So long. Farewell.

Wow. I can't believe how amazing it has been to let myself take some serious time off this past week. By the time I go back to work I will have had 10 days off in a row. People are always ranting about staycations and how nice they are but I normally set aside time off for travel and sun and drinking cocktails on beaches. Our trip to Tacoma got cut short by J's work obligations so we trudged back early and I have spoiled spoiled myself by cancelling all of my workouts, not blogging, not doing much of anything productive. I let go of all of my guilt and haven't worried about anything other than food wine and spending quality time with my new favorite person, Wyatt (who is the most sweet tiniest little bundle of love that you could ever imagine). It has been so nice. The thing about just letting yourself sit and relax is that you are suddenly !BOOM! filled with inspiration from all sides places spaces people. I know it has to end and life will go back to normal next week and, with it, all of the stress and pressure. But for now I could not imagine a more perfect way to usher this year out, and a new one in.

2011 has been a most interesting year for me. As someone who thrives, probably way too much, on change, I have had to learn to sit with life as it is sometimes-unchanging. It was a bit of a battle for me. To just BE with the way things are right now. I got told no a lot this year, from all directions it seems. So much so that I really did not have a choice but to simply stop trying to step over that line, and just stand in that space. and wait. and see. and wonder. and hope that the path would clear. But it's been good for me and I feel super optimistic about 2012. My slate is clean bitches. Sparkling shiny new. And I fully intend on celebrating all of it tonight with dear friends and loves.


Baring a massive hangover (which is fairly likely, I'll let you know right now), I'll be back tomorrow and back on my regular schedule with tons of newness.

Cheers ponies!

image via

Happy Holidays!

*Yesterday was one of the most awesome days*

Happy birthday to the cutest littlest man ever.

{ps: your mom and dad are the best}

But today, today, is the day we ship out for Tacoma for the holiday! I will be leaving my computer and all of it's distractions at home in SF and focusing my full attention on relaxing and enjoying family and friends. I hope you all have the most magical of days filled with twinkling lights, warm fires and lots of love.
xoxo

Islands in the Stream.

It hit me in a big way today how much I'd love to get away. Get out of the country. To an island with palm trees, crashing oceans and hot sand. In a room that jets out over the water so you can leave the windows open and hear the waves when you close your eyes.

I've always traveled. It is one of my favorite things to do. I love the ritual. The packing, the airport, cocktails on the plane, the hot humid air hitting you full force when the door opens, gathering your bags, hopping in the car and just going. Living in little more than flip flops and a bikini for weeks. Napping at noon. Drinks at sunset and early bedtimes. Every single day is like a new adventure (total cliche, I know, but it's true). There is nothing quite like seeing a place for the very first time. How different it is than you ever imagined it would be. How helpful it can be for putting things in perspective. A fantastic reminder that all of this other crap like bills and jobs and errands is, well, just that. Crap.

The next place I'd really love to go would be Italy and the South of France. I'd like to eat my way in and out of both, do a lot of wine drinking and a lot of staying in very beautiful hotels. It is on my list for the next to do and I already can't wait. But today, I'm feeling something different.

I'm feeling this:

Yes please.

*St. Barth's April 2011*

*Thailand 2010*

I see some trip planning coming up. Any recommendations?

Oh my.

Don't you just want to be here right now?

I do.

this and that: silver

The latest with B.

This:

That:

This room is aaaaamazing.
I cannot describe my love for it.
metallic Togo sofa*wood table*gold speakers*great art
seriously

images via
Jak&Jil
Richard Powers

What the?

You guys, what is this lamp in the first photo??? I'm dying over it and have no idea what it is. If you've got any clues, please let me know statum.

xoxo

9.

Dudes. It is seriously depressing when your stats say only 9 people, 9! people, in the whole entire world looked at this blog yesterday. That is not a lot of people in case you were wondering. Ugh. I have got to figure out how to get more of you on board. In the meantime, I'm going to get a peppermint mocha in a holiday cup to cheer myself up. This is bullship. And there will be a real post later, for all of you 9 people to look at, don't worry. I just need to wake up first. And do a little Christmas shopping. Until this afternoon lovers.

Dining Out: Park Tavern.

Got up early this morning to catch some breakfast at our favorite place, Plow. Now home to watch football and read next to the tree. It feels more like Christmas everyday.

Thinking of spots to head for dinner tonight and this place is definitely on the list. Went there a few weeks ago with friends and loved loved loved the feel of the space. Living in SF and eating out oftentimes results in dining in spaces that all feel remarkably similar. Small minimal design bare Edison bulbs hanging en masse all over the place. I mean, I like it. But it is nice to be in a space that encourages a different vibe. That feels like you aren't really dining in SF, but maybe in NYC or somewhere along the Eastern seaboard. Park Tavern did it for me.

