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.

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.

Mariposa Bakery

Another reason to love the Bay Area is Mariposa Baking: "Our mission is simple -- create gluten-free baked goods that are indiscernible from the finest, high-caliber gluten-based products available."

I came across their gluten-free, sour cream coffee cake in a market in Mill Valley last weekend, and I was giddy at how good it was. It pretty much tasted like my grandma's recipe, which I've had great success at making gluten-free. Matt loved it, of course. But even our gluten-loving, Italian friend didn't miss the gluten. After taking a bite, which he clearly was not expecting to enjoy, he looked at me, eyebrow raised, and asked, "This is gluten-free?"

While Mariposa does sell some of their goods online, it's not going to be economically feasible to purchase many items. I just need to swing by their store in Oakland on our next visit to the area. In the meantime, I'll have to make Grandma Welling's sour cream coffee cake to fill the craving. The danger with that is neither Matt nor I can stop at just one piece. I made a batch last night, and we've devoured half the pan.

Low, Low Tide At Point Loma

Colorful barnacles revealed.

Matt had to take photos of the striations in the sandstone.


Life abounds in the tidepools! A tiny crab carries a shell and a hermit crab.



Matt traversing the slick stones. An egret waiting for a meal.

Things We Like

We recently bought a few things we love and have to share.

CB2 Link Side Table. Looks even better in situ.

CB2 Glass Trees. We bought them on sale, post Christmas in green and silver. I can't wait to put them out next winter. I might have to break them out for a 'Christmas in July' thing this summer. They are so stylish.


IKEA Dimpa Bags. We needed a disguise for the bag of recycling and bag of items to donate to charity that we keep by the front door. They never bothered me that much, but I could see Matt cringe every time he passed by. The solution was these über cheap IKEA bags. For some reason they are not showing up on the IKEA site--either too new or discontinued. I hope it's the former.


Our choices and other pattern/ color options.

Working Girl

I haven't been the great about postings since we arrived in San Diego. I must say that looking for work was not the most inspiring topic to write about. But now I have a job! I'm two weeks into a position with a company, Target Software (now owned by Blackbaud), that I knew from public radio days. The company is based in Cambridge, MA, but I'll be working from home--the cats are very pleased with this arrangement. I will get to visit Cambridge a few times a year, which is great. I really enjoyed the snow and cold weather when I was there last week for training. I also wouldn't have minded if the company was located in Cambridge, England. So either this job will mean the end of the postings altogether or more posts due to my increased productivity. We'll see...

One Day We'll Actually Make Friends in San Diego

until then, we'll rely on visitors and trips to Los Angeles to socialize with non-feline creatures. As the photos show, many of these gatherings revolve around food. We're not complaining.

In early January, over brunch at Jinky's Cafe in Studio City, I briefly caught-up with my friend, going back to UCLA graduate school days, Alicia and her son. They were in town from Paris and exhausted from running around visiting everyone--the standard experience when one returns home after extended absences. We never made it down to Paris to visit her while we were in England, but we did meet-up for dinner during one of Alicia's theatre-centric London getaways.


Two weekends ago, Dom came down to San Diego, and that certainly calls for putting some thought into where we were going to eat. I thought about trying somewhere new, but then I remembered Dom's love of mac n' cheese. Urban Solace is known for its reasonably priced, quasi-gourmet comfort food, and Dom loved it. He still raves about the cheese biscuits--which, sadly, neither Matt nor I can eat.

Me and Dom @ Urban Solace. Matt and Dom (and lavender lemonade) @ Cafe Chloe for brunch.


Then last weekend we were up in the greater Los Angeles area. This time our food stops including the Farmer's Market @ 3rd & Fairfax where we both ordered the Tuna Sambal at Banana Leaf--a little greaser than we remembered it, but still yummy. Matt went back to SD on Sunday, but I stayed around to catch "The Wrestler" at my favorite theatre (Arclight Hollywood), eat dinner at the 101 Cafe with Monique, eat brunch at Cafe Midi with Tyler and Shawn, and take a scenic drive along Mulholland in Shawn's new Mazda 3. Since it had recently rained, the views extended out farther and were clearer than, say, about 350 days of the year.


Matt sporting his warm weather gear at the Farmer's Market. I get ready for my first bit of brunch.


Tyler and I barely contain our enthusiasm. Shawn and I with the Hollywood sign in the background.