04-05T08:03:00.000-07:00

mr apple tree

the cabin was so fun this weekend, even though it rained most of the time. we tried a new method of departure. i hopped on the bus at 3 and al picked me up on the corner with a huge, heavy back of all we'd forgotten to put in his car the night before. we got up north before 6 and it was still light outside. i had gotten all my homework done so i didn't even take a text book with me. we both took friday off and it felt like more than a long weekend.

$3 gardening supply carrier (estate sale)

i turned the garden bed, added some new compost, and replanted the stragglers from last year. not sure they will hold out, but i didn't want to toss them. we want to put another bed in as this one doesn't get much sun. we've planted some blueberry bushes but they won't fruit for a few years.

caroline's chair

al's chair

we didn't sit outside much, it was pretty cold and windy.

i got some nice shots of the forget-me-nots and my rain boots. as usual, i was sad to come home. back to school and work!

yurit

2010-03-19T14:01:00.000-07:00

well here it is again, months since i've posted last. that's sad. work is busy and school just has me heads down all the time. i'm on the computer so much that i don't even want to post on here because it's just another 6 minutes on the computer.

it's definitely spring at the cabin. the last few weekends up there are all about fruit tree blooms, porch sittin', grilling dinner, and trying to get in some relaxation. al went to ridge and got us a case of their 2007 carignane so sitting on the porch with a cheese plate and a glass is rounding me out a bit.

yetti moved away, and i've been missing him, but last weekend a new friend came around. he's another young kitty, full grown, but so obviously a kitty still. he just hung out with us, talked to us, and tripped us trying desperately to get close to us as we walked around outside. we finally started to play "you're it" with him to see who could pass by without being rubbed on, and decided on his new name.

back home to the best

2009-12-30T13:12:00.000-08:00

i'm back from a few weeks in nc, it was rushed as usual with lots of coordinating to be sure i saw everyone, and i still didn't see everyone. i try to keep christmas really low key and don't exchange or get many gifts, but was thrilled to come home to al and a really lovely gift from him. he found some swedish (whisky?) glasses at an estate sale while i was gone. they are housed in a burgundy leather box, and each glass can rest upon it's own coaster of a different golden crown—we're rich! happy new year, we're probably in for just chilling at home with some of that fine wine we got up at the rr and trying out these new glasses.

freedom

2009-12-11T08:02:00.000-08:00

now that school is done for the semester i sort of don't know what to do with myself. it's weird. i've been waiting for this for 15 long computer-driven weeks, and now i'm stumped. i need a project but i don't want a project. i keep trying to talk myself into making a design to gocco cards for this year, but then i don't want to write and send the cards. then i think i should just sit around and read all day, after all it's cold and rainy. but i am enjoying my current book so much that i don't want to finish it too quickly, and i talked al into reading it with me so he's trying to catch up. i decided i needed another book to read as well, so i got the the portable mlis from the library to see if i want to buy it, but that just feels like reading school stuff and i can't get into it. maybe it's time to start baking again, something from breakfast, lunch, tea looks good. i went to sandbox bakery this week with sarah, it's really good but we wanted to sit so had to walk back to her house. hopefully tricia and i will venture out to eat something yummy today. i should go check out the prelinger library. also probably time to go back to outerlands, and i want to go to farm:table. crap now i have all this stuff to do before i leave for nc next week for two weeks.

fall at the river

2009-11-29T15:24:00.000-08:00

i haven't been up to the cabin in a long time, it feels like two months, but it might be less than that. the light is gorgeous up there now, and the weather was really great this weekend. i didn't work on my paper as i had planned, but there's always tomorrow. i actually relaxed and enjoyed it. i made this bouquet out of our winter yard, complete with figs and mushrooms.

we finally went wine tasting for the first time and found two great wineries; lambert bridge and hop kiln, then stumbled onto the dry creek general store. got some great photos down on mother's beach.

i'm planning our next trip, post holidays and school, when i have absolutely nothing to do but read, drink wine, and walk around the woods.

home stretch

2009-11-20T10:54:00.000-08:00

holga

i'm almost done. three more weeks of school and just two more papers to go along with the regular stuff. i'm tired of writing, i'm tired of metadata schemas, and i'm tired of not reading for fun. just 2 or so more years! i'm finding small escapes every now and then. last week i read about camera bag on leigh's blog and used it at flora grubb over the weekend. take a photo, apply a filter, and your shot is transformed.

lolo

instant

this break brought to you by my fried brain.

recent acqusitions

2009-10-09T09:22:00.000-07:00

no harm in talking like a librarian already. i need a break from all the information retrieval speak.

we found some amazing stuff at estate sales, some a month ago, i just never posted. i love this painting found up in santa rosa at a great sale. i think the gentleman was an art professor, his home was filled with books, paintings, sculptures, ceramics and i wanted to move in. al doesn't like this painting and said it can't hang in the bedroom. i absolutely love it and the rough wooden frame that houses it.

bernardo gave us a painting for the cabin, but i don't know if we can bare to take it up there and leave it alone all week. we were so touched. yes, that's wood veneer and a bad set of photos trying to capture the colors.

and finally a needlepoint pillow, another estate sale find.

back to the books!

stable

2009-09-17T07:15:00.000-07:00

there is a great article on dwell.com about stable cafe. i haven't been there in a while, but it's so good and i love the space. i knew there were some other businesses using the kitchen inside this historic building, but now i know it's actually an incubator for other food folks. they've added the patio since i've been so i really need to get over there with a textbook and hang out in the sun. i love knowing a little more about how stable was born.
photo dwell magazine

very sad

2009-09-16T10:53:00.000-07:00

thing to wake up to this morning.

hittin the green

2009-09-09T14:12:00.000-07:00

i'm really excited for green11 to open here in n.v. i just can't deal with rainbow any more and this will give me a great excuse to take a walk. if all goes as planned it will be open next week!
photo courtesy of Green 11

modernism

2009-09-04T08:05:00.000-07:00

this week i wrote a post based on a ted talk for for my information & society class. it's funny to say i wrote a post, but we write lots of posts to discussion boards in all three of my classes because we never meet in person. joshua prince-ramus' talk on the design of seattle's central library is about 10 minutes of this talk and really fascinating, check it out if you have a spare 1o min. i love design, i love modern, and i love architecture, but most of all i love the library. the library is a really social place for me even though i usually don't talk to anyone when i'm in one. prince-ramus really speaks to that in this talk. another classmate, alana, pointed us to a blog post comparing the seattle central library with our main library here in san francisco. most of us who have been to the main SFPL have complained about entrances that get you nowhere and just the overall bad layout. what i didn't know is there wasn't enough room for all the books when the library was built and the director had many of them tossed!

i'm heading to the main library for a behind the scenes tour today and at least two of my classmates will be there as well. i'm really looking forward to meeting them in person and getting into some of the rooms i've never seen.

image from http://kanhom.com/author/enagler/

yum

2009-08-30T11:08:00.000-07:00

after this week all i can say is thank god for whisky. now if only i could sleep.

