Hello lovely friends. Well this week flew by, didn’t it? This is my weekly roundup with Elizabeth and Juliet and we always have much to share and chat about! I can’t begin to go on about my usual stuff without mentioning Ukraine. I am hugely saddened, worried and scared for the Ukrainian and Russian people as I am sure you are and at the end of this post, I will share some ways we are able to help through some great organizations.
Afternoon Tea in the Bay Area
Are you a afternoon tea person? Have you ever had a tea out? If you’ve been to the U.K. you know it’s a ritual that you can have many places and it’s a lovely and relaxing way to enjoy tea, finger sandwiches, scones and clotted cream and sweet treats. I’ve been missing travel, and dreaming of the time I can go back to London, so my husband surprised me with a belated Valentine’s Saturday lunch date at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco where they do tea on the weekends.
It’s the perfect spot to go for a shower, special birthday or occasion. We loved the beautiful historic Garden Court that was built in 1909 with its stained glass ceiling. The ceiling has 70,000 pieces of glass that have been recently retrofitted, cleaned and restored. Walking into the hotel and seeing it front of you takes your breath away. It’s truly stunning as it’s one of largest rooms on earth and was once where horse drawn carriages entered the hotel in the 1800’s.
The architecture is lovely and the history of this hotel is fascinating. The lobby has many artifacts from the hotel’s past. There was a Frank Sinatra type of crooner singing accompanied by a piano man which gave the tea a kind of yesteryear vibe we loved. The little sandwiches were super fresh and the scones were warm. We choose the Legacy Blend tea with notes of bergamot, vanilla and rose. I also had the glass of Vueve Cliquot champagne option. It’s $75 for a full tea and $89 with champagne. There are also other tea options in SF, but I urge you to take in this special hotel and its gorgeousness! We’ve also been to Lovejoy’s Tea Room last summer and it’s charming and cute.
Salesforce Park
Totally stuffed, (we ate ALL the tea treats ), we waddled over to the new Salesforce Park a few blocks away. This park is four and a half football fields long and three stories up in the financial district. It’s a lovely place to meander with grassy parks dotted with colorful chairs, pretty plants from all over the world (apparently 600 trees and 16,000 plants in 13 botanically arranged areas), and views of the city and some of coolest new skyscrapers. You can take an elevator up or a gondola!
This is the place to meet a friend, eat a picnic lunch or just have a stroll. There is also a children’s play area, a long line of fountains to play in and – transportation. The lower floors have Greyhound, Muni, Amtrak and AC Transit and SamTrans. You can follow the Salesforce Park Instagram for notifications on events. They have live music, dance parties, exercise classes, art shows and more!
I shared a fun Reel on my Instagram with more photos of our walk! I highly recommend it and right now as everything seems to be blooming and even on Saturday it felt uncrowded.
Canadian House & Home
House & Home from Canada is my most favorite shelter magazine. Most magazines now are a lot of celebrity homes and I often find them unrelatable. House & Home has remodels and homes of real people and they run the gamut from modest to glam, but are inspiring, and doable. This month’s issue features the best black and white kitchens -some very traditional, some modern -all wonderful.
On their online site I was drawn to this lovely Toronto home they called California cool, Mediterranean style. No wonder I loved it.
It’s those little touches like the tiled entry, ledges in the hall, wood panel pieces in the dining room and different kinds of beautiful and unique finishes and lighting that made this home warm and pop more than an ordinary white home. Design is by Jamie Zimmerman who you can find on Instagram.
Aqua at Bloomingdales- denim shirts
A lot of you liked the puffy purse post last week and the brand, Aqua by Bloomingdales (their in-house brand), has quite the following. Many people have told me they adore this brand. I was at Bloomies last week and on a quiet Tuesday had the store all to myself and investigated.
I do like how Bloomingdales curates its departments by brands. Aqua has some great tops and a few caught my eye, this button-up with contrasting stripes, and this dark soft denim one with puffy shoulders (it’s actually a dark denim blue, not grey.) Both had elements that made them stand out, were nicely made and a good price. I can never have too many blue button ups so I bought both.
I also saw this pretty blue style online with a cool sleeve. Honestly, I can’t wait to wear some lighter and springy clothes soon. Check out Aqua as the brand that has some cool pieces at good prices. The dresses especially, have a lot of fans.
Katrina Kenison
I know I’ve shared her inspiring writing before, but Katrina’s post this week of living through these past two years and how we move forward is so good. It’s all about finding joy in the moments of this life and the beauty around us. I think you’ll appreciate her post here.
Helping Ukraine
Who could ever fathom we would have a ground war in Europe again? It’s beyond frightening and my heart goes out to the people and families of both nations caught up in this. No one wants this war. Right now, I believe the best we in the west can do is send any funds we may have to help those in Ukraine who are fleeing with their families. I watched as many women left with children unsure of where to go and if they will even see the men in their families again. Some good places to help are below..
UNICEF supports health, nutrition, education, safe drinking water, and protection for children and families caught in the conflict in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian organization, Voices of Children, helps provide support to children affected by armed conflict and providing mobile psychologists and even individual help for families.
CARE has a UK Crisis fund trying to provide food, water, hygiene and cash support for the 4 million people needing help there.
The International Red Cross is in Ukraine and providing support through water, food, medical equipment and more.
Thank you!
Now please pop over and see what great ideas my friends Elizabeth and Juliet have for you this week..
PINECONES AND ACORNS
MAKE MINE A SPRITZER
Wishing you all a beautiful weekend, and thank you for being here!
Kim
You might also like my 2022 Goals, House Update and Cozy Coats post.
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