heath.

We love Heath! Hannah and Jordan gave us a bowl from Heath years ago and we have loved it so much and over the last couple of years we have collected a couple different serving dishes and pieces. They make simply beautiful pottery. It is heavy and thick and the style is perfectly San Franciscan. And now that we are in SF, we live just a couple blocks away from their store and factory in San Francisco.

Ben's Mom was in town last week and stayed the weekend, and on Saturday we drove over to Sausalito to the Heath Factory and Showroom. We took a tour that turned out to exceed all our expectations and we learned so much about the company that made us love it all the more if you can believe it! It was founded in 1948 by Edith and Brian Heath and Edith was the trailblazer, feminist, environmentalist and artist behind the pottery and design. She sounded like quite the eccentric and brilliant artist. It was such a cool behind the scenes look at how they make their pieces.

If you're looking for a great wedding gift - this is one of our favorite things to give and we would definitely recommend it!

time to resist.

I am so angry. I am working on trying to forgive people who didn't support Hillary and that's just the tip of the iceberg. I worry that I won't be able to forgive people in my life who don't step up now. Does anyone else have this fear?

On the positive, the protests at the airport this weekend were the first time since the election I have started to feel a little warmth in my heart. Protesting really is like exercising, feel like I can feel the muscles coming back and it feels good.

travelogue ~ yosemite.

We went to Yosemite last weekend to get out of dodge and to avoid TVs. We had envisioned lots of hiking and talking with trees. In a twist of plans, it turned into a winter wonderland with two straight days of heavy snow. So, in the end we didn't see all that much of Yosemite because roads were closed but we snow-shoed, drank hot chocolate, sat by the fire, read a ton and successfully avoided Trump's inauguration. Here are some pictures of the quick weekend getaway - we can't wait to go back (in the summer and warm weather!).

Oh and p.s. we stayed at the Rush Creek Lodge - a new lodge - we would give a solid review - great property and location, but they are still working out the kinks!

work it.

It is amazing how long it can take to feel settled and comfortable in a new place. We have now been in our apartment for just over a year and it is finally feeling pulled together and put together. For those who haven't seen it - our apartment is a loft in the mission. Ben absolutely loves it. I have taken more time to warm to it - I have joked that it feels like a shipping container and openly mused about missing doors and having a bed for guests to stay in. Nonetheless, it is great and we are so lucky to be in it - and who the hell knows when we will ever live in a loft again.

This little corner under our stairs has come a long way since we moved in. Here it is last spring...

It actually stayed like this for a long while, until I couldn't handle it any longer and forced Ben to go to Lowe's with me and pick up supplies so we could turn it into a functional space. We picked up some wood (I can't remember now exactly what it was), some white paint, pipe, flanges and screws and threw this together in a quick afternoon.

And after we cleared out the space, this is what we have basically been living with for the last 5ish months.

A significant improvement, but oh so plain. I am slowly adding to the corner and while we have a little bit more to do on it, I figured I needed to bring you up to speed. We have added the CB2 wall pockets (not currently available) and also these CB2 metal memo holders.

Slowly but surely, this corner is coming along - more to come soon....

fates and furies.

Excuse last week's hiatus - blame it on all the rain and the fact that we swore in a monster to office! But Happy Monday! Ben and I went to Yosemite this weekend and it was great. Full post to come but we spent a lot of time by the fire reading and I finally finished off this book, Fates and Furies, by Laura Groff.

Not gonna lie, it was a slog for the first 170 pages, but after that I flew through it. And Groff certainly makes an impression, there are parts of the book I have had rolling around in my head since I finished the last page. Would love to discuss with anyone that has read it (my sister-in-law, Hannah, was so on point with some of her criticisms back a month ago before I had really made inroads). So, for what it is worth, this is a thick read that will get under your skin....

• NYTimes Sunday Book Review
• NPR
• The New Yorker

hot mesh.

A while back in October I posted about getting some stools for our kitchen, and here is the update. We did indeed end up getting two of these Blu Dot Hot Mesh Stools and we love them.  Our report back is that they are super comfy, have a foot bar, and an easy back rest and they fit perfectly. Even Ben, who wasn't totally sold on the whole "we need stools" campaign that I launched last fall, likes them. So, there you have it and for what it is worth, I am a big fan of Blu Dot. Great customer service and great products....

pillow cased.

Oh hey hey. I can't remember how I happened upon this Etsy store - ZDkilimspillow - but just take a look at the pillows. I love them. Apparently, I especially love anything striped. They are beautiful and come in all colors, patterns, textures and sizes. I can't attest to the quality yet, but given the price point, worth taking a chance and looks like it is supporting a Turkish businesswoman....

monday mania.

It's Monday already. Brutal! But to start you off this week, here are some links to jump start the week....

• According to Test Kitchen, which Ben and I watched a little bit of this weekend, this is the best paper towel holder out there. 

• This Politico piece, Putin's Real Long Game, about Putin and Russia has been stuck in my head since I read it last week (hat tip to Ben for this recommended read). 