Photograph by Romulo Yanes, Gourmet Magazine, 1940s Favorite cocktails.

labourious

2009-08-27T08:39:00.000-07:00

i'm living vicariously through leigh right now as she visits every single cafe, market, and amzazing shoppe in london. last week she went to liberty and i asked her to get me something. we nixed that idea when the only thing i wanted was this A.P.C. dress that cost £140.00. the first week she was gone i read about a few of london's not to be missed in the september issue of gourmet. one store i could live in is labour and wait. when leigh told me it was already on her list to visit i wanted to teleport myself over. she said she would pick something up for me there and asked i might like. i gave her a long list, i couldn't decide. i can't wait to see what she thinks i would have chosen. really, a pencil would make me happy at this point. i'm stuck at my desk.

left to right, clockwise: pink enamel milk pot, blue enamel lidded mug, white enamel ladel set, white enamel measuring jug.

left to right, clockwise: natural horn egg spoons, enamel soap dish, small enamel container with plastic lid, porcelain measuring spoons.

redd zinn

2009-08-18T11:35:00.001-07:00

it's been very gray and cold in sf the last few days. 56 degrees here right now, i wonder if it's warmer where leigh is. the npr morning weather forecast threatens sun, but it never comes out. i've been busy at home, but a few times a day i walk to the front porch to gaze upon my freshly planted containers full of zinnias. then i smile and go back to work. i need to get out more.

neglect

2009-08-18T07:30:00.000-07:00

oh little blog i've ignored you for too long. it seems between work, volunteering, and my first class i just haven't been motivated to post anything. school starts full time next week and this month i've been working through the class which introduces me to all the tools and technology. so far it's going well, i've gotten an A on all the projects, and have just three (out of ten) left to do. i'll have to complete them by thursday as i head back up to the cabin friday mid-day to enjoy my last summer weekend. last weekend at the cabin, yetti really made us his step-parents. he just hung around for 2 days, mostly dozing on the porch or walking through the yard with us as we were working on projects. he's so sweet and really loves to be with people. i gave him a little rug to sleep on and some water, but being true to his owner's wishes i haven't fed him. well.... i did give him one anchovy soaked crouton from my salad, but he just licked it and went back to the rug.

the tile job is officially complete and all cleaned up. and we took the craigslist canoe up, but didn't try it out yet.

pacific blues

2009-08-02T12:01:00.000-07:00

last week at the cabin it really felt like all we did was tile. the area was a total of 32" x 92" and took 4 of our 5 days. various factors for this session of torture include:

1. never tiling anything before

2. tiling an area behind a non-movable object

3. using hand-made heath tiles that are not square or flat

4. never tiling anything before

we never imagined this would take us so long, but for the most part it's done. we just need to remove the tape around the edges when we go back (the grout really needed to dry) and wash off the grout haze. i'll be doing that next weekend when i head back up without al. it really looks gorgeous and adds a nice bit of color and texture to the living room.

we did get to spend a lot of time at mother's beach, which is basically across the street. we packed up one of my new baskets with towels and books, packed a cooler with snacks and booze, and hauled over a lounge chair, umbrella and inner-tube for a few hours of lounging and cooling off in the 90 degree sun. we only saw one beer induced fight.

next projects include harvesting from the garden bed (me) and finishing the workroom downstairs (al).

beat

2009-07-28T14:37:00.001-07:00

we're back and we're beat. five days at the cabin, much of it spent tiling behind the wood stove. i also picked our first ripe fig, gathered a ton of blackberries, and sat on the beach. it was good. more later, i have a lot of work to catch up on.

lamplighter

2009-07-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

we found a new lamp for the cabin and it was just hand delivered in all it's teal and green beauty. mcmf has a few things listed on craigslist, which is where al found this. they'll deliver for free unless the item is real heavy, then they charge $40. carlos was super nice and we're excited to see this lamp in action tonight when we get to the cabin.

framed

2009-07-21T15:37:00.000-07:00

the cable car is ready for it's new home in a frame and matte from cheap pete's. it looks quite respectable now i do think. art $1, frame $17, matte $20. that seems backwards or something.

floors

2009-07-21T10:31:00.001-07:00

we've already purchased so many things for the cabin, but our list is long. i'm on the lookout for rugs so when apartment therapy featured some "good, cheap summer floor covers" i went looking. dash & albert has a lot of choices i like, i'll have to see what albert says. also found a cute option on ll bean, but it's more expensive. i think al would vote for the black and white.

photography

2009-07-14T13:17:00.000-07:00

i was chatting to my dad today and we talked a bit about some of my recent blog posts. he casually mentioned i might want to consider changing my profile photo because he doesn't think it's flattering. i love this photo, and it reminds me of graham's birthday party where we all took photos in his studio's photo booth. for now the photo will stay for now, but i was touched at his comment and one day i'm sure i'll decide to change it.

cut it out

2009-07-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

i'm always on the lookout for art at estate sales, but given that art is such a personal preference we rarely find any we like (or can agree on). al found this piece over the weekend as we were walking out of one sale. it was in a crappy plastic box frame that has yellowed with time and was scratched and cracked. i took it out of it's frame today and was shocked at how vibrant and gorgeous this piece is. i was also surprised to find out it's actually a black paper cut-out placed on top of a background painted in teal, aqua, orange and a gorgeous salmon color. there's even a little rub down "o" for the light on front of the cable car. it measures just 5 1/4" x 7 1/4" and will be lovely framed.

