Mod Apron

As a San Franciscan for nearly a whole year now, the fact that I’d never been to Haight Ashbury was a cryin’ shame. Thank goodness, I have a good friend who helped me to remedy this blight yesterday!

I must admit, I had a total misconception about these famous streets. From everything I’d heard, I thought it’d be dirty and full of old hippies. Actually, Haight Ashbury is lovely, clean and super fun (albeit a tad touristy). And as for the hippies? Well, there were certainly a few colorful folks out and about, but I only saw one true hippie (see bottom right photo).

The Haight is full of AMAZING vintage clothing shops. Stuff you just can’t find anywhere else. I bought a really cute blouse, a bracelet and of course my obligatory Haight Asbury purchase - some incense for the house. It smells amazing!

Alison and I walked up and down the Haight, wandering in and out of shops. We stopped for lunch at this little diner and had some really yummy eats. I ordered a vegan burrito and man, that sucker was HUGE. I couldn’t even finish a third of it.

Such a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Thank you so much Alison, for showing me around. Peace and love, sister!

(All the pics were taken on my iPhone because my old camera is out of commission and my new one has not arrived yet! Apologies for the sub-par photo quality. I really wish I’d had my new camera because there were so many incredible photo ops on the Haight! I guess I’ll just have to go back again when this lady comes for a visit.)

Henry and I met the birthday boy on Fillmore Street today for a little lunching and furniture reconnaissance (we still haven’t furnished our living room since moving into our home last February!). We stumbled upon an quaint little cafe called The Grove and had an amazing lunch!

We decided to split an appy and an entrée of the birthday boy’s choosing: A Caesar salad and some cheese quesadillas. These wouldn’t have been my first choices, but it’s not my birthday after all, so I went with it. To my surprise (and delight), both were absolutely delish! The salad was so fresh and crisp, and the salsa that came with the quesadillas was crazy yum.

After lunch, we shared a cookie for dessert. Be advised, people: The Grove makes giant, freshly baked cookies every hour. Den chose a huge oatmeal raisin bad boy (again, not my first choice), and wow. Just wow. That may have been the best cookie of my life. We bought another one to take home for later!

We walked off our meal on Fillmore Street, wandering in and out of the shops. We stopped into my favorite art and antique store and chatted up the owner for several minutes (she’s become a dear friend since we’ve moved to our new neighborhood). Dennis and Henry ended up minding the shop for a few minutes while I got a tour of her home upstairs! I’m so glad I got to see her space because I left feeling incredibly inspired with ideas for our own living room. In fact, I just completely revamped my whole plan for our living room and office area, and I am so excited about our new design direction!

It’s kind of a good thing that we couldn’t afford to completely furnish our home when we moved in. Because now that we’ve lived here for awhile, we have a much better idea of how we want to use and utilize each room.

It was a yummy lunch, a lovely walk, a blissful day.

And what did the birthday boy want to do after all that lunching and walking? What every 40-year-old wants: A nice long nap.

We went on a merry walk today. Down the block and back again.

Mom and dad are leaving to go back home to Vancouver tomorrow morning and I am sad.

[Sigh.]

To cheer ourselves up, we decided to spend this sunny Sunday morning strolling Fillmore Street with the kids. I love Fillmore. It’s only about a 10 minute walk from our townhouse and I don’t know why I don’t hang out there more often. The shops are all so sweetly unique and the restaurants are divine. Fillmore Street is a civilized experience!

We spent the late morning wandering up and down Fillmore, soaking up the city and the sun. The highlight was popping into Fraiche for some pomegranate frozen yogurt with “natural sprinkles” (I believe this meant that they were vegetable-dyed). DAMN PEOPLE, that frozen yogurt was a little scoop of heaven on a hot day. I think I’ll be incorporating that deliciousness into my dreams for the next few days. So good.

I <3 SF.

Wordless Wednesday. My day in 9 pictures.

[Most photos via Instagram]

Such loveliness.

With mom and dad in town, we celebrated this Father’s Day in authentic San Franciscan style: We hiked the steepest hills across town and went to the farmers’ market!

I’d never been to the market at Fort Mason before, so this was a new experience for all of us. And wow, I think it ranks right up there at the top of my list of favorite farmers’ markets in SF. It was truly incredible!

It’s a smaller market than the one I usually frequent, but this one is very special. The quality and selection is outstanding. And for being such a small market, they still seemed to have everything - fruit, veg, cheese, eggs, bread, pastries, soap, oils, herbs, flowers and lots of prepared food vendors, including coffee! There were tons of samples. Maya ate more fruit and vegetables than I’ve ever seen. Thank you for that, farmers’ market!

Oh man, the berries. Especially the strawberries. No words. I feel bad for you if you don’t live in Cali. Because there is absolutely nothing, nothing like a freshly picked Cali strawberry. Good lord.

Fort Mason was also boasting a crystal and gem fair today and the hippie flower child in me really wanted to check it out. Unfortunately, my little Henster was getting cranky so we didn’t stick around after the market. Oh well.

Such incredible food. Such a hilly walk. Such a great day!