Tree decorating!

For any San Francisco friends who might be interested....

This sounds like such a fun event to check out. Also I can't resist anything free. :)

Bright Coats

I love when I see bright colored anything, especially clothes, in the winter. Isn't this jacket so cheerful?

All mine are gray and black--but I'm definitely on the look for something a bit less gloomy. Any tips about where to look?


Photo via Hiphipgingin

Google before you Tweet

Just came across the amazing blog, I Love Typography, and am cracking up at this brilliant little print of theirs. 

Available for purchase here.

The Dirty Dozen

Here's hoping everyone had a pie filled and cozy Thanksgiving! Ken and I just got back from visiting his family in Chicago and had a total blast.

During the break I came across a really helpful list of foods that I wanted to share with you all. Buying organic can be really expensive, so this list picks the "dirty dozen", or top 12 foods that are the most contaminated and better bought organic.

This comes in really handy during holiday cooking time.

1. Apples
   The FDA states that more pesticides are found on apples than are found on any other fruit or vegetable -- a grand total of 36. One test found seven chemicals on a single apple. Sounds like a good reason to switch to pesticide-free organic produce to me.
   Of course, if you do eat apples or any other fruit, use them sparingly and never consume them in the form of fruit juice, which is basically just a glass full of fructose.
   
2. Baby Foods
   An infant's immune system is less developed than an adult's, and more vulnerable. Nonorganic baby foods tend to use fruits and vegetables that have been treated with chemicals.
3. Butter and Milk
   Dairy cows eat grains that are heavily treated with chemicals, which show up in the milk. Non-organic milk can also contain bovine growth hormone and antibiotics.
   
4. Cantaloupe
   Cantaloupes often are contaminated by five of the longest-lasting chemicals. Dieldrin, a very toxic and carcinogenic insecticide, still gets taken up through the cantaloupe's roots even though it was banned in 1974.
   
5. Cucumbers
   Cucumbers were ranked the 12th most contaminated food and the second in cancer risk due to their pesticide content.
   
6. Grapes
   Grapes get treated with numerous chemicals, especially Chilean grapes, which can be sprayed with as many as 17 of them.
7. Green Beans There are over 60 pesticides that are registered for use on green beans in the U.S.
   
8. Spinach The chemicals used to treat spinach may cause cancer or interfere with hormone production.
   
9. Strawberries Strawberries are among the most contaminated of all produce.
10. Winter Squash
    Winter squash, like cantaloupe, can absorb dieldrin from the soil.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy holiday season!


(many thanks to Dr. McGee for this list)

Succulent Wreath + Aerium Ornaments

I love Flora Grubb's take on the classic winter wreath. Instead of pine needles she uses succulents and other native California plants, keeping with her commitment to locally sourced products.

There's an amazing open house going on at The Gardens beginning this Friday and ending Sunday. Word on the street has it they'll be providing workshops on how to build your own "terrarium ornaments", as well as garden tutorials for kids.

Aren't these handmade "Aerium Ornaments" incredible?! They would make such wonderful gifts. Plus you can hang them up even after the holidays. :)

Thanksgiving Pie Bible

Thanksgiving is almost here! And in case you don't know where to get your pies, I just came across the San Francisco pie guide (jackpot).

Tartine Bakery has a full compliment of holiday pies and breads. Maybe you want a classic pumpkin, an apple nougatine, or a frangipane tart with cranberries and orange zest (all $38)? Order online 

Bike Basket Pies will be offering two sizes of pies--a 9-inch (all flavors $25) and her signature minis ($4 each)--in seven flavors: pumpkin, pumpkin-chocolate chip, sweet potato maple pecan, pear ginger, apple walnut, apple cranberry and plain apple (the latter four can be also made vegan).

At Mission Pie, choose from apple, pear-cranberry, walnut, pumpkin and vegan apple with brandied raisins (9-inch, $19)--or pick-up a savory galette with wild mushrooms, leeks and Stilton cheese for a pre-meal snack ($18).

Arizmendi Bakery will be baking up a storm. Order your sweet potato pie, pecan pie with shortbread crust, pumpkin cheesecake with shortbread crust, and stock up on dinner rolls, cranberry brioche knots and tea breads.