greening

2009-07-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

we had a great weekend at the cabin and a lot of green things passed through our fingers. money, herbs, plants, pots, wine bottles..... we found some estate sales and ended up with a few odds and ends. we even lot a lamp (a very tiny one) for $4. we need more light in the kitchen, specifically under the cabinets, so this little lamps works fine for that. albert really wants to get a ceiling fixture and shade from schoolhouse electric to replace the fluorescent box light that we can't stand. i just hate overhead lighting in general, so my goal is lamps lamps and more lamps. we still haven't gotten to the tiling job. we need to lay out the tiles to decide on the pattern and borrow a tile saw. we got home late last night and i was up way past my normal bed time. i dreamt of someone stealing out water from the cabin hose (our first water bill for the cabin was very high) and woke up feeling fuzzy. then i sat down at my computer to read my cell phone bill was $440.43! i got that straightened out and my blood pressure is back to normal now. my day is off from waking up an hour later than usual. i just finished 2nd breakfast.

we need lamps

2009-07-10T14:17:00.000-07:00

on the morning of our departures to the cabin, i begin stacking up things on the kitchen table so i don't forget them. so far today i've got two avocados, one orange and one yellow pyrex bowl, my cabin key set, and this blue bird. i went to an estate sale this morning hoping to find a lamp, we are desperate for lamps. there was so much stuff from multiple families, but i only walked out with these two bowls and the blue bird. i'm very happy with these purchases, but we need lamps. i'm still sad about the loss of this one to some other lucky craigslister.

the moss room

2009-07-10T13:03:00.000-07:00

i've been trying to clean up the yard at the cabin since we moved in a month ago, but it's an overwhelming task. it's pretty "natural" as my parents would call it, with lots of random and overgrown things throughout. the back yard is covered in weeds and much of the yard is shaded from the amazing redwoods we are lucky to own. i've spent several hours pulling weeds, knowing with each pull more weeds are to come. while i don't mind weeding, i don't want it to be an endless project every time i escape to the cabin. enter the moss lawn. david benner had a similar problem in his huge yard and decided to experiment with moss. grass hates acid so he covered it with a combination sulfur dust and ammonium sulphate, and a year later the grass was gone and his yard was covered in moss! with the abundance of shade up at the cabin i think this could work. no mowing, no watering, no fertilizing, but a beautiful green lawn! we've already got moss around the yard, so it's just a matter of letting the spores spread with he help of acid and mother nature.

eat n work

2009-07-09T13:04:00.001-07:00

over our albacore dinner tuesday night we talked about eating alone at home and the bad habits that can encourage. i tend to eat most of my day time meals at home alone, while working. that means, yes, i'm sitting in front of the computer during breakfast and lunch. when i think about this it seems very odd that i would allow myself such bad behavior. i don't like fast food, and i really enjoy eating, so why wouldn't i go to the kitchen table and just concentrate on the food? i don't know. i don't mind eating at the table and i don't mind eating alone. sometimes i just want to get the work out of the way, or spend 20 minutes look at blogs. sometimes i want to be lazy and take a crappy photo with my iphone and post on my own blog. do you eat at the table alone without any stimulation other than food? it seems i don't.

sweet reality

2009-07-07T08:03:00.000-07:00

monday and back to work. technically it is tuesday, but yesterday my in box was blowing up after the three day weekend and i was just too pooped to call it what it was, monday. we had a great weekend and got a lot of work done. our biggest accomplishment besides running out every 2 hours to the hardware store, was building a raised bed for veggies. we also made cookies for our neighbors, met our neighbors, took a long walk, had rita and her camping gang over for a bit, played horse shoes, played scrabble, and drank a lot of wine. the sweetest thing about having to come home was the bounty of albacore tuna matt gave al. we had todd and larisa over for shashimi and they arrived with an apple & blueberry pie and mitchell's white pistachio ice cream. i'm still full.

sleepy time

2009-07-02T12:16:00.000-07:00

tonight we're heading back up for what will be our third weekend at the cabin. we planned on tiling behind the wood stove, but al is on call this weekend so i don't want to get left behind to finish the job on my own. we'll do it when we go for our long weekend at the end of the month. i've been really sleepy this week and my sleep is irregular up at the cabin still. it's hard to fall asleep in a new bed for me sometimes and it's so warm up there now it's even harder. this time i'm packing my ear plugs and taking some herbs. maybe a nightcap would help, too. rita, chad and gang will be camping for the weekend really close by so we are going to be able to hang out with more friends up there. happy 4th everyone, be safe and enjoy the sun if it makes it out where you are. probably foggy here in sf, as usual.

luncheon

2009-06-30T15:14:00.000-07:00

i think i may have found my latest food fancy. lauren told me about outerlands a month or so back, and i've been twice in the past 3 days. al and i went for a post party breakfast on sunday morning and it was so good. he had baked eggs with outerlands' homemade bread and a small salad. i got the sweet dutch apple pancake (they had a savory option as well), and we both got some coffee from trouble coffee and coconut club as outerlands was having a coffee issue that day. today caroline beeler took me back there for lunch. more homemade bread lovingly housing some grilled cheese and a salad with sliced apple and house cured sauerkraut. caroline b enjoyed the salad and a bowl of buttery carrot soup with sliced almonds. i could go back tomorrow, but it's location out at the beach means it's 20-25 minutes drive away, so it's some carbon footprint action for lunch for sure. worth it?

total recall

2009-06-29T14:45:00.000-07:00

just reminiscing about the great party al threw for my 40th saturday night. i brought home some left over oreos, handmade by julia. i'm enjoying this with one of the bouquets, provided by my sister. i still have cake left. and cheese. no more pizza. just i wish i had some of that punch.

cheerwine

2009-06-26T17:27:00.001-07:00

i'm making some cherry infused vodka for the ladies, or for the men who like lady-like cocktails. i started the pickle jar full weeks ago, but wanted a bit more so made this little weck jar full today. the cherries look so pretty at first, but the vodka sort of bleaches them out so it's nice to see this new batch looking bright. as i was working on it, wilco's theologians started playing. i was singing "i'm a cherry ghost" along with jeff before i realized that was sort of funny.

