lately

lately, I...

// thought better of my usual pre-sleep reading ritual. I didn't even crack the new book I couldn't wait to start, and just enjoyed the delightfully loud sound of raindrops falling just above a cozy sleeping nook we occupied Saturday night. It was a great night of sleep.

// go with the flow re: the boy's peculiar napping requirements (hot, scratchy puppet on that hand, read that book, hold it like this, don't fold that blanket, etc etc) and relish the fact that he occasionally naps again. And, so I sometimes nap, too.

// mentally dog-eared last weekend's smart phone-free hiatus/sabbath thingy, and realized it was a natural state for me. I put that 'shiny rock' away for days, and still haven't checked in on Instagram. It feels just fine. (Oh, I'll be back!)

// fell desperately behind on emails, blog posts and all things internet-y. I feel bad about the emails (and will remedy very soon!), but not much else!

// blew off the March photo a day thing (a while ago). I'm OK with it. As a recovering victim of the "should do's" I truly relish blowing off minor (ok, super casual) commitments like this. You know, only if I feel like it.

// realized I have no idea where to plant a black currant plant waiting in the cool recesses of our garage. I think I might be running out of garden space. Yikes.

// have been absolutely stinking of chlorine lately (which I simultaneously loathe and love--dries my skin horribly, but smells like summer). Mommy and Me swimming lessons!

// parked the bread starter in the back of the fridge for a baking break, and cultured some cream for butter instead.

// figured we might as well start "doing" Easter for Jacky. Not in a religious sense, but you know... easter basket, egg dying, etc. Yes, having put it off this long, we must seem like the biggest grumps and meanies. Probably. It's not at the top of my holiday list, and maybe we resist the "should do's" to a bit of an extreme? All I know is we're not going with the nasty, branded, cello-wrapped, so-called baskets J was eyeing at Target! Good grief. I mean, Peeps may be a requirement in my book. Disney-branded crap is not.

// joined Toby for a leisurely date night... ostensibly for work purposes, but the break-down of the evening went like this: 2% work event, 8% walking to dinner hand-in-hand (flashing back to pre-kid days), 60% actual delightful dinner (dessert, works), 30% post-meal bookstore browsing. Perfect.

// have not touched, washed or looked at a diaper in 2 weeks. Diaper-free nighttime is here! Woot!

five things

photo by Toby

1. this egg sandwich, on homemade bread. with crappy American cheese. possibly with a couple pickled jalapeños tucked inside. Oh. Yeah.

2. early morning sleepy kid snuggles.

3. almost being done compiling tax info for a complicated year. ugh. every year I think I'm going to be done by Feb 1. never happens.

4. amanda's new magazine. can't wait to get my copy.

5. jora's pretty redesign, by the talented Desi. Love the type, the colors, the friends working together :)

an opposite day

Yesterday was different.

Last year, on the official first day back to work, I would've dragged myself down to BART, emerged from the underground like an animal coming out of hibernation, the cold air and bus fumes a shock to the system. I would have headed to the 13th floor of a particular building to begin scanning a blizzard of emails. There would be the catching up with co-workers: the lovely, the funny and all the others. Post-mortems of the year-end projects we all tried to sleep off. Eventually I'd start pushing some pixels and paths around the screen, and the work of a new year would begin.



Yesterday, I intended to work a bit. It's different work now, and I like it enough to miss it. It's still fresh and evolving. But, for the first time in a long while, a day scheduled for Being Very Productive just melted into sitting, talking, walking, looking, nibbling, sipping, eavesdropping, Instagramming and thinking. My hair got a little shorter and the color was put right. I unwisely sat in a tall chair at Sephora and things were definitely not right ('subtle' is just NOT possible in a store that sells makeup right? I might be learning.). I retreated to the safe cocoon of the Nordstroms Ladies Lounge (have you noticed, some women just go there to read?) and I wiped and edited. Considered reading for a bit. Left to buy clementines instead.


Some time passed, I looked at the time. Then I didn't look at the time for a long while. I had a free day downtown, alone. And it was very different.

< pause >

Where I am right now (not on a beach)...

Tired. Slight overwhelm. Too many deep thoughts (none of them blog-ready). I need a breather, friends. You know when you just know you need a new mode, mindset, perspective? That's where I am. I'll be back soon.

xoxo

today was a good day

{there may or may not be big boy ki-ki's on my head. you be the judge.}

1. wee wee in the potty... x4!
2. my two children (actual & fur) hung out. Like, in the same room without anyone leaving in a furry, panicky state. There was petting, almost-screaming-for-joy, being-quiet-practicing, treat-giving, general hangin'. This hasn't happened in almost a year.
3. I canned some stuff.
4. Said canning went well enough during naptime that I kept the elliptical in a good working order.
5. I didn't even have to use my AK*
6. Friday gin & tonic
7. Husband played Black Flag while we washed up. Somehow, it works.


