fall = eating and packing

as in packing on the lbs. i do not have a favorite season, as i love them all (especially here in sf.....usually between 60 - 80 year round...dreamy), but fall produce and spices really welcome us into the holiday seasons and time and home....and hibernating. cinnamon, nutmeg, pears, dates, apples.....

anyway, 2 fall favorites:

pear, apple and cherry cobbler with oatmeal crumble (Ina of course). delish..

sauteed dates: easy...just put 1 to 1 1/2 table spoons into a saute pan.
1) heat on medium until the oil starts to pop a little
2) then place the dates flat in the pan and press them down a few times until each one sizzles
3) leave them on this side for 4 minutes or so (make sure you turn one over and see if it is browned a little) then turn them over, sprinkle course sea salt over them and let them sit for about 2 minutes, turn them over one more time and sprinkle that side with sea salt as well and remove from heat. yum....

this is for my friends in Hong Kong who want to see what the "crumble" looks like. this is for you Ruby and Venus. you are a good excuse to blog

made these both the weekend before last for a picnic/octoberfest in our garden patch with friends

big and bright

talk about painting a ceiling white. this is just the architectural circumstance i am talking about, when a white ceiling works. i try to imagine this ceiling natural wood and it suddenly takes me to a lodge in sun valley idaho, but when painted i could be anywhere in the country or city.

simpleton sensations

the simpler, the cleaner the better. i was browsing apartment therapy and found a link to my new obsession, london based furniture design firm Pinch.
you must check this out when you have a spare moment. the sofa's are dreamy too....

late to the party

aside from literally being a bit late to an octoberfest party last weekend, i am totally late to the party when it comes to cheese presentations like this.
our friends sarah and mike (host's of octoberfest party and fellow city garden patch partners), had this great little cheese plate. they used some art pad paper and just wrote down the different varieties of cheeses. i know, i have seen this somewhere before, but never used this technique myself. sarah totally gets it and i'm on board for my next cheese plate.
well, what they didn't get was that i walked out of the party with this little souvenir that has to be framed and hung in the pantry.
can't beat organic artwork that is free. :o)

caving in to color

i know, i have been the advocate of many different aesthetics, including the neutral pallet. well, i do cave in once in a blue moon (blue...hee, hee).
found this chair at gypsy honeymoon 8+ months ago ($100.00), i couldnt turn down the golden fabric, rich dark wood and brass nail heads at that price. (does it look ggma to you/great grandma)
back to the purpose of this posting. the persimmon branches!! i must have been a good person last week because i came home to this amazing bunch of branches...loaded with fruit. apparently they will last through thanksgiving. will keep you posted on that one.

additional found objects at a bargain price: real leather patch pillow = $10.00 found in 2001 in seattle, butter churn jar (used for large vase) = $20.00 found in 2007 san francisco.

cloudy days in this room....NO PROBLEM

in a constant quest to find inspiration, i often look through one of my top 10 favorite books, building with reclaimed materials (january 2007). this is a must have book if you are at all inspired by reclaimed materials and your home.

this dining room rings that simple elegance i strive for: the whole wall of heavenly cabinets, the wide plank floors and the glass ceiling give it that calming touch. i'm pretty sure this room could be whatever you wanted it to be.

did i mention that great fireplace on the back wall? maybe it is just a wood storage spot, but i am going to believe it is a working fireplace (much unlike my "decorative fireplace" in my apt.

blue weekends

i think my new rule is, blue bottle on the weekends only. haven't tried this blend yet, but will be sure to keep you posted. all i can say is i can smell the beans all the way in the bedroom, almost other end of the apt.

the best coffee i have had in SF, reminiscent of my seattle days. you know, it is the weekend...i think i'm gonna totally spurge and have a cup at 8:36pm (this may just be the beginning of my saturday blogging.....coffee in the PM)

no modern sensibility

but this little bathroom this all of its primitive and rustic features makes me long for that little cabin in the woods.

i need to jump off of this

my friend blake took this shot on his recent honeymoon in bora bora. ummmmm, do i have to say anything other than work is over-rated. this looks to be life at its finest.

i might ask blake to print this one up, not sure if this is in the brock street budget, but i can at least look at it here until i have the $$ saved up.

thanks for sharing this blake.

i saw the light

have you ever had a shopping moment when you see something and you dart for it like it is the last one on earth...and you are afraid someone else is going to get it before you? i know, it is a humbling moment for me as i feel a bit guilty for wanting something so bad.

well, i was in an antique store several weeks ago and right when i walked in the door i saw this little gem and did the bee line. to my surprise, it was totally in the pricing language i understand ($39.00), so i didn't even have to ask if they could do better. love that!!

total grab and go experience! actually, maybe i should be honest and say it was grab and run....i thought this must have been mis-marked and didn't want to get caught.

its never happens...

but i still have hope. every week slooooooowly creeps by, and then suddenly its the weekend and it has already disappeared.

i ALWAYS tell myself "i'm going to take a nap this weekend", then i remind myself that it is saturday afternoon at 3:30 and i still haven't taken my nap. So i repeat the same senario on sunday and then i end up telling myself that same phrase i have been repeating for years "i'm really going to take a nap NEXT weekend, i really need one", and so life goes on.

this great little room is really causing me to second guess taking a nap at 3:30.

stack attack

i must confess...i am a stacker (much like a hoarder). i spend a lot of my free time stacking things, whether it dishes, books, clothes, towels....and they all have a particular order of sorts.

this stack of books has had a Buddha head, old mason jar, japanese miniture furnature...you name it, sitting atop the stack. i decided to change it up this morning with a little treasure found in the woods. its a nice play off the little gold-gilded frame in the background.

wood = free