the perfect vacation jacket

Love, love, LOVE this adorable navy Warbler rain jacket from Portland's Bridge & Burn. Doesn't it look like the perfect jacket to take on vacation?

These shorts and this dress are also pretty darn cute...

happy mother's day + friday links

Uta Barth, Deep Blue Day

Happy Friday!

A few links to kick off the weekend...

Looks like I'm dairy-free for the long haul. These sesame soba noodles and grilled salmon are becoming regulars on our dinner table.

Ken Burns does The Roosevelts.

The delicious simplicity of rice and beans.

Hello, sandal weather.

Gorgeous ring.

My current beer fave: Go to IPA.

The Moth: Momofuku's David Chang talks Michelin stars.

The book I just finished. 

And what I'm reading next.

Alan Cumming on Fresh Air.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp Bars.

Loving this necklace.

Selling the Myth of the Ideal Mother.

Happy Mother's Day to my amazing Mom, and to all the wonderful and inspiring mamas in my life.

the couple

The Couple

I spotted a version of this print by Ashley G over at my friend Celia's house yesterday and fell in LOVE. After a look at Ms. Goldberg's Etsy shop, here are a few others that I want to put up on our walls...

Welcome

All My Little Friends

A Moment of Solitude

Let's Stay Home

Hello June

The Neighborhood

michael chabon & brokeland records

Diesel transformed

Dave Eggers introducing Michael Chabon

Michael Chabon reading from Telegraph Avenue

My dear friend Melissa was in town this week for work which was awesome for me as I really don't get to see her enough because she lives in Portland. In addition to some great meals out (Bar Jules, Axis Cafe, Pizzaiolo) we went to the release party/reading for Michael Chabon's new book Telegraph Avenue. It seemed only natural that we would attend the event given that we met as booksellers at Diesel years ago. As I mentioned in a previous post, Diesel was transformed into Brokeland Records as an homage to the fictional record shop in the book. For the event on Wednesday night the store was PACKED and there was a line of people out the door waiting to be let in to enjoy Chabon's reading from the book, cake and beer, and a raffle for 826 Valencia (soon to set up shop in Oakland!). We went, we listened, we chatted to old friends and regulars of Diesel, and then we went for Pizzaiolo pizza... a darn-near perfect evening.

weekend

I hope you all had a lovely weekend. Ours was pretty great. I stopped by the big Erica Tanov sale on Saturday morning and scored a pair of gorgeous Chie Mihara heels (above) on super sale (I'll be wearing them to a wedding in Mexico City in a few weeks). We ate tacos at Tacubaya. Went to a bbq at my parents house in Orinda and went for a swim in the pool. Wandered around the Temescal farmers' market where we picked up some goodies for the week and ran into Celia and Stella's friend Cheech, and Jamie. As a prefect end to the weekend we had our new friends Devon and Simon and their son Ari over for an early dinner (grilled salmon with mango, peach, cucumber salsa + roasted veggies with a sour cream cilantro sauce + quinoa, spinach, feta, olive salad + an ah-mazing peach tarte with buttermilk ice cream by Devon) last night.

heart + nyc

Central Park, NYC

Time flies.

The week before last we flew down to Southern California at the last minute to support my Mom and visit my Dad in the hospital and where he was undergoing test after test for issues with his heart. The worst part was the not knowing, not knowing what the problem was and not knowing if it was treatable. Luckily and thankfully he is on the mend with a cocktail of meds to keep his heart beating at a regular pace and keep everything else in check. Phew.

And then last Sunday we flew to New York for the week. While Jordan worked I visited with my sister and various friends, explored Carroll Gardens (hello beautiful brownstones), took Stella to the park and Central Park Zoo, and took lots of walks. Some highlights: the current Blue Bottle fruit buckle (carrot and coconut) and the saffron snickerdoodle (always a favorite), lunch with my sister at Prime Meats, a trip to the Central Park Zoo with friend Caroline and her daughter Thea, Rouge Tomate food cart burgers with my sister in the park, delicious dinner with my sweets at Frankie's Spuntino 547, Jack Tilton gallery show opening with friends Anna and Kambui followed by an evening stroll through Central Park and dinner at Kefi, amazing challah french toast at Watty & Meg, browsing through the lovely clothes et al at Bird, catching up with friends Sam and Andrea over brunch at Clover Club, and discovering Bengali Tiger (Sixpoint Beer).