*some items not from my actual life.

lately, early december

best breakfast backdrop

fall morning: warm jammies, panda & a little comfort

new houseplants: begonias from mother-in-law, an expert houseplant keeper

i've long admired this plant at the in-law's. those spots are perfectly silver, and the leaf shape is like wings

the bread is non-stop. so addictive to bake--eating is the bonus

mmm, holey deliciousness

paperwhites, getting started

...and a little later. baby flowers, in utero

walnuts and amaryllis, emerging

some days...

Some days you wake up to this. 

Like all those perfect pink puffy clouds are telling you, hey you: some days were meant for amazing stuff. 

Now, amazing is a relative term, mind you.



These days, what I think is pretty amazing is knocking out a monster "have-to-do" and "want-to-do" list during one of Jacky's naps. 

Today, I had unstoppable energy during his snooze. Now, granted, he is a wicked sleeper and his one daily nap is long (I think we're entering the terrible twos a month early... saying "no" so often must tire the little guy out--ha)... anyway, I am usually way too tired to attempt just three of these things during a nap, but I was astonished with my output today.

:: pat on the back ::

If I may humbly submit to the internets for posterity... During one toddler nap, today I:

:: made lunch (sardine salad on flax toast...mmm)

:: roasted sweet potato fries (for Jacky's dinners this week)

:: baked flatbread "chips" (ditto)

:: mixed up roasted red pepper goat cheese spread

:: made tapenade

:: zested 15 lemons and doubled last week's limoncello batch

:: started some smokey chipotle vinegar (for dashing on braised kale)

:: made stewed onions soup base

:: started a new batch of bread dough

:: shaped a loaf of bread to rise

:: drank a cup of tea

:: started laundry

Even tonight, after the usual Monday night house cleaning date with Toby (romantic), I am still amped. What gives? No, better question: what can I do next while this high lasts??!! 


For it surely won't be long........

things I learned on saturday night

~sister-in-law Tory, moi & Toby~

1. Where exactly all my jewelry has been hiding. (basement)
2. We can hire somebody to come to our home to watch our sleeping child while we leave and go somewhere else! (thank you excellent nanny)
3. Wearing heels and a dress can be an event in itself. (pre-pregnancy Marimekko dress and gray heels -- hooray!)
4. Dancing to silly pop songs I've never heard of can be fun. (it's still dancing after all)
5. It takes me days now to catch up on missed sleep. (worth it)
6. All weddings should have photo booths!

goodnight moon

last night... right before tucking Jacky in,

the backyard was bathed in a silver spotlight.

misty fog enveloped the neighborhood,

just like a fairy tale.

Lucky me, I slipped away and followed the moon

over misty Golden Gate Bridge...

for dinner on Dana's Sausalito boat.

Beautiful night.

it's hammer time

Man, that song has been in my head for DAYS. I blame Jacky. He used to be obsessed with a spoon, but now it's all about his hammer. Gotta have the hammer!

Hammer takes a hike.

Hammer hungry.

Hammer sleepy. Crib time.

Oh, hammer hungry again.

Doo doo doo dum, dah dum dah dum. It's hammer time.

today...

...is my birthday. Number 36. I have to say that life is pretty good... I love my marriage, my son, my home, my friends, family, where we live, plans we have for the future. Moments of warm, golden bliss are--happily--frequent around here these days. I try my hardest to soak them up, remembering what to hold tight in my hands and what to let blow away in the wind.

Sometimes, on these milestone days, it's good to stop, sit for a moment and think about where I am. Right at this moment.

So, after writing about life through plants before, I'm trying out another meme (got this one from Chez Larsson), to document where I am today. If I keep this blogging thing up, maybe I'll do it again next birthday.

Today...
Outside my window... San Francisco skyscrapers. Old statue-encrusted relics of oil empires... and slick, glassy mid-century towers.

I am thinking... about the 3 heirloom apple trees I just ordered for Spring planting. Pretty, tissue-paper blossoms, gorgeous fruit and lots of baking.

I am thankful for... my son's health. Every eyelash that drifts onto my cheek, I toss it over my shoulder for his health and happiness.