Bi-Rite Market is Thanksgiving headquarters, from turkeys on down to cranberry sauce and, of course, dessert. They're offering 2 sizes of their popular pies, a 9-inch ($19.99) and 6-inch ($9.99) in three classic flavors: pumpkin, apple with crumb topping and pecan.

Mission Beach Cafe 's pie-obsessed baker Alan Carter be baking some amazing selections, including pumpkin hazelnut, plain pumpkin, chocolate pecan, cranberry-apple,  pear-sour cherry, huckleberry pie (!) and sour cherry pie (not traditional, persay, but let's not be a hardliner against delicious, alright?).
 
Susiecakes will be whipping up traditional pumpkin pie, spiced pecan pie, apple with cinnamon streusel and a pumpkin cheesecake with a graham cracker crust, topped with cinnamon sour cream.
 
** Semi-Homemade Options **
Want to make your own pie, just not the crust? Try new, locally-owned Star Dough, which makes a tender, pre-rolled frozen dough enriched with butter and crème fraiche. (Available at Rainbow Grocery, Canyon Market, Faletti's Market and Goodlife Grocery.)

Also worthy of note: Prather Ranch is currently selling lard pie crusts, for those DIY bakers, available at their shop at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market.

What I Wore in Drawings

I am in love with the new blog "What I Wore Today." Instead of posting photographs of people in their clothes, you can submit a drawing of what you wore. How cute are these!?

I need to get my act together and submit something!

Mr. & Mrs.

Did a double take when I saw this...

“Sometimes, when we’re lying together, I look at her and I feel dizzy with the realization that here is another distinct person from me, who has memories, origins, thoughts, feelings that are different from my own. That tension between familiarity and mystery meshes something strong between us. Even if one builds a life together based on trust, attentiveness and mutual support, I think that it’s important that a partner continues to surprise." --Barack Obama


(via MELODYEH$ANI) 

Pumpkin Recipe

Remember the pumpkin recipe from last week?

I finally tried it...

Loved it.

And then ate all of it.

Meet Me In The Middle

What are your weekend plans dear readers? In case you're in the Bay Area and looking for something awesome to do Saturday night, you should stop by the Treehouse Gallery and check out a group show I'm in.

The show is a collaboration between Iranian and Israeli female artists, hence the title "Meet Me In The Middle." 

Painting by Taravat Talepesand,  2008, Egg tempera on linen, 44 x 30 inches

There is going to be some seriously amazing work by my talented and gorgeous professor, Taravat Talepesand, as well as two other MFA grads from the San Francisco Art Institute. And if that wasn't enough reason, there will be seasonal, local and delicious food + drink provided by the culinary talents at Paper Plate Productions.

Date: Saturday, November 20th
Location: Treehouse Gallery, 2604 3rd Street
Time: 7 pm – 11 pm

Hope to see you there! xo.

Fit for Flare

It might just be my imagination.

But I'm getting the feeling bootcut jeans are making a come back....

And my boots are really looking forward to it.




(photos via E.M. and the Sartorialist)

The Big Sweet SF

I give you, The Big Sweet SF. A comprehensive list of the top 50 must-try sweet treats in San Francisco. I came upon this treasure months ago but have been saving it for this time of year. We all put on a couple extra pounds during the holidays, so why not sneak in San Francisco's top 50 desserts while we're at it? :)

The top 10 sound amazing.

1. Lemon cream tart at Tartine Bakery and Cafe

2. Alfajores from Sabores del Sur

3. Coconut tapioca at the Slanted Door

4. Hot chocolate at Christopher Elbow

5. Lemon cookie ice cream at Three Twins Ice Cream

6. Ginger cake with pumpkin ice cream at Chow

7. Vietnamese coffee ice cream at Humphry Slocombe

8. Toffee cake at Starbelly

9. Peanut butter sandwich cookie at Wichcraft

10. Chocolate-coconut cookies from Kitchenette

Any Bay area foodies out there with recommendations to add to the list? xo.

Google's Launch: Boutiques.com

It's finally here!

