-favorite colors-

2011-02-19T20:12:00.000-08:00

It's been nearly two full years since I've been in this space. I hadn't felt much like visiting but it's suddenly become appealing again.

This year I've set myself one real goal (other than enjoying time with my new little family): spend a bit of energy doodling, drawing and painting. I'm embarrassed to say that it's been almost 6 years since I've picked up a paint brush with any real intention. I think I'll start out slow, with a pen and some paper, but I hope to use this space to encourage more art. Fingers crossed....it's surprisingly intimidating.

2009-03-04T13:11:00.000-08:00

i seem to be taking a bit of a break from this spot

i'll be back at some point
for now, you can find me over here a bit more regularly
talking home and garden

2009-02-26T15:54:00.000-08:00

3 things on my mind these days:
knitting
cooking and eating
this place (via budget travel (thanks ma!))

2009-02-23T13:08:00.001-08:00

working working working...

2009-02-20T12:52:00.000-08:00

oh happy happy friday.

during my lunch break, i picked up some books i ordered from the library.
came back to the office and molly's book was here!
plus, i found this favorite book on the $.25 shelf !start of a great weekend....

2009-02-14T09:20:00.001-08:00

hail!

2009-02-12T13:23:00.000-08:00

this was a gift a while back

from my mom

it was her first knit blanket
i picked the colors
and she went crazy with the design
isn't it lovely?
it was supposed to be a couch blanket
but we sleep with it every night
i was reminded of it when i this

2009-02-10T15:29:00.000-08:00

winter skies

2009-02-09T13:11:00.000-08:00

rainy weekend trip to port costa
good friends, drinks and board games
(and maybe a dance party or two)

2009-02-08T17:50:00.000-08:00

we live in a happy harmony with our house spiders

it's an old house
nature's just outside the door
it's hard to avoid

they don't bother us
so we don't bother them
(unless they get REALLY big and mean looking)

i kind of think the baby spiders are cute
(dead fly in top photo shown for scale)

2009-02-04T12:02:00.000-08:00

got this great puzzle as a gift from my favorite german

hand-cut, nice thick pieces
(german, of course)
we worked on it furiously
until we hit the grey and white blank pieces
then it sat, unfinished, in our living room for months

while we were away on vacation
our friend finished it for us
what a relief!
just packed it up last weekend

2009-02-03T13:25:00.000-08:00

been a busy few weeks

quiet past weekend
planted new vegetable seeds
crossed my fingers for the struggling broccoli seedlings
got really happy over our suddenly blooming camelia bush
and enjoyed fantastically sunny weather

2009-01-23T12:50:00.000-08:00

i saw this sign last weekend.

i like the fish letters.

and thanks for your sweet comments
gearing up for the next knitting project.

happy weekend!

2009-01-22T11:25:00.000-08:00

this is the first sweater i've ever knit.
it was supposed to be this,
but i was scared of seaming.
so i made a top-down raglan
and used the general idea from the orignal pattern.
it's a little snug in the shoulders,
the sleeves are a bit too long,
the collar isn't what i wanted, and
my buttonholes aren't so slick.
but i made it!

i might try again and actually follow the pattern.
i have to face my fear of seaming....

2009-01-21T20:11:00.000-08:00

took a trip to the de young this weekend.

the maya lin exhibit was fantastic.
i should have gone earlier so i could revisit it a second time...tant pis.
the yyves st. laurent exhibit was also pretty great.
looking forward to renting the documentary.

2009-01-20T15:20:00.000-08:00

our orakle animals for the new year
a friend, in germany, plays a new year's game
she reads your fortune from the figure that emerges
from a pill you place in warm water
ours are a bit delayed because they had to make the voyage from germany
waiting to hear what she decrees for us
but so far, not a bad start for a new ~~year~~ era.

2009-01-15T12:51:00.000-08:00

this weekend

looking forward to...

- cleaning the house
- cooking and baking
- planting some new veggies
- finishing up random projects

and then, if i dare to leave the house,
i'd like to see this and this

happy weekend!