nothing

2009-06-24T14:42:00.000-07:00

nothing like working at home on your brand new ikea desk that you found on craigslist for $120 cheaper, next to a bunch of peonies and a glittery owl, with tea and cookies. if this was all taking place at the cabin i would just die.

wp fluorescent

2009-06-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

fluorescent orange seems to be grabbing my attention everywhere these days, i guess that's what that color is all about. we stumbled upon a great estate sale up in forestville this weekend on our second cabin trip. the woman who owned the house was a bit of a shop-aholic, but the goods weren't what really got me, it was her choice of wallpaper. we walked into the laundry room to find the most perfect paper ever.

the living room and dining room had some pretty good metallics, but my phone didn't capture them very well.

nothing prepared me for the kitchen paper, i was in awe. the estate sale guardian couldn't believe how excited i was and that i wanted a photo of these chickens and roosters. they are now wallpapered on my phone.

i did end up with a $6 food processor (a sunbeam oskar!) , some old sunset magazine cookbooks, and a gorgeous vera scarf which kept my greasy locks covered for the duration. to get the goods for $5 along a viewing of this papered home was heaven. i wanted to go back on sunday but we had too much to do.

uo aa apc

2009-06-17T13:01:00.001-07:00

i know it's cool to hate urban outfitters, just like it's cool to hate american apparel. i guess it's even cooler to hate them when you're kicking it in your aa t shirt and uo knee highs. i like them and i don't care. uo is selling an exclusive collection of alexander girard items and i think that's pretty cool. american apparel is selling expensive t shirts and pant suits. apc is having a sale that starts at 11 am on my 40th birthday. the russian dress is on sale.

farm

2009-06-16T18:09:00.000-07:00

i met leigh at the mid-week noe valley farmer's market this afternoon. i needed some fresh items, but this farmer's market is just as much of a rip off and disappointment at the saturday market on 24th street. i got a few things -- green garlic, little gems lettuce, yellow nectarines and a small bag of cherries (like 25 cherries for $3.50... um, no). but now that i'm home making a fruit tart and freshening up some frozen tomato sauce with the green garlic, i'm glad i went. i have been thinking about the first harvest at thewhofarm today. wonder what they harvested.

pacific

2009-06-14T17:26:00.001-07:00

we did a lot of shopping for the cabin this weekend. saturday we hit ikea for the second time in three weeks, which is pretty scary. no melt downs either. we got some bedding for the day bed so tricia has a cozy comforter to sleep under this weekend when she comes up. al got the black wardrobe he wanted, but we did not get the yellow sideboard. today we met tony up at heath ceramics and found this gorgeous pacific blue tile. we got a box of 3 x 9 and a box of 2 3/4 x 3 to tile behind the wood burning stove. this is the color we both really wanted, and we got the only two boxes in stock. tricia and i have a date planned for sunday and tony might come up to help al set the tile that day, so i'll miss it, but the space won't really allow for more than two people working anyway. i guess it's ok, tony knows what he's doing. now i'll to create a mock up so we can figure out the pattern.

pre b

2009-06-11T09:06:00.000-07:00

last night al and i wandered into cary lane for the first time. we were just wasting time, enjoying some window shopping before dinner at broken record. it's probably a good thing we hadn't gone in before because i was loving too much right away. i found a sweet little blue jacket that i'm quite tempted to go back for, but it's pretty pricey. i did end up walking out with this pair of Jean-Michel Cazabat Luxury Rebel boots. i love the creamy color and they are the softest leather. the best part is the dusty rose leather lining inside. well one of the best parts, the other best part is the snap closure in the back. they are an early birthday present to myself. i'm off to a spa now, another early birthday present courtesy of sarah. i'll ponder the jacket while i have a massage. i feel like i'm some rich housewife, but i'm neither rich nor married.

fish 'n glass

2009-06-10T08:42:00.000-07:00

up at the cabin last weekend al speared the biggest ling cod in his diving history. it was the ugliest things i'd ever seen, julia agreed. last night we cooked up some greasy fish 'n chips! we fried the fries, battered the fish, cut up some red onions for the remaining batter and waited in anticipation for it all to be ready. during the last batch of fish frying, which contained the prized cheeks, al noticed something funky in the water. the thermometer had broken during that batch and we had to toss the fish. i almost cried. we sat down to a large batch of fries and three pieces of fish. no onion rings. no cheek. no thermometer.

landing

2009-06-06T09:18:00.000-07:00

we're here and we can't believe what the young's left behind for us. we knew they were leaving their furniture, but we found they also left their tv (and there is cable somehow), sheets, towels, blankets, dish towels, some kitchen essentials and their coffee pot. we unpacked most of the things we brought, i just need to get into my kitchen boxes today and figure out how i want to set up the cabinets. there is a fire going, al just left for a dive, i've got the shout out louds going and it's time to get prepped for some cookie baking. i'll head out to the yard later to weed a little bit and cut some wild strawberries. i brought the ice cream maker up here because there is actually room in the freezer here. i want some lemon verbena to make up a batch. too bad al took my car and it's a bit far to walk anywhere. we need a bike up here. maybe i can convince al to bring up one of the 5 in our garage at home. no rain, but it's a bit cloudy. we still feel like we're in a weekend rental. oh, and obviously we snaked onto someone's wireless. that means i can study up here!

closed

2009-06-05T06:38:00.000-07:00

pine paneling here we come! we are heading up to the cabin today around noon (maybe after scoping out a great looking estate sale). my car is jam packed with stuff, and it doesn't even have any of the furniture we want to take up. we've got to borrow david's truck in a few weeks for that load. boy do i wish our kitchen looked like this, alas it's mostly white cabinets and a light counter top, but we've got some plans for improvement. i'll document all the updates and changes as they happen, our goal is to get a lot of color into the now very beige space. this kitchen belongs to the lucky marusica, and i do love her style. the only similarity we have is the electric stove, which is not going to be an easy transition after cooking on the wedgewood. we need to add propane to the house and get a gas stove in asap. it looks like rain up there, but i've got plenty to do inside. al plans on diving, but we'll see if that happens.

feeling blue

2009-06-03T16:16:00.000-07:00

with the cabin supposedly closing today, i decided to make a little treat for albert using some puff pastry & berries that need to be eaten. i chose a small egg from the farmer's market for glossing, it just seemed too small for breakfast. this little baby is blue! and i mean little, just over an inch and a half in length.

