+ + + +

two independent designers who are new to me...

+ ilana kohn (top two photos)

+ sera (bottom two photos)

both sew all the clothes in their collections in nyc.

one last california post...

we spent a few days at my family's cabin in twain harte... went thrifting in nearby sonora, and i got some great baby things... and i did a few projects i've been wanting to try. one was yogurt popsicles– like ones i've been seeing on food blogs for years. i looked up a few recipes (including this one) for amounts, and then winged it. my first batch was good, but my second batch was sooo good! i also made sierra cedar and penny royal bundles inspired by ones i saw at the heath store from juniper ridge.

a loose recipe for delicious yogurt pops:

-mix 2-3 cups greek yogurt with sugar (to taste). then add a bit more sugar since it won't seems as sweet when it's frozen.

- remove skin and slice fruit. i used peaches, blackberries, and plums (peaches worked best). cook fruit and more sugar (to taste) in a sauce pan for just a few minutes to melt sugar. with my second batch i didn't take the skin off and then ran it through a food mill.

-alternate spooning the yogurt and fruit mixtures into 3oz dixie cups. the small popsicles taste better than the large, i found out. insert a popsicle stick and give the mixtures a little stir. the sticks will stand up straight on their own since the yogurt is thick. place them in the freezer for several hours or until they freeze.

at the beginning of our san francisco trip we met derek & lauren (owners of the curiosity shoppe) at a great organic vegan mexican restaurant gracias madre. they gave us the sweetest japanese baby craft book- thank you! after lunch we stopped by their shop and i bought a case for my sunglasses and checked out the forage bow-tie show. then we went around the corner to gravel & gold. the small street between valencia and mission (is it lexington or san carlos?) is one of my favorites in the city. maybe it's because the houses remind me of brooklyn and the yards are overflowing with wild plants. josh and i both fell in love with the plaid chair at gravel & gold, but (sadly for us) it's sold as a set with a couch and we don't have space for a couch too. i did buy a top made out of the most amazingly soft linen/cotton and a loaf of bread.

we splurged and stayed for two nights at indian springs in calistoga for our five year wedding anniversary. it was so nice! their huge pool is heated to 89 degrees by a natural hot spring, and it felt very therapeutic to float around in. the hotel was the first resort & spa in that area, built in the early 1900s, so it has an old rustic feeling that i loved (but at the same time updated and luxurious).

california eating, part two.

- - - -

update:

from top to bottom:

coppola winery in napa valley, ca

miette in san francisco, ca

temescal farmer's market in oakland, ca

cha-ya in san francisco, ca (two photos)

farmstead in st. helena, ca (two photos)

camino in oakland, ca (two photos)

peaches picked from a friend's yard in geyserville, ca

ahhh, we're back from a long trip to northern california. a highlight was seeing friends who are nearing the end of an 8-month long farm apprenticeship. they recently moved from brooklyn to nevada county, and i've been so inspired by how they just picked up and tried something completely new. the farm is on a beautiful property... the animals have space to roam and are treated with respect, and the grains, fruit, and vegetables are all grown organically. in our short visit i was struck by how much work it takes to run a small farm operation. i'm so glad we had a chance to visit. the second to last photo is of the skylight in their yurt.

we're in california for vacation, and so far food has been a highlight!