up one side and down the other
hi guys! it’s been a whirlwind summer and truth be known, i’m slightly exhausted and am only now going through the pics i just couldn’t bear to deal with while on the road. you bloggers know what i’m talking about. it’s all fun and games taking the shots but editing, resizing, balancing, cropping, and sorting can take all the joy out of it!
so tonite’s the night. my new goal is to do things in real time cause it’s just not the same when you wait, you know?
anyway, going thru it all i remember how much i love californians who let the ÜbeR foliage grow wild even when it’s trimmed.
totally random non sequitor but in san fran i thought it would be fun to start sending stuff from paris to different collectives, starting with this one, past perfect.
they have two locations and happen to have a space available.
actually the shopping there was amazing, with everything from lighting to big furniture.
this is the space they have open:
so changing gears, cause i could stay on cali for another 10 posts but the weekend took us back across the country to a weekend wedding in lake george. i’ve never spent time there but it was an another incredible hotel and the wedding was of course spectacular.
and i have to give them props for the foliage at the sagamore hotel
and though i couldn’t capture the beauty of the centerpeices, they used champagne grapes tucked in with the flowers and it was absolutment charmant!
on the way out i had to stop by the villa marie antoinette antique shop but it was closed.
still there was enough eye candy to amuse me and the staggering beauty of the architecture in our very own country never ceases to amaze me. there’s much to see and do. what a world!
we took the long way home and stopped at little towns along the way like saratoga and woodstock which were as pretty as anything we’d seen yet.
but i have to draw the line somewhere and just say ‘when’! besides i don’t need to bore you with my vacation shots but do want to remember these last couple weeks. it seems like a recurring theme to make sure the memories don’t get stuffed in a folder along with the pics and i’m grateful for blogging to give me that incentive to do more than just let the days pass by. hope you’re having a great summer and making memories you’ll always remember too. have a fabulous weekend!
a walk to the palace
hi everyone, happy friday! hope you’re getting ready for a great summer weekend. i’m on a five hour road trip to lake george for a wedding and it’s just getting to be the golden hour so i can’t stay too long but just wanted to continue going thru the sf pics. part of my vow to be more disciplined with both my pics and remembering good days.
i’m trying to go thru one folder a day and today’s is the palace which was a nice surprise on a walk to breakfast.
we went in through what must have been the side door cause even though i had heard it was special, i wasn’t prepared for how magnificent it really was.
the approach was low key
but even a peek into a window revealed we were about to enter another universe
the ceiling literally took my breath away. partly cause i didn’t expect it, but also for its delicate beauty, knowing who created it and the struggles they faced. (this was re-built after the 1906 fire). and made with nothing special, just imagination and sheer will. not knowing if it would happen again, but faith that it wouldn’t and not compromising their art.
buy holy cow do they need a decorator?! i would love to pitch that!
just across the way is a knockout entry with an enormous bouquet of red roses. well, that almost makes up for the furniture! ok i better go, i’m being a terrible co-pilot! xc
places i’ve been with lynn
wow i can’t believe the day flew by. what a whirlwind and it’s 2am. since life is moving faster than light right now, blogging seems to be the way to reign it in and not let great days go by. working on the pics is turning into a nighttime meditation after a full day. in sf i couldn’t bring myself to post, i was so exhausted! looking at the pics now i remember why! everyday was jam packed. this was one of those great days. lynn picked me up on saturday morning and we arrived bright and early for an outskirts auction. it didn’t look like much at first glance but there were a lot of fantastic pieces tucked into nooks and crannies.
lynn got this old painting
and we both loved this portfolio of all things.
and she wanted this goyard trunk but it went really high
i always look for vanities and loved both of these
finding the pioneer gear is incredible, so much history in a hat.
(i promise to get the name of the auction and details tomorrow). our next stop was an hour away to petaluma. it’s a lively couple of streets in an old fashioned all american town. oh and the best part is that it’s full of great antique shopping in 4 or 5 collectives!
this old bank was our first stop. there are three floors and lots of little rooms to explore.
down the street is her favorite place, again i’ll get the deets tomorrow for you. it was filled with great old signs, big harvest tables and styled beautifully!
i would love to get this for lorraine
a collective across the street had 3 more floors of at least 50 dealers.
iand the one next to that…
i could go on but there’s only one thing left to say tonight. we didn’t take pics and we didn’t leave the hotel, but it was just as magical. i had the pleasure to have had tea at the hotel with none other than melissa of reverie dreams. she brought her husband sean and daughter gaia and my life will never be the same! they’re the most beautiful trio you’d ever want to meet and i hope you do one day get to experience the joy that’s them! mel, i hope it’s ok i used this photo, it captures these two perfectly.
oh it’s late, ok gotta shut down, bonne nuit!
i can’t let go
hi guys! i got to ny on the red eye and am taking tonite to pretend i’m still in sf. and if i don’t go thru these pics right now, they’ll sit in a folder for the rest of my life!
when i was outside the fairmont, there was a lot going by!
i started practicing using my camera and testing its tricks on the fly
i love this city more than ever. it’s got fresh air and beauty everywhere you look.
