A World of Whimsy

Best of October... better late than never!

My goal is to have a "Best Of" every month.  The problem this last month was that it was brimming with awesome activities, themed parties, and days filled with yummy treats. I've tried to scale it down. I mean we don't want to make September feel bad, do we?

1. Bake Sale Betty's

On the corner of 51st and Telegraph this little bakery is packed full every weekend. Brave the long lines for their apricot-almond scones. With chunks of dried apricot, a mild almond undertone and a crusty sugar topping. Also their fried chicken sandwiches are unlike anything I've ever eaten before! Delicious!

2. Oakland Parks And Recreation

For my birthday, Joe got me a wonderful present. A bike for himself. Now we go about town on our days off and visit all the beautiful and unique parks in the Oakland Area.  The most recent, The Morcom Rose Garden off grand avenue, is my favorite and hopefully the setting for our wedding next year.

3. Sabon

While in New York, walking through the cold and wind and rain, my friend and I stumbled upon this little shop.  My favorite product: The Patchouli Lavender Vanilla body scrub, their signature scent. My skin has never been softer!  Their face masks were pretty amazing as well.

 

4. KQED

Fall brings short days and long evenings. I can't think of a better way to spend those extended evening hours than curled up on the couch with Joe and the dog, watching Antiques Roadshow.  When the weekend finally arrives we watch Rick Steve's Europe and Lidia's Family Table while we have our morning coffee, and maybe some of those Apricot scones!

 

5. Halloween

What is October with out Halloween?   With A pumpkin carving party courtesy of Nora, a homemade costume and a wacky Halloween party filled with friends, this was a good year!  Definitely.

 

My pumpkin matched my Gnome costume!

Everyone sharing in the good times!

See you next month....

Homemade and Handmade....

Inspired by designing and sewing my Halloween Gnome costume I felt the need to continue my sewing endeavors.

From recycled fabrics I made a cozy tank-top with eyelet underlay, a teal green A-line skirt with more eyelet underlay, and with red felt and black embroidery floss I constructed a simple little hat that really pulled the whole outfit together. By the way, for those that aren't aware, that is how gnomes dance!

Scrounging  around in my fabric selections, I found the top to an apron I started this time last year.  Immediately I got to work. For my birthday I received this wonderful antique dress form and I was quite excited to put it to good use! I draped the printed bib on the form and pinned fabric and ribbon to it. It was wonderful to play this way. Pinning and un-pinning, changing fabrics and ribbons as I went.
I loved the peach and greens combination the best, and started sewing.

   
 

I added white eyelet fringe at the bottom. The apron is reversible or will be as it is not complete yet. The skirt has the same printed fabric as the bib on it's underside. The bib will have a button closure at the top with a sweet vintage button I have yet to decide upon.

Tune in next week for it's completion....

A night with the Beales...

For my 27th birthday I couldn't help but dwell on the fact that I am truly an adult, there is no use denying it. I will only continue to get older and older and older. To usher in this demise of youth, I could think of nothing more fitting than Grey Gardens: the touching and terrifying 1970's Documentary of the Beales. Relatives to Jackie Kennedy, they were a wealthy, beautiful family riddled by time, circumstance and poor choices. Some how, they are able to be at once an inspiration and a cautionary tale. A fitting analogy for life; a balancing act on the precipice of calamity.  

The guests arrive:

Lindsey Suda and Kelly Zeissner pose as Big and Little Eddie. You look marvelous ladies!

From left to right: Me, Sara Murphy, Sandy Kwan, Leia Casey.  Look at those legs!

Damon Harris, Doug Trieschman, and the lovely Kelly Zeissner. Doug you are truly amazing!!!

  Above, Josh Amaris, Me, Nora Aoyagi, Leia Casey get into character.

Setting the stage: Our derelict garden was a glow with strands of colored lights, flickering candles and the documentary playing soundlessly upon an old sheet. Damon Harris acted as the official bartender mixing up delicious Gin and Tonics, Whiskey Sours, and some on the spot assemblages.

Accordingly the table was decked out with wilting flowers amid an array of deletable crudités. Bree with apricot preserves baked in puff pastry. Fig and goat cheese also baked in puff pastry. Really you can never have enough puff pastry. Slowly Melting ice cream, and amazing Red Velvet cupcakes From the Sugar Mama herself!

