a photographic series

I like to call it "Counting the Days until Tessa's Preschool Starts." Now that Charlie is spoken for (in third grade), Tessa is totally bored with me. She's over the pool, drawing, crafts, animals both plastic and stuffed—and how many playdates can you have in one week?

So this morning we did a little pedicure. For the record, we used a different color on every toe. (Mine are all silver.)

clutch purses

I've been seeing these everywhere. The no-straps design is totally impractical, but the minimalist in me likes the idea of nothing more than a pure rectangle, maybe in a really bright color.

Clare Vivier's flat clutch comes in several colors and pebble or smooth finish; I like the slightly chunky zipper.

Her foldover clutch looks great in navy with red piping:

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Or you could go cheaper at the mall. American Apparel's medium pouch is probably not as nicely made—but it's less than half the price and comes in more than 20 colors:

Zara calls this a wallet. I don't know about you, but I sure don't carry that much cash around. I'm not sure about this mustard color, but you can get in black too:

california green

I'm not much of a gardener, but I do love flowers, and I love all the succulents and different things growing on the west coast. Indulge me:

Purple!

These would survive in my porch planters for about two days.

 

moomah art projects

I've written before about Tracey Stewart's Moomah. Her online journal includes some sweet and easy crafts that definitely feel needed this weekend. (In other words, How soon is school starting, please? And how long will we lose power during this so-called hurricane?) They're perfect for someone—um, maybe me—who can't draw and has a hard time coming up with original ideas but likes to make things with her hands and is great at following instructions.

Recycled fabric necklace: The mannequin is way creepy,
but I like the idea of using scraps from outgrown clothes—
kind of like quilting for dummies.

Dreamcatcher: Somehow hers don't look too crunchy.
She also writes sweetly about talking her kids through bad dreams.

land of nod

I've loved Land of Nod for kids' furniture for years. The fall catalogue showed off a cleaner, fresher look and some great new products:

Fresher and cleaner, right?

The art prints looked especially looked good:

All images from Land of Nod

Shinzi Katoh's work is a cute take on midcentury modern

Who doesn't love the Eiffel Tower?

Bamboo bird mobile that could go in any room

san francisco

I promise not to ramble on too much about how great our trip was. Just a few highlights, some of which need no identification:

Ocean Beach was freezing

Dancing at SFMOMA

Carousel at Yerba Buena

Sculpture garden at SFMOMA

Point Lobos, which is spectacular

We skipped stones at the gravel beach; then watched tiny fish and crabs in the tide pools

Charlie found some speckled rocks

Muir Woods

A view from our houseboat

Cute back garden at a hippie store in the Sunset

They had cactuses in neat rows too

Exploratorium

Weathered pig sign on a door

Koret playground in Golden Gate Park

 

Also worth mentioning: Monterey Aquarium, where we spent four hours and could have stayed longer. Alcatraz. All kinds of great food at the Ferry Building. All kinds of food all week, in fact: Dinner at Chez Panisse Cafe, where Charlie and Tessa behaved perfectly (and Charlie polished off his lamb entree like a pro). Tartine Bakery in the Mission, which lives up to its reputation with crazy-good croissants and something it calls morning buns, which are like the most delicious orangey cinnamon rolls ever. Vietnamese food at Cordon Bleu on Polk Street, where the sweet lady behind the counter chatted up my kids and actually seemed to care that we used to come here 15 years ago. Ramen Club in Burlingame, where the waitress talked to Tessa about the Smurfs movie.