ok, more soon, buona notte!
it would take many lifetimes
when i got to this hotel i had no idea how much of our time in sf would be devoted to it! now i see why the show ‘hotel’ in the 70s was centered around this incredible place! around every corner is more intrigue, history and glory like the tiny vanderbilt in pink and blue above and below.
anyway, from my trip to see some of the ballrooms, i met jessica, one of the kids in charge of running the place who really got my love of the old nooks and crannies. she was gracious enough to give me a tour of the penthouse which was an unexpected treat.
this is just a small sampling of the magnificent floor:
since john’s in food, she introduced us to their hip executive chef (unfortunately i think i erased the photos)! he showed us some of the projects he’s working on, like creating all the hotel’s honey (he put beehives on the roof), and adding sustainable gardens which will grow all the hotel’s herbs and vegetables! fairmont.com/sanfrancisco bee hives
and i didn’t see jessica this morning but wanted to thank her for the invitation yesterday to see the sf ballet in the park. it was a real treat and something we wouldn’t have seen if not for her ongoing hospitality!
so, that will have to do it for my little obsession today as we’re packing up and heading out. i look at this photo above (dorothy draper’s incarnation of the lobby, thanks lynn) and think of the young cool crew that’s handling it now. they’re set to remodel the laurel court restaurant which still has the old school feel but with who’s in charge i know they’ll do a great job preserving it. more soon!
the fairest of them all
hi guys! i can’t believe it’s actually been an entire week since i’ve had a chance to post about this trip to san francisco. even as i write this it’s rushed. lynn is about to pick me up again for another morning of foggy fun and although i got up early to write, it’s dwindling fast and my connection is slow. still i’m determined that before i see another thing or take another shot i’d say hello and nip the tip of this iceberg of a city!
our home for the past week has been the fairmont hotel at the top of nob hill. (yes virgina, they do have affordable rooms)! it’s been an incredible experience as a history buff and lover of all things old and grand.
the gold dining room in the teens above and today below
the detail is stunning.
this grand dame has seen it all. there is no way to squeeze it all into this short time but the hotel halls are lined with ephemera and photos, old menus and archives from breaking ground to the earthquake to the fire to the resolve to rebuild. just being here is humbling, knowing what the early settlers went through to create this splendor, revel in its glory and see it destroyed. their strength to regroup and rebuild, not knowing if it could all just crumble again is mind boggling.
yet they did it without hesitation, living in tents, carrying supplies uphill, in chilly fog, without bathrooms, heat, electricity or phones.
the more i learn about san franciscans and the pioneers who created this masterpiece of a city brick by brick the more in awe i am.
these men and women are unsung heroes whose names are forgotten but their work lives on.
the ballroom was used in the relief efforts after the quake. it is such a grand room, i’m sure they were beyond grateful it was spared. it must have been strange to live and work in such contrast but they did it. twice!
i’m dying to get into the archives of the hotel. the shot above is from one of the many incarnations the lobby has had over the years. i would have killed to see this one by dorothy draper. ok she’s here, more soon. hope you’re having a great weekend!
alameda point antiques faire: antiquing by the bay in nor cal
happy monday and greetings again from san fran! i’ve got a nice window before changing hotels and have a little time to post about yesterday’s shopping extravaganza.
my girl lynn picked me up at 5:30 am to hit the once monthly alameda flea market, (aka, antiques by the bay), touted as the largest antique market in cali. the rumors were not greatly exaggerated, it was staggering! it’s held in a vacant, sprawling (like miles big) abandoned naval ship yard. it’s organized in alphabetical rows and each dealer has a number. it’s probably a 1/2 mile wide and goes into double letters. if that’s not enough, there are two michaan’s auctions happening down the road once you leave!
i do find everything in california to be big. the people are larger than life, the foliage, the fleas! my college roomie, mb (above left) and her girl kim knew the drill and met up with us. we were about 10 rows apart for most of the morning they finally caught up to us when lynn and i got sucked into a time warp for at least an hour.
we stumbled onto a stack of the new york times from an old library. they were enormou volumes of the actual papers from the 1920s through 40s. the were so heavy and beautiful, bound in canvas. leafing through them was true time travel.
how approps
you can click to enlarge
quel vie! the stars of broadway: charlie chaplin, clara bow and john barrymore
i could have stayed forever. it was just an eye opener to see in the flesh, in such a tangible way, that some things don’t change.
especially black and white fashions from paris!
the want ads were all consuming!
the empire state building was almost ready for occupancy!
we finally made it out of and back into the light of day. it’s a great market for sellers cause it’s only one day and everyone knows it’s now or never. there’s no contemplation. if you want it, gotta get it cause someone else will if you don’t! going early, everyone was really negotiable and the prices were great. i’ll do another post featuring some of the vendors cause this is a market to visit if the stars are aligned when you’re here.
lynn says there’s an influx of french influence in sf lately and we did see a lot from france.
it’s wild how an entire event is set up in a day and broken down. it’s like magic.
lisa goligtly down in row x sure contributes to the magic. below is her pretty glowing booth. (she turned the lights on but i didn’t take a pic, duh)!
