mcsweeney's

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.