Now we're home. This morning I'm looking forward to a well-crafted coffee from Subrosa, enjoying the warm 80 degree weather, and making some yummy food for Stells who came home from New York with a runny nose. 

the twee party

"But if the Masts are Luddite chocolate-makers, they're also figures in a very contemporary caricature. More than anyone else in the New Brooklyn artisan movement, they exemplify to an almost implausible degree the daguerreotype stereotype of the bristly hipster, in newsboy cap and tweed britches, pedaling his penny-farthing to a north Brooklyn industrial space to make handcrafted nano-batch sweetmeats. If you've ever wondered what a Christopher Guest documentary about Brooklyn artisans might look like, Google 'Mast Brothers YouTube.'" Benjamin Wallace, "The Twee Party," New York Magazine

I found Wallace's whole article about artisinal Brooklyn foodstuff et al amusing in an I would totally buy all those pickles and jams and baked goods and chocolates  kind of way. And I'm the first to admit that I think Mast Brother chocolates taste pretty darned great...

lovely weekend

How was your weekend, friends? 

Ours was lovely. My friend Melissa was in town for a post-conference visit and we spent the weekend catching up, drinking tea, talking about books and kids, and sharing some of our favorite Oakland haunts. We ate tacos at Cosecha, browsed through popuphood, enjoyed a girls dinner with Andie at Camino, shopped for books at Diesel (where we met and became friends), relished sorbet from Scream, brunched at Plow in the city, and wandered through Flora Grubb on the way to the airport.

I would have had more photos to share, only I spent the whole weekend enjoying the company of my friend so much that I forgot to document it. I think that's a sign of a really great weekend...

keep calm and, you know, carry on

I've never been a big fan of those Keep Calm and Carry On posters. I'm even less a fan of the various iterations (Keep Calm and Buy Shoes? Keep Calm and Eat a Cupcake?). However, I gained a new appreciation for the original World War II-era poster after watching this video. Did you know that the poster was discovered in 2000 by the owner of Barter Books? Which, by the way, is one on the list of the 20 most beautiful bookstores in the world...

Enjoy! 

 
[via kottke]

lila rice gem hoops

I alternate between my Lila Rice Crescent Hoops and Disc Hoops, both of which I bought at my favorite local consignment shop, Maribel, every day. 

Lila Rice: Crescent Hoops

Lila Rice: Disc Hoops

Lila Rice: Gem Hoops

I'd been coveting the Gem Hoops for months so when I went into Maribel a few weeks ago I had Anne, the owner, special order me a pair. 

And they are amazing. End of story.

the alameda flea

On the first Sunday of every month folks all around the Bay descend on the Alameda Flea. I met my friends Andie and Darcy at the entrance at 7:30 yesterday morning. We came with ideas of what we were each looking for, but Andie was the only one who crossed an item off her list. She scored a lovely mid-century side table. Shoes were not on my list. But it was hard to pass up these old beauties ($20!).

Here are some more shots from our outing:

beautiful bookstores

We had the good fortune to visit El Ateneo, one of "the most beautiful bookstores in the world," when we were in Buenos Aires last month. We try to frequent bookstores wherever we are, regardless of their setting, nonetheless I was excited to read through the list of The 20 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World on Flavorwire. I've only been to a few on the list, including Shakespeare & Company in Paris, El Pendulo in Mexico City, and now El Ateneo. How about you? Any that you would add to the list?

saturday at big daddy's

Jordan + Stella at fourbarrel

On Saturday we stopped by fourbarrel for coffee before heading over to Big Daddy's Antiques. We discovered Big Daddy's at the Alameda Flea Market awhile back. 

We usually love most everything in their stall at the Flea so we decided to check out their warehouse space in the city. While we didn't come home with any new pieces for our house, we marveled at the space itself and the artful way they've staged all the antiques.

monday's child vintage

My friend Celia recently launched a fabulous vintage shoppe on Etsy called Monday's Child. Take a look at some of the lovely things she's selling.

fishs eddy

I discovered Fishs Eddy while in New York. Wow. Maybe it's okay there isn't a  Fishs Eddy in San Francisco. I might have to buy everything, like, for starters, a collection of these floral containers. Love them.