The Unworn Suit...

I bought this one-piece j. crew bathing suit for my east coast beach trip...

It arrived the day after I left for the sun and surf.

Dagnabbit.
This purchase was a huge upgrade
from the only other one-piece I own.
I wore that one in Florida on spring break my junior year of college.
My girlfriends kept mistaking me for a middle aged woman from the New Jersey suburbs.

When on earth, am I going to have the opportunity to wear this beaut of a new bathing suit?
It's winter in San Francisco!
Apparently, we're in the Eastern Hemisphere.
I'll get creative.
When there's a will, there's a way!
xo

Weekend Guest

This weekend,

 a special guest is coming to play in the city by the bay!

We've got some fun activities cooking.

a picnic in the park,

dancing along to country music,

bare feet tickled by the grass

and hiking where the wind is a little warmer.

We'll welcome August with wine and whimsy!

xo

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For Deacon, Who was Very Loved

This is Deacon.

He was getting ready for a swim!

Even dogs get hot in July, you know.

Ooooh this picture is so darn cute I could squeal.

Sweet Deacon said goodbye to this wild, wonderful, world today.

A lot of people are going to miss you, Deacon.

(He was so loved.)

Biscuits and bones await you Deackie.

xo

Coming and Going

I returned home to San Francisco after a complete whirlwind week back east!

It felt like I had been gone for months.

My east coast visit spanned two weekends, three states, multiple events, and one big power outage.
Whew!

I danced with my girlfriends.

I shared delicious dinners with my family.

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Oh yes, and there was also work to do. Clients to entertain. Editors to impress.
I tried to balance time with friends and family as best I could.
I hope I pulled it off.

My first morning back, as I emerged from the subway,
I gazed up at the New York skyline and let the city know how good it was to be back.

I felt like I was floating through a bathtub of humidity, and
I liked it.

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When it came time to wave goodbye to my home,
Mother Nature set the mood.
She really lashed out on us, with hail storms resulting in 2 days of darkness.

I clutched my family, tight, tight, tight.
Oh October feels so far away.

But then, off to the beach!

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Toasts, and talks and lots of laughs.

I dove into the icy Atlantic Ocean, and let the salt water seep into my soul.

I let the sun freckle my skin- but don’t worry, I wore SPF 55.

Now that, is a first!

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I bumped into friends that I didn’t expect to see…

A nine year long crush (from the freshman dining hall)

A big, loveable meathead from college, whose friendship has increased over time

A sorority sister that I haven’t talked to in years, but her hug was recognizable

I miss seeing familiar faces on the sidewalk.

And then it was time to go home.

I looked out the window from the last row of the airplane, and saw there was a full moon guiding our plane through the night sky.

It was beautiful. Flying in her glow.
I leave you with wise words from my mom:

“When you leave, you don’t leave our love. It goes with you everywhere and anywhere. That’s what coming home is all about, it’s all the things you did.”

A Quick Hello...

...I wanted to touch in and say a quick hello!

It's been absolutely delicious here on the east coast.

I'm soaking up the humidity like a sponge to water.

I'm trying oh so very hard

 to just be in the moment,

and enjoy every last sip of sunshine and shoulder squeeze from my friends and family.

But I keep getting nervous about saying goodbye all over again.

Which is incredibly stupid;

I know.

So instead,

I'll leave my 'quick hello' with the below sentiment, except I have one edit to it.

RETURN. RETURN. RETURN.

At least every once in a while, when the moon is full,

and the ocean is warm and blue.

Speak soon, friends.

xo

both images found here

And...I'm Off!

I'll be air born and east coast bound tonight, friends!

All my bags are packed, with party dresses in tow.

I'll be seeing ya'...

...so very soon.

Talk to you on the other side.

xo

 *images from here and here 

An East Coast Engagement (Party!)

I can't believe it's already 'fly home' weekend.

Time flies when you live by the bay!

I'm heading back east for oodles of occasions.

