2 plus weeks

the better half is away on a work trip....far far away. sri lanka to be exact. well, i guess being away from home for over two weeks can be tolerable when retiring after a long day at this beach side resort.

i'm thinking this seems more like spring break than "work trip" and next time i want to go on this work trip..for the ride of course.

hang tight loops, only 6 days to go. photo taken on assignment by loops.

so close

it seems to be the rainiest winter since i move to sf in 2005 and for the last month, the rain suddenly appears on the weekends. what is up with that? all i am saying is, i am ready for spring...and the fragrant and sunny morning walks.

first image found at shanna murray blog

2nd and 3rd found on dave coote

don't get too excited

so, here they are..painted floors. i can't seem to capture the warmth of the color with my camera. i will tell you that in person this color really has a warm, almost mushroom hue to it. you will just have to come and see it for yourself.

and the big bummer is the state of california has a ban (lead content) on lacquer and oil based paints. of course i wanted high gloss to reflect even more light, but this will have to do for now...until i get to oregon or canada to smuggle some in :) or maybe i could score some favors/trades?

now the guilt sets in as i really want to be better at protecting the earth and environment. every little bit helps and if i need to use a latex based paint to do my part, well so be it. just hope the come out with high gloss, environment friendly sooner than later.

anyway, sorry there is not more life in the photo's....

desperate

i'm revived for a moment and thought i would do what i needed to do.....post something, anything. i have been in an inspiration slump of late. mostly due to the taxing reality that mon-friday brings. the routine seems to have taken a sharp turn, completely bypassing the inner "wanting" to be creative self.

i happened to have a weekend to myself out at hillside, with the grand goal of painting the front guest room floor. well, i did it...i achieved 2 coats of paint application (will post results tomorrow or the next day). aside from that i ended up eating lots of good bad food, drinking drinks i never drink (but love) and taking long walks with mo in the sunshine, while hoping he hasn't lifted his leg near or on poison oak.

the rains came in late this morning, so i decided to take a few photo's, do another load of laundry, clean up and head back to the apt. luckily, a few of the dozens of photo's i took actually made the final cut (thank god for digital...i delete more than i could ever admit).

happy sunday evening all, or monday morning or whatever day this post reaches you. since i am home alone for 2 plus weeks, i'm having a friend over for a no meat meal tonight.

ps. b-mo misses you loops

on the block

if you have been to san francisco you know there are only a handful of other cities in the world with such a diverse and constant collection of architecture. literally, within a one block radius i can see myself living in 90% of the homes........ each one is unique in its own special way and most in my neighborhood were here before the 1906 big earthquake. oldies but goodies.

we are not heading up to the cabin this am as we have a b-day party, so i decided to bring the camera along during b-mo's morning walk.

here are 2 of my favorite front doors in the block radius....more to come too. i think we all have a bit of obsession with front doors..they say so much about the experience of the home, they are similar to a great smile when greeting someone.

neat and wow shout out

shout out to StyleKouncil. my friend kat and her business partner kelly have taken san francisco by storm with their smashing new and practical approach to fashion for the masses...and some of san francisco's finest. and here are some of the current trends interpreted by these two masters...using their vintage finds and mixed with off the rack pieces. so proud of you both and continually inspired.

here is a little snippet from the article in 7x7 magazine. check out the full article here.

snippet: Kat Yeh and Kelly Sparks’ business cards are printed on old-fashioned garment tags and list a couple of curious services: closet curation and retail adventures. The fashion-industry vets, who met in 2002 while working at Levi’s (Yeh as a brand manager and Sparks as a designer), are bringing their personal-styling moxie to the masses by overhauling San Francisco closets one tattered, ill-fitting, and passé garment (think wide collar shirts and baggy jeans) at a time. They’ll preserve important personal style elements (your vintage Nirvana concert T—safe!), while updating entire wardrobes with iconic essentials tailored to each client’s taste.

last but not least...shout out to loops for his on set assistant stylist work..skilz baby, skilz.

no faux

so, we used a composite paneling for the front room, and it looks great, but for the front hallway i really wanted to use some real wood. it also makes a difference that the faux wood is $19 a sheet vs. the $40 for the real stuff. you could say we are being really selective where to invest.

