more jewelry

I have been buying a lot of jewelry lately. After spending the morning at Alameda, the hubby and I went to Cortland for a drink and a walk. Somehow, the weather in the city was much nicer than the East Bay today. Weird. I stepped into Venus Gallery to look at the jewelry and art display. I fell in love with this necklace at first sight. I tried it on and decided to buy it, I love it!

This particular piece is by Jenny Jensen. I love the simplicity yet intricacy of her work

We spent some time talking to one of the partners, Lisa. I've walked by Venus a few times for the last couple of months and was always disappointed to find it closed. However, the last few times that I've walked past it lately, the gallery's been open and is showing great pieces of art and jewelry. Lisa said that she just started a partnership with it's original owner. Lisa's goal is to serve the Bernal Heights community and also to feature local artists and their work. I was very pleased to hear this because I think that Bernal definitely needs this vibe in the community. I can't wait to see the other works of art that Lisa has in store for us.

PS. I asked Lisa what kind of stone this is and she told me, but I completely forgot! Ooops. I will ask her again and post it here.

Update: Lisa wrote me back and told me that this stone is a green chalcedony.

flea market finds

There were a lot of people at Alameda today. This is the first time I've ever lined up for the entrance. The woman in line behind us said that the Chronicle had an article about the market in the paper, so we assumed that that's why the people of SF Bay Area flocked to the market today. The hubby and I were looking for a cabinet to store our china in but alas, we were not lucky. We saw something we liked but at $1400, it was easy to walk away from it. What? $1400?! It was nice but not that nice. I did not leave empty handed, however. With the help of my girlfriends, R and S, I found some very nice stuff.

These scarves were our last purchase of the day and we bought them at a reduced price. This first one is my favorite, it is made in Japan of 100% virgin wool.

Inspired by Lisa C's obsession.

I am VERY into hats right now. My gal pal, R, found this beauty and we bought it together to share. I am contemplating wearing this to a wedding that I'm attending next weekend. Hmm.

I love this blue fascinator. I will eventually put up a better picture, perhaps as part of a complete outfit.

sprucing up

We're slowly working on sprucing up our bedroom which is just really drab right now. The closet has no doors (and thus exposing my almost embarrassing huge collection of clothes), we only have ugly plastic blinds on the windows and no art on the walls. So I started with the easy part this past weekend, I made curtains! It was really nice to work on my sewing machine again. I've forgotten how much I love making things. Last weekend's project has definitely put me back in the sewing mood again, I even made a tote after I finished the curtains just because I was having so much fun. I hope I can keep this up!

The curtains are up in the sewing room right now, we'll see how long it take for us to move them over to the bedroom.

I made the tote for my flickr friend, hanssolo, to belatedly thank her for sending me her wonderful art .

a sneak peak at my finds

Here's a sneak peak at some of my vintage finds. Some if not all of these will eventually make their way into my shop. My favorite out of the four pictured here are the shoes. They were such a great find. I wish that they're my size so that I can keep them for myself! Please click on the picture to get a bigger view.

to market, to market

Nope we didn't go there to buy a fat pig, but we saw some lovely carrots, gorgeous flowers, yummy pastries and cool street art. This past weekend's weather was spectacular, we ended up going to Alemany twice. On Saturday for the weekly farmer's market, and on Sunday for the weekly flea market.






So lately, I've been posting more inspirations than actual things I've made. I think I am in that weird mental space right now, where I don't really know what to make. I'm not really too motivated to sit down for a few hours at a time and make something. So I guess I am just slacking for now and waiting for something to click in my brain. I want to continue posting on this space though, just because this keeps me grounded. All I know right now is that I want to pursue my vintage aspirations. The section of "set aside vintage clothes" in my closet is very slowly growing. I also bought a dress form and have been taking some pictures of my finds, I will post them soon.

For now I am enjoying the weather and some quality time spent with the hubby and Momo.

finally, some time to unwind

The aforementioned trip to the wine country was fabulous. It was such a nice spring-like day. We drove there with no clear agenda, we just wanted to taste some wine, eat and re-energize. We also brought Momo along for the ride and she loved the trip just as much as we did. We took home 6 bottles of wine and tasted quite a few more. Mmmm..

Click on the picture for a bigger view

The grapes were not growing yet but there are fields of yellow everywhere. I believe this is mustard.

We visited The Cornerstone Place Gardens which was such a lovely treat. Try and go there the next time you are in the area. We took our time and strolled through the gallery-style garden exhibit. I left that place feeling very rejuvenated and inspired.