(some business, some pleasure.)

*image via cabin 7

But the first one up?

A party to celebrate a whooole lotta l-o-v-e.

Engagement party has a nice ring to it, eh?

so very,very excited to toast my best friend this weekend.

xo

Bus Crush...

...Got one!

The bus I take to work isn't quite as cute as this one,

but once I muster up the courage to maybe 'accidentally' fall into the lap

of my bus crush (or just say hi)

I think we'll be sitting on top of old vw vans

in the middle of  vineyards

holding balloons

and staring at each other.

That's what happens, right?

Happy bus crushing, friends!

xo

*I have been hoarding this photo for months now, and cannot remember where I found it?

reminders are welcome!

Stars and Stripes

The whole star-spangled gang

during our san francisco fourth of july spectacular!

we biked, burgered and baseballed!

xo

Make that EIGHT places

I realize that,

 I didn't mention

a new special spot that I'd like to dine tomorrow.

and I feel badly about that.

what a foolish oversight!

going back is easy.

but, oh! 

 the anticipation of trying something new. 

so, without further ado...

chez panisse, berkeley, california

because I haven't met you yet chez panisse, but you've existed in my mind and imagination through the books that I've read, and the articles I highlight, and the programs that I watch.

three cheers for our future meal together.

*image from baristamagazine.com

Seven Places I'd Like to be Right Now

Tomorrow, I'd like to dine at the following very special places.

Friends and family at the table.

Wine glass in hand.

Sun tan on my shoulders.

Worries sent to sea.

juice bar, nantucket island

duh.

any 'lobsta' shack near wiscasset maine, with buoys hanging from the shingled walls.

my aunt and uncle live in maine; their house is called windward farm. and that's just too cute, isn't it?

klondike kates, newark, delaware

*whoever swiped my brass name plaque off the Wall of Foam, I hope you have a shrine for me built somewhere. that is the only explanation for such theft.

atlantic inn, block island, rhode island

celebrated my sweet sixteen here, among other magical summer occasions.

whitebrier, avalon, new jersey

my girlfriends and I will be here sooner than the staff is ready for!

straight wharf, nantucket island

I fell a little bit in love here once; and ...I will again someday.

scoops, wilton, ct

orange blossom on Sunday, please.

this will become scoops: owned by three sisters one day.

Happy Summer Dining, Friends.

xo

*all photos from establishment websites

A Story in the Sky

*image via milky way

Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever live in a place where you can see stars.

Connecticut's sky is almost always curtained by a perimeter of strong and beautiful trees.

New York City's skyline is dotted with a whole different set of twinkling lights. A rainbow of man made stars.San Francisco's night sky is blanketed with a soft gauzy fog...making the stars melt into a milky haze.

I've caught glimpses.

Most memorable was a father, daughter, mother trip to Big Sky Country

 for my 25th birthday a few years ago.

My dad gently nudged my mom and I awake in the middle of our sleep.

Rubbing our eyes and bundled up in our fleeces and flannels,

we crept into the night to soak up that big moon sky.

And I swear.

I've never seen so many constellations before.

Orion's belt was studded with ten times as many diamonds as I'd ever witnessed.

 A childhood summer spent on the Cape;

my parents would sit us on their laps, perched on folding chairs out on the deck.

Somehow, staying up past bedtime seemed more special at the beach.

We'd snack on pretzel rods and keep tabs on who spotted the most shooting stars.

And of course, I encountered velvet black sweeps of sky, peppered with star after star after beautiful star in Tuscon, Arizona. Porch swing, and syrupy sweet drinks.

My grandpa's leathery finger pointing our eyes to every ancient story in the sky.

Someday.

Someday I'll live in a place with wide open spaces

and sweeping sky

dotted with stars.

Happy star gazing, friends.

xo

Soul Refresher

One of my best friends

(who shares my namesake)

and one of my favorite people in the whole wide world

(who happens to have been an american gladiator back in the day.)

uh huh. he's a man, myth and legend folks.

came for a short

but oh-so-sweet

visit last night.