2009-01-15T09:09:00.000-08:00

so many things to lust after (so many on sale, too!)
don't even come close to fitting the budget...

leonora dress (more than half off!)

the top is pretty nice, too

lermontov jacket
virgina johnson shawl: birds and camels (both on sale)
thanks to lena for rekindling the pining...

brown leather bag by lolli

mociun weave-print dress

and a couple of realistic/likely-to-happen purchases:
cafe chair for my new tall desk

vintage locker baskets for organizing (want)
affordable new version here

2009-01-13T13:06:00.000-08:00

our own little radishes!
(and lots of rearranging...)

2009-01-07T08:42:00.000-08:00

back from glorious vacation days.... here's a bit of what we did:

mexico city at night too big for us for this trip, we took off the next morning by bus oaxaca city

la noche de rabanos (radish carving festival!)food and good eats monte albanchristmas eve in oaxaca night bus to puerto angel

early morning drop-off got to see fisherman coming in

swimming, snorkeling, reading and whale watching!st. agustillino for more swimming and snorkeling
forgot to take any photos

corallero (bus to pinotepa (with live music, taxi to playa corallero, boat to the town)empty gorgeous beach and amazing lagoon and peaceful countryside
freshest, most delicious fish and crab night in pinotepa nacional

new year's eve day and new year's day in acapulco:

opposite extreme of the empty beaches we lovedfantastic cliff divers and sunset

dinner in mexico city and sleeping in the airport

2008-12-19T14:32:00.000-08:00

happy holidays to everyone!
see you in the new year...
below, treats for my sweets!
(ma, don't look...you'll ruin your surprise)

ps-
1st batch, thermometer busted in the pot, glass shards everywhere
2nd batch, didn't set (lack of thermometer and better candy-making skills)
3rd batch, eau de garlic (bad idea to cut on well-used wooden cutting board)
4th batch, yum!

2008-12-19T08:50:00.000-08:00

if you haven't been already,

the new academy of sciences is well worth the steep $25(!) ticket

lizard toes!

we finished up the day with a fantastic meal at ppq dungeness island
i would share photos if we hadn't wolfed the meal faster than a flash bulb
i highly recommend the peppercorn prawns and the garlic noodles

2008-12-17T10:06:00.000-08:00

working on getting together holiday gifts and cards.

i had a disaster of lucille ball proportions with one item in my gift packages.

will share full story at a later date...
cards i printed on my gocco.
the two images are inspired by our home
the top image, in red and gold, is a eucalyptus branch from one of our trees
the bottom image is inspired by the 12 redwoods we planted

2008-12-11T16:55:00.001-08:00

(holiday crafting day last weekend)

i was tagged by daphne of dlittlegarden.
i played this once before, but i'm game for a second round.
6 things
------

1. at 5'8" i often feel like the shortest person in the room at family gatherings.
this is because many of my loved ones are very tall.
my baby brothers are 6'2" and 6'7"

2. i've been taking german classes, off and on, for about 3 years now
but should be much more fluent considering i have a resident german

3. my paternal great-grandparents are big names in the history books

4. i'm very very proud that our compost is actually working

5. when my wisdom teeth were removed, i asked to keep them.
i still have all 4 in a metal tin on my nightstand.

6. in the past year i have traveled to:
germany, arkansas, colorado, egypt, philadelphia, minnesota, washington and france
some for work and some for leisure

most of the folks i'd like to tag have already played
so i'll just list some of my favorite reads, these days:
even*cleveland, armas design, ashley rose helvey,
unruly things, jeana sohn, abby try again

2008-12-11T15:09:00.000-08:00

a few of my favorites from etsy.
unfortunately some have been on the list for too long and are now sold-out...top : favela stacking vase , handwoven scarf, stacking ring
middle: open bangles, circular shawl, pendant lamp
bottom: ripple swans, astrid bag, fishing town linoprint

2008-12-09T14:47:00.000-08:00

handknit boy's hat and cowels (for the boys or the girls) by daphne of dlittlegarden.
she's also selling some really lovely vintage frocks
oh, and a perfect vintage belt

2008-12-08T13:17:00.000-08:00

last week was a bit like an early christmas.
not once but twice,
i found an unexpected large envelope waiting for me on the front porch.
the first package was an incredibly sweet and generous thank you gift from
ms. christine schmidt of yellow owl workshop.
she sent me a card from her hilariously clever LCD line and
a set of the prints i wrote about a while back for apartment therapy!

the second package was a gift from ms. scotia:
a lovely letterpress poster featuring a timely quote by one stellar first lady.
we have our own little victory garden going on over here.

