Up to speed...

It's a new to me computer.



I'm so happy!! It's a hand-me-down from Sergio. He cleaned it up, installed stuff he thought I would want, and gave it to me. Yep. He's the best.



Now I feel like I'm moderately hip with the times. Seriously, my old machine REQUIRED at least one system crash before I was able to continue using it EVERY TIME I started it up.

Not Black Friday Shopping

I supported Small Business Saturday in a big way this year. I was happy to discover great new (to me) lines and even met a couple of the designers!

Group picture (l-r):

Naked Zebra cowl criss-cross sweater top. (Lady)
Vintage beaded sleeveless sweater, perfect for NYE! I love that the tag reads: Made in British Hong Kong. It makes me think of my family. (Owl Talk)
Popomomo wine colored ladder top made from Tencel - derived from wood pulp! super cool. (Letters from L.A.)
Myne by Ashley Ann top. (Letters from L.A.)

These new duds are puttin' a swagger in my step.

Ok. Well, that was fun. Back to not shopping for a while. My wallet is gaping at me and it's not pretty. ;-)

Quiet moments

Plate of homemade madeleine cakes, cup of clam chowder, heap of fall leaves.





Some of the loveliest moments about extra long weekends are those we manage to unrush.

Thanksgiving 2011

We opted to purchased an already roasted turkey. Mom had a hook-up from work and it was the best turkey ever! Also, dad made the best hot & sour soup ever! I didn't even know he knew how to make this dish. Mental note: Get this recipe!


Hot & Sour soup
Honeybaked ham
Roasted turkey
Sticky rice
Mashed potatoes
Brussels sprouts
Candied pecan yams
Madeleines
Sponge Cake

Rosemary champagne cocktail
Lots of wine

Friends Thanksgiving 2011

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! Are you ready? I'm hosting at our house but only contributing veggies this year. :) I did make gravy for Friends Thanksgiving, a tradition Liz and Nels started before they moved temporarily to Australia. It was restarted last year when Liz and Amy hosted at Liz and Nels' old loft. Now that they all live together, we headed over to Amy & Omar's last Saturday to continue this delicious tradition.











Of course, one of the best parts of Thanksgiving dinner is the next day. We scored some amazing leftovers!


Full set here.

What a yummy and cozy evening. I am so thankful to have these friends with whom I get to make such wonderful memories. What are you thankful for this year?

Oh, and psst! Gobble Gobble Give!

November feels like...

Monday Meow!

Sometimes we treat Mia like the baby of the family. But look. Can you blame us?



mew.

Nature via parcel post

I love receiving packages! Especially when the box contains heavenly scented treats from Juniper Ridge. (Psst! These are perfect gift ideas! Just in time for the holidays.)

I even sniffed the packing material a few times. I'm still on my Big Sur bar so won't be moving on to the soaps just yet. Can't wait to try the tea soon. I did spritz a little of the Cascade Glacier room spray and mmm......like a stroll through dense pine forest. None of the cloying fakery from regular room sprays. This was fresh, natural and beautiful.

Thank you @WildflowerHiker!!!

Sprout Pendant Lamp - Jonathan Adler

We installed a new pendant lamp for the vestibule!




I neglected to take a photo of our old light which is standard issue Home Depot. I believe the brand is Hampton Bay based on this photo from the Home Depot website:




It came with the house and works just fine. However, since the vestibule has been slowly getting a little makeover anyway, we've kept our eyes peeled for a suitable replacement. We wanted something stylish but not too flashy and mounted high enough to allow the front door to swing open underneath. Of course, we always consider vintage first. But quite honestly, vintage mounted ceiling lamps in good shape and affordable are hard to find. So we've been looking at new fixtures.

There were two I really liked from West Elm. The Glass Jar Pendant in the Small. (The shorter one.)

And a mirrored semi-flush mount:

If we lived closer to a West Elm store, we might have have taken the plunge with one of these earlier.

But then I saw the Jonathan Adler Sprout pendant on sale right before Halloween. Conveniently, Jennie's birthday breakfast was not far from the store and since we were in the neighborhood anyway, we picked one up! Lucky too. I think there was only a couple left - I guess it's a popular design.

