Northern California Style

Northern California Style

#Sanfranciscotravel

Early Spring Outfit, Sargent at The Legion, and More SF Stairs

By 26 Comments

The John Singer Sargent in Spain show at The Legion of Honor, more San Francisco Stairs to discover, early spring outfits and more

How was your Valentines week? For Valentine’s I made Max dinner using our bounty of lemons. He loves this Martha Stewart Chicken Piccata recipe, I have made forever. I also made the Nigella Madeira cake I have shared before here.. ( SO easy and fantastic.) I would have taken pics, but I was flustered making three courses and the dessert all at once.. This is my pic from summer time..

Max brought me these tulips and I’ve been enjoying the color with all my citrus..

Sargent in Spain at the Legion of Honor

For our Valentine date, Max for my took me to the Legion of Honor in San Francisco last Sunday to see Sargent in Spain. It documented American artist John Singer Sargent’s many visits to Spain over thirty years and his love for the art, architecture and culture.

Beside his works done in and inspired by Spain, it had mementos he collected and works of great Spanish artists he studied and emulated, beside his own. Two of those were El Greco, and Goya. The museum shared how this was part of Sargent’s ‘dynamic visual practice’ in which he expanded his repertoire to include so many diverse styles and mediums of art.

Sargent’s paintings of his sister and friend.. The two of them under mosquito nets they invented themselves.

We bought tickets to the exhibition ahead of time, and arrived around 11:30. We had an early lunch in the cafe, and wandered the Sargent rooms for an hour and a half. I thought it was a wonderful exhibition.

I loved this woman’s green coat and matching bag..so beautiful with her hair. Museums always seem to have the most stylish people! Her little bag is from the Super Mini Slouch bag from Anthro. My stylish pal Jeanne just bought it in orange. It includes a tiny zip pouch and comes in many colors and is a pop of color for your spring look for $46.

The Bowles Porcelains

Afterwards, I walked through the amazing Bowles porcelain collection. The collection was donated by Mrs Constance Bowles Peabody, who amassed a unique collection that spans countries and centuries. There are some exquisite pieces and the natural light of the beautiful all glass room really shows them to their advantage.

The story of Mrs Constance Bowles is interesting. She was a California native whose Irish immigrant father who worked the SF docks as a child and founded what became a huge global shipping enterprise. She married Henry Miller whose great-grandfather owned the largest amount of American land ever held. He was a rancher who once bragged he could drive his cattle from Mexico to the Oregon border without leaving his own property! Mrs Bowles family also donated two islands off the coast of Marin to the government that are now bird sanctuaries. More about Constance and these two California pioneer families in her obituary from 2016 here.

…. Those were just the two exhibits we took in that day. There is much more to see at the Legion. We also walked the grounds of lovely Lincoln Park and took in the sea views. The museum is perched over the ocean and though it was sunny, the fog was hugging the edge of the cliffs and the fog horns were sounding.

If you pay for entry to the exhibit, you can use the cost ($56 for two of us), toward a membership. I did that when I bought a few souvenir posts cards. The yearly membership is $119, so that shaves some cost off and you can revisit with a guest as much as you like to both The Legion and the De Young and also get invited to special previews and events etc..

The John Singer Sargent exhibition ends May 14, 2023, and moves on. This is it’s first stop !

More San Francisco Stairs

Afterwards, we found another of San Francisco’s famous stairs nearby. These are the Lincoln Park Steps and they are particularly pretty, and adjacent to Lincoln park, which leads to the museum.

At the museum bookshop I spotted this book which would be a good one for those who wish to explore more of San Francisco, Stairway Walks in San Francisco: The Joy of Urban Exploring. I just ordered one for Max. This staircase was on the cover!

New Jeans for Spring

While I was at the museum two people asked about my jeans. They are by Mother! I was shopping last weekend with my pal Jeanne at Stanford and saw them..I loved this new shape and that they have less stretch, but are very comfy.

They sold out of them already at Anthro, but they still have them here.. I also loved these Mother Jeans below right. Both slightly different. The one at the right has a bit more stretch and runs smaller.. I think both have an updated feel.. The wider pant being fresh and modern and the straight leg great for an everyday jean that will only get better over time. I try and buy these domestic made jeans. Mothers are made in California and though I do have inexpensive jeans too, these better made ones always seem to last me years and feel so good on.