2008-12-05T09:14:00.000-08:00

we're planning a trip to mexico and need suggestions!

a bit of info:
we fly in and out of mexico city, but plan on heading south.
we have a little less than 2 weeks.
we're big on budget travel
would rather spend money on great food, sights and gifts
than on a fancy resort hotel.
would particularly love to see beautiful textiles and crafts.
any and all ideas much appreciated.

above photo is from our road/camping trip through baja a few years back

2008-12-04T21:25:00.000-08:00

last year i waited too long to order a calendar from the ffrench family.

this year, i was fast enough.
my favorite months in the 2009 calendar:
january, march, july, august, september and october.

2008-12-02T13:48:00.000-08:00

over the past year, i've become a morning person.
i thought it was a new older-self development;
me enjoying early morning coffee and the paper before the boy wakes up.
turns out, according to my momma, i took a break in high school to be a grumpy teenager.
but otherwise, i've always been a morning person.
funny thing, isn't it?
a few photos from our backyard, early early thanksgiving morning.
very peaceful.
watch this short video to hear the birds chirping in the early morning.

tiny hummingbird on one of our plum trees

2008-11-26T09:58:00.000-08:00

looking forward to turkey, family and time for knitting sweaters.

happy thanksgiving.

2008-11-24T16:11:00.000-08:00

the annual early thanksgiving potluck was sunday.

i made this cake.
it was really good.
(oh, and i added in some banana on a whim, yum.)

2008-11-19T12:00:00.000-08:00

i figured out what to do with all of our baby persimmons....
see here
(i may have accidentally understood dried fruits as chocolate chips)

2008-11-18T13:49:00.000-08:00

from sundance:

scarf, flask, shoes (unfortunately only in boy sizes), necklace

2008-11-18T08:35:00.001-08:00

views from home

2008-11-14T15:42:00.000-08:00

and another beauty from ms. claire nereim

2008-11-14T14:54:00.000-08:00

a few lovely items from erica tanov

plus, an art show

2008-11-12T12:01:00.000-08:00

a few nice things from gap

2008-11-10T15:35:00.000-08:00

friday evening at the paramount

live wurlitzer, raffle, whiskey sours and north by northwest
(with an old newsreel preview)

found a knob for my scavenged le creuset

bread baking and sewing on a rainy saturday windy windy cold and gorgeous sunday at ocean beach

2008-11-05T13:22:00.001-08:00

i'm feeling giddy today.
all i want to do is to hang out with my favorite people,
bake them cookies and pies (and maybe a pot of chili)
pick up some knitting and get cozy.
so blissful and content...
and soooo proud.

2008-11-04T10:16:00.001-08:00

(from xtrapop)

2008-11-03T09:25:00.000-08:00

mini persimmons from our tree

2008-10-30T16:12:00.001-07:00

election on the brain these days.
please don't forget to vote.
and please remember: it's not right to discriminate.

2008-10-24T16:00:00.001-07:00

thinking about new shoes for fall

and wishing for some new dresses

2008-10-24T09:18:00.000-07:00

sugercubes from monoprix

2008-10-20T13:36:00.000-07:00

fall in my neighborhood

goose-neck squash at the market
pretty pumpkin
pumpkin for making soup-in-a-pumpkin
persimmons on our tree
the end of our tomatoes

2008-10-20T08:55:00.000-07:00

per abby's request, the challah recipe below is the one my pops and I have used over the years. for the jewish new year, raisins are standard, but i'm not a fan and prefer leave them out. i plan on trying out this recipe very soon.

challah
adapted from the silver palate cookbook

2 cups milk
8 tablespoons (1 stick) sweet butter
1/3 cup sugar (I prefer to use honey instead)
2 packages active dry yeast
4 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons salt
6 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon cold water
poppy seeds

Bring milk, 6 tablespoons of butter, and the honey to a boil. Remove from heat, pour the mixture into a large mixing bowl, and let it cool until lukewarm.

