moon gazing

spent the afternoon visiting east bay salvage yards with a friend and while we didn't buy much we had fun and found some incredible gems from this incredible view above and hand carved wood trunks from India and crystal chandelier drops.

looking left and right

I walked under the bridge and found the familiar view of the Marin headlands and the vast ocean on the other side. favorites

light stream

east bay bridge lights as seen from the bridge

pastel sunset over the city skyline from that other SF bridge

extra early day at school

cut paper classroom window screen and a morning spent waking up with greens in a bottle thanks to Juice Shop and wanderlust

stroll in the old country

 I went for a walk at lunch through one of SF's neighborhoods that is home to many Russia families. This was the first part of the city that I called home and it feels like the "old country" to me and the charm with baskets of potatoes and wooden boxes of produce that line the sidewalks outside humble markets full of chocolate, cheese, and cured meats from Russia. Refrigerators stocked with bottles of vodka and Russian being spoken by all it's hard to not be charmed and feel transported for a little while. It looks like the anchor has settled in as well and of course I'm always happy to see it and say hello. I hope to meet the sidewalk sailor someday. Oh, this tile mosaic rug/entryway is one of my favorites in the neighborhood and I use to go out of my way to see it when I lived nearby.

lunch break at the beach

working just a few blocks from the ocean and an hour+ for lunch I decided to go for a little hike by Sutro baths and watch the fog pass through the trees, waves crash along the shore, and tourists take photos of the Golden Gate Bridge. 

positivity and light

The light was filtered through trees and reflected off windowpanes. I love these masking tape poems that pop up underfoot. The artist is an older gentleman that carries his boombox, collection of sharpies and rolls of tape along and leaves a trail of smiles in his wake. Here's another favorite street name translate to Chinese.

a little stroll through Chinatown

the sun was electric and all the colors seemed to vibrate. The sticker art above reminds me of a dear friend that's living in Mexico, except she's anything but "pobrecita" a poor little girl. I pass this vibrant building often and love how it's almost a soft pastel when the sun goes down and the lantern cast a soft red/pink glow. Even the grates seemed full of colorful wrappers.

still one of my favorite early morning commutes

citrus on the streets

... and skyline views even from the shower on Bernal Hill.

poetry on the streets of san francisco

little shared sidewalk succulent garden is doing well and soaking up all this sunshine and warmth with the rest of the city. Hello, early summer. 

chocolate caramel shortbread bars

Inspired to make carmel.... again. I baked the shortbread alongside veggies for the week. I topped the shortbread with a little homemade caramel, let it cool and then topped it with cardamom spiced chocolate and then set some extra caramel to the side.  

p.s. I used this caramel recipe from Ina Garten and a Donna Hay shortbread recipe that I can't find online now and too sleepy to type it from my cookbook, but really any basic shortbread recipe will work well. You can't really go wrong with butter, more butter, and chocolate. 

stripes of color and layers of butter

Birch flowers for a visual feast followed with Tartine for a beloved ham and cheese croissant

update in the works

My computer is on day two of a challenge to free up some space, cull duplicates and transfer photos to an external hard drive so I may go back to sharing current photos with you here. Thanks to everyone that has shared appreciation for this little blog... it means a lot to me.

hugs and love,
b

bright

Recent rain has recharged the city plant life and everything was a little more illuminated. Golden Gate Bridge in the distance and a little tree behind the Marina library that seemed to glow.

bay lights show

I hiked up to the bend right before Coit Tower with a heap of other spectators to watch the "Bay Lights" debut. Here's the clear view of the East Bay Bridge with a blur on purpose just before the lights came on. We ended up being there early... like an hour+ early, with rain for the last half so no fancy cameras out. It was still worth it to see the Bay Bridge lights with their calm stillness and then the magnificent debut of the "Bay Lights" that had us all a little awestruck. Here's a link to the Bay Lights with a beautiful video of the lights in action. The lights will come on at 8PM every night for the next few years.

a few of my favorite things

these sweet teacups lined up in the window, diamonds on the sidewalk, and the magic hour when shadows grow long and colors are illuminated

darkness and light

 The light is always changing and today it had the plants glowing. I walked to work along Bay street was smitten with the letters on this corner. The light seemed dark and moody until I was walking at lunch and came across this new planting of calla lilies and spring flowers in front of the Psychic shop with the neon sign that I love so much. I was convinced these flowers were artificial until I touched them, they're real.

desert oasis in the middle of the city

more electric colors at the farmers market

 romanesco broccoli, French radishes, and oodles of tulips

the tranquil stillness of a foggy morning

 I walked to school this morning and it was one of the most beautiful walks. While we have a fair amount of fog in SF most of it comes in the form of a fog blanket that rolls in after sunset. Olympia, WA is the foggiest city in the US. The foggy morning was just a foggy morning and the sun shining though by lunch. I was somehow inspired to cook shrimp for dinner. I zested a lemon before cutting it into wedges, minced a few cloves of garlic and added in some basil before cooking it all up for a light and bright dinner.

by bus

With my car in the shop again I've been on a few bus rides when I'd normally walk or drive. While sitting on a bench... waiting for the bus I watched this busy little pigeon pace back and forth and kept thinking of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus book. Meanwhile a newlywed couple pictured below walked behind me and I just thought they were on their way to a show (missed the bouquet). A few minutes later I was on the bus and the driver (not a pigeon) began honking and cheering while we were stopped at a red light. We all looked to the sidewalk and saw the happy couple smiling and posing.

salad kick

stopped in at Blue Barn for a cob salad and was pleasantly surprised to have enough for dinner.

hearts afoot

On my walk to school I came across a patch of wet cement being smoothed out (rare here) and stopped by after work to draw a small heart into the still wet cement that was now hidden under a plank of plywood. The next day I peaked to see if the heart was still there, but alas it had been smoothed back out. I decided to stop by again after school to scratch in a little heart love note to the city. I tried to be sly and go unnoticed while fumbling for a bobby pin and then kneeling down with clogs on... no laces to pretend to tie. I scratched in this wee heart pictured above and just a few seconds before I was done going over my lines again a young guy in a truck on the other side of the street yelled out his window, "Hey, I just smoothed that out." My heart sank a little I told him, "I just made a small heart." Not sure if he was able to hear me I put my hands together to make a heart. He put his head down a little, waved his hand and calmly said he'd smooth it out. I'm pretty sure he knew my intentions were good and that I didn't want to make more work for him. I walked away and hoped that he would leave the little heart. The following day I walked by this little stretch and was thrilled to see that it was still there. If you happen to be on Chestnut street near Fillmore you may see this little heart and I hope it warms yours.

half a cup of coffee

I found this charming old cup with gilded edges on a chalkboard ledge. I went to pick it up and discovered it had been sat down on wet paint and sealed to the ledge until I released it on accident. I put it back and now I've added this gem to the list of second hand treasures to look for. 

early morning light

walking early in the morning, still bleary eyed, reveals a part of the city in a new light. pastel colors seem softer and the sunrise seemed to stretch for a few hours as it came up and over each new hill