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!

flea market in sunny february

I was very excited to go to the flea market this month. I haven't been there in a very long time so this trip was special. It was also a very uncharacteristically 70 degree summer-like day which made the whole thing very pleasant. The hubby and I hopped on BART and met a couple of friends at the station. Our friend M graciously drove the bunch of us to the market.

Here's a smattering of things that caught my eye:
click on the images for a closer look

dearlenny was particularly in love with these panels

Of course, we managed to buy a few things for ourselves. The hubby and I took these treasures home with us:

Another teacup to add to my collection

This of course was the find of the day. The hubby bargained hard and got it for the price that we wanted.
This is pretty huge, about 3.5 foot tall and almost 4 foot wide.

are parasols making a comeback?

One recurring theme that I noticed at the flea market yesterday were parasols. I remember as a child who grew up in a tropical country, we used to use umbrellas all the time to shade ourselves from the powerful sun.

Yesterday, I spotted a few people who were sporting them. I probably missed a ton more cuz I was too distracted by all the things to look at. Here are images of a few women and one man!












Here are some umbrellas and umbrella themes items from etsy:

Green and Gold Umbrella

Black and Ivory Umbrella

Yellow Umbrella pendant

Umbrella tee

Vintage Floral Umbrella

can't buy me love

It's the season of love. Who said vday is for couples only? Take this time to tell your favorite peeps how much you care. Here's a gift guide for everyone on the list:

Remind Mom and Dad to rekindle their romance by getting them these custom couple portraits.



Tell your spouse how perfect you are for each other, at the same time you can fill that empty space on the wall that you've been staring at for months.



Since your boyfriend is always late to your dates, why not give him this clock? It's a subtle hint and I'm sure he won't mind adding something retro to his decor.




If you're a dude, why don't you surprise your girlfriend by giving her a key to your place and this key rack to go with it?



Girls, for your BFF tell her how much you love her by giving her hugs and kisses, vintage style.



Send your sis a recent snapshot of yours with this magnet so that she can put it up on her fridge.




For your brother who is getting no action, give him this mouse for all those hours that he spends online instead of meeting girls at the bar.