Mmmm Figs

I love figs. Do you like figs? I had never had a fig until about three years ago. Can you believe that? We bought some really delicious ones earlier this week. Here they are about to be gobbled up with some Nancy's yogurt (my favorite yogurt) and a drizzle of maple syrup. They look extra sweet in this cute bowl I bought at a Goodwill during my last trip to Atlanta. And the pale chartreuse woven napkins that I bought at Portner in Zurich make me want to make a mess just so I can dab it up!

I realized I didn't post any pictures of some of the great things at Goodwill that day in Atlanta. I could have bought so many things! But the cost of shipping things home would have canceled out the bargains. I did get the brown floral bowls and this great set of ironstone pictured above. The ironstone is Kensington Staffords in a Queen Anne pattern. The price tag said it was a 19 piece set, but a lot of the pieces were missing. A nice employee even tried to help me find the missing pieces. Still, I bought was what there for less than $10. It's in my mom's garage for now, but during my next trip I'll bring them home.

A Birthday

On Saturday night we went to Caroline's birthday party. It was only our second time out without Lois. Can you believe that? She's almost 9 months old and we've only gone out without her twice! We didn't worry at all because a friend was actually watching her. Caroline's party was so much fun! Nice people, good music, cool space, homemade cake, oreos, punch (our contribution, requested by the birthday girl), what else can you ask for? It was great. Oh, and thanks to Lisa for letting us borrow her great punch bowl.

A Good Story

For anyone who likes history, has an interest in Thomas Jefferson, or Monticello, his home in Virginia, here's a good story by Maria Kalman in the NY Times. I've been to Monticello a few times, and it was one of my favorite places to go when I'd visit my mom in Virgina (when she lived there). I love this little story, especially the way it's written and the whimsical, childlike artwork that brings the story to life.

My Martha Daydream

If I'm ever on the Martha Stewart show making party hats with Martha (yeah right, I know, but it's my current daydream while I'm not suffering from party hat making fatigue), I'd like to wear this cute shirt and these shoes. Too matchy-matchy? Too party hat or clown-ish? Maybe I should order them and keep them just in case. Like Jim Carrey, who wrote himself a check for 10 million dollars dated for 1995 and then received 10 million for a film in 1995, maybe they will bring me Martha luck. Andrew thinks I need a new name for "party hats"--they do sound corny, don't they? Maybe "party hat" in French would sound nice. What would that be? Chapeau de fête, I think. Much better.

Pin Tea

I sold my first dress and party hat set this week (yay!) and celebrated by buying myself the most adorable pincushion from Sew That's It on etsy. Mine is the one pictured just below this paragraph. I love it! Who needs to take a tea break when you have this delightful cup sitting next to you while you sew? I've also been poking around KT's blog, where I've been drooling over some things like her great metal baker's rack. I finished a few more hat and dress sets, which I'll be listing in the next few days--keeping myself busy so there's no thrifting temptation! I'm getting over a cold, so it's been slow going. Time for some real tea and then bedtime for me.

Strawberry Fields Forever

Yesterday we went to the Swanton organic berry farm to pick strawberries. It was so much fun! It was really neat to see the strawberry farm and see all the pretty, ripe berries dangling from the plants. They even had cute radio flyer wagons you could use for picking (we didn't fill up a wagon--that's a picture of someone else's wagon) and for toting the little ones around. Lois had a good time sitting in a wagon, squishing a few strawberries. It was a bit chilly outside, but that beat the alternative. The drive along highway 1 was really nice too. We saw a lighthouse, lots of surfers in the ocean, and cute roadside produce stands. Last night Andrew made strawberry shortcake with yummy homemade biscuits and whipped cream. And we have some custard based ice cream chilling in the fridge, ready for the ice cream maker! Strawberry ice cream later today, yum.

What Would Fraulein Maria Do?

I've been hunting around for some cute vintage fabric on etsy and ebay for party hats and dresses. I was thinking about the barkcloth that I like so much that my mom gave me, which were curtain panels in a previous life. So I thought I'd search for curtain panels, and I found so many great prints, like this carnival print above that I made into a dress and hat set that's now in my etsy party hat shop. The print is so cute, and I love the orange and brown colors. It took me 2 days to finish this set, and I'm glad it's done. Lois is crawling now and she's all over the place, so it takes me forever to do these things if she's awake!


Here are a few other panels I found on etsy. Of course my top favorite of these is the bright floral print, below from shop at moxie, which look so much like the ones I have in Lois' room.

These are really great too. The first one from here and the second here.

Could Have Fooled Me

Yesterday I saw a woman wearing the cutest skirt. It was a black pleated skirt with a thick trompe l'oeil white lace border near the hem. It was a little bit like this sweet Esther Coombs teapot below, but with inverse colors. Once I started looking for some fun trompe l'oeil clothes and whatnot, I got a little carried away for a while. Here's a bit of what I found.






1. Vintage Hermes found here. 2. Teapot by Esther Coombs. 3. T-shirt previously from Urban Outfitters. 4. Dress by Eley Kishimoto. 5. Charlotte Ronson dress found here. 6. Moschino sweater. 7. For home, a fun dresser. Oh and here's a cute sailor T-shirt on ebay.

Gypsy Honeymoon

Go ahead and make a cup of tea for this one, because you're going to want to sit and sip and browse a while. On Sunday I paid a visit to Gypsy Honeymoon, one of my favorite San Francisco shops. This is the shop I mentioned recently that I was really hoping to show you. The shop is near our apartment, but rarely on my way to anyplace in particular, so I often cut over a few streets just to pop in for a minute or peer into the windows. Gypsy is something to behold. In Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," the poet, on his way to someplace unknown to the reader, is compelled to stop and take in the beauty of the stillness, the snow, and the woods, which are "lovely, dark and deep." That's how I feel when when I walk by Gypsy Honeymoon. Even if it's closed, it stops me in my tracks. And it, too, is lovely, dark and deep. More lovely and deep than dark, but dark in the same way as those woods--in a beautiful, captivating way.

Gypsy Honeymoon is filled with timeworn and found objects, some magical and mysterious, some everyday objects, that are given new life in the way, Gabrielle, the owner of Gypsy, styles lovely vignettes that are at every turn. You might see a tintype photo displayed in a flower frog; old photographs, buttons or doll parts in silver serving pieces; a bit of sea life "lighting" a lamp; handmade alligator and gold leaf buttons in a crystal candy dish; a square picture fitting neatly in a round gold frame. All delights to the eye that will have you taking a second look, only to realize you see something you didn't before. Just have a look for yourself.

















Wouldn't you like to go on a Gypsy Honeymoon? Me too.

Gypsy Honeymoon
3599 24th St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 821-1713