After I bought the first pair, I went back and got the other. Since I am going for less in the closet and better, and had some money from selling clothes I had purged…I justifed both as a good 2023 wardrobe investment. Two pairs of jeans in different styles that fit and feel great will pay for themselves in amount of wears over time!

Closet Stories

Last week Max moved to Jackson’s old closet where he also has his office. It was his idea as he gets up at 5:30 many mornings to bike and it is hard to not turn on the lights, etc.

I was thrilled to have the whole remodeled closet to myself and instead of spreading out and taking up all the space, I decided this was a great time to truly purge and create a smaller wardrobe I have always wanted. I just want less and to make life simpler.

With more space I can really see what I have now. I have talked about closet cleanup many times before, so y’all probably don’t want another run down on that.. However, one thing that struck me as a good way to clean out is not to try on everything, but instead ask yourself this one question, ‘Will I choose this?’ I know with so many items in my closet the answer is ‘no.’

Let’s be honest, we all have things that we bought that still look great, were expensive, or still in style, but if you are bypassing them every time you get dressed, you should say goodbye to them. They are taking up space in you closet and your life! I think that has helped me this time more than ever.

We all have a lot of clothes and choices, and if we know we are going to choose something else, don’t hang into things just to have them. The less you have the better you dress. You also buy less. It’s quite freeing and I purged a lot.

What to do with those clothes? On my Instagram I shared my experience taking the clothes to the Crossroads Trading Company, which buys back your clothes and gives an immediate payout, unless you have something quite pricier, then they send you money when it’s sold. All the steps to do this are saved in my Closet Stories story highlights..You can also try The Real Real for selling designer items.

Early Spring Styling Ideas

After cleaning out the closet I have been thinking about what was missing and that was jeans that have a current look and straight leg and some long sleeve light tops for spring. I did a little collage with my two new pairs of jeans I linked to above..

I love this gauze cotton blouse from J. Crew which comes in pretty colors, but I like the black and white especially. The COS top has a super cute modern shape and bell sleeves I want it in white, black, but this blue would be fun with the tiny Anthro bag in green. The Chanel look sandals in a tweed and the leather slides from Madewell are great additions to update my shoe wardrobe for spring… and the small COS black shoulder bag is coolest shape to tuck under the arm or carry by its strap.

Houses of the Week- Pacific Grove

This week I wanted to highlight the charming and under the radar small town of Pacific Grove. Pacific Grove is located between Monterey and Carmel and famous for its Monarch butterflies. Steinbeck lived here for some time and most of its homes are walking distance to the rocky beaches and coast. It has a tiny downtown and homes feel more old Cape Cod than glam beach house.

The two homes I picked to share went on the market this week and darn it, both are already contingent, but I am keeping them on here anyway..

This home is surrounded by oaks and faces a pretty park..Beautifully updated.

The other is a cottage and I love the charm of this home and especially the Dutch door, the kitchen and the shelves in the only bedroom. It also faces a park…How clever is the wineglasses stored in the chandelier? The kitchen is darling!

You can peruse more Pacific Grove listings here.

If you missed last weekend’s post I shared a San Francisco brunch spot and hike, some new books, cute khaki pants, my new porch flowers and more..

Wishing you a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Kim

Please visit my pals Elizabeth and Juliet’s blogs..

MAKE MINE A SPRITZER

PINECONES AND ACORNS

If you’d like to get an email when I publish, please subscribe to the blog here for a post in your inbox a few times a month and every Saturday for Weekend Meanderings.

Some links will generate a small commission here, which helps make this blog possible. Thanks so much for your support!

Weekend Meanderings-Pretty Pillows, Cool Slides, Block Prints & More..

By 24 Comments

It’s Weekend Meanderings time with Elizabeth and Juliet, and our chance to share some good things that have come to our attention this week! I hope yours has been good. Here’s what’s been on my brain..

Pretty Pillows

I have been wanting to do a little refresh with my sectional pillows and found a well rated and lovely Etsy shop that makes some beautiful pillows like this..