They're on their way to bike 130+ miles in Tahoe.

*image via happenstance

but last night was reserved for moi.

and beers and lots of food.

tons of food in fact.

and a too long walk to dinner.

But, we made up for the walk with a gaggle of giggles.

It was such a refresher for the soul.

Happy biking you two.

xo

Oh My, Maira!

I am over the big moon sky excited to plan my trip to the Jewish Museum

here in San Francisco to see the new Maira Kalmn exhibit.

The marvelously quirky Maira is a lovely

author

illustrator

life muser

and

day dreamer.

I own an entire Maira collection!

From books for children, to her eerily beautiful blog turned hardcover,

and of course, her illustrated version of The Elements of Style-

 I've always got Maira on my mind.

I'm oh-so-proud to boast that I own an original print too!

It's be tough to pick a favorite book, but if I had to choose,

it'd be Chicken Soup Boots.

She's silly and sweet and spunky, and smart and all things quite lovely.

Now isn't that neat?

xo

Heat Wave Back East

Just to put this in perspective,

I wore a quilted jacket and scarf to work this morning.

*source unknown

When a heat wave settles in, it also feels as though we’re returning to an older New York, a city of stoops and open hydrants, a city in which everyone takes refuge, sooner or later, in the steaming streets if only in hope of feeling some moving air on the skin.

There is something claustrophobic about the heat, as if we were trapped in a photograph from the 1930s, never to escape.

But a storm will come, the wind will freshen from the west, and soon we will be free to be ourselves again, to walk wherever we like as briskly as we always have.

- New York Times Op-Ed-

Ode to Older Sister

My older sister was in town for a star-spangled spectacular,

wild west, patriotic weekend.

(more on that later in the week.)

Hugging her adieu today made me blue.

So blue, in fact, I dubbed it a case of the 'navys.'

I was relieved to have to go to the store and gather up the ingredients to bake cheddar biscuits for a barbecue tomorrow.

When I came home I discovered that in true older sister fashion, she had made some 'improvements' around my apartment.

She hung my little glass terrarium globe with a sweet sprig of succulent nestled into it.

And she spruced up the space with the above gifts and a note which read,

 "No bachelorette pad is complete without flowers and a beautiful coffee table book. Viola! You're ready!"

Why are older sisters (almost) always right?

Missing her already, but loads of mini moments to look forward to this week.

xo

Rolly Side Table

Dear Rolly Side Table from Design Within Reach,

You should know something.

I covet you.

You are so retro-chic.

Are you a prop from the set of Mad Men?

additional views

Your sliding walnut paneling is the symbol of true craftsmanship.

I can just see Don Draper sitting next to you,

one hand adorned with a cigarette, the other a tumbler full of scotch.

Gaaah. I want one of you, Rolly Side Table!

xo

Shake Your Sparklers!

Wishing you all a weekend full of sunshine on bare shoulders,

fresh cut flowers on your table,

cold beers and potato salad

here
afternoons spent belly laughing on the beach

 corn on the cob

 root beer floats,

and sand pails full of starfish and sea glass

here

croquet games

 wiffle ball tournaments

kadima challenges

tree swinging,

cliff jumping and lake diving

here 

s'mores

campfires,

 and country music

here

bike rides, long walks

secrets exchanged among bales of hay

fresh cut grass

bare feet, 

and

a dance under the stars

 

here

Happy Fourth of July Weekend, Friends.

Hug someone wearing red, white and blue!

xo

Getting Crazy

What's that you ask?

Did I make a very thoughtful online purchase a few days ago?

Yep. Sure did.

Proud to announce that my Crazy Creek arrived moments ago.

Just in time for firework watching!

I'm fairly sure these are incredibly dorky.

Don't care.

In fact, I'm pretty sure they're making a comeback. At least here in San Francisco.

Happy Crazy Creeking!

xo