The Harsh Light of Day:

The morning always bring with it a slight sadness, a return to reality and the dreaded clean-up. Above Joey takes a nap after waking early to take people home. He returned with strong, hot coffee and yummy muffins form Arizmendi, our weekend favorite! ( I'm a lucky woman!!!) The left over chaos mirrors the state of my severe bedhead.

Thank you to everyone who came and helped to make this night truly unforgettable! The departure of our youth may be a sad truth, but I look forward to every day and every year I get spend with all of you fabulous people! I hope everyone had fun letting their inner crazy shine a little bit brighter last night!

Sweet Tartine!

These fog filled mornings remind me that Fall has surely arrived. I should have known. I have been intensely preoccupied by baking recipes, a profound need to stay home, knit, and drink copious amounts of hot tea. To satiate my baking desire I hosted an informal baking day with a few other ladies. There is nothing better than spending the whole day baking, other then to do it while chatting over tea with your friends!

Yolanda tried her hand at Shortbread from the Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking book. A great beginning book with lots of informative pictures. The shortbread was buttery, flaky and delicious with lemon curd and black tea!

I decided to try my hand at a tart. I love to make pies, but have yet attempted to make a true tart. I was surprised at how different the tart dough recipe was, almost like a sugar cookie. With the addition of confectioners sugar and cream, I knew I was awaiting something delicious!

Here is the tart in stage 2. The partially baked crust has been filled with golden raspberries and Red Pears. A mixture of melted butter, dark brown sugar and a smidgen of ground cloves has been drizzled over the the fruit.

A close up of the gooey goodness!

The finished product. It struck the perfect balance between tart and sweet. The buttery, sugary, lemony crust invigorated the ripe, sweet, fruit.  Freshly whipped cream, a favorite addition to any baked good, was highly appreciated.

I can't wait to eat it again tomorrow.... but really, why wait?   Umm,  so yummy!

So comes love....

This  past weekend was filled with love. Thursday night brought the love of old friends back home. Joe and I were honored to join the Suda family for the most delectable dinner at Marzano.

Friday night brought the love of friends on the verge of change. Matlena hosted a dinner party to mark the beginning of her journey to Italy to witness the birth of her sister's first child.  Below Matlena appears in one of her many breathtaking works of art.

Saturday brought the love of novel adornments as well as boisterous tomfoolery, as Joe and I shopped Bay Area thrift stores, purchasing  new outfits, accessories and knick-knacks. I later met up with the wonderful Miss Nora to cut fabric for aprons and visit one of our favorite fabric stores: Stone Mountain and Daughter.

   

Joe models his trendsetting plaid shirt with our little man Sterling.

 
The evening sun makes me feel so completely romantic. Here I wear my thrifted silk blouse. I love the bow closure at the collar and the pin tucking detail. Below notice the teeny tiny fawn in my ear, lovingly made by Figs and Ginger !

 
Sunday brought past loves into the present, as we walked the Alameda Antique Fair in search of long forgotten heirlooms. I ogled the vintage button cards, the Victorian bedclothes, the glass medicine bottles and vintage books; but only bought one thing. The hand silk-screened canvas bag below. It fit the weekend so well, and just about anything with bicycles makes me happy. I had to have it!

Sunday culminated in the careful crafting of delectable cupcakes in celebration of a recent marriage of good friends.

A mouth watering sea of dark chocolate cupcakes. Each cake is topped with homemade cream-cheese frosting that I tinted pink and  adorned with one perfectly tart and sweet raspberry. 

It was a good weekend. Thank you to all of you who were part of it.

Tea For Two.....(Or Ten)

Today I realized I will be 27 in just a month.  I'm wondering how is it possible that the days seem to linger on while the months seem to hastily pass us by.  While rifling through photos, attempting to remember where the last year has gone, I stumbled across one of my favorite events,: Our Summer Garden Party. Thank you to all you lovely people out there who made that day a great one. I hope the photos below brighten your day as much as they have mine!

Homemade lemon bars, fresh from the garden tomato and basil salad, lemonade, tea, and other yummy treats.

Vintage, yellow-ochre, glass dishware mingle with missmatched goodwill dishes and vintage linens for a pretty table. Only if we had cute vintage chairs, oh well.

At night the candles were lit. The illuminated paper candle covers stood out starkly in the warm dark night.