Then I noticed she sells combinations of pillows as well, which makes it easy if you want to pull a look together. Two combos I really like- on left, and on the right.

The whole collection of pretty pillows here.

My favorite inserts, which should be 2 inches bigger than your pillow, are these which look like feather, but are synthetic down, made in the U.S. and karate choppable if that’s your thing. They have weight and feel great. I have replaced almost all my pillows with these…

Block Prints

Looking for a sweet small gift or to just give your morning routine a little upgrade? These block-print mugs at Anthro caught my eye right away! So lovely and they make a cute gift for a friend or teacher and you can add a gift card or some treats. Anthro is getting on the block-print bandwagon and if you are a fan check out their whole block print home collection.

I also love Emerson Fry’s India block print collection… (A company committed to zero waste, organic fibers, plant and non toxic dyes, and other great things.)

Beeks

Slides seem to be all I wear now and a new to me shoe brand with many slide options is Beeks. They sent me the prettiest catalog with the above photo and I was hooked! Begun by two California women, who met at Quicksilver, and were industry veterans, they wanted to create footwear that feels great and looks even better over time.

This is just a glimpse of a few of the sandals which come in all colors and heel heights..

Each pair, designed in California and made in Mexico, and takes over 48 hours to create. Beeks is also committed to helping end child hunger and have focused on feeding at-risk kids in the United States. For every pair of Beeks sold, they donate the equivalent of five meals, through the Childhood Hunger Strategy with the Second Harvest Food Bank. Shop the whole collection here.

Walking the Golden Gate Bridge

If you follow my Instagram, you might have seen that I walked the Golden Gate Bridge last weekend with Max and my oldest son, Jackson. It’s been on Max’s bucket list for a long time, and even though I am a native Bay Area girl, I hadn’t done it either or brought my kids. I just always thought it was a long hike and how to get back and all that…

Turns out it is easy and not a big deal, and so worth doing. We didn’t even leave particularly early, got there about noon and found a parking spot at the Battery East Parking (great map here),which is right across from the historic homes of the Presidio..

From there it’s an easy saunter up to the bridge, with photo op spots, a warming hut/park bookstore, a bathroom and an historic cafe. From there you can catch more trails to explore on foot or bike. We chose to walk to the middle of the bridge which took about an hour and 20 there and back with many stops.

We snapped lot of photos and saw a whale, seals, pretty sailboats and the cityscape of SF. Seeing the bridge and the infrastructure of it up close is incredibly impressive! I loved the historic plaques. Even the lights are beautiful on the bridge. Know that it can be loud, and you are close to cars, but separated by a metal divider. You could go all the way over to the Sausalito side or alternatively, begin there. We felt we saw a lot just going to the middle. It can be foggy so we waited until after morning and chose a nice day weather wise. You will need a jacket as it’s cool and windy on the best of days, so dress appropriately.

More information and photos of the day, on my Instagram . Under my profile click through the ‘Bay Area Favorites’ story bubble to see it all.

After we had some great sandwiches at the cute Round House Cafe with bridge views, and then we headed to the city for ice cream at Salt & Straw and walked around the square in the charming Hayes Valley neighborhood. This a great spot with cute shops, a park and places to enjoy your treats and people watch.

Salt & Straw Ice Cream

On a side note, if you haven’t ever had Salt & Straw ice cream, it’s unbelievably good and the flavors are unlike anyplace else. They are a phenomenal company begun by two cousins and they use only organic and pure ingredients and support local suppliers and manufacturers. They do a huge amount of community care, support and outreach and donations. They pay good wages and try to make an inclusive and welcoming environment for all.

They just opened a branch in Valley Fair by the outdoor shops.

“We make ice cream about the ingredients we use and the farms and artisans they come from. About how we cook and freeze and candy and sort and burn and smash and hand-drizzle and ribbon and spoon and sprinkle all of our ingredients in intriguing and unexpected ways.“

That explains what kind of ice cream they serve.. and right now they are featuring flavors inspired by their Rad Readers series with Scholastic to take kids imaginative stories and turn them into ice cream flavors! How awesome is that?