• This makes me love Wendy's. So great.

• I have a weak spot for pitchers - so here is a handsome looking one in case you need a gift at some point soon...

• NYTimes did a highlight piece on NoMa and Union Market in DC a couple weeks ago, here it is in all its glory - Historic Designation Sets Stage for a Washington Market District's Future. 

• Need some new recipes for 2017 - this Bon Appetit - 40 KitchenAid Recipes that Stand, Mix and Deliver should help with that. 

And last but not least, we are headed to Yosemite in two weeks to get away from the TV, avoid all things inauguration and to talk with the trees. If you have any recommendations - send my way, I would love to hear!

shoe it.

Happy Friday! How great are these shoes from Sezanne? Seriously though....

twitter world.

Hat tip to Ben for this one, if you need a little pick-me up and a reminder that we are not living in the normal, this Twitter account - PresidentialTrump is winning the day today.

no love.

In an effort to not just curate the good and beautiful, here is my review of a little bit of bad. Love Warrior goes down as my worst read of 2016. I know, I know, you've probably seen it on some list of great reads or prominently featured on one of the main tables at your bookstore. Oh yeah, and Oprah said it was good. Well, trust me on this, it isn't good. And remember when Oprah thought James Frey was god? Don't do it. And I can say that having read the whole book...because even when a book is terrible, I still feel compelled to finish it and I had to fight through every single page of this book.

There you have it. Hopefully I just saved you $12 and a couple hours of torture - you're welcome - thank me later!

travelogue ~ palm springs.

We went to Palm Springs the week before Christmas with two of our best couple friends from DC. When we were in DC, we started having "family meals" every month rotating between our three houses and hosting great dinners together. It is one of the things that we miss most about DC.  This year was our first "family getaway" and Palm Spring was a perfect pick.  We rented this AirBnB, which was a fantastic deal when you split between our three families and the layout was perfect since Sarah and Geoff have 1.5 year old Freddie and Molly and Anthony just had Nora three months ago.

Palm Springs is an AirBnb bonanza. There are so many beautiful houses to rent and if you are planning for a group, they are super affordable especially when you factor in a pool and an open layout for just hanging around the house. We loved it!

Turned out that we ended up with three days of rain (Palm Springs gets on average about 3 days of rain a year and usually in the summer - talk about some bad luck!) - but even in the gray, we loved it. We hung out in the pool, cooked great meals, played with Freddie non-stop and ventured out here and there to explore the area. Here is a quick recap and recommendations in case you are going to go any time soon....

Our view from the pool - not too bad....

I dragged Sarah and Freddie over to the pink door house to check it out...

And this copper door house was right across the street - what a looker.

In the spirit of family dinners, each couple made a dinner and on the last night we all pitched in for a pizza night. We cooked up some good meals....

Molly started it off with Thai - including a pork larb appetizer which was fantastic and pad see-ew to follow...

Ben and I made carne asada and enlisted Molly's cocktail skills to make some killer margaritas...

Sarah capped it off with italian and some fantastic lasagna. And finally, we ended with pizza night...

We also went over to The Saguaro Hotel to check out the infamous color themed pool and to grab a drink at their bar, El Jefe.

Molly, Sarah and I snuck away for an afternoon to the Parker Palm Springs for massages and facials. The Parker was on my short bucket list - it is this awesome boutique hotel and the spa treatments were great...

We took the tram up to check out the incredible desert views...

And we trekked off to Joshua Tree (just about an hour away) where we stopped at this Country Kitchen for a fantastic hole in the wall breakfast and the best pancakes in 2016....(click here to watch Anthony Bourdain's special on it!)

And while we were in Palm Springs, we tapped into the vintage spirit and visited a bunch of consignment stores. No amazing finds, but they are certainly their own culture...

In short, Palm Springs was fantastic. It is an awesome spot for a group vacation and here are some of the restaurants and other spots that I put together for our planning purposes in case you are going any time soon and want to check them out...

• Restaurants: Cheekys / Wilma & Frieda / Workshop Kitchen & Bar / The Barn Kitchen / Rooster and the Pig / Jake’s / King’s Highway at the Ace Hotel / Appetito / Tyler’s / Great Shakes / L’Atelier

• Coffee: Koffis (there are two locations)/ Earnest Coffee

• Bar: Birba

• Shopping: The Fine Art of Design (Consignment Store) / The Estate Sale Company (Consignment Store) / Just Modern / Bon Vivant / Resale Therapy / Victoria’s Attic Antiques / The Shops at Thirteen Five Ten

• Things to Do: Aerial Tramway / Drive by the Albert Frey-designed Tramway Gas Station / Palm Springs Architecture Tour / Hike Tahquitz Canyon

• Links/Articles: 36 Hours in Palm Springs (February 2016) / Travel & Leisure - Palm Springs + Joshua Tree / GOOP Travel Guide - Palm Springs

• Joshua Tree National Park:
• Smoothie Stop
• Pioneer Town
• Three mile hike to foot of Mastodon Peak