Gumps Archives - Northern California Style

I almost didn’t publish this post. I wrote this last week and was all set to share when the Paris tragedy struck. It’s hard to share fun times when so many are suffering. Paris is dear to me and so many others who have had the luck to enjoy it’s charms. Somehow, an attack on Paris feels like an attack on us all. I feel so useless to help, but after reading many others posts, I have concluded one thing, that we cannot let these people put terror in our hearts.

I find Martin Luther King’s ‘Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that,’ quote so comforting in times like this. Hate only begets more hate and it’s what these people want. I just hope that out of this sad tragedy an even stronger bond with France, Europe, and the sane people of this world will form. Our love for our fellow man shows so much during these situations and it gives hope. We can and will eventually overcome these terrorists. We have to believe that. There’s too many good people on this planet. We will win. It’s all we have. In the meantime, I’m keeping all those in Paris in my heart.

So now some fluff..
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Last week, I made a quick 24 hour escape up to San Francisco with two dear pals. It was a chance to get together before the holidays and check out some favorite spots in the city. Hitting some of the shops and gazing at the windows is always a treat even if it’s a quick trip.

How fabulous is this? Wilkes Bashford is another SF institution. This dress!

Right now Union Square is a total mess. They are currently extending the underground path of the Muni and it seems they will never finish…

You can see the tree is up, but it’s surrounded by this disaster!

However we persevered and made it to Neimans for lunch, bought some shoes, and later ventured to the Last Call store on Market.

Do I have fun friends or what? Barb and Jeanne test driving some over-sized glasses!

Last Call is the Neiman’s outlet and it was worth the walk a bit away from the square. I bought some Joe’s jeans, a chambray shirt, a wonderful warm winter scarf that is super soft.. Love them. Funny all of them were a wine or grey tone and went together beautifully. I didn’t even plan it.

Also on our list was Gumps. I love this San Francisco institution especially at the holidays with their seasonal shop and fun gifts. The holiday windows weren’t up yet, but they were still pretty.

Stylish Jeanne and the windows at Gumps.

Nothing beats a trip to Gumps for lifting the spirits and inspiring your imagination. They have the most wonderful distinctive items.

How about a Chinoiserie pumpkin??

Love the San Francisco scenes in these original oils.

I found a few perfect gifts in their holiday area already wrapped and ready for giving. Love that. I also nosed around the apothecary area which has some fabulous lines I’ve never seen. You can buy Santa Maria Novella products from the famous Florence perfumery here too.

Check out these Christmas trees. This one was made entirely of Mickey Mouse watches and for $2,500 could be the perfect gift for a lucky Mickey fan. (Yes that’s the right price!)

The silver tree made of vintage jewelry was my favorite. All of these trees were on the thousand dollar range!! Wow. Of course I was wondering if I could make one myself…

Gumps had some of the best ornaments…

Downton Abbey fans!

Loved the Grandfather Clocks!

They do have some affordable gifts. I found plenty under $30 wrapped that I would be thrilled with. A few were a bit more.

This faux tortoise clock was chic!

So many treasures here. Don’t miss Gumps if you visit San Francisco and especially at the holidays. I hope to get back up and share the holiday windows with you.

Our girls getaway was a treat. We stayed at The Grand Hyatt, which I hadn’t before and it was modern and pretty. The views in the city are always amazing at night at San Francisco’s high-rise hotels.

They brought a disco ball for me and some awesome disco music!

Jeanne and I in the lobby in front of one of the art installations currently on show.

Our hotel had a cute little board in the lobby where you could post velcro backed wooden hearts with where you left your heart on this SF trip. Sweet idea I thought.

That night the girls surprised me with birthday dinner at a El Mansour, a Moroccan restaurant with belly-dancing.

It was gorgeous! I had no idea what to expect. You sat on low couches and had many courses of the most delicious food.

The belly-dancer was fun and yikes they made me dance! Let’s hope all evidence of this is destroyed. 😮 The evening ended with yummy deep fried bananas and fragrant mint tea. I loved the hand washing and the rose water they sprinkled on our hands at the end. The smell stayed with me the whole night and I was enchanted! I highly recommend El Mansour if you are looking for a special place to celebrate with friends. Great service too. I loved it and will never forget it.

The next morning we had breakfast at one of my favorite spots, Café de la Presse, a French bistro near Union Square with great atmosphere, super breakfasts and a newsstand with international magazines and papers.

Barb and I clearly look as though we are in different climates…She in Malibu, me ready for snow apparently. Lol. I so think fall is the perfect time to visit San Francisco!

It’s cold today in California. Yay! I’m wearing wool, boots and big scarf today finally.

