bobby.

I plowed through this biography, Bobby Kennedy, The Making of a Liberal Icon, in Michigan last week. This is the fourth book I've read about Bobby, I am unabashedly a big fan of Camelot. This was a brilliant read. Fair and circumspect and full of super interesting detail from his work for McCarthy, on Congressional committees and of course later as AG, Senator and candidate. If you're looking for a profile of a complicated and contradictory figure while at the same time inspiring and genius - a strong dose of Kennedy can do that for you!

• NYTimes Book Review
• Fresh Air - NPR 

walloon.

We are just back from Walloon and getting back into the routine. Ben and I headed up for the 4th of July week and overlapped with my Mom for a couple days. It was Michigan at her best. We had great weather, mornings on the dock drinking coffee, grilling every night with ice cream in Walloon and otherwise just a full week of relaxing. We're bias but there is truly no better place in the world, if you ask us!

star struck.

I went down to Los Angeles this weekend for some much needed QT with Ali and it was the perfect getaway weekend with my first lady! I had never spent any time in LA and the city is just cool. It also helped that Ali grew up there and has recently moved back and has the pulse on the city and is the ultimate host.

We packed in a lot in 48 hours. And that included a dinner in Santa Monica at a small little Italian restaurant (that only Ali and her sister, Emily, would know to take us to) and it just so happened that Woody Allen and Diane Keaton were there, as well as Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga! It was epic. And here are some of the other highlights in case you are interested - hat-tip to Ali on all of them....

• SQIRL ~ Breakfast - they are not kidding around about the ricotta toast at this place!
• Cafe Stella ~ Dinner - perfectly french cafe tucked in the very cool Silver Lake neighborhood. 
• The Farmer's Market ~ Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner - super cool and the original outdoor market in LA - you can wander the stalls. We got tacos at La Lotteria and they hit the spot!
• Giorgio Baldi ~ Dinner - little Italian place on a corner in Santa Monica and turns out is a gold mine! 
• Lincoln Pasadena ~ Breakfast/Lunch - super cool cafe with indoor and outdoor seating and perfect for a laid back bite (bonus: super cute looking store as well to window shop after!). 

On Saturday, we also ended up on quite the hike to get up and behind the Hollywood sign. It was a true hike, if you're interested, we hiked up Cahuenga Peak and then over to Mount Lee - more or less this same hike. And on Sunday, Ali and I went to check out the Rose Bowl Flea Market. Damn - that is huge and overwhelming. 

Not pictured and listed are drives through West Hollywood, Larchmont neighborhood and Brentwood. I also got to finally meet Ali's niece, Charlotte and catch up with Emily and Roy. 

rocked out.

It has been a long DIY hiatus for me. I haven't had a lot of motivation and our place also is small and there really haven't been projects to do. Except for one. When Grandpolly died this rocking chair was something she passed down to me. The story I always heard about the chair is that some of my grandfather's patients who couldn't pay their bills used to pay him with what they could, and this rocking chair was one of them. Apparently, one of his poorer patients was a woodworker and made this rocking chair to pay his medical bill. Is it true? Not sure - but I like the sounds of it and it makes me love it more. Anyway, a couple years ago, my Mom was in a rush to get it out of her house, so it made the trek to DC and then made the move with us to SF. Since getting out here last year, it has sat in a corner just staring me down. In addition to needing to be reupholstered, I also need to find someone to make a new seat (note the garbage bag wrapped seat) and that's because the seat (and I am worried maybe the whole thing) is stuffed with straw. That shows how old this beauty is...

So, step 1 - I just ordered some fabric samples and emailed an upholsterer in SF to see how much we are talking. And in the meantime, any thoughts, suggestions? You'll see that the back of the chair is also upholstered, so could even do a coordinating but different fabric on the back? I want to do something simple and classic but welcome ideas!

weekend warrior.

I swear I'm not avoiding you - I just haven't been able to keep up with everything of late. But not to worry - lots of updates coming. This giant eyeball is from a quick trip to Dallas last week - how cool is that?

And in the meantime, happy weekend and some links to distract you for a little while - be back soon!

• I read this New Yorker Georgia O'Keefe piece before Santa Fe. It's a take on her style and an awesome read! 

• Who didn't love Maggie Gyllenhaal already? I love this about parenting her children in the Trump era...

• I don't really wear hats, but loving this JCrew classic ball cap! 

• We are headed to Walloon over the 4th of July and the countdown is on - Ben and I both are checking the live webcam regularly!

• More NoMa news - Politics and Prose announced it is opening in the Union Market lot - super exciting. 

• And on the other coast, Tartine is opening a Coffee Manufactory in Oakland! 

• Ben's brother, Adam, and his wife Christina - just welcome our nephew to the world last week - Sam - and this piece about raising a feminist son feel timely. 

special counsel.

What a week. If you're in need of some faith and to be reminded that integrity is still alive in the world, this Politico piece - What Donald Trump Needs to Know About Bob Mueller and Jim Comey - is the read of my week (hat tip to Ben for this one). Highly recommend it.

basket case.

I've had my eye out for some cool baskets, both for the top of our bookshelves but also as a catchall for blankets and throws. Right after we said goodbye to Emmy and Raffi in Santa Fe a couple weeks ago, we wandered by a random corner store and happened upon some baskets that I was loving and picked up this one - it was cheap and I love the color and it reminds me of Santa Fe - so win - win - win.