A New Bathroom

I know its summer and all; birds are tweeting, flowers are blooming, wee bugs are out flying. But today I thought we should take a look inside as well as out.

My friend Tara lives in Portland, Oregon. I love it there and given the chance I'd go in a New York minute.

Tara is a talent in so many ways. She is an expert felter. She can do amazing things with a sewing machine and her gift giving talents are absolutely unmatched!

But she is also a great inspiration to me and the people around her. She has a magical heart and it shows in her little cottage. I am blessed to call her friend.

When she and her husband bought this house in the South West burrough of Portland, they knew they'd be doing some work.  Add to the list of her talents above, she is also an accomplished gardener and her interior eye is enviable!

The pictures below are first of her cottage. It's my dream home. You'll love it too. Next I'll do the "after" pics of the bathroom and finally, I'll end with before shots. They are all original photos taken by Tara.

Building more vegetable beds.

Look at this sumptuous little rain garden!

Look at that beautiful arch and the subway tile.

Medicine above, laundry below. And a deeper blue within.

Tangerine objet and a sweet little whale.

Before shots here: The difference is palpable.

Lots of storage but everything got lost in the back.

This storage spot was sacrificed to move the door.
See below.

Summer Sailstice

I was recently contacted by a representative for the Summer Sailstice to blog about this extraordinary event. It was started in San Francisco by John Arndt and has now grown into something magnificent.

Photo Credit: Abner Kingman

I agreed to write about the event having grown up in a very small town next to Mystic Seaport called Groton Long Point where I learned to sail on an 8 foot Seashell. Her name was Misty and she had the tiniest Jib you've ever seen. I raced her and had great success at the Conrad Sailing Camp. I learned to swim in the Atlantic and leaned to sail on the same sea.

My father single handedly restored the great Charles W. Morgan, an impressive old New England whaling ship. He spent the mornings in restoration and the afternoons sailing his own 22 foot Hobie Cat - the original Catamaran. He sailed "Fwoty" along the entire East Coast eventually anchoring in Florida where the boat capsized...my mother, 8 months pregnant with my baby brother, swam ashore for more hands to realign the boat properly in the water. Meanwhile my dad was stung to near paralysis by a Portuguese Man O' War...but that's another story....

We moved to California and I retired my sea legs to focus on my equestrian skills. But every summer I still went back to sail in Mystic Cove on bigger boats. My next vessel was a 15 foot Bluebird. It was twice the size and twice as fast. I had to recruit a first mate. Voila! My sister had a job next to me as I was skipper!

The event this year is on the 22nd of June, 2013 and had I not already committed to going to a wedding, I would be in the City by the Bay to hitch a ride on somebody's keel. I am pretty handy with a sail.

"Summer Sailstice is the global sailing holiday celebrated on the weekend closest to the summer solstice. This international event was founded in 2001 to connect the global sailing community in a fun, creative, multifaceted, multi-location sailing holiday.  Every year, Summer Sailstice connects over 19,000 sailors all over the world—cruisers, racers and recreational—to celebrate and showcase life under sail.  It has expanded to include participants from Asia, across the Americas and Europe."

One Flow Yoga

Last year I posted about my love for Bikram Yoga. It's hot, sure but that is not why I had to stop. The rote repeat of the same 26 poses and my constant anxiety begged me to quit. I soon realized that my life seemed incomplete without real yogic principles in my life.

I am a fidgeter. Always have been. People have names for the kind of person I am; Late Night Linda, Pusher, Spaz...whatever. "There is no shame in my game." It's just me and I need a centering philosophy such as yoga to bring me down so my feet touch the ground. Or else I am...well, picture a fat guy in pants too small...he buttons the pants and...POP! The button snaps away from his bulging belly and ricochets off walls. I am the button in this scenario.

I looked on YELP! and One Flow had a perfect 5 star rating. I was skeptical.

I called my friend Lori (we are 25 year veteran friends) and asked her if she wanted to join me at a Yoga studio I've wanted to try. On our own we had been to several studios in the area but never found a "home." For a few reasons, the need for a companion, a lack of "yoga" in the poses being taught, too far from our houses and so on. Both Lori and I need a workout, that goes without saying, but we were looking for the marriage between strength and spirit in addition to a plain old workout. We found it.

Credit

One Flow Yoga is owned and directed by Kate Saal. Her heart is huge and her aura glows with brilliance in many ways. She is a powerful presence but never overwhelming and when she teaches, her voice is like tropical beach; relaxed and warm. But the most amazing thing about her studio, the practice she imbibes in her students, is that there is no necessity to kill yourself or compete with others, instead she teaches that spirit surrounds us, that we know ourselves and that we must love ourselves in order to fully love others and that a Yogic practice is a personal journey. The other instructors drive the same road and it is this cohesion that has made One Flow our home. So, if YELP! had more than 5 stars that is truly the rating this studio should have and I cannot be more emphatic about it!