flourescent

2009-05-31T16:04:00.000-07:00

this cover really knocked me out. fluorescent orange title? i love you gourmet. and that raspberry buttermilk cakes kicks ass.

naps

2009-05-29T09:02:00.001-07:00

i've found some great vintage napkins at estate sales, these birds are my favorite. i thought i might try to use cloth napkins at my upcoming party, but i don't have enough. i tried cutting some vintage fabric with pinking shears, but the fabric still came apart. then i remembered i had these bird and shell napkins. i didn't think those two packages would be quite enough so i found a few more on etsy. i tried to coordinate the colors, but it was hard, and i couldn't pass up these cable car napkins.
in other news, the upgrade to leopard went terribly wrong and resulted in me freaking out for about 7 hours, lots of tears and major stress. thanks to aimee it's all fixed. the cabin isn't closing today like we thought so we have to spend the night in this dumb ole house. so today i decided to treat myself to arizmendi and we might go play bingo at st. paul's tonight, it just depends on the roast's schedule, al is cooking.

lucky

2009-05-25T13:27:00.000-07:00

we went to a couple of estate sales this weekend and i ended up with a few new small items, all of them black. without me seeing al purchased some japanese opera glasses. i've been wanting some for a few years and these were in good condition and cheap. i found a cute old stationery set, and this gorgeous johannes itten book called the elements of color. it's really clean and looks like it was rarely opened. it reminds me of the color theory we did back in college, huge color charts painstakingly painted 1 square inch at a time. everyone sweated those, usually for several all niters. i'll read this one up at the cabin.
i'm procrastinating but now i guess i'll upgrade to leopard. i'm trying to thwart unexpected disasters which i'm expecting.

want

2009-05-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

this house has so many great things in it, i wish our cabin could look like this. we'll definitely be replacing a lot of the furniture the current owners are leaving behind for us, so we have plenty of time to find the perfect pieces. i'd love an old bed like this, but i bet we can't find a queen size from the 50s. i also really think we should have some fish on the walls. maybe one fish is enough, but i'm going to find it out there somewhere. i'm excited to bring out my chenille yellow bedspread, it doesn't quite fit the bed or decor in this house, but it will be great up there. it's really similar to this one, but sunny yellow. hmm...more yellow.

tiles

2009-05-20T17:08:00.000-07:00

today al said he wanted to put heath tiles behind the wood burning stove at the cabin. he hadn't seen my post about this very idea from earlier this month. our stove is black and the wall behind is stark white, we can't remember what it is. i'm thinking we should create the opposite of the image in my post, black stove, teal tiles? we're placing a large orange rug in that room so i don't think orange would work. yellow or pale green would just blend in with the pine walls. but this yellow is pretty sweet. am i developing a thing for yellow?

furnished

2009-05-18T09:29:00.000-07:00

al and i spent a good part of the weekend talking about cabin furniture, what we could take up now (like an air mattress) and what we need to buy first (a sofa bed). i've been wanting this yellow sideboard from ikea for a while, but i don't know if i can talk al into it. i could deal with the black version of the cabinet if it was my only choice. we did find some things at jen and cristal's garage sale, and a few things at an estate sale, but nothing large as we don't really have room to store it here at this house. al called me this morning to let me know the sellers would like to leave all their furniture in the cabin, except a few frying pans!! everything is extremely "beige" but we can't believe the windfall, we don't have to buy a thing until we're ready and we won't have to take up an air mattress. now i really think that yellow sideboard could spice things up.

cabby

2009-05-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

the cabin inspection went off without a hitch and we are moving forward. well, al is. we are taking mom & dad up tomorrow to check it out, and it will be just the second time i've seen it myself. our plan is to get the sofa bed first, take some random pieces of furniture and the air mattress up for now, and slowly buy stuff as we can. hopefully we can score at estate sales, which we need to get back into our schedule. time for some russian river vacations! we can't wait.

d grind

2009-05-13T11:58:00.000-07:00

everyone is gone and it's back to work for me. we had a great time, but didn't take many photos. here dad is checking out an old wagon we saw up near heath/fish. we had a great time but all sort of got the cold that mom ended up with (for mother's day no less!). i'm feeling rough and canceled my library shift today. al is up north doing the cabin inspection right now. then we'll know if it's really going through! i just heard a string of email come in, time to get back to it.

cyclo

2009-05-08T07:07:00.000-07:00

after i grabbed everyone from the airport yesterday we took a drive out to cheap pete's to pick up the game fish cyclopedia. it's quite massive and there is really only one wall in the entire house it will fit on unless we hang it in the really dark hallway. the bamboo frame looks amazing and it's really impressive on the wall. it's hanging too high now, needs to come down about a foot, but we needed a safe place for it to rest and we had a nail in the wall already. once al got home we took off for some dinner at pot de pho, then headed to north beach for some dessert at stella pastry & cafe. we dropped the family off at their hotel and al and i came home to look at furniture on craigs list and ikea.

i hope to go grab this quartite creative corp lamp after we eat some breakfast, visit the de young, and stroll over to the rose garden in golden gate park. there is a great looking estate sale today, i hope i can talk them into going.

sleepy

2009-05-07T07:16:00.001-07:00

aurin, mom & dad arrive today at noon and i couldn't sleep this morning thinking of what i want to get done and what i need to get done before heading to sfo. also, word is the cabin is almost ours so i've been thinking of what we already own vs. what we have to buy and started a spreadsheet to track it all. i've also been looking at different treatments of rooms with wood paneled walls and found some really gorgeous stuff. time to hit the estate sales hard.

our paint by number clipper ship will probably have to move up north.

cabin fever take 2

2009-05-03T12:10:00.000-07:00

i tagged along with al to the golden gate park casting pools this week. he practices there using his vintage fenwick fiberglass rod, scored at an estate sale. i usually take a book and sit on a bench while he casts, but this time i got a few photos of the anglers club because the light was nice and everything is in bloom. this club must have some pull because it's one of the nicest city maintained buildings in the park. i find it really charming and wish he would join the club so i can get inside. it was built on feb. 22, 1938 A.D. according to the front door plaque.

it reminds me of the cabin we saw up at russian river saturday. we have high hopes.

