#markdsikes Archives - Northern California Style

It’s time for our Weekend Meanderings with Elizabeth and Juliet ! It’s been a week so this extra holiday weekend is much needed by all here in America I think.. We are heading to Tahoe for a few days and I hope we will to get some quality nature and family time in and if I’m lucky some reading by the lake..

A few good things this week..

Nancy Meyer’s Home Remodel in AD

I was very excited to hear Nancy Meyer’s own Provençal style Los Angeles home was going to be featured in Architectural Digest this month after my Instagram friend in the Netherlands alerted me. Thanks Sally!

This article delivered with many beautiful photos of the home and Nancy herself. In the article Nancy tells how once she was an empty nester in the house where she raised her daughters, she felt it was too large, so began building a smaller replica of her home next door. In the interim two years while it was being built, she had fun changing up the original with paint and little tweaks, and fell back in love with it, stayed and sold the new build. The California classicist, Mark D. Sikes did the design with her and there is more about how they worked together in the July issue of the magazine.

You could say her style is California elegant- lots of white, punctuated natural elements like rattan, a little black here and there, stacks of books, pretty pillows, lovely pieces of art, and fresh flowers. This is good living at it’s best and her interiors always look comfortable and inviting! I’m all for this kind of style that’s homey more than showy.

Are you a Nancy Meyer’s fan? If so I am interested to know what’s your favorite film or interior? My favorite is It’s Complicated, and the Santa Barbara home of the baker heroine played by Meryl Streep. The whole article and all the photos online here or in the July issue of AD.

Wimbledon Chat

Are you glued to the television like we are during Wimbledon? I have been trying to limit myself to one match a day, sometimes I record it and watch in the evening. I’m rooting for all the young players who are making it up the ranks. Emma Raducanu who won the French Open is one of my favorites.. How do you like her $37,000 worth of pearls and diamonds she is wearing? Apparently she is sponsored by Tiffany! I just wonder how much sun and sweat those kind of pearls can take?

Also loving Coco Gaufe and I am a fan of Tsitsipas only because he looks like my teen crush Bjorn Borg who adorned my teenager walls.

Vogue has a fun piece with the best on court looks at Wimbledon over the years. You know they are very strict still and you are supposed to wear white and only white, no exceptions, and no accents! They still ask people to change clothes. Some of my favorites from the article.

Lunch date in Danville

Last Friday I met Juliet for a working lunch and a little shopping. I hadn’t been to Danville in about twenty years and it has changed a lot. The little downtown is very charming and there are many sweet shops and restaurants. We stopped in two of them, Eye for Pretty a wonderful home shop, and Flaunt, that has home and beautiful clothing. Flaunt is owned by Ashley, who writes the fun blog, Modern Glam Home. Both are great shops and Juliet and I were dying over so many things..

Juliet at Eye for Pretty, above

Flaunt below .. I loved this dress on Juliet in the blue stripe with little lemons. It was made for our Ms Spritzer..and she looks good in everything !

Juliet made us reservations at the cutest restaurant, Locando Ravello, where I had caprese salad and she had a chicken parmigiana.. I highly recommend the very authentic and delicious Italian food here. Normally you’d want to sit outdoors in the cute patio, but that day was nearly 100, so we opted for inside.I plan on coming back here with Max some summer evening.

I loved the blue decor, which reminded me of Sorrento. The caprese dish was so delicious, it inspired me to recreate it in a small version on our Travel Inspired Appetizers, earlier this week, in case you missed it.

Serena & Lily Sale

I know I have mentioned Serena & Lily sales before, but I get a lot of inquiries about my house things like my Montara Mirror below, and I like to let people know when their things go on sale. Right now the entire site is 20% off – use code SPLASH.

It’s also a great time to get their towels which I love, and I am seriously considering three of these Headlands Pendants for above my kitchen island. My current ones are no longer functioning, and these have a pretty look and decent price too..

From the S&L website.. I kind of love this look..

The Serena & Lily sale ends on July 5th.

Our rights…

Thanks to all who read and left messages, many very personal about the overturning of Roe last week. I was so moved by the comments and some private messages, which I will share on stories. I am collecting them all. Women amaze me, what we go through in our lives with pregnancies, births, and also those living with the trauma of sexual assault..

More of us than not, have had struggles with all of these things and yet we are stoic. So many move through life and others don’t even know what scars we are carrying. It blows me away the bravery and toughness of women and the selflessness. That’s one reason why taking the right to decide what happens to our own bodies and consequently, our lives, for half the nation is beyond cruel.

This article about the participants of a years long landmark study was a shocking and sad comparison of what the lives were like in later years for the women who were denied abortion, compared to those who were not.

Amy Odell’s Back Row ( an excellent blog) this week, exposed the hypocrisy by some companies who say they’ll support women needing abortion help, and yet have money going to PACs that support lawmakers who have be vocally opposed to Roe.

An article we all need to read on Global Citizen- ‘What happens in nations where abortion is banned? Lessons from around the world.’

This page has all the abortion funds in the United States by area, so you can choose to help a fund near to your home, or perhaps one that needs more support.

Well that’s my meanderings for this week. Please stop by Elizabeth and Juliet’s blogs and see what’s on their minds this week..

PINECONES AND ACORNS

MAKE MINE A SPRITZER

Thank you for being here.

Kim

If you missed last weeks meanderings, living like an Italian, California casual dresses, a day trip in Aptos, a cite Santa Cruz cottage for sale and more here.

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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 your week has been good. Here’s what’s been filling my head..

I’ve been working on my Easter table for our brunch and finally got my flowers. Now I have to iron the napkins and arrange the bowl of flowers that I just plopped in the center. I snapped a pic as it is now to share.

Since it’s just four of us this year with my oldest and my dad, we are having fun and making Hawaiian pancakes, a fruit salad and a few other simple things for our late morning brunch. I have been craving coconut pancakes that we had in Hawaii, so for a change we are giving that a go. Maybe we’ll take a walk after or play a game. I want things to be relaxed and fun, and I’m not stressing myself about any of it.

I used my mom’s vintage Spode dishes, this tablecloth, my Anthro pink champagne coupes (thank you Ani), and gold flatware (this beautiful set is what I’m going to upgrade to), and an assortment of vases and pitchers with rattan. I can’t remember where I got my bunny!

My dear grandma Jody always made a labor intensive Easter coconut bunny cake, from my generation to my boys. Grandma loved Easter and brunch and we always had a very special hunt at her house. She liked us all dressed up in our Easter best.. I love this photo of her with her kids, my dad, uncle and auntie at Easter in the 1950’s, and this with my sons when they were small.

I’ll be thinking of my mom and grandma so much this weekend.

Mark D. Sikes