Sunday, March 29, 2009

Anza Borrego

Last weekend we decided to catch the tail end of the desert wildflowers in Anza Borrego Desert State Park. After a stop in Julian for a bison burger at the Miner Diner, we headed southwest into the park. We didn't do much hiking, just a walk through a trail leading to a number of palm groves (we made it only to the second grove), but it was a lovely, mild day in the desert. Julian was actually chilly, as a storm was predicted to drop rain on the mountain town.

The desert wasn't in vibrant technicolor, as I'd hoped/imagined, but cacti and other plants were flowering. Here are a few images from our day.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Simple, Well Made, Modern, Functional Design

Two new additions to our household--one a bit easier to accommodate in 900 sq ft.

Russell Wright Sugar Bowl--now that I'm using sugar in my morning coffee, I felt a sugar bowl was warranted. For years, I've coveted the sugar bowls and creamers he designed. I'd go to eBay occasionally and see what was being offered. When my sister asked what I wanted for my birthday, this year there was no hesitation. Luckily, she and I share similar design sensibilities, so there was no explaining what I was looking for. The Russell Wright stamped, cream sugar bowl with loop handle arrived within a week.




Vintage Danish Modern Table and Chairs--we went to Klassik, a vintage modernist furniture store in downtown San Diego, to look for a desk. Once we sat in the chairs of this dining set, all thoughts of desks left our minds. Matt was sold immediately and felt territorial when others came into the store. He later told me that he wanted us to move away from the table so that others wouldn't be interested in it. One of the aspects that we both loved was that the two extensions were housed in the table--one just pulls them out from underneath. Smart design works well when lack of storage is an issue.

We took just about 24 hours to decide--which is lightening quick for us. It helped that we have guests coming and family moving to town, and we only had a small, high, retro soda shop table, which maxed out at three people, to dine upon. We were able to do some negotiating, so we felt that we got a deal and supported a local merchant. The owners are nice and didn't charge us for delivery. They said they would just rather have us come back and buy more. We'd prefer that as well.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Celebrating Presidents and Love in San Francisco

Blogger, Flickr, Facebook--so many place to upload photos. Will uploading them to only place work? We'll see.