From the kitchen... Champagne and Indian food -- tonight!

I am wearing... my workday uniform

I am creating... children's toy packaging

I am going... to Capitola for Jacky's first Halloween

I am reading... magazines about gardening. It's only October and I simply cannot wait for Spring planting.

I am hoping... for cooperative, coordinated child models this morning.

I am hearing... the soft hush of office air. The calm before the storm.

Around the house... we are happy. Lots of laughter and silly songs.

One of my favorite things... walking through the backyard (AKA construction zone) with Jacky, showing him flowers, pulling weeds and letting him touch dirt, gravel and stone.

A few plans for the rest of the week... celebrate quietly tonight with family, cross a thousand things off my work to-do list, and the ever-helpful Nels is coming on Friday to work on our backyard.

A picture to share... baby legs! I simply can't get enough of 'em.

the boy, 10.5 months

After being home (or on the road) with Jacky for 1.5 weeks straight... today I'm back at work. And I'm missing the little man.

So, I snagged some of Toby's new photos. Little guy's growing up so fast. 10.5 months old! How did that happen??

When we look in the mirror together, he's very shy. But, on his own in the Dallas hotel room, he was SO into that "other" baby in the mirror...

Groggy face, fresh from a nap. He gets bed-head now! Awwwwww....

Mister Mover. Looking for pretty kitty, no doubt.

oh, hi -- you're still here?

See what happens when you try to start a blog but then never tell anyone! It's really easy to just stop. No one knows, so no one's going to miss it! Well, it's time to get things going again. It's been so long that the post directly below this was shot in a totally different home. Ay chihuahua.

So. We've been busy around these parts, with the kid, the house, the yard (aka dirt patch), returning to work PT, etc. More on all those fronts pronto! The little bambino is waking, so must scoot...

ah, nurseries

Do you have a "back-up" profession? You know, one that you'll turn to (effortlessly of course--this is fantasy!) when the you-know-what hits the fan, you lose your job or decide to change your life? (Apros po in this economy, no?)

Until recently, I have always thought mine was Park Ranger. The more remote the station, the better. My 8th grade English teacher was a very eccentric man who claimed to apply every summer for a ranger job. He would always turn it down, but I guess he liked knowing that he *could* if he wanted. I love the (100% romanticized) idea of being a ranger, which is totally bolstered by my reading of lots of Edward Abbey during my freshman year of college. If you're familiar with him, recall the fire look-out passages. Isolation, beauty and lots of time for reading!

ANYwhoo, I think I have a new back-up fantasy profession: Fabulous Plant Nursery Owner.

Now, I'm not talking about one of those dreary places with plastic containers, tacky annuals and fake rocks. I'm thinking seasonal, beautiful, organic, creative--and an amazing place to hang out. Two of my favorite places:

First, the oasis-like Flora Grubb nursery here in San Francisco, which features graphic, gorgeous low-water perennials, striking succulents and cacti, a recycled-chic aesthetic, lots of hang out space, and a Ritual espresso bar. How perfect. I didn't want to leave. Can't wait to populate my new/future garden with these beautiful low-maintenance plants. Check it out:





Second, Petersham Nurseries in Richmond, London. I haven't visited (yet!!) but really, really, really want to. Especially now, with the exchange rate what it is. What I love about this place is that it quietly exudes an English formality in the placement of plants and overall design, but often features unusual plant choices. They use no plastic whatsoever, are nearly totally organic, source locally, and use all my favorite materials: weathered wood, bamboo or branch stake teepees, pottery, baskets, woven trellises, pea gravel, etc.

Oh, and the Cafe! I received an email noting their prix fixe Valentine's Day menu and caught myself scheming how to pack husband and newborn on a last-minute 8-hour flight... ah well, some other time. I consoled myself by ordering a cookbook by the Cafe's chef, Skye Gyngell.

Lookeehere... (you can also find lots more on their web site and by searching for Petersham Nurseries on Flickr):




Images from FloraGrubb.com and PetershamNurseries.com

...and we're blogging

new baby... new house... new stay-at-home life... new year..... oh yeah, new president!... guess we better write something down about it all. Been meaning to do this for a while. For starters: I've been promising progress reports on the new house, which is still a work-in-progress. Should be a great before and after. And, of course, there's the new sweet babe... stay tuned.

oh, and what's with the name?

salt, for cooking and the ocean air

teak, for lovely furniture and the life curled up on it

fog, for this semi-permanent fixture of san francisco... that i've finally learned to love