Stir the yeast into the milk mixture and let stand for 10 minutes.

Beat 3 of the eggs well in a small bowl, and stir them and the salt into the milky-yeasty mixture.

Stir in 5 cups of the flour, 1 cup at a time, until you achieve a sticky dough. Flour a work surface lightly and turn the dough out onto it. Wash and dry the bowl.

Sprinkle additional flour over the dough and begin kneading, adding more flour as necessary, until you have smooth elastic dough.

Smear the reserved 2 tablespoons of butter around the inside of the bowl and add the ball of dough into the bowl, turning to coat it lightly with butter. Cover the bowl with a towel and set aside (in a warm, draft-free place) to let dough rise until tripled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and cut into halves. Cut each half into 3 pieces. Roll the pieces out into long "snakes" about 18 inches long. Braid three of the snakes together into a loaf and tuck the ends under. Repeat with remaining snakes. Either leave as braided loaves or shape each braid into a round loaf.

Sprinkle a large baking sheet with the cornmeal, and transfer the loaves to the sheet. Leave room between the loaves for them to rise. Cover the loaves with the towel and let rise until nearly doubled, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Beat the remaining egg and 1 tablespoon cold water together well in a small bowl. Brush this egg wash evenly over the loaves. Sprinkle immediately with poppy seeds to taste.

Set baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when their bottoms are thumped. Cool completely on racks before wrapping. Makes 2 large loaves.

2008-10-17T14:37:00.000-07:00

on my last trip i found some really nifty yogurt glasses with lovely orange cows. i bought (and ate) them specifically for the glasses. one broke in my suitcase (despite the copious amount of bubble wrap) and then last night, after washing the dishes, i knocked the other one off the counter and it smashed all over the floor...

2008-10-16T15:33:00.000-07:00

had trouble sleeping the last few nights.

checked the phases of the moon.
full moon 10.14.08

2008-10-15T16:07:00.001-07:00

part two: on to paris....

jardin botanique and the zoo:
the usual tourist spots:
wonderful luck at les puces (lime green le creuset for 3 euros!) and on to the fete des vendanges at sacre coeur...
home again, home again...

2008-10-15T15:50:00.000-07:00

lots of traveling as of late....visting a little brother in lyon, france. so much fun to see a familiar world through new eyes and new experiences! what a wonderful life...thanks for letting me play for a while!

2008-09-30T10:27:00.000-07:00

bread baking for a sweet new year. extra honey to make up for the lack of raisins (don't like them baked) and lots of poppy seeds for fun. recipe from a family favorite.

2008-09-19T17:08:00.000-07:00

2008-09-10T17:26:00.000-07:00

recent travels. can you guess where?

2008-07-01T16:07:00.000-07:00

sunset at home after adventures on angel island

2008-06-26T11:07:00.001-07:00

2008-02-21T21:56:00.000-08:00

i've been a little busy with the other blogs. lena mentioned a while back that she hadn't been posting as much because she's been so inspired by the other blogs that she reads and has become less inclined to post on her own. i've been feeling the same way...so many great blogs out there, so little time. think i need a little break for a while. i'll be back here and there....thanks for reading, and for sharing on your own blogs....i've never felt so inspired. it's pretty wonderful.

2008-01-23T11:15:00.000-08:00

i'm not a talented sewer. but this makes me want to be:
also, really loving these, these and these

2008-01-15T23:18:00.000-08:00

ashley bag tagged me this week, and as i've neglected a few tags over the past month(s), i thought i'd join in as this one seems rather fun. i tag michelle and dlittlegarden.

2008-01-15T15:35:00.000-08:00

bag kick?