Google's new fashion shopping site made its internet debut this morning. It's pretty much the most amazing online fashion resource to date.

"Boutiques.com has so many capabilities and components that even Google engineers have a hard time qualifying it. You can shop in the style of, say, the actress Carey Mulligan or Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen— or you can build your own boutique and amass followers who can comment on your taste.

And that may be Boutiques.com’s ultimate game-changer — how precisely it analyzes your preferences to give you what you requested. As many online shoppers know, search engines tend to give you stuff you don’t really want. A request for fern-colored shoes might yield fern shoes, plus fern-print blouses. But, as two experienced online shoppers found when they tested the site earlier this week at Google’s New York office, if you ask for cobalt blue shoes, you get them (NYTimes)."

Journey Across India

Have you guys seen Mike Matas' photography and film work? Check out this amazing video he put together of his trip to India.

2,000 miles
30 days
3,000 photo 
in 3 minutes.


Journey Across India from Mike Matas on Vimeo.


(Many thanks to Elsa May for posting about him on her blog!)

Have a chocolate filled weekend :)

What are your plans for the weekend dear readers? 

Kenny's cousin is visiting from the East Coast, so I think we're going to do some fun touristy things like take a boat to Alcatraz and eat at Zuni.

Also, there's a chocolate festival on Sunday. 

We're debating whether or not to go (I think we all remember the pie incident). However, I'm still thinking it might be worth a quick visit.

Enjoy you're weekends! And until Monday, here's a ridiculously cute child.

Get 'em while they're hot!

Exciting news folks!

Leather bound books are now available in the alkeemi shop. I make them all by hand from genuine leather, awesome paper, and linen thread.

New journals will be added weekly, so be sure and check back.

Also, if there's something specific you want, I'm happy to take orders for custom books. Shoot me an email (Kimia.Kline@gmail.com) and let me know what design you want on the spine, as well as colors for leather and paper.

Happy shopping! xo

2,430 Pieces of Toast

The band Ok Go just released this amazing music video made up entirely of bread. A whopping 2,430 pieces of toast were used in this stop motion masterpiece. The song is also really beautiful. Definitely worth a look and a listen.


Last Leaf

OK Go | Myspace Music Videos

Pumpkin Recipe

Ken and I have been eating sweet potatoes non-stop lately.

So when I spotted this amazing pumpkin recipe, I breathed a sigh of relief...(finally something to get excited about other than sweet potatoes :).

Doesn't it look so delicious? For the full recipe, click here.

Many thanks to DancingBranflakes for the tip!

Robyn + Napa

Happy Monday folks. :)

How were your weekends? Ours was packed with fun on all fronts. We not only had the lovely miss Robyn come visit....

 ...but we also snuck in a day-trip to Napa.

This time last year Kenny proposed in Napa with a big fake ring from Chinatown (don't worry I got a real one a few weeks later :). 

So we celebrated by going back to the same spot, but this time as marrieds!

Napa happens to be the prettiest place on planet Earth this time of year.

 

The color of the grapevines is so intense sometimes they don't even look real! 

 

We always go to the Carneros Inn because it's so beautiful, and their restaurants have the yummiest food ever.  Plus there are these amazing fruit trees all over the place that make you feel like you're in paradise. 

 

If you're in the area, I'd highly recommend heading over for a little visit. xo!

Look At What The Light Did Now

Have you guys heard of the new Feist documentary? I saw her perform in 2008 and was blown away with her talent. Of all the live musicians I've ever heard, this little lady ranks at the tip top. Her voice is totally soul-stirring and her energy is magnetic. I remember watching the audience watch her and thinking, "Every gal in this room wants to be her, and every gent wants to be with her."

Girl crush, big time.

I am so excited to see the full documentary in Berkeley on November 9th. But until then, the trailer will suffice.

 

[So many thanks to Jen for posting about this.]

Sandro Paris

I just spotted Sandro Paris clothes for the first time and can't stop starring (the tab has been open on my computer for 3 days).

Does anyone out there know where this goodness can be purchased in the Americas? Looks like they're only Euro based. I'd pick a favorite, but seriously they're all too good.

Their menswear is pretty fab too for any mens out there. :)