The unglazed, translucent porcelain bisque is so pretty. I think it's refined and clean, with a touch of whimsy.

It's been sitting in a basket until this past Sunday when we raced the setting sun to get it installed.



Yes, that's a pumpkin carving knife and yes, Sergio did use it during the install.



I love it!

The bulb is a little bright for now. Not that we would be hanging out in the vestibule very often.

Visiting with Elora

Baby Elora was born just over two weeks ago at the end of October. We've visited with her and her parents a few times since the hospital.

11/01/2011


Amazing how quickly babies changes.

11/14/2011





So nice to spend time with Betsy and Justin in their cozy home. I know it was rough when Elora first came home, but they've adjusted well in just a couple weeks! They are so relaxed and natural with her -- it's great to witness.

Monday Meow!

I sit Micio on my lap sometimes. Her legs stick straight out in front like a little cat person. It's like this when her pear shaped physique is most noticeable.

clickflashwhirr

clickflashwhirr

Juniper Ridge

Am ♥loving♥ Juniper Ridge, the products and the company.

From the Juniper Ridge website:

The mission of Juniper Ridge is to create unique and beautiful wildcrafted products from native western plant and tree trimmings. At Juniper Ridge, we practice sustainable harvesting methods and we believe in defending Western wilderness by donating a portion of every dollar sold.

I came across this amazing line of products for the first time at Driftwood in Silver Lake. Walking into the store was like I had just brushed against a wild sage bush on a warm afternoon hike in Malibu. The scent was amazing.

So when I suddenly and involuntarily slid my eyelids closed, flared my nostrils and inhaled deeply while walking past a particular booth at the SF farmer's market, I recognized the experience immediately. I just had to bring some of that home. (BTW: I'm proud to say that this is the only non-food/travel related item I purchased the entire trip!)



I scrubbed up with the soap this morning and it was lovely. The scent is actually quite subtle. I think I might pick up a bottle of the natural room spray. A spritz from one of these magical bottles is like a 3 second journey into fresh, wild nature.

Iberico Tapas, a pop-up restaurant

Last Sunday, after our ritual weekend coffee from Cafe de Leche, we came across a pop-up restaurant happening in El Chapin, our local Guatemalan restaurant and cafe. As of this posting, the Yelp listing says El Chapin is closed, which is not true. It was for a second but now it's open again.

The chef for Iberico Tapas hails from Spain and his wife told us they were hoping to open a permanent storefront someday. The menu featured an interesting and diverse mix of tapas dishes, and a smattering of entrees. We choose one entree and two tapas to share.






I'm sorry I didn't steal a menu so I could describe the dishes we ordered properly. They all had beautiful Spanish names that I could not pronounce.

Terrine of truffle potato mousse topped with poached egg and American caviar.
Braised pork with potato and egg
Cod puree spread

Regardless of what they were called, each dish was SO delicious. Yummmy. We liked it so much that we want to call all our friends down for a brunch there next Sunday! The pop-up will be running every Sunday, 11AM - 3PM, until the end of the month (I think).

Monday Meow!

Witness Mia, the maine-coon-lynx cat, gazing at an artform humans call kinetic sculpture.

Time for another shave, don't you think? But it's been kind of cold lately. Maybe we'll hold off.

Work and Play in San Francisco

My work sent me to a workshop in San Francisco at the tail end of last week. Sergio was left to his own devices during the day while I was in the workshop, but the evenings were all our own. You can jump right to the full photo album by clicking here!

We spent a lot of time at the Ferry Building since it was just down the block from the hotel. More than once I wished aloud that L.A. had a place like this. It reminded me of Faneuil Hall in Boston.



Every single one of the shops/restaurants were beautifully put together.




View of the Bay Bridge from the Ferry Building


Of course, we ate and drank a lot.




And were tuckered out from hours of wandering on foot.

(Psst! Don't tell Sergio I posted this.)

We sprung for an extra night at the hotel so got to have Saturday brunch at MarketBar. Glad we did because these were quite possibly the best egg dishes we've every had.



This city is one of those places that I wish we lived in every time we visit. I think we left our hearts in San Fraanciscoo.