Pumpkins

It was a chilly, rainy weekend here in the bay but staying inside nestled next to the fire was just what the doctor ordered to nurse my stubborn cold. I baked some gluten-free pumpkin muffins from this book, but I may have done something wrong because they took f-o-r-e-v-e-r to bake and were still gooey and fell in the center after letting them hang out in the over for 15 minutes longer than the recipe recommended. Somehow the rest of the weekend got away from me but here are a few festive photos from my front yard.

Pumpkin family

Our grape harvest

Trick or Treat

Freshly Baked

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love knowing the holidays are right around the corner, I love the gold light, I love the colorful leaves and I love to bake anything with cinnamon. To kick off the fall, I decided to embark on baking my first-ever homemade apple pie from this book.

Having never made a crust before, it was definitely the most challenging part but I have to say, I'm pretty darned proud of myself for figuring it out. This was an all day affair but it was the perfect way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon. Delicious!

Peeling the apples, fresh from the Farmers Market

Cooking the apples down

Perfect apple pie

I Heart San Francisco

I am in love with San Francisco and even after 10 years of calling the Bay Area home, I still can hardly believe I'm lucky enough to live here. I adore this stop-animation video shot in and around the city.

San Francisco: The Miniature City from MINIMUS on Vimeo.

Thank you to Christina for posting it!

Pretty Pictures

I spent the weekend at a photoshoot for Famous Frocks, an amazing sewing book I'm working on for Fall 2011. I jumped at the chance to bring the dresses to life and was even more thrilled when I was assigned the Audrey Hepburn look. The crew was amazing and I had a blast. Can't wait for the book to come out!

Mini Makeover

Ever since we bought our house I've been wanting to re-paint the kitchen and bathrooms. Well, this weekend we finally painted and I love it! Here's a sneak peek...

Our kitty Misa checking it out
Benjamin Moore Cloud Gray

No more shiny green walls!
Benjamin Moore Ashley Gray

Lady in White

I adore this dress from the Victoria Beckham Spring 2011 collection. See the whole collection on Style.com.

Ferry Building Adventures

I've been getting up early every morning and starting to work around 5:45am. I sounds crazy but I absolutely cherish this time to clean out my inbox, leisurely sip my tea and watch the sunrise with my animals. So today I thought I would take some extra time at lunch to get inspired at the beautiful Ferry Building.

Mushrooms for my best friend. She loves them. I detest them.

Flowers fresh from the wonderful McEvoy Ranch

Peppers from the McEvoy Ranch garden

Heath Ceramics. Want.

Cheese from Cowgirl Creamery

Miette. I die.

Bestsellers, including the new Oprah selection, Freedom, at Book Passage

Have a great Friday!

I Can Cook!

I often make declarations on new projects or ideas that I'm going to try to execute and this September I vowed that I would try to learn to cook. My hubby has lovingly taken me under his highly skilled wing and is trying to teach me the ropes. We've made some apple fig almond risotto, kale, bacon & bean soup and butternut squash halibut stew. All have turned out very very well if I do say so myself!

This week, I decided to take a cooking class with the lovely Emily Dellas at First Class Cooking. She offers amazing interactive classes in her beautiful home and when you're done prepping the meal everyone eats together in her dining room overlooking the city. It's a wonderful way to spend the night. I was so caught up in making the meal that I only remembered to snap a few photos.

The ingredients to our heirloom tomato, peach, burrata and basil salad

Lemon, herb quinoa

C rusted zucchini, eggplant and tofu for the vegetarians

Dinner, including pistachio crusted sea bass

Homemade chocolate-hazelnut gelato

If you're in the Bay Area, I highly recommend you sign up for her mailing list. She sends out the menu at the beginning of the month so you can pick your date. Classes fill up quickly so book early!

Alexa Chung for Madewell

Fashion Week has officially arrived and so has Alexa Chung's new collection for Madewell. I'm loving this black polka-dot blouse and think it would be perfect for the holidays.

Annie Blouse

Off to the desert!

I'm heading to my favorite hotel this weekend for some R&R in the hot desert sun. Here are a few pics of my last visit. I'm betting my weekend will pretty much look the same. Happy long weekend!

Walking through the lobby

Reading in the pool

Cruising around town

Anthro in Argentina

The new Anthropologie catalog just landed today and it is delicious. It was shot in Argentina and features the beautiful Criollo breed of wild horses. I am now even more excited for my upcoming trip in November...

Photo from Anthropologie

Fancy Photos

My lovely friend Christina has been experimenting with photography lately and I'm loving her latest set including this dreamy picture of me.

Photo by Christina

Another Fave

Check out this INCREDIBLE video created be two other fave authors I have the pleasure of working with, Meg Mateo Illasco and Joy Deangdeelert Cho.



Isn't it perfect?

Wallpaper Love

One of the things that I love most about my job is the amazing artists and authors I get to meet and work with on a daily basis. One of my all time favorites is fabric designer, Amy Butler. Not only is Amy an absolute doll to work with, she creates the most gorgeous fabric, bedding, rugs, towels... and now wallpaper! Swoon!

Amy Butler Wallpaper for Graham & Brown

It's been a quiet weekend chez moi as both the hubby and I are trying to recover from a cold that we caught while we were away (it must be our bodies missing our morning snorkeling adventures). So last night we curled up and watched A Single Man directed by Tom Ford which we thoroughly enjoyed. The costumes were immaculate, as were the interiors and I couldn't help but wish I could hang out in Julianne Moore's closet and play a little while.

Julianne Moore stars as Charlotte in The Weinstein Company's A Single Man (2009)
Copyright © The Weinstein Company. All Rights Reserved.

Aloha!

My hubby and I just returned from a long weekend in Hawaii to celebrate our 7th Wedding Anniversary. Since copper or wool didn't really appeal to us as a gift, we decided to run away to the sun and surf. The flight was quick and our amazing resort was only 10 minutes from the airport. Highly recommend.

Gorgeous sunsets

The view from our Hale

Beautiful flowers aplenty

Coconut palms

The hammock beckons from the black sand beach

Our swimming pool

Surf's up!

The love birds

Friday Funnies

Whoops! How did it become Friday already? I'm so excited because we've started a new tradition of riding our bikes to Pizzeria Picco and devouring their amazing pizzas (I cheat on my gluten-free diet on Friday's lately, ok?). It's the perfect way to start the weekend.

And if you need a few giggles, check out the videos from the Harvard Sailing Team. Hilarious!

Let Them Eat Cake

It's Friday and I would like cake. Specifically, I'd like this Old-fashioned chocolate cake with Italian meringue frosting from Miette.


To see more delicious deserts, check out The Big Sweet SF: 50 Treats to Eat Before You Die from 7x7 magazine.

Girl Crush

Last night we watched Pedro Almodovar's beautiful film, Broken Embraces starring Penelope Cruz. The movie was visually stunning and wildly intriguing. I have a serious girl crush on Miss Cruz.

Summer Styles

We just booked a trip to Hawaii for our wedding anniversary next month and I can't wait to hit the beach. This dress will be the perfect thing for cruising around the island and exploring the sights!




Ice Cream Sandwich Dress from ModCloth