A Day in the City

Aaron and I had an entire day off together, and we spent it in San Francisco. We visited some of our usual favorites as well as going to the galleries at 49 Geary. Aaron surprised me by taking me to the Stephen Wirtz Gallery to see the work of Kathryn Spence who is an incredible scupltor/fiber artist.  I was so close to buying one of her tiny owls for a cool 4k before Aaron brought me back down to the realization that I paid that for my used Honda and couldn't afford it even if I did max out every credit card I own! Her work is truly beautiful, and someday I hope  to actually be able to afford one of her pieces!



She used bits and pieces of fabric, paper, feather, fur etc all tied and wrapped with string, held in place with pins etc to create these amazingly lifelike creatures.  The gallery also has a pair of coyotes she created and some miniature scenes/drawings as well. The show is up until August 22nd, and is truly worth the trip!


We also stopped by Bell'Occhio on Brady and the Kinokuniya bookstore in Japantown. 

I bought scissors with 8 blades at Bell'Ochio for cutting paper fringe, and found three wonderful books at Kinokuniya...

Nathalie Lete is one of my favorite illustrators and her books can be hard to find in the states, This one is both Japanese and French so I can read it, but I mostly will just enjoy the pictures!

This is a book on making fabric flowers. The illustration are beautiful!

Paris Brocante. I will use this as a travel guide on my next trip.

And no trip to the city would be complete without a stop by Miette for les macarons!

It was a perfect day!

Day Two in Seattle

I am always on the search for les macarons. Our first stop was le panier in Pike Place market. The macarons had good texture and were pretty tasty, but our favorite macarons came later in the day...
These jewel toned macarons we discovered at Honore Artisan Bakery in Ballard. Although these macarons were larger than their Parisian counterparts, they were delicious! Our favorites were the salted caramel with coconut and the lavender with lavender ganache. Their other pastries and confections were equally delicious!

Our most memorable find of the day was Bella Umbrella just next to Honore Bakery in Ballard.
This tiny shop displayed dozens of vintage umbrellas from the ceiling and housed a myriad of unusual and unique styles along their shelves. All the umbrellas were arranged by color which made for the most breathtaking presentation!

Aaron found this 50's double layered umbrella that was black on the outside with a floral scalloped lining.
The owner rents most of these vintage umbrellas out for weddings and other events, but she also makes a signature pagoda umbrella which I had to have. I chose a pink pagaoda canopy with a red wooden handle. I'm so taken with the shape and style of this umbrella! It has me dreaming of flying away like Mary Poppins!
I also loved this pink and black plaid umbrellas from the 50s...
My pink pagaoda umbrella!