2008-01-11T14:47:00.000-08:00

utility canvas bags

2008-01-07T21:56:00.001-08:00

jop, a quick trip over the holidays to visit the boy's family. we didn't do much shopping as the stores were mostly closed. but we managed to come home with some goodies, of course. here's what we bought:

1. 2 mugs from the weinachtsmarkt in frankfurt, we drank gluhwein from them 2. polish hausschuhe from the bautzen weinachtsmarkt 3. senf pot from the weinachtsmarkt 4. a munchen tote bag
and here's what we did not buy, these are all from mein freund's grandparents:

2008-01-04T17:04:00.000-08:00

happy new year to everyone....back from a quick trip. be back next week with more goodies...

2007-12-18T14:17:00.001-08:00

the winner!
off for a break. see you in the new year. happy holidays...

2007-12-13T08:45:00.001-08:00

oh lovely bags and scarves. via design*sponge

2007-12-11T16:24:00.000-08:00

new post over here. thanks kelly for the crafty tip!

2007-12-07T13:08:00.001-08:00

oh wow, these are so great.....i'll take all of them, thank you.

2007-12-05T17:04:00.000-08:00

forever on a quest for the perfect boots:

too wide
too narrow just right?

2007-11-29T11:23:00.001-08:00

lovely items from coe & waito. some available from peek keep.

2007-11-27T16:48:00.000-08:00

searching for some some fun, small and inexpensive children's (or adults!) gifts to bring with me during holiday travels. this is a wonderful resource! (thanks lauren! and ma!)

- the classic art of handshadows
- pair of gyroscopes
- wooden yo yo kit

2007-11-21T14:34:00.000-08:00

it's been a busy week so i'll be saying happy thanksgiving and checking out for now. but first, a quick thanks to a few folk that kindly send me readers quite often (according to my site counter), in no particular order:

ashley rose helvey (look at her incredible felted clothing)
slow/progress (great eye and lovely photographs too...)
shiny squirrel (check out her wonderful store)abby try again (i especially enjoyed her recent "beautiful book week")
bientot demain (merci bien, j'aime bien votre blog aussi! c'est vraiment trop beau...)
studio wellspring (great resource for dance/design lovers...thanks anjie!)
port2port (beautiful photography and letterpress prints, plus great links)
hoping for happy accidents (lovely finds and inspiration)
design*sponge (fantastic resource for everything design. amazing champion of women run businesses. thanks grace!)

happy thanksgiving everyone.

2007-11-16T09:29:00.000-08:00

lovely woodcut print by margareta bergman at the addison street windows gallery "nordic mysteries" show

2007-11-12T14:13:00.000-08:00

little break from here this week. but you can find me over here now, too!

2007-11-02T16:50:00.000-07:00

more yarn fun here. i really love these pins. nice holiday gifts, perhaps?

2007-11-01T16:55:00.000-07:00

oh so sad....i knit this gorgeous scarf only to find that my neck and face do not like the yarn. too itchy! might have to try again with some softer yarn.

2007-10-30T15:30:00.000-07:00

i saw a gold teapot at target. i really liked the gold...a lot. nice price but not so nice shape.

this one from lillehus is very pretty, but i definitely prefer a ceramic teapot...will keep my eyes open.

2007-10-29T10:03:00.000-07:00

really liking julianna swan's embroidery work. oh so pretty.

2007-10-24T14:53:00.000-07:00

wow, that was an unexpected hiatus...just wasn't feeling the inspiration these last two weeks. let's see how it goes, i might need to take another little break. my focus is over here lately...but i got excited about this basket. jop, a basket did it for me today, kind of funny...(via hyb via ohhappyday)

2007-10-10T15:43:00.000-07:00

a little love for boden today:

2007-10-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

yet another wonderful item from showpony

oh, she has a blog too!

2007-10-04T13:35:00.001-07:00

we haven't spent any time decorating over here yet; been to busy tearing things apart and putting them back together. but i just ordered some fabric from superbuzzy so i can whip up a few couch pillows (finally!). for some reason i always thought i'd want a soft-neutral palette in my house but color just keeps slipping in...

2007-10-02T16:24:00.000-07:00

kind of lusting after this coat from delias. haven't ordered from them since college...wonder what the quality is like these days.