mikado

2009-04-30T15:45:00.000-07:00

i walked down to the church street apothecary (yes, that name is now "illegal") this week to grab a little gifty for bonnie and saw this funky plant called mikado. i needed something to put into the pot portion of the set of ceramics my dad bought in greece back in the day... probably 40 years ago. this thing is so cute, looks sort of space age and i like that contrast with the pot. i love this little pot as well, it's self lined with a removable inner pot that is red clay. apparently the mikado's blooms last for up to 10 weeks, they are just little buds now. my dad will be excited to see the set on display. i didn't realize this photo was so blurry, but i'm too lazy to go take another one.

bamboo

2009-04-29T14:04:00.000-07:00

back from the frame shop and the price was just under what i had predicted. $357.89 later and the low poster never made it out of it's tube. ooof, art is expensive. anyway, much to the dismay of one cheap pete's framer, i chose this black bamboo. i couldn't help myself. it should be ready before the lowry's arrive next week.

preference

2009-04-29T07:13:00.000-07:00

i find art to be so personal, i guess most people do, and i was thrown a few years back when a friend gave me this print. at the time i wasn't that taken with it, now i absolutely love it. it reminds me of the cross hatch projects we had to do in school, and i love the simplicity of it.

a couple of months while ago strolling at the alemany flea market with leigh, i came across an old seagrams poster "the game fish cyclopedia." i didn't have much money on me, but the price was right and i snapped it up for al. the colors are still so bright, it was printed in 1947 but had been kept away from light.

it occurred to me this morning that i bought art for someone else, something i thought i would never do. i just couldn't stop myself. some of the fish are gone now, but it's such a cool reference to see where things used to be and al knows almost all of the species listed.

i need to get this thing framed before the family arrives, but this thing is quite large. luckily it was only $40, it will probably be about $400 to frame (i really have no idea, that number is random). i'll take along my small stakes low poster to see if i can get that done as well. al got that for me. it's an endless cycle of art giving....

wrought

2009-04-28T11:18:00.000-07:00

we got the $17 estate sale chandelier up this weekend. it's not working of course, not plugged in, but i still wanted it hanging in the hall. i love the shape of it, but might paint the fake candles black (or whatever color i paint the chandelier if i paint it one day). it adds a little something fun to the hallway, and it needed to get off the floor before the family arrives next week.

clean

2009-04-27T09:29:00.000-07:00

on our saturday trip for russian river cabin shopping, we stopped at macy's up in santa rosa to use the facilities. they were having a huge sale and al has been wanting some non stick pans. i came across this martha stewart eco friendly non stick that uses a ceramic coating instead of the scary teflon stuff. i was really happy when he said we should get it. i used it for this morning's breakfast and it was quite nice. he also let me get some new sheets, i'm working on my pink bed but he doesn't know this.

where to start

2009-04-22T07:27:00.000-07:00

leigh tagged me to post about what my "style" is. i'm not sure where to start. i guess for me it's all about color and old stuff. too bad we live in a very white house now, although sometimes that can be nice. we just miss having some color on the walls. i want to have a turquoise room one day. i don't know if al can stomach this, but he's pretty open to trying things, and i think once we painted a color that intense, it would have to stay put for a while.

i fantasize about having a large installation of heath tiles in my future home. this fireplace looks particularly awesome because it's so bright against it's black health tiled background. i find any bright color combined with black stunning.

i love complicated bedding patterns if it's done well. i hate too many large puffy pillows, but this one is just right. you see a few different pinks all working as a team. the pop of the gold and green pillows is perfect. i really like this entire house, posted on sfgirlbybay yesterday. you can see some other bed photos with different combinations and i would love to do this, i just don't have room to store all those blankets.

one of my most beloved items here at home is the avocado green sofa i grew up with. i've always loved it and it sat in our living room in north carolina where it was hardly used. when my parents decided to replace it, my dad shipped this baby from north carolina to me in sf! it came with all my grandmother's china and i bawled while i opened all the boxes. i have some other family pieces, including a china cabinet originally owned by the lowry's (grandparents), which had been passed down to my parents, then to my sister, now it's with me. my grandmother's dishes (which she purchased for her own mother) fill it now.

one of my favorite corners of this house is filled with random treasures. some estate sale finds. there are a few things that leigh got for me from lisa 's now closed store, the pickled hutch (back in the church street days). al's skateboard sits here, ready for quick trips to the store or a ride around the block (last year's birthday gift from me!). a snake plant sits in the old planter that was left in the basement at the ellsworth house. i only wish the wall behind it was a nice pea green.

my current dream house is for sale in portland right now. i'd like to get decorating in there...

return

2009-04-21T11:20:00.000-07:00

portland was really fun, but it started off rough. we made our way over to oakland via bart, and soon found our 9:55pm flight delayed until 11:40pm. then 12:50am. at that point the oh so very wise al said we should head home. our plane was stuck in denver under snow -- an unpredictable situation. we got ourselves on the 7:50am flight for saturday and headed back to the bart shuttle. good thing too, as the flight ended up leaving oakland at 2:16am, arriving in portland at 3:41am! we were asleep at home.... zzzzzzzzzz.

we ended up with a pretty full day saturday by getting in around 9:30am, so it was fine, we just lost one pre-paid night at the jupiter hotel. it was actually quite loud there so maybe that's ok. the doug fir is in the hotel parking lot and the music and drunkard's voices came right into our room. at any rate, we didn't see a show there but there were lots of bands playing or that have played we would have enjoyed. the parking garage is wallpapered with band posters. sunday nite we stayed at the kennedy school, which was a lovely and quiet relief.

we spent a lot of time checking out various neighborhoods, falling in love with the houses, and visiting friends. sunday we drove up to the gorge and stopped at the vitsa house, visited multnomah falls, and stopped by the dalles lock damn. this was by far my favorite day. portland is cool, but i didn't really care about shopping since we have so many great places here in sf. we did eat some great food, but we're pretty spoiled here.

we're not sure about moving there, but have not decided against it. we need some more trips up there. thanks to mary and scott for brunch, keith for a nice selection of bars, and seth for a thai luncheon.

