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

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