garden lunchin'

Wow, it's been a while since I've written anything here huh? I'll have baby updates for you (I am due any day now!) but for today's post I want to quickly write about the wonderful Algarden lunch that my friend, Alex, invited me to last week.

Click on the pictures for a bigger view.

The menu and the spread. Everything was yummy, I had to go back for seconds!

Here's the premise, Patricia Algara found a good sized piece of land in Berkeley. The land owner lets her grow fruits and vegetables and she also has a few beehives. A few times a month, she hosts a lunch in the garden, showcasing the bounty that she grows. The lunch crowd then eats the delicious food right there - where the produce is grown. How much more local and fresh can you get? Last week's lunch was on a Friday and the fruits and vegetables were picked the Thursday afternoon before!

A little piece of the garden

Learn more about Patricia and Algarden on her blog, Foodscaping.

Here are a few more pictures of the garden and the food:

Very serene setting. Very cool table as well!

One of the centerpieces. Love the colors!

Tomatoes!

Beehives!

Squash blossoms

Apples

oh baby, baby!

I've been so eager to share this news with the world since the moment we found out. But of course, we kept it to ourselves and our loved ones for the first few months. I'm so happy that I can finally shout it out!

The first trimester wasn't fun for me. Although compared to other women it sounds like I've had an easier time, and for that I am grateful. I am now in my second trimester and things are looking up - except for the fact that I have been getting more frequent headaches lately. However, I do feel that my energy is back and I'm beginning to be myself again!

We're going to find out at our next appointment in a few weeks if it is a boy or a girl. People are asking me what I prefer. Honestly I can really go either way. I don't have a strong preference for the gender. The first baby dream I had was about a boy, the second was a girl so who knows? We don't have boy names lined up though so if we're having a boy we're definitely going to have to think on it a lot.

I've started looking through baby clothes and I'm dying over how cute they are! OMG. I'm going to have to stop myself from buying everything I can get my hands on. I am also placing baby clothes orders for doe so I'm even more exposed to this ridiculous cuteness.

Clockwise: Speesees, Polarn O. Pyret, Kate Quinn & Kate Quinn. Most of them will be available at doe in a few weeks!

busy, busy

This blog has been quiet for a long time. There's a (few) good reasons for it, I promise! I'll reveal one piece of news today and will reveal another one in a week or so.

I have been doing some work for the doe website. I've been helping out with website maintenance, blog updates and the thing I’m most excited about, picking out inventory! I've placed a bunch of orders for products that we've never carried before, they will start trickling in next week. Of course we're still going to continue to carry items that doe regulars know and love.


These days, I'll be blogging more on the doe blog than on this one but there will be some cross-blogging happening for sure. I hope you check out our store! We've been adding more stock every week so check often!

Come back to this space in about a week for my second bit of fantastic news.

spring is here?!

Neighborhood cherry blossoms are in bloom! This is also my first posterous post. Let's see what happens!

Posted via web from gigegy's posterous

the painting, my side of the story

Like my husband says in this blog post, we have been hungry for original art in our home since we moved here in 2007. I was turning 30 at the end of 2009 and had been thinking of throwing a NYE party to celebrate. I was pretty set on that idea for months. However, 2 months before my birthday I had a sudden thought - instead of throwing a party, why don't we just invest in original art - it will be something that we'll have forever and something that we will cherish together. Brilliant!

So I began the search. I have bookmarked dozens of artist's websites that I've admired over the years. I looked through their work, went to many galleries, open studios and even trolled Etsy for a while. Nothing struck my fancy. Then one day, Lisa Congdon tweeted that she has a big birch forest painting for sale. I fell in love with Lisa's birch paintings the day she first blogged about it a few years ago, I even bought a print. I mulled over it for a few days and decided to send Lisa an email to ask if we can look at it in person. She obliged and said that she'll gladly come over to our house to show it to us. I was a little scared and star struck - Lisa at our house?



She came over that weekend with the painting. Of course we fell in love with it. What else was I expecting? We started talking about which wall the painting would go on and Phurba casually mentioned that in his dreams, we would like to put a painting up on our main living room wall. Yes, the huge wall behind the couch. One thing led to another and next thing we knew we had taken out the tape measure and started measuring. OMG this is really happening! Lisa said she's never painted anything this big but she's just waiting for someone to ask her to do so! Phurba and I didn't even have to talk it over. We looked each other in the eye and gave a nod. Yes! Yes! We'll do it!



So it's now happily up on our big wall. We stared at it a whole lot the first few days. We still stare at it today. It is absolutely wonderful. Momo is in it. We love it. Thank you, Lisa!