i had no idea how much materials were going to cost for this home project and i am constantly being challenged with budget creativity. part of my career is about negotiating, but let me tell you...you cannot negotiate at home depot. :) i have a feeling that further down the road you are going to see some re-purposed wood from some of our earlier demo projects.

this brings me to the front hallway. we finally got the paneling up (real wood). the finishing work schedule is still TBD, but we are still enjoying the progress.

the photo through the french doors is from the master bedroom. we decided to put the french doors in to bring in some natural light and last sunday morning when i was laying in bed i realized how much this was the right decision. big shout out to our friends larry and jim for the "free" french doors.

true love

need i say more. valentines never meant so much when pets weren't around. i remember making valentines for our dogs growing up, and the horses, and the ducks....and you get the point.

b-mo wishes you a day full of caring thoughts and something with sprinkles on it.

fruit bearing

well, another weekend up north without a contractor...so we succumbed to the calling of the great outdoors and the 3/4 acres that has not had much TLC in, what we believe, to be about 6 or more years.

one of the many highlights was this little olive tree distraction. we needed to get some gravel at home depot (to use a gift card up), but they did not have anything very interesting in their gravel/rock selection. bummer.

in my shock and awe of home depot not having the gravel, with my head down and on my way from the garden center back into the warehouse box of home depot, i heard something/someone calling out my name. i followed that gentle sing-song of a voice to the place where this olive tree was standing. the 10am northern california sun was glistening just so on those silver lined leaves and branches and it was as if the king was coming to hillside and he demanded this tree/spirit be present.

ok....i'm sure i have totally lost you all in my rambling, but the point is it was a match made in heaven. the real miracle is that it fit in the car :)

the zinc container somehow made it to sf from france and then onto our property, courtesy of my friends coco and fred. it had most recently been a table for the tv and vcr at hillside, but i think it is perfectly outside.

to paint or not to paint

it is more common than not that when we get together with friends, the status of the cabin comes up...hence the conversation of what are you going to do with the walls and floors.

there can be a bit of vacillating as well as difference of opinions (depending on the day and mood), but the touchstone i always come back to is this...paint it all. the small, dark space nestled in the tree's is crying for more light. actually, begging in my opinion, but there goes that "cabin" feel.

as we all know, there are more grand and pressing issues (health, peace, hope,love) in all of our lives that override these trivial decisions, but if you have a moment to share your opinion, i promise to listen. :)

looking forward to the post and reveal of "the floors".

btw...this room is just what the doctor ordered: reclaimed, chipped, practical and you can feel the movement of light.

images hus&hem (fav)

free greens

one of the all time favorite gifts from our new property is the land. when you all come for your visit you will see what i mean. when you open the car door you are taken aback by the potent overwhelming (the good kind i hope) fragrance from the bay trees.

so herbal, so clean...it opens up your lungs and brings a bit of calm to the beaten down city dweller.

i did not know that bay leaves came from big tree's...i just assumed they were shrubs or small plants, but not...big, huge and seemingly invasive trees. these trees are scattered over the 3/4 acres along with many other indigenous trees i have not yet identified.

so, bring your shears and load up for cooking and the best kind of simple and no nonsense arrangements .

these little branches made it back to the city and are bringing a bit of the country to busy movement of the mission district.

loyal friends like craig

so, one confession i have to make is i really do not buy much of anything new (accept some clothes, shoes, mattresses, sheets, towels, you get the picture). character comes with age...i mean furniture of course.


it really comes from an appreciation of history as well as growing up in a very frugal home on a farm, which has instilled a value of simple and i think that comes from moments of not having much. BUT believe me, i made the most of what we did have and to me it was just right.

well, when craigslist showed up in my life almost a decade ago...you could say it was almost an out of body experience for me. instead of hitting up the flea markets, thrift stores, estate sales (which i still obsess over when i have time)...i could browse in the comfort of my own home.

which brings me to my most recent photo. the couch, an old hedredon...purchased several months ago for the cabin. owned by the same woman for over 50 years and you can tell it was very loved. when we went to pick it up, her daughter in law told us it was never re-upholstered and ann (the owner) took a nap on it every day. it is loaded with charm with its current pale blue velvet too :)

as you can see...the cabin is true to form in its hodge podge state of being. b-mo's crash pad in the hills.

had to convert to black and white as the lighting was bad and the lacquered pine walls really put a punch in the sepia tone. (hard on the eyes)