mcsweeney's

2009-04-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

i don't do a lot of browsing at the library, i usually know what i want. today i ran into glen park to see if i could find a smaller book to take to portland this weekend. i'm currently reading my sister, my love by joyce carol oates and it's great, but huge. i guess i've never noticed mcsweeney's on the shelves, but glen park had a bunch! i came home with #21 (paperback) and #29 (hardback). i need to do some pre-reading to see which to take. very exciting.

portland

2009-04-17T07:37:00.000-07:00

we're taking off tonight for a weekend in portland. i've been tracking the weather to see what to expect if we eventually move there, and it's been looking pretty miserable. right now it's raining and feels like 45. we must be really lucky, though, because that rain is moving out and we're looking at close to 80 until monday! i need to rethink what i was going to pack. i found this guide to portland on superfuture, but didn't want to spend the money on it. now that i've been working i decided to download it. if we're thinking of moving there we need to know the best places to scope out and i've only got 1,000 or so on my list for the next three days. that doesn't seem nearly enough.

local

2009-04-16T11:47:00.000-07:00

i'm kind of a freak when it comes to eating local, maybe to a fault, but it just makes so much sense to me. i'm dying for california blueberries to come in because all we have in the stores are transported from chile and mexico. that's way too much transport for me to pay for or encourage. a few weeks ago i saw this super cool local foods wheel at green apple books. i thought it would be great to give to someone, but thought it might be obnoxious as well so i didn't get it. today's "the kitchn" weekly e mail from apartment therapy was all about eating local "tools". the local foods wheel is featured, along with a peak-season map from epicurious (bookmarked!), and an locavore iphone app for $2.99. damn, this was the iphone app i was meant to come up with!

the visit

2009-04-16T10:44:00.000-07:00

floridian front yard portrait, 1987

my parents (and maybe aurin, too) are coming to visit, and words cannot express how excited i am! it's been years since they've been out to the west coast and my list of places to take them is exhaustive. eating & drinking establishments alone could take up weeks: zuni cafe, bocadillos, hotel biron, anchor oyster bar, fish, kiji, the church key, broken record, hangar one distillery, tosca. as far as sights, i've got mine set on: the marine mammal center (a behind the scenes tour with tony), the academy of sciences, the de young, heath ceramics, the conservatory, free concerts (student recitals) at the san francisco conservatory of music, the alemany farmers market... let's see, so that's the plan for friday. i wonder what the weather will be like, better start checking obsessively on that.

beginning

2009-04-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

we started charley last night. i gave up with a back ache around 10:30, but looks like al made some progress by having the entire space to himself. the colors are so beautiful, we're thinking about what we can paint that nice, rich, blue color.

clothes

2009-04-14T10:36:00.000-07:00

i love looking at le vestiaire de jeanne for outfit inspirations. i *think* this gorgeous young woman is the blogger's niece, but it might be her daughter. through the archives you can see the model at a very young age, still gorgeous. i can scroll through the photos for days and wish i had all the clothes. i love the april 9 ensemble. lets see... i have a gray canvas bag, a black cardigan, black leggings, brown boots, a love of blue stripes, and a credit card.

thanks leigh

2009-04-13T14:26:00.001-07:00

or maybe i should say thanks andrew!
this weekend andrew made the lovely candied-fennel-topped lemon cake from the april issue of gourmet, and leigh just brought me the last piece. for some reason i haven't made any recipes from this issue so it's nice to get to taste one, and it's soooo good. he made some other things too, but i didn't get to bite 'em. after this tea break it's back to building out that schedule.

estates, take two

2009-04-13T07:14:00.000-07:00

saturday evening i regretted not getting a few other things at the estate sale and this has happened to me before. i did some research on the franciscan star burst pattern and decided i should have gotten all the pieces. the set wasn't complete, but there were several dinner plates, bread plates, a split serving bowl, and a pepper shaker. sunday morning while al made tiramisu for our italian themed easter dinner, i headed back to the sale. when i walked i was told all items under $100 were half off. i scooped up the dishes and found the wrought iron chandelier that had haunted me all night. al wasn't that hot on it, but i knew $35 for this was a steal. yesterday i paid half that.

bounty

2009-04-13T07:07:00.000-07:00

saturday night tricia returned from a month long trip china and brought back some great stuff. she got a soy milk maker (it makes nut milks too! i'm comin' over), tea pots, tons of tea, acupuncture supplies, and gifts for me. she brought me this super cute insulated glass tea mug and more milk tea. milk tea has been steamed with milk, then oxidized in the sun and tastes really creamy. we first tasted milk tea at aroma tea shop on clement street and i have been saving the last bits of mine. i highly recommend a trip to aroma. you'll sit at a traditional tea tasting table and learn how to really make tea, including washing the leaves first. this removes any dust/dirt from the leaves, and awakens the aroma so your guests know what's coming. you dump that hot water out, your tea cup or pot has been warmed, and you pour fresh water for brewing. go check out the aroma tea shop. the proprietor won't disappoint you. now for some milk tea.

homebrew

2009-04-12T08:21:00.000-07:00

after six weeks of infusing i strained up the calendula caress friday, added some vanilla & lavender, bottled it up, and had a little left over for tricia. the marjoram notes are much stronger than the store bought version, but the addition of some astral sea vanilla perfume oil cut that perfectly. it's warm and not too strong, great for someone who hates perfume (me).

estates

2009-04-11T15:26:00.000-07:00

al and i go to estate sales almost every weekend. sometimes they are gross and completely a waste of time, and sometimes i'm ecstatic to find a few cheap & mismatched things. today i found a pink pyrex baking pan ($4) to match the butter yellow one i love so much, a franciscan star burst creamer, and a turquoise sugar bowl that looks like it was born to go with this casserole. i'm always tempted to keep the things i find, but most of them end up in my etsy store because i don't need more stuff. one day soon i hope these finds are going into the cabin.

art

2009-04-09T12:42:00.000-07:00

i was cleaning out some bookmarks today and stumbled back onto poolga. i replaced my paint by number ship wallpaper with a pool painting by marie-claire bozant (looks like i'm into blue). i also love the images by gaston liberto. go get yourself some free art or just window shop.

