Staycation Day 2: Yoga, doe and Polk Street

I started my day with a vinyasa class at Yoga Tree. I haven't done yoga in months and this class kicked my butt. I felt really good afterwards though so it was all worth it. I went back home to eat lunch and then made a bee line for doe.

I have some store credit to spend so I dove head first into the merch. I tried on about half a dozen clothes and finally settled on the Joe's Myrtle dress. I also bought these rosewood earrings that Mariele made, these Maya Brenner falling leaf earrings (which I've been lusting after for months) and of course I couldn't resist a bar of Vosges enchanted mushroom chocolates.

I am in love with these earrings. I think I will wear them everyday!

Now that the shopping itch has been scratched, it felt safe to head to Polk street to do some window shopping. I was hungry so my first stop was Crave. I ordered the mac and cheese which was good.

Now that I have my energy back, it's time do do more shopping at the Candy Store. Like the name suggests, this shop is chockfull of candy! They specialize in the hard to find nostalgic variety. Liana suggested that I try the chocolate covered pistachio and chocolate caramel candy. They were both so yum, but I am always partial to caramel so there you go.

The licorice shelf

It took a lot of willpower not to get these

Staycation Day 1, Part 4: It's time for some ice cream

At this point, I've walked around for a few hours and I'm famished and tired. I decided it was time to head home after one final stop. I was craving ice cream. I was only a few blocks away from Bi-Rite Creamery so on I went.

But then I remembered that there was a cute little store beside it so of course I had to make a detour at Stem.






I ended my day with the yummiest salted caramel ice cream from Bi-Rite. Oh I love San Francisco!

Staycation Day 1, Part 3: I'm still in the Mission

A few blocks away from Curiosity Shoppe is Paxton Gate Kids. This store was so magical it deserves it's own post. I fell in love with it the moment I walked in, I felt like I was in fairy tale land. These pictures don't do it any justice.

I also appreciate that fact that the store encourages creativity among children. You really must stop by if you are in the neighborhood.

Where's letter Z?

Children's play and craft area

Wonderful puppets by Niki Ulehla

Staycation Day 1, Part 2: The Mission

I've only explored this part of the city recently. We used to live the the Richmond and Mission just seemed too far at that time. Now that we live closer to this funky, vibrant neighborhood I've finally gotten to know and love it.

I emerged from the 24th Street BART station and made my way to Mission Pie. I bought pies from here before to take to parties at friend's houses, and everyone always loves them. I bought a slice for the pear and cranberry pie and a glass of iced tea. If I had room in my stomach, I would've ordered a second slice.


After I left Mission Pie, I wandered down Valencia Street to mosey about the shops there. I stopped at the Curiosity Shoppe to look at the oddities that they have in store.

This is nostalgic, it reminds me of the games we played when I was a wee one.

Work by Christina Empedocles

I love tea cups and candles, this one incorporates both. How creative!

Staycation Day 1: Glen Park

I paid a visit to the Glen Park neighborhood of San Francisco today. My first stop was Perch on Chenery Street. This cute little neighborhood store was right up my alley. They had a great selection of cards, candles, kids toys and clothes, jewelry and home decor items. I had a chat with owner Zoel, and he said that Perch just had their first year anniversary. I personally think that they are a great asset to the neighborhood. I ended up buying a t-shirt for my husband and a soy candle from the sale table for me.






I also checked out Perch's neighbor Modernpast. They are redecorating/renovating the space right now so I didn't take any pictures. I'll go back when they're done and will post pictures here. I've always loved this store since they have such a great selection of mid century modern furniture. I also love the terrariums that they put together and then sell.

All this shopping made me hungry so I walked around to find some food. Based on Perch's Zoel's recommendation, I went to the deli counter at Canyon Market and ordered a sandwich. It was yum.

The deli counter at Canyon Market

We definitely have to go back to Glen Park for dinner. There are some promising restaurants here that we must try like Gialina Pizzeria, Le P'tit Laurent, Sangha and Chenery Park.

After eating, I hopped on BART and made my way to the Mission and spent a few hours at Mission Pie. More on it in the next post.

recent finds

You know the saying good things come when you least expect them? Well that's happened to us twice within the last few weeks. In terms of furniture, of course.

The hubby found this Nelson lamp on craigslist. We have been waiting to find the perfect lighting fixture for our living room and here it is now! I'll post another pic here once we get it installed.



The other unexpected thing that came our way were these Herman Miller shell chairs. We were just loafing around the Mission last weekend. Our friend Ruk wanted to go into the Community Thrift store and so we did. We saw these chairs and decided within a minute that we should get it. It was such a good price! All it needs is a little cleaning. The husband is talking about getting a new base though, so we'll see how that pans out. Again, if we make any changes to this, I will post the finished product here.

mini holiday in napa valley

We spent the President's Day weekend in the lovely town of Calistoga. We both needed an R&R and this little town provided he perfect spot. It rained all weekend but that didn't damper our spirits one bit. We stayed at a nice 5 room B&B that's situated on top of a hill overlooking several vineyards. We primarily picked this place because they allow dogs, but it turned out to be a real charmer. We definitely have to go back in the summer when it's not soggy, it'll be a nice place to go hiking.

Lots of mustard growing in the valley. It's all very lovely.

On our way to Calistoga, we stopped by downtown Napa to visit Oxbow Market. I've heard so much about it and was looking forward to checking it out. We bought apples, cheeses and a bottle of wine. Most importantly, we had lunch at Hog Island Oyster Farm. The clam chowder deserves to be on this list. It was so good! The clams are so fresh and tasty.

While there we were lucky enough to be able to watch the Amgen Tour of California. It wasn't entirely pleasant cuz we had to wait for them in the freezing rain for about 45 minutes, but hey it was fun in the end.

This photo was taken by my husband. I think it looks great.

A trip to this region will not be complete without spending a few hours at a spa and the requisite winery hopping. I have to that St. Supéry is fast becoming my favorite.

For our last dinner of the weekend, we were lucky enough to score seats at Jole. The food was extremely good. The quail was definitely the star of the night.

The view from the B&B

Old Faithful Geyser

We even saw a rainbow!

creatures of land and sea

We finally made it to the newly re-modeled California Academy of Sciences at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. I was very excited about this trip, the hubby and I blocked out our entire day and devoted a good amount of time exploring the museum.

Upside down Jellyfish

I love the colors and contrast of this diorama. I wish I had taken a better picture. It looks like it came out of fairytale land.

The rain forest exhibit.

The living roof with the Sutro tower in the background.

There's also a planetarium but we didn't get to go because the tickets were sold out. We also missed Claude, the albino alligator. He was being treated for this swollen toe. We bought a 1 year membership so we will definitely be back.

PS. How can I forget? We ran into Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher at the rain forest exhibit. Of course I went into paparazzi mode and took some shots!