Garden Play by Topher Delaney

Sonoma Children's Garden by Moore Iocofano Goltsman Inc

no shopping for a month

I don't know what got into me but I convinced my husband that we should make a pact not to shop for a month starting last Sunday, 2/17. Partly because my closet is overflowing with stuff and I also just want to see if I will feel liberated or if I will feel lost or frustrated. I also want to see how much money we save by not buying unnecessary stuff. Having said all this, what's a girl to do? What else but window shop! Haha, hey I didn't say that I can't look. Here's what I'm wanting today:

Gilded Long Pearl Cluster Necklace by Abigail Percy

I've been thinking about joining a wine club ever since our recent trip to Napa/Sonoma (more on that later). Roshambo wine club

Frye Lisa T-strap

For some reason, I got it in my head that I want a vintage Gucci purse.

chocolate heaven

I don't normally blog about food but tonight I'm making an exception. We don't really make a big hoopla about Valentines day but the hubby scored a last minute reservation at Blue Plate, which is only about a 5 min walk from our home. This is our second time here and both times we were blown away by the food and the service. I am still coming off my high from the warm chocolate baby cake that literally made my toes curl. Ohhh so yummy! I might just start a food blog. Hmmm...

model no. 2

Momo is wearing her new harness. I used vintage fabric that I bought in Portland a few months ago. This harness is not only fashionable but easy to take on and off. She tends to get excited when she knows it's time to go out for a walk so this makes it super easy for us to put it on her. What a stylish dog!

my very first model

My friend Jen sent me over pictures of their baby Shayla wearing the bibs that I made for her a few months ago. Isn't she just adorable? I love how she has her hand on her heart in the second photo. Or is she reciting the pledge of allegiance?

wishing for spring

It's been a gloomy and wet week here in San Francisco. The sun actually came out for a few hours today, but then it quickly disappeared behind the clouds.



I bought some daffodils in an attempt to bring sunshine into our home. I can't wait for them to bloom.




On a more lively note, a friend of mine spent the holidays in Argentina and brought back this Calafate jam for me. I just love the packaging, how can you not? It comes with a doily and a wooden spoon! I like food but the cuteness of this jar makes me not want to ever open it.

the mural at apartment therapy

The biggest, bestest news of the week was I found out that Apartment Therapy blogged about my mural! Happy, happy, joy, joy! Thanks, AT.

hooray for mail!

Last week was a good mail week. Mr. Postman dropped off a few great things at my door. These goodies made up for one of the hardest weeks I've had at the office.

"Hands" drawn by the talented hands of my flickr friend, hanssolo. 

Birdcage Bedspread from Urban Outfitters. I'm thinking this will end up as curtains, though. 

Swede Floral Quilt, also from UO online. It reminds me of Orla Kiely's stem print. Thing is, after seeing it in person I think I like the white and brown print more.

happy indeed

Just popped in to tell you that I had a happy birthday. There was not a single drop of rain in sight. It was in fact one of those perfect San Francisco winter days where you can get away with an unbuttoned coat if you were sitting or walking under the sun. My family took me out for a wonderful breakfast, I spent the afternoon with Momo and then had a fabulous dinner with friends that night. What a treat!

I hope everyone is having a great start to 2008. There are so many things to look forward to! Cheers!

wrapping up 2007

I have a lot to be thankful for this year :

1. I started this blog
2. I opened my etsy store
3. I sold my first creation to a person that I don't know
4. I started a new job after almost 5 years at the previous one
5. We bought our first home
6. We met our lovely and loving dog, Momo
7. I finally found the creative side of me that I have been looking for for years
8. I conceived (and finished!) my first, and hopefully not last, mural

The list can go on and on.

I am one of those people who write down their resolutions for the upcoming year. I allow myself a maximum of 10, it's a good, accomplish-able number. I print out the list and post it up in my closet so that I am reminded of my goals each and everyday. Here's a few that I care to share:

1. Learn how to silk screen and/or gocco
2. Practice drawing more
3. Visit a new country
4. Be inspired by everyday things
5. Make more and sell more on etsy
6. Take more photos



On a different note, my birthday is coming up in a few days. For some reason, I have this memory of having very sad birthdays for the last few years. I think it's because it always rains on my bday. Even last year, when we celebrated my bday in a different country, it rained there too! So far, there is no rain forecast for this year's shindig so I'm pretty excited about that. I hope I didn't just jinx it! No matter the weather, I vow to have fun, so far we have dinner with friends planned.

Happy New Year to all of you!