The food is pretty amazing, not surprised because Marlowe is so good too. However, it really is the whole package that makes it such a pleasant dining experience. It is completely neighborhood appropriate. North Beach was positively begging for something new. But it accomplishes that so hard to achieve feeling that it has been there since the beginning of time. It is the kind of place to have a full cocktail hour at the candlelit bar followed by bubbles and raw bar at the table. It manages to be young and hip, and the perfect place to bring your parents when they are in town. It feels a bit old school if you will. A bit New York, a bit New Orleans. It certainly captured my heart.

*the seal at the entrance, complete with Est. 2011, makes the restaurant seem like a permanent fixture*

*the exterior, perfect for dining on Washington Square Park on a sunny day or a cold foggy night*

*the front dining room area overlooking the park*
*tufted leather banquettes create cohesion and add contrast to the bistro chairs*
*this wall color is lovely mushroomy taupe perfection*

*the bar, vaguely Wayfare Tavern-ish*
*and those beams on the ceiling, oh boy, those are beautiful*

*the main dining room*
*love how the dining areas have such different decor, breaks up the large room without the use of walls*

Not a bare Edison bulb in sight.

The design was a collaborative effort between owner Anna Weinberg, Parc Interiors' Kendra Nicholas Nash and Kevin McCreight of Vonnegut Thoreau Construction. Very possibly heading here for dinner tonight. Very very possibly.

images here here here here here

Currently Coveting.

Not even currently. This is a long-standing-always-will-want-it-you-should-probably-just-go-ahead-and-buy-it-for-me-because-I'll-find-space-for-it covet. It is so perfect for reading and being and breathing and sitting and, you get it. It's a classic. I want. If you are looking to purchase this for me I'd prefer an oatmeal boucle, but I would really be pretty happy with all colors except red and orange. Don't even think about it.

The Womb Chair
Eero Saarinen for Knoll
available in any store that sells good s$%t
(but also here)

*hello lover. yes, you. in the middle. with the black legs.*

*chartreuse??? so unlike you. but still amazing.*

images via $, $, $, $, $

Into the bloghole.

Ho Hum. ho hum. ho hum. ho hum. hum diddity dum.


In an odd turn of events this year Christmas is a little over a week away and I still have no Christmas spirit. Absolutely zero. It doesn't even feel like the holidays. There is no festivity. No celebration. No cheer. At this point I have purchased no gifts I have stopped decorating and haven't baked one cookie. Scrooge indeed.

I wonder what happened.

onto the next one.

{this site wakes up my mind and provokes me}

{bah humbug. but i love these christmas trees}

{one and two very good features to look at and read in the NYTimes}

{some clever design ideas from an SF designer-love love love the rainbow fish}

{holiday issue of Rue is out}

{stephmodo has some great wrapping ideas for the holidays}

{can't read anything on the site but it's super fun to look at}

{for you bike lovers out there, and in SF, that means e'erybody}

{a little green for your abode}

{could be interesting, hopefully looks as good as it seems}

And that's all today loves! The good news is, since I started this post I went and worked out and did some errands and I am in a much more Christmas-y mood now.
Jubileeeeeee!!!!
xoxo

Busy bee, busy day.

Christ. I have no time to blog today. As mentioned before one of my girls is having her first babe. Due any day now. That means distraction, and lots of it. I'm so excited to meet the little man, I can't even imagine how she must be feeling. So, before I head out to lunch, I'll leave you with one of my favorite homes. That of Keri Russell and her husband, Shane Deary. It was featured in Elle Decor sometime back and it has always stuck with me for it's simplicity and continuity (see the same chandelier in both the living room and dining room). Works for me.

Pitter patter, my heart. It's beautiful.

*clean simple, totally attainable*

*the color palette stays true to itself throughout the entire home*
{My lovely boyfriend would call this boring, as he tells me about the color scheme in our own home. I disagree entirely. I think it exhibits taste and restraint.}

*really like how the dressing room is feminine without being girly*

*who wouldn't want to eat here, next to this fireplace?*
{plus, I have those chairs and covet that Ochre chandelier}

A life in a photo.

Doesn't this bathroom seem like it would belong to an older woman? Sophisticated. Divorced or widowed. Reads when she gets into bed. Takes baths. Kids out of the house. A bit eclectic. Shops the flea markets all around world by herself. A closet slightly barren, only her uniform of classics and the occasional accessory. Gardens. Cooks amazing food. And lives a completely lovely life alone, but not lonely.

bathroom of Barbara Sallick, cofounder of Waterworks
via House Beautiful

Housing crisis.

