A Perfect Saturday

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So a "perfect" day for me would include tea, something delicious to eat and a walk in a pretty setting. If you add a great find of unique store or some treasure, then the day is complete. Based on those guidelines, I guess I had the perfect Saturday...

First, Earl Grey at Cafe Triste in Berkeley...

Second, a trip to the Farmers' Market for French melons, nasturtium salad greens and some other goodies...





Third, a trip to UC Berkeley's Botanical Gardens...

Last, lunch at Sol Food in San Rafael. Delicious plantains, homemade sparkling limeade, black beans and rice and greens tossed in the tartest, spiciest hot sauce I've ever eaten!

Then a peek in Donna Seager Gallery at the book show on now... I love these book pods...

A Reading Nook for Two

My bedroom has been rather dull for months. It always seems like its the last room in the house to receive any attention. I added a little woodland charm last night with some lichen covered oak branches, making this reading nook fit for two little fairies. I made buntings out of scrap fabric to make it even more magical.

Happiness...

Sometimes it is the simplest of things can spark a sense of joy...

An old, unassuming wooden box when opened houses this very loved set of chalk pastels, a spectrum of jewel tones.  Owner of Maison Rêve, Yasmine, has it sitting on her desk for inspiration. I always loved to know this dusty box held an unexpected treasure. It takes my breath away every time I open the lid.

Sunday Hunting

Spent the morning and afternoon at the Alameda Point Flea Market.  I was there at 6:30 for a couple of hours before jaunting off to Pt Reyes to drop Aaron off at work. I still had plenty of antiquing hours left in the day, so I returned to Alameda and met my Mom for some good ole' fashion shop till you drop time! I found a couple of great buys, but after the sun shone through the grey morning, the crowd swelled to breaking and I was happy to call it quits around 2. Its a great show if you can make it... the 1st Sunday of every month, rain or shine!!!!

Down the Rabbit Hole....

I am so excited and impatient for this movie to be released in theaters!  The trailer is magical....

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!

I came across this photo of me when I was about 2 when I was scanning family photographs to upload to digital picture frame I bought my Grandma last Christmas. I think of this weekend and the dozen of photos I snapped so easily with my digital SLR of Mila and her friends at her birthday. Nadia at 6 1/2 reminds me of me when I was that age. Confident and prancing around the park in a pair of butterfly wings, posing for the camera. Photos are so easy these days. Most often they remain images sitting on a chip, a hard drive or a desktop file. How often do I search out the album on the bookshelf? Hardly ever. When I was a teenager, I used to look through the albums of me as a child, remembering certain holidays or favorite, long lost toys  now immortalized in a glossy 4x6. I wonder if Nad and Mi will remember the moments those photos were snapped. Will Mila remember her 4th birthday at the park, the lemon and vanilla cupcakes melting in the sun? I don't remember this day, this backyard stoop or this hat. The two front teeth are a familiar sight; I still have those, larger than the rest of teeth smiling back at me...