dewey

2009-04-09T07:39:00.000-07:00

i passed filing & my dewey decimal tests yesterday, then made it through the interview. after my finger printing later today i'm all set to begin my new job, volunteering at the south san francisco library. they are loaded with volunteers right now and i was lucky to squeak in as the last one for a bit. i'll be there just 2 hours a week for at least 3 months, mostly just filing and shelving books and materials, but it sounds good to me. it's bound to help me prepare for school.

wedgie

2009-04-08T11:05:00.000-07:00

seems i'm into comparison shopping lately. i found these wedge canvas oxfords on urbanoutfitters.com last week and showed them to leigh. she found a similar shoe in lisazain's etsy shop and i received them yesterday. her shoes are in such great shape. i'm not sure where she finds them but this pair of grasshoppers have never been worn. buying shoes online is hard, and i rarely fit shoes i try on in a store, but i ordered these with the help of lisa's extra measurements, and they fit! perfect for strolling in portland i think. time to check on the weather there...

crepe

2009-04-07T09:10:00.001-07:00

al is home from work today because it's the giant's opening day game. he wanted to stay up late last night and i reminded him that i'm working now (& have two meetings before we leave at noon for the game). i went to bed at my normal time but slept in until 7:30 because he didn't have to wake up at 6. he made crepes for breakfast and said he would clean up, too. i ate mine with butter and a bit of organic blackberry jam i bought when we went up north to big hendy and fort bragg. it's starting to rain now, so the game should be cold and wet. i'm not excited.

back home

2009-04-06T07:40:00.000-07:00

we're back from sea ranch and it feels like we were gone for about 15 minutes. the house was perfect (except for the galley kitchen), the decks were huge, and the weather was amazing. "breakers end" was filled with great art, tons of old books, no cells phones, and comfy beds. we ate so much food, enjoyed maybe a few too many bottles of wine, and spent a lot of time on the two decks. al and i were sad to leave the watanabe's last night, they get one and a half more days. i can't believe it's going to rain tomorrow! time to check on the weather....

gold toned

2009-04-06T07:01:00.000-07:00

i've been looking at this red and gold skirt in dear golden's etsy vintage store for a few days, and found this sunny number in the anthropologie catalog yesterday. i'm not sure which one i prefer, but the prices can't even be compared. i like how the anthropologie skirt has an elastic waist, but also feel like it's really expensive for an elastic waist! would the dear golden skirt fit? if not, it's under $30. i'll sleep on it a few more days.

weather

2009-04-03T06:32:00.000-07:00

i'm sort of obsessed with checking the weather forecast and my desperate "need to know" is usually fixed by looking at weather.com or using the weather tool on my iphone several times a day. if it's raining i look to see if it's going to rain more. if it's windy (like every moment is here right now in sf) i look to see how windy.

lately al and i have been talking about moving up to portland where we can actually afford a house. i'm worried about him and the weather there, so i decided to check on it every day for a year. that was 2 weeks ago and i'm checking it for the first time now. right now it's in 49 and sunny sf, and 41 (feels like 36) and cloudy in portland. we're taking a long weekend up there soon, and i'm hoping for spring-like days. i'll soon be obsessively looking at the 10-day forecast to see what to expect.

work @ home

2009-04-02T14:16:00.000-07:00

with the recession ending (ha!) i am now working again, and at home! welcome to my new office. it's my first time working at home so i had to sort things out & this set up will also be great when school starts. i definitely needed the larger monitor, my 13" is full of love but just so teeny. i'm finally putting my ridiculously expensive steelcase chair to use since bringing it home from work last year.

the sea ranch

2009-04-01T07:02:00.000-07:00

this weekend we are heading up to the sea ranch with sarah, mas, bella (9) and ethan (21 months). it's sarah's birthday so we're packing up the champagne and hoping for good weather. if not we've got games, food, puzzles, the beach in the rain, a wood stove, a hot tub, and a pineapple upside down cake. hopefully al will find a bounty of abalone and some nice fish for dinner on his saturday dive.

new american paintings

2009-03-31T16:00:00.000-07:00

i love to peruse new american paintings at my local news stand. there are six regional issues per year, and each artist showcases three paintings. their resume is included as well, and i love to see when and where they were born. if i like their work i try to relate to the painter based on where and when they were born.

cabin fever

2009-03-30T09:46:00.000-07:00

al has been looking at cabins up on the russian river lately. we've been surrounding ourselves with library books on remodeling, dwell magazine, apartment therapy, and thoughts of the ideally designed kitchen using heath tile. we've already decided to furnish it via estate sales. san francisco is just too expensive for us, but there are cute & affordable places up there in need of tons of work. this could serve as practice for our real home in some locale to be determined.

charley

2009-03-28T16:38:00.000-07:00

al and i can't wait to start our new puzzle. 1000 pieces of charley harper!

apc dreams

2009-03-27T06:50:00.000-07:00

i love to look at the new apc collections, but can't quite commit to ordering. these two looks caught my eye but they aren't practical here in sf and that makes me feel better. i like to take a spin through the men's collection as well. i think al would wear that, but probably not many of the other looks.

new old stuff

2009-03-25T07:23:00.000-07:00

after visiting my family in north carolina last month, my parents sent me home with their very old & loved cast iron pan. i've been in serious want for one of these for several years, and i don't know why i never bought one. i'm so glad i didn't because i love this pan. every time i use it i think of mom making cornbread back in our house in cary. we've cooked with this at least once a week since it came home and met our wedgewood. i found the orange cast iron grill pan at an estate sale recently, and sold it's mate on etsy.

calendula caress

2009-03-24T07:36:00.000-07:00

i love this stuff but i thought i'd try making it myself using some instructions from earthly bodies & heavenly hair. i've been shaking my concoction for 4 weeks now and it's a lovely golden color. next i need to strain it through some muslin and add lavender and vanilla to the olive oil, which has been infused with calendula and marjoram. we'll see how it compares. i once gave a bottle of this to angela, i wonder if she uses it.

morning person

2009-03-23T08:09:00.000-07:00

in my youth i was definitely a morning person, and maybe i still am now. i'm trying to prepare for a more hectic life so i want to get up early again. when al leaves for work at 6:25 he always comes back in the bedroom to say goodbye. i open my side of the curtain while still in bed, grab his digital alarm clock and place it beside me (i can't see my clock in the dark) & usually get up about 10 minutes later. i have this little race to get the bed made and open the curtains wide before my neighbor. today i won.