and it’s incredibly organized. you write down your aisle and booth number, pay for your stash and then go get a cart to gather it all up. then someone gets the car and you load up. ikea style.
we decided it’s the ultimate recycling program and it was so much fun to do it with someone so in the know. thanks for the day girl, i’ll treasure it!
by the by, lynn bought the ny times books, (the best ones at that)! so check her site out for them.
ok gotta switch hotels and clients coming in, more soon!
fun by the ton
wow! 24 hours in san fran and it’s already been a whirlwind. i’m going thru pix and had to give props to our very first stop. it was a ‘roaring 20s, sand by the ton’ party hosted by big art studios, an incredible group of artists (our friend is one of them), who create enormous works of art from discarded scrap metal. the pieces are somehow ethereal and so delicate despite their size, rust and components. it was truly awe inspiring! i love california, you never know what you’re going to discover in some airport hangar or what looks like an abandoned warehouse.
these goddesses must have been 100 feet tall. the chains as hair was so creative! anyway it’s getting late and i’m starting to burn out. it was an early morning (5am)! with my girl lynn from paris hotel boutique at the alameda flea and getting in at 4am yesterday is starting to kick in so i’ll say goodnight for tonight! enjoy the rest of the weekend!
be sure to wear some flowers in your hair
wouldn’t this be a fun place to rent? i imagine opening a place like i imagine having an a apartment. there’s food for thought everywhere here.
this is it from a distance. it’s next to city light books in north beach which is uber picturesque.
it’s a little italy. very cozy. and the perfect place for brunch.
hey guys, hope you’re having a happy sunday night. i’m still in san francisco and it was another day of non stop action in this pulsing metropolis of beauty and creativity! today was all about me so you know i went straight for the le decor. it’s insane how much is going on here. just for kicks i’m editing a bunch but this is it cause there’s just way too much and i have a ton of stuff to do right NOW! but this is more fun ;p
here are some highlights:
first stop was past perfect on lombard. i go running for this place whenever i’m in town. there’s always something incredible. this time it was antique mirrored furniture.
i died for this gorgeous french mirrored bar from the 1930s in perfect condition!
and this little 20′s cocktail table
and don’t get me started on the moderne! the prices are really good and you get a huge variety cause there are 40 dealers in this store and i think even more in the one on union. this one is great for furniture and the other has amazing smalls.
so last night we drove to distant hoods till late at night and found valencia which was aBLaZe with life. we went back again today. it’s incredible what’s going on in a two or 3 block strip.
we parked outside this colorful local haunt. they had great dishes and tons of housewares.
one of the best shops on the street was harrisons. it’s enormous and overflowing with bargain vintage furniture and accessories with lots of full corners to discover stuff tucked away.
it’s one of those places you definitely have to look twice.
especially cause mirror is basically disappears.
a little bit of every thing and a great resource if you’re a lucky local.
next up was monument which is also gigantic with stores on both sides of the street. i just realized they’re on first dibs.
this dorothy draper chair was the highlight of my shopping day. then again, i’m a sucker for exquisite metal boudoir chairs in their original patina.
i can’t stop thinking about her!
loved this mirror that sort of disappears on the wall. oh wow, i’ve been decorating my fantasy new apartment.
ok well back to valencia street…these other adorable shops are all along the strip.one more adorable than the last. below is a shop that hosts temporary art exhibits.
in the survival annex the designers came up with something that you could use if you need to survive. it’s pretty funny. you can read about the project here: curiosityshoppeonline.com
these little pouches were butter soft.
and this art is done with vintage wallpaper
for some reason my camera gave out while in this sweet paper shop, little otsu.
and lastly across the street to the weird but wonderful paxton gate.
and you know i love my street art and valencia has insane murals.
well, that about does it cause i could go on and on! i may not be back for a couple days as i’ve been really neglecting my drudgery work! it. this is ridiculously long post but that’s why i hunkered down to do this. otherwise this day would sit in a folder forever. hope you enjoyed it. and there’s always tomorrow. sweet dreams!
a day in a life
happy saturday! i’m here again with just about a minute to say hi. tomorrow am i’m meeting with mb’s friend who’s going to help me lay out the book! i know it sounds stupid but it was real block. so i have homework but just wanted to post a few minutes of a super full day.
we were lucky to have a car and covered a ton of ground.
it’s like disney magic. but of all the things we did and saw,
i think the highlight was a detour into an estate sale held in a quintessential san fran home. it was the home of a woman who lived a san francisco life. the garage was full. there was a vanity, family photos, a pretty green oven, tons of costume jewelry and little chairs. she was a diva!
inside, her personalty really shone through. she loved detail and had a ton of white gloves, lingerie bags and embroidered linen hand towels.
i think this was her but am not positive
it’s kind of weird and sort of sacred when you get to look so intimately into someone’s life.
i had to smile coming across her collection of lotto games.she must have had 45 versions. i could just imagine her hosting lotto parties in this pretty little place on the hill in her bejeweled caftans.
ok well i better go! haven’t touched that homework. happy sunday!