All the flavors here and all about them and locations here. If you can’t choose a flavor, you can’t go wrong with their salted caramel -SO good!

Betty White’s Carmel Home

Lastly, many of you may have seen this, but I just love Betty White’s home that is now up for sale in the most lovely part of Carmel. Betty and her husband Alan Ludden bought the property in 1978 and built it from scratch on the undeveloped plot that cost just $178,000.

The pictures make it look so open and bright and quite ahead of it’s time. I’m sure it was staged for photos, but I could see living in it just as it is. The wooden peaked ceilings, the curved brick fireplace in the bedroom, and the skylights in the main area and expansive windows are fantastic. I hope someone doesn’t take a wrecking ball to this.

It overlooks Monastery Beach, and the mountains of Big Sur. The beach here is popular for scuba diving as the Monterey trench is right there which after a few feet in, drops to extreme depths. It’s also the steep and extremely dangerous to walk along, but the views are amazing and you can wander south to Point Lobos State Reserve, another stunning spot. The listing is here in LATimes.

Well that’s my meandering for this week now please pop over and see what great ideas my friends Elizabeth and Juliet have for you…

PINECONES AND ACORNS

MAKE MINE A SPRITZER

Wishing you all a beautiful weekend, and thank you for being here!

Kim

If you missed the last Weekend Meanderings, on spring tables, my Hawaii getaway essentials, talented South African designer Sue Bond, you can read the full post here.

If you’d like to get an email when I post, please subscribe to the blog here for a post in your inbox a few times a month! Thank you so much, as Bloglovin seems to have stopped working and I no longer post as much on Facebook and plan to do less there.

Some links may generate a small commission. Thank you for supporting the blog!

Weekend Meanderings-Afternoon Tea in SF, Blue Button Downs & More

By 18 Comments

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!

Photo via Urban Land Institute

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.

Homeowner Carly Stone with her son. Love the pillows and banquette.

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.

If you’d like to get an email when I post, please subscribe to the blog here for a post in your inbox a few times a month! Thank you so much, as Bloglovin seems to have stopped working and I no longer post as much on Facebook and plan to do less there.

Some links will generate a small commission. Thank you for supporting the blog

Tips for the Nordstrom Sale and More!

By 10 Comments

Hello friends. Our summer is in a bit of a lull here and I have been dealing with a few things .. Someone is raising turkeys in our neighborhood. The people aren’t even regular neighbors, but family staying with an elderly neighbor and their kid is in 4H, but he’s not caring for the turkeys and guess what happened? The entire neighborhood has become inundated with flies like you would not believe. They are everywhere.The parents claim they are telling the son to clean it more regularly, but when flies are waiting to get in your home at every door, and making one neighbor unable to even go in her yard anymore, or hang out her laundry, and they are all over me while I work in the garden -it’s ruining summer! I’m one of those people who will try to listen and mitigate, but it’s getting worse if that’s possible…

In better news, I hope your summer is enjoyable and you’ve had time to make a summer bucket list! One of my list items, a San Francisco trip, happened last Saturday. We had a late afternoon high tea at a cute spot called Lovejoy’s Tea Room in Noe Valley. It was something my husband sweetly found for me as I was dreaming about travel and tea rooms..

We loved it ! They have vintage mismatched china and excellent cucumber sandwiches and scones and desserts. Across the street is their Lovejoy’s Attic shop with hats, tea and china and antiques to purchase. We had a good trek around the darling neighborhood of Noe Valley, which has some cute shops and homes and restaurants. We discovered the fantastic Noe Valley Bakery and took home a wheat bread and a seeded levain bread that was so good I had probably eight sandwiches this week. I love discovering new neighborhoods when we go to the city. Parking and getting out there on foot is such a great way to know an area better.

Now about the Nordstrom Sale. Honestly it’s pushed so hard by everyone, I am sometimes a bit reticent to even mention it, but as a former Nordstrom employee I know there are some good things to be had. It’s changed a lot over the years. It was originally begun as a way to sell things during the dog days of summer when retail was VERRRY slow, and people wen’t shopping all the time, as they seem to now.

My personal tips for the Nordstrom Anniversary sale..