I’m not hosting Thanksgiving this year as I always do. I’m planning to go away for a few days, so I haven’t brainstormed any new table ideas. I just can’t host this year with my mom gone. I don’t have the heart. Maybe next year I’ll feel like doing it again. If you want a few ideas, here’s my last year’s menu and table, and my 2013 table. I will post more ideas later this week for those who are hosting.

Kim

photos NorthernCalStyle

Cannot believe Christmas and the holidays have passed already. Is it me or did the end of last year fly by crazy fast? There were a lot of things on my to-do list that just never happened. Gee kind of like this post..

I still wanted to show some of the fun here in Northern Cal during winter break…So what the heck! Better late than never! (Okay if your done with holiday posts feel free to click over to something more relevant and exciting. I won’t be offended. 🙂

Though we did not leave for the Christmas break, we did get to squeeze in some lovely walks as the weather has been very mild here, compared to the rest of the country. I love the rough and brambly gray of much of the plants and trees mixed with the buds that are already showing on so many plants. I think it’s been too warm actually.

It’s still warm! We are loving it, but feeling bit guilty about it.

Chilling with the neighbors’ cat in my yard.

We Californians are probably all going to hell! (Hope not!)

Love this old ivy wall surrounding an historic house I pass on my walk.

I did get out for a day with my favorite guy. My husband patiently shopped with me and we shared a lunch outside on of my favorite days of our break. He and I did quite a few walks and little dinner dates and coffee runs. One of the perks of staying home was more downtime together for all of us.

We also drove to Half Moon Bay to walk the beach a little and grab clam chowder and lobster rolls at Sam’s Chowder House.

It was an amazingly gorgeous day for December.

The boys built the Lonely Mountain from the Hobbit.

We saw that and the Mr Banks movie on our break. I loved Mr Banks!! Highly recommend that one.

Also got to stop at my favorite nursery and get a few ivy plants to perk up the house.

The other highlight of the holiday break was getting up to San Francisco for a night with the kids. We were a bit hampered by Griffin twisting his ankle right before we left. : [ It wasn’t ideal, as San Francisco is such a walking city and a tough one at that with all the hills. His crutches were exhausting and so we couldn’t cover much.

We walked to Macy’s to see the pets up for adoption in the windows. The boys love that.

Also so many gorgeous holiday windows!

Burberry

I loved Gumps! Their windows were chic and original..

Our motley crew.

And cute!

Inside the mechanical toys and Santa’s from all over the world charmed us. We were all fascinated!

Gumps is a must do on a shopping trip here! Unique and fab items from all over.

Loved the windows at Ghurka…

How about those Cartier panthers?

We got to another of our favorite spots, Fiona’s Sweet Shoppe.

Griffin and I first discovered this tiny treasure on our summer trip to SF. They specialize in Scottish and U.K. candies. They have things that you’ve never heard of or tasted and they do samples. Don’t miss Fiona’s which is on Sutter Street. My favorites are the brown sugar cubes that have black licorice in them!

Picked up a darling modern Christmas tray and more at Crate & Barrel. Always love everything there.

C&B is wonderful spot to find fresh ideas. I always want to re-do my home after a visit.

Neiman Marcus’s huge tree reflected from the windows.

Dinner was just Max and I as the kids preferred to stay in the room and watch their own movie. Griffin couldn’t really walk anywhere far. We got them a room service pizza and they were thrilled.

We stayed at my favorite, The Hotel Monaco, and they give kids a complimentary movie card, which was so nice. We also got some passes to, “Raid the Bar,” which was credit for your honor bar, so the boys got sodas and goodies from it.

It’s those little things that make The Hotel Monaco and Kimpton Hotels worth choosing. This was all on out own dollar and it was nice that so many perks come along with an overnight stay.

Griffin and I chilled out in the animal print robes a bit too. Fun!

Dinner in the downstairs bar was delicious and fun and it was nice being in the hotel while the guys were upstairs.

Things were going okay until the next morning when our neighbors texted to tell us our Guinea Pig had his head caught in his wire ball. 🙁

Can you believe it? That’s our sweet neighbor Abby, who rescued him.

Luckily one of her brothers got our wire cutters and pried him out. We were so thankful to them! The pig was unharmed…However at that point we threw in the towel and came home.

Still it was lovely to be in San Francisco during Christmas even if it was 18 hours!

We did New Years at the home of my friend Aimee and her brood who are like family to us. They also enjoy lots of crazy nutty teens and make it fun for them as well with obnoxious hats and exploding items! I don’t think my kids would enjoy New Years if we weren’t there.

We had time to spend with my 96 year old grandma Jody too. The boys helped her grocery shop. It was a perfect day except in my excitement I locked us all out of the car with my grandmother’s groceries and ice cream inside! That was fun. Didn’t bother my grandma at all of course! She rolls with the punches and that’s why she has probably lived so long!