More photos to come.

Ciao Bella!

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In the springtime, I ache for the old days when I romped around the Lazio region in Italy. I called Rome home but engaged in all things Italian. I went to the green grocer every Wednesday in Campo Dei Fiori. I dined at our favorite restaurant, Suburra with my friends ( Yep, still friends with them). And drank plenty of Roman wine too. EST EST EST!

I sunk into La Dolce Vita, loving a 90 second breakfast of cornetti and espresso. I loved a romantic walk in Trastevere and I even attended the occasional mass.

The culture shock was not when I moved there but instead when I returned back to the states. I yearned for anything even remotely resembling the slow Italian lifestyle of pausa in the afternoon and a slow walk to some where significant.

In about 2006 or so (already 5 years after my return back to California) I found a magazine called Bene. I loved it. It was picture perfect and not pretentious. It was all about the Italian lifestyle. Sadly, I can't find it anymore.

As Spring has sprung here in Nor Cal (Crocus' abound),  I begin to make my usual pasta dishes, think about the tomato garden and create the plan for making my own Buratta. So I looked for pics from this great magazine that I enjoyed so much. It makes me pretty gleeful that I found some cover photos!

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Pinterest, eh.

I use Pinterest DAILY! On some days, ALL DAY! I expect quite a lot from this little Palo Alto based Kingdom! But I do not think my expectations are unreasonable at all! When I find a photo I want to hoard, I expect to be able to use the pin it button and glue it to my board (with rhymes like that...Eminem, move over)! Today I have tried and tried and tried. I can scroll down the list of my boards, I cannot write in the message box, lastly and most importantly, I can't pin the pic....So...


This is what I wrote to them, today. How I really feel: Fix your effing $%#&!!!!!!!


Hi guys! Let me preface this expression with the fact that I absolutely love Pinterest and the entire team that makes it go. With that said, because the team is so small, it can be frustrating when things don't go right. My pinmarklet today will not pin. And I have been asked twice to rate the pinterest app, which I have. My answer: glitchy at best. Everyone else says, "I love it." "It's wonderful!" I say, "hogwash!" The site is great but the app is slow and when I repin another pinner's image, I get kicked off the app and have to re-open it on my iphone. Boo. Finally, today, I tried to pin something to a secret board - no go. Then I tried to pin it to a shared board - still, no go. Now, I'm writing to you. I know you are regularly pummeled with myriad requests and complaints, but would you mind (before moving forward) fixing these wee cockroaches? They're a real drag.

3/2/2012 Addendum:
I got an email today from Pinterest. They said I posted nudity and that it would have to be removed. I never pinned nudity and there is no link so I can see the pic. They are really pissing me off!

Blackbird Kitchen and Bar = Superb Seafood

Seriously, it is very difficult to find extremely high quality seafood here in Sacramento. And no, McCormick and Shmick is not quality. It is a high volume frozen fish factory.

But the husband and I seemed to have stumbled upon a gem with a capable staff and talented chef/owner. Blackbird is so extraordinary that it's worth the extra shift at work just so we can go once a week. The raw bar is amazing. They have created a mignonette for the oysters that is out of this world and the baked trout is mouthwatering. The thing that is so penultimate about this place is the expected good food of course, but the story behind the existence of it is really intense and worth a talk to the owner. Also, for a fresh seafood restaurant and an amazing atmosphere, the prices are reasonable. And, bonus, it's modern and hip without the hipster pretense. Needless to say, I love it!

Good Stuff From Where?

For The Book Club - A Shopping Guide

Sometimes I visit The Folio Society just to eat my heart out! They have cloth and leather bound classics as well as modern tales with whimsical, colorful illustrations.

1.

Kate Baylay illustrated this. Her talent is priceless.

2.

I think these guys are super cute without lacking sophitication. The Literary Gift Company hails from the UK but ship all over the world! They have great gifty things like this candle, too.

Wild Heather - Emily Brontë Candle

"There was no moon, and everything beneath lay in misty darkness: not a light gleamed from any house, far or near all had been extinguished long ago: and those at Wuthering Heights were never visible—still she asserted she caught their shining.

'Look!' she cried eagerly, 'that's my room with the candle in it, and the trees swaying before it [...]" --- Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights

3.

And then there is this. It's a scent called "In the Library." 

"In the Library is a warm blend of English Novel, Russian and Moroccan Leather Bindings, Worn Cloth and a hint of wood polish."

The scent is made by Christopher Brosius from Brooklyn New York whose story is more than interesting. I recommend you visit CB I Hate Perfume just to peruse his cleverness.

4. 

And finally, The Jane Austen umbrella from Literary Luminaries.