Momo detail

Lisa Congdon's studio

We had the pleasure of visiting Lisa Congdon's studio a few weeks ago when we picked up our painting (more on that in the next post). As expected it is full of color and inspiration. Thanks for sharing, Lisa!


Click on the images for a bigger view

This is my favorite corner.

Holiday Wishlist 2009

Happy Holidays everyone! I can't believe how quickly this year flew by. This year has been full of ups and downs for me, but in the end I really have a lot to be grateful for. I am also turning 30 at the end of this year so lots more to celebrate! Here's my wish list for this year.

A subscription to Uppercase Mag. This magazine is just full of visual delight and inspiration.



I really love the old world look of these brown apothecary jars from DWR.



18 Reasons is a unique combination of local art, community and food. Those are 3 things that really just ring my bell.



I still haven't seen this movie! Shame on me! The thing that kills me is that I heard that they were selling this at Renegade this past weekend but I got so wrapped up in other things, that I forgot. Good thing I can still buy it online.



I would buy this just to be a part of the dinner club, however this membership comes with so much more.


And of course, there's always room for shoes. I've been eyeing these for months and have tried them on. They are oh so comfortable and pretty at the same time. I just can't bring myself to fork up $200 for them. Sigh.

a first

Hi there, this is Phurba; guest blogger and the love-struck husband of Giselle. Anyone that knows me knows me to be very mellow and hard to excite or impress. However, today is one of those rare occasions.

For a while now, we've been looking for the perfect art piece to complement our creative taste and fill the missing decorative gap in our living room. We've been visiting a lot of open studios and galleries during our free time but haven't been too inspired. When Giselle finally showed me an image of Birch Forest Number 5 by one of her favorite local artists, Lisa Congdon, I initially didn't share the excitement she showed for it. It wasn't until today when Lisa came to our home and I got to see the piece up close and personal. I was so taken with the piece as it reflects my pining for natural things (in this case trees and the woods). The intricacy and creativeness pops off the canvas making the piece come to life. I can see why Giselle was so excited. Lisa's awesome.



So taken were we that we commissioned her to do a larger piece for us. One that we wanted to personalize by making Momo, our precious little blind chihuahua mix, a part of the piece. We're so excited to see how it will come out and I'm sure that Giselle will put up pictures of it.

Oh by the way, this is my first blog entry ever. If I get this excited again, I may be inspired to write a second one. Maybe when Apple finally switches to Verizon.

favorite tweets 11/08/09

• RT @indiefixx: watching handmade nation. did u know u could buy a copy from @buyolympia? http://tinyurl.com/yjr3hzv U MUST own this!

I'm ashamed to admit this but I haven't seen Handmade Nation yet! I'm adding this DVD to my holiday wish list.

• RT @pigeon_toe: http://twitpic.com/ojx8j cereal bowl with spoon rest. I'm gigglng with delight.

I've never met a Pigeon Toe ceramic I didn't like.

• RT @soulcocina: Outside In - Street Food Music Art Flamenco Gorditas Adobo Creme Brulee Fries Gumbo Jerk Summer Jams in the Wintertime http://bit.ly/2jGRfg
• RT @ohjoystudio: super fun blog by @psimadethis http://psimadethis.com/

Photo courtesy of P.S. - I made this ...

• RT @SeattleVelocity: Finally a functional family gathering, as chairs at least. In the store today. Come in to see them. http://tinyurl.com/ylfzcfz

My husband can tell you that I have a chair addiction. I would paint these and use them as dining chairs.

• RT @ashleygoldberg: soooooooo good http://bit.ly/2CPQ7C via far out brussel sprout

favorite tweets 10/11/09

• RT @abbytryagain: I'm really liking this blog lately http://www.travelerslunchbox.com/. It's just so darn cute.


• RT @HMSBeekeeper: Wow. Awesome beehive in Reno that hangs off an overhang of a courthouse roof! http://bit.ly/XRwh0

• RT @neawear: Woodland in your Hair http://bit.ly/ApTHq

• RT @jenhewett: Just listed in @etsy - galoshes and skirt notebook! http://bit.ly/r3lT8

• RT @FilipinoFood: Vegetarian CHICKEN adobo! http://bit.ly/vegadobo

It's great that Filpino food is finally getting well deserved recognition and attention in the Bay Area! A vegan Filipino restaurant is going to open in Oakland. It's weird to say vegan and Filipino food in one sentence.

favorite tweets 10/04/09

• RT @inhabitat: Mikal Hameed Uses Trash to Make Music, Inspire Community http://bit.ly/Ob1uN

• RT @_finderskeepers: Publisher textiles featured on indie.com.au http://bit.ly/aydfU

• RT @poketo: Did you know Chris Bettig was one of the guys who built the Where The Wild Things Are dome and Pop Up Shop? http://flic.kr/p/74k59U

I'm loving twigs and branch-like things at the moment. This dome is pretty and looks like it took a while to build. I am also looking forward to seeing Where the Wild Things Are.