–Look first at what your wardrobe and if you can clean it out during summer and see what is missing – And what you keep buying that you need to stop buying!Think about it a bit and you shop smarter.

-If you can get to the store even better. They have a lot that is never listed on the sale. They also have most of the summer stuff marked down and on sale racks.

-It’s the middle of summer, but do you need another pair of booties? If you’ve put them away for the summer, maybe pull out the boots. You may have forgotten what you own. Last year I bought two pairs of booties only to realize I had two similar pairs. Take stock before you buy.

–My top things to buy at this sale are outerwear, jackets and jeans.

–Underwear is a good buy, but the bras I’ve bought always seem to be off. I’ve repeatedly bought my favorite bras on the sale, only to have them arrive and fit and cut seem off. It makes me wonder if the ‘sale’ versions are seconds. I can’t recommend the bras from my own experience.

–Cosmetics can be a good if you need a new regimen or a great gift sets.

-Ask yourself before you buy anything- would you buy this if it was not on sale?

Below are my choices of some chic classics from the sale that every closet can use..

Top of my list are this blazer by Zadig & Voltaire – a cool classic piece with a bit of rock & roll to it with the stars on the shoulder, (also this one with a skull on the back ), these Rag & Bone Boyfriend jeans -which can work for summer too and booties later, with the crop hem, this Bernardo wool coat, this Vince Chunky Wool Blend Sweater, this quilted double-breasted Ralph Lauren coat, this Claire V. Simple Tote ( I bought one at last year’s sale in green leopard), this Gorjana Coin Pendant necklace, the Simplehuman 5x Sensor Mirror (I bought this last year and I don’t know how I lived without it ), this classic and understated pebbled crossbody wallet bag from Tory Burch, and this convertible one, this cute Kurt Geiger Straw Tote is a great buy at $89, these Blondo Waterproof Slip-ons will be wonderful for winter in house and out, and I always get a few of my favorite Natori Bliss Perfection underwear.

And all the beauty special deals here– so much this year!

I plan on doing a big closet purge next week so I’ll post about it soon, and my skincare favorites I’ve been using this summer.

One other thing I wanted to share is a great recipe for making your own falafel. Max did it last weekend and it was so delicious. It was worth the extra work- making them from scratch. The key is not using can chickpeas and soaking them overnight. The falafels were amazing with fresh cucumber from my dad’s garden and tomatoes from our farmer’s market. Recipe here from Once Upon a Chef. Jenn’s recipes are always so good!

I’m hoping to do a day trip to Carmel this weekend – another summer bucket list item, in between swatting flies.

Happy Weekend!

Kim

For those who want to subscribe and get my posts in a weekly email go to this link.

Links may sometimes generate a small commission. Thank you for supporting the blog.

On my Radar…A SF Hotel, Labor Day Ideas, Fall Fashion & More.

By 21 Comments

I have been wanting to share a some fun things so I thought I’d chuck a few things in a post for you to check out over the long weekend when you have time to peruse the web. Also some eye candy for you design lovers..

First this amazing hotel by my favorite designer and visionary Kelly Wearstler. How gorgeous is this Proper Hotel? It occupies a beautifully restored flatiron building in San Francisco’s Mid-Market area. The interiors are stunning and every detail is beautiful from the rooms to each restaurant space. I can’t wait to visit and have a cocktail on the rooftop bar! Below a peak of some of the beautiful…

The Proper has some fun happenings like wine maker dinners, afternoon high teas, brunches and this Sunday they have a Downton Abbey Tea 2-5. Link here for more info on events, including The Proper in Santa Monica, another gorgeous property. They are currently building sister hotels in Los Angeles, Austin, and have dream home for rent on Carbon Beach in Malibu.

One really nice thing is Proper Hotels are committed to giving back 1% of their money to uplift and support the surrounding community. Here is what they have already done.

It’s all in the details people!

Many different room types… I love the bunk room. Reminds me of a train berth and each bed has it’s own lamp, plugs and tv. Might be perfect if you are traveling with your kids- or just a friend. Better than sharing a bed!

La Bande is their coffee bar and aperitif spot. What a great spot to grab a piece of sourdough toast and an espresso or an aperitif at night with friends. This hotel is just steps from the Civic Center BART. I adore the art deco look in here.