2007-10-01T20:44:00.000-07:00

2 thoughts from the weekend:

1. thinking about a practical fall boot purchase.
they need to be very comfortable, warm and happy to get wet as they will be coming with me to germany over christmas. i'm looking at blundstones and clarks but i'm not crazy about the look of blundstones (though the new toast catalogue does make a good case for them) and fear that the wallabees might not be actually fill any of the requirements. any suggestions out there?

2. the much heralded neiman marcus cookie recipe really is the best. i've been a devotee of the silver palette recipe and then the tollhouse recipe, but dagnabit if neiman marcus doesn't beat them both.

oh, and not a weekend thought, but looking forward to thursday's real life opening of this online store.

2007-09-25T14:05:00.000-07:00

and another one...michelle pointed out this beauty of a coat which reminds me of this lovely lady's incredible handiwork.

2007-09-20T13:40:00.000-07:00

carlene over at knitsquirrel makes beautiful pillows, blankets and other crafty goods. but oh goodness look at these drawings! beautiful, non?

2007-09-19T15:32:00.001-07:00

feeling the end of summer and the coming of fall. two images from the past year that have been living on my wall for the last couple of months. (right image from elle decoration. can't remember where i found the left image)

2007-09-14T14:34:00.000-07:00

i've been busy obsessing over knitting these past few days. the weather is starting to change and i'm already thinking of cozy fires, big cups of tea and sweaters...
i've been knitting for a few years now but i've never ventured out from the most basic of stitches. but i've been bored with myself as of late and pretty yarn can only take you so far. i was galvanized to venture in to the terrifying territory of patterns by this lovely site and her claim that she's just a beginner as well (really??).

oh boy...
here's what i'm working on right now:
this beauty of a scarf from knitty
a shawl from knitty
and dreaming of conquering a sweater this fall...wish me luck!

2007-09-10T09:49:00.000-07:00

louise bourgeois has created a book of tapestries. if you're in australia you can see them in person. if not, you can see some of the pages here.

2007-09-06T09:58:00.000-07:00

pink sunsets...

2007-09-05T15:04:00.000-07:00

and may i just mention the goodness over at crate and barrel these days?

2007-09-05T11:35:00.000-07:00

oh, a little clothing/shoe love over at browns...

2007-08-30T08:59:00.000-07:00

affordable, affordable...and not quite affordable
(but oh so perfect!) shoe lust over at urban outfitters

2007-08-29T10:33:00.000-07:00

new addition to my inspiration board. i love the the perfect yellow chair, but the real killer is the amazing wall. so many layers of color and texture. the combination of the two is excellent. (image from the july/august issue of inside out)

and a lovely lambswool blanket...

i'm working (very very very slowly) on a knit blanket. it was inspired by a similar blanket i spied a while back in a forgotten magazine (i'll try to find the swipe to share) and then again by this lovely piece from skonalife (not knit but equally enviable).

2007-08-28T13:59:00.001-07:00

great link for good looking modern furniture and home accessories (via silk felt soil via bluelines).
admittedly, not a great image of the bookshelf, but i love the display option with this one.

2007-08-26T21:27:00.000-07:00

another piece from back in the day. new (old) tea kettle on the way to my house!

2007-08-23T14:22:00.000-07:00

feeling a bit nostalgic lately....always at the end of summer and coming of fall.

i've always loved the heller dishes we had when i was a kid but didn't realize what an iconic design they were. wouldn't mind a set for picnics now...

and loving this bowl that reminds me of pops and his beloved tassajara bread book.

2007-08-21T15:33:00.000-07:00

loving again:

new prints from mocchi mocchi

and a shop update at virginia johnson

2007-08-20T11:32:00.000-07:00

i'll be back posting a bit this week. birthdays and summer took over for a while...

2007-08-10T15:28:00.000-07:00

back and lazy.
i got tagged again and i'm too lazy to come up with 7 new things about myself.
here's the old one until i pull it together to get a new list going (i too love lists!).
they all still hold true. but i could probably come up with more interesting ones....

2007-07-31T16:28:00.001-07:00

vacation time....see you in a week.