• RT @sparkershop: Store leftovers with pizazz! Vintage tupperware in citrus hues: http://bit.ly/gUrDb

My parents packed my lunch in this tupperware when I was a kid. It definitely brings back memories.

• RT @annwoodhandmade chillingworth: http://bit.ly/yIkA5

I love Ann Wood's stuffed animals. Chillingworth is so perfect for Halloween. Wait till you see what he's made of.

favorite tweets of the week

I don't have much time for anything else these days besides work and quality time at home. I really don't want to neglect my blog so I'm going to try this easy-piecey new blog post and I will do my best to post this regularly once a week. It'll be a round up of my favorite tweets for the week.

• RT @inhabitat Urban Infill Strikes Gold in San Francisco http://bit.ly/PSOXZ

• RT @7x7Magazine Snag Jorge Colombo's sweet SF iPhone sketches http://bit.ly/1YQGXz.

I can barely draw with a pencil, Jorge Colombo draws amazing art using the iSketch app on his iPhone. Amazing.

iSketch837 by Jorge Colombo

• RT @skinnylaminx Have you seen the @hisforhome Ercol flickr group? It's Ercol-icious: http://bit.ly/18Tt1R

• RT @lisacongdon Favorite new product at @raredevice http://bit.ly/V0koF

• RT @RenegadeCraft http://twitpic.com/ihue2 - Loving how awesome these new neon "It's Okay" sculptures from Multipolar Projects look all laid out together!

• RT @sfgirlbybay http://twitpic.com/jaga2 - okay, one sneak peek, only 'cause we don't want @zoestagg getting carpal tunnel from refreshing the blog until Monday.

Victoria has rearranged her furniture again! I know I am not alone when I say that I am very excited to see what Victoria concocted over the weekend. She promises to post more pictures on her blog this week. Love the living room so far.

Photo credit: sfgirlbybay

a visit to flora grubb

A couple of my girlfriends and I paid a visit to Flora Grubb nursery a few weeks ago to attend a succulent workshop. I was looking forward to this visit because I've heard so much about how wonderful this nursery is. The other big plus is that they have a Ritual Coffee bar within. It's hard to beat a beautiful scene + good latte + a sunshiny beautiful Saturday morning, camera in tow.

No shopping carts here, just Radio Flyer's litlle red wagon.

I love the various creative displays they had, starting with this gorgeous wall of succulents.




This old car has been used as a planter.



As well as this sink.




They even sell gardening supplies, books and garden furniture. I can literally spend an entire day here just lounging, admiring the plants, the display and sipping my coffee while getting inspiration.

brunch

Today, we had some friends over for a small brunch get together. It was really nice to have a small gathering at our place. Typically, when we have get togethers we invite a whole slew of people. Having a small group allows us to talk and spend quality time with our friends. I think we should do this more often.



Our friend Lenny brought over the main dish (the best kind of guest!). She made croissant french toast and it turned out yum! She also brought berries and grapefruit to go with it.





The hubby was inspired by the movie Julie and Julia and made poached eggs. By the time the eggs made it into the table however, we were all very excited to eat so unfortunately I forgot to take a picture!

Breakfast is not breakfast without bacon!

While we're on the topic of food, I also made my first ever peach cobbler last night. I used whole wheat flour for the biscuits and substituted agave syrup for sugar.



I also went to the farmer's market this weekend and was so happy to discover that a vendor was selling Rambutan. I used to eat this fruit while growing up. I love nostalgic fruit! It brings back so many memories!

It was $9 a lb (!) so I only bought a little.

Renegade: Interview with Kitty Baby Love

Name: Sara, Ben and Baby Micah of Kitty Baby Love
Website: kittybabylove.com and kittybblove.etsy.com

The cutest crayons on the planet

Describe your products: It’s handmade toys and home décor. Most are for little kids like the crayons and the bowling set. But we also have things like cards and candles. We try to make things that have a creative function and a useful function. Like the crayons are good for development for young kids. Also the bowling kitties help with motor skills. We like to make something that has fun, educational and creative values.

What is your favorite item that you’re selling at Renegade SF: Sara: My favorite item are the bowling kitties, they’re brand new. Ben: I think the crayons just because I like to draw and paint.

Bowling kitties!

Name artists that are also here today that you admire: (Sara) I heard the black apple is pretty popular, it’s cute stuff.
Where are you based: Where are in Oakland right now but we are moving to Portland.