The rooftop bar and craft drinks are at Charmaine’s. So lovely…

Hopefully I’ll get there in person soon and give you a full report!

In other cool news…

This is a fun little travelogue of Carmel and Big Sur by a swimwear designer who summers there in Vogue.

The designer, Lisa Moore’s collection of swimwear and coverups is called Cover for women, kids, babies and men too. Makes me want one of those cool bodysuits for the beach. Great idea when sunscreen is even questionable now and super stylish as well.

I don’t know if I wrote about these Everlane sandals in my last post with my poncho, but they are my go to sandal for transitioning into a California fall with their black leather. They are a great buy at $47 right now, made in Italy, gorgeous quality and kind of different from the usual flip-flop or flat. I’m obsessed with Everlane, which is doing things right. They are trying to create beautiful pieces, not trendy clothes that are made ethically at the finest factories in the world. They don’t believe in big mark-ups as usual retail does. So far their quality and company has exceeded expectations- AND they are a San Francisco Company! Love it.

Have you had time for books this summer? As usual I am reading more than one and dividing my time between them all. I found Chanel’s Riviera on my trip to London and it’s been diverting as it is educating. Check it out if you are into travel, history, fashion and France.

If you are a Francophile like myself, you might be interested in something my friend Erin just sent me a link to, The Oui Box. It’s one of those subscription box things and this is all French products. You can do it one time or bi-monthly, or annually. What a fun gift idea for a friend adores France too! I am tempted to try just one and see how much I like it.

The internet is crazy this week with this pic of Katie Holmes with a cardigan and her matching cashmere bra that was exposed. They say this is the modern version of a twinset! I do love her style and I love a cardigan worn as a sweater alone, not sure I could rock the bra. This looks like a very luxe knit which is from Khaite, a brand I did not know of, but has some beautiful and unique clothes. You can check out her luxury cardigan and more on their site. She looks like she’s living her best life and I’d say not missing Tom Cruise…I also love her simple look here of straight leg jeans and slides. So basic and classic, yet very modern and chic and a good inspiration to base your fall look on -sans exposed bra perhaps?

Speaking of brands I am just getting familiar with, Doen is another I am obsessed with. It’s a California company that creates lovely pieces with a nod to vintage California style and based in Santa Barbara. I am in LOVE with this Alda dress. I am going to write another post soon about the longer dress trend which was fully embraced by Londoners on my trip. It’s inspired me to look for one I can wear this fall with boots, like the beauty above.

On that spendy note, have you heard about Second Hand September? Ox-Fam is promoting this and it is to get people to pledge to buy upcycled and second hand items all through the month of September, a usually high shopping time. Do you know 11 million items end up in the landfill every WEEK! I think this is worth doing for 30 days. I am thinking of trying this with clothing, as I still am needing house things with the move.

I know how many cool finds are at Crossroads and other second-hand shops and it would give me pause before going fully into fall shopping and thinking more about what I really could use and what I may be able to find second hand. Worthwhile doing if you are one who gets caught up in buying for the new season. I will report back on how this goes..

Some things to think on.

Wishing you a great Labor Day. It’s so nice to have that extra day off isn’t it? I already feel relaxed! We will be celebrating our 23rd wedding anniversary by doing dinner with some dear friends. We are also hoping to take the family on a day trip to Santa Cruz or Carmel and do a beach walk and lunch if we can rally the troops.

More things to do in the Bay Area for Labor Day Weekend, like the Rose Soiree, on my pal Suzanne Adam’s blog.

I shared that on my Northern Cal Style Facebook page, along with other happenings and fun links, and all my posts, so follow if you haven’t already!

Posts coming soon on the second leg of my London trip, a Seattle getaway, and yes the house remodel! That’s a pic of my new entrance and door from my Instagram. Can’t wait to show you all of it. It’s nearly all finished.

I’d love to hear what are your plans or traditions for this end of summer. Are you at home relaxing or getting away for a last weekend of summer?

Whatever you do, enjoy the weekend friends!

Kim

Photos of the Proper courtesy of the hotel site.

Copyright © 2023 · Northern California Style· Blog Design by Little Blue Deer