We've been casually looking for a new apartment for months now with no luck. Our apartment is not bad by any stretch. But it is extremely loud. Noise from both up and down plus outside. The orientation is odd, with the living room and kitchen facing the outside stairwell. This may not sound horrible but the fact that you can never ever sit in your living room, or cook, and see the sky, well, it IS horrible. And somewhat depressing. It feels like we live in a cave.

This city is the absolute worst for apartment hunting. We looked for months before we found this place and it was, literally, the only place that was even acceptable. It was difficult before but now, with the whole housing crisis nonsense, it has gotten out of control. Factor in the dog and, holy smokes, we'll be living here for the rest of our lives.

I thought I would take this opportunity to share some dream features that I would like our new apartment to have. And when I say dream, I mean dream.

*an attic bedroom*
*and some beautiful wide plank wood floors*

*wood beams*


*brick walls*
*NYC style windows*


*a legit dining room with space to actually have people over for dinner*
*open floor plan wouldn't suck either*


*oh a yard. what i wouldn't do for a yard*
*and a front door that is all your own*


*and windows that actually face something other than the building next door*
*sunlight. moonlight.*


*an office*


*a working wood-burning fireplace for the cold SF nights*


*claw foot tub*
*window in the bathroom*


*high high ceilings*
*Victorian architectural details intact*


*how about an Aga? or just a full-sized oven*


*a dishwasher*
*and a partridge in a pear tree*

And that about sums it up. Lemme know if you find one for me!

Design in the LV.

Back from the Vegas one-nighter, already caught up on sleep and preparing for a new week. Whew. That was seriously a quick little trip. We had a blast, got hooked up with a completely amazing suite at The Cosmopolitan. Ate some good food, drank some good wine, lost some money but not enough to matter. And saw a show. Which I don't care to go into any more details about because it completely pissed me off. We'll just leave it at that. My love affair with Jay-Z is ovah. Hovah.

I thought it might be interesting to hash out some design related aspects of the weekend. And, by aspects, I mean let's talk some sh*t about the design of The Cosmopolitan. Come on, it'll be fun. Trust me.

I fully understand that going to Vegas means leaving all notions of well-designed things behind. Everything is completely overdone glammed up cheesy over the top shiny huge, you get it. I do, however, fully embrace it because it's so far outside of my normale. It ups the vacation factor. Like you really feel like you are getting away. Anyhoo.

The Cosmopolitan was designed by Rockwell Group which, to be honest, I don't really care about. The hotel has said since they opened that they want to redefine the Vegas experience. It is definitely different than, say, The Palazzo. Much younger vibe. And some parts I thought were rather fun and whimsical. Like this:

The Chandelier Bar.

Kinda fab just because who doesn't want to drink champagne in a huge chandelier. Right?? I mean, yes, it is kitsch and ugly but I can appreciate it for the context. Bling bling. This is what I was expecting from this property. Fun, young, different.

This is the lobby, below. Those columns are screens that are constantly in flux. Different images popping up all the time. Again, I don't hate this. It seems appropriate. It fits the image.

Same with these fixtures. Those are glass chain links coming down the middle of the curtain. I mean, I hate them. But they work here.

And this image of the escalator. Perfect. So far, I like the silver and black scheme going on here. Everything is completely over the top but it's cohesive and has a point of view.

And then it all falls apart. Look down folks, look down. What is that floor? Oh my. It is so ugly. Doesn't it just take you back to hanging out at the mall in 8th grade?

I mean, what is going ON here? Or what ISN'T going on here? Chandeliers. Swirly carpet. Swirly floor. What happened?

And this. This is where I just got lost. Look out. This is the floor where the shops and some restaurants are. In most hotels in Vegas, this area still looks like part of the actual hotel. Not here. Totally different vibe. Weird color scheme change into earth tones.

Odd clusters of vintage mid-century furniture. I actually loved some of the chairs here but they just did not fit in with the rest of the design.

I felt like I was on an episode of Design Star. Barf.

I was rather smitten with this though. Foosball table made with little non-athletic characters likes brides, rockstars, clowns, nuns and the good ole Jesus Christo, you name it. Bad photo but I couldn't get any better with this light. And saddle chairs to complete it. Nice.


Our room was nice and tasteful I must say. Perfect place to kick back.

And it had this massive tub. And we know how I feel about tubs.


Until next time. Another trashy trip. Another day.

Saints are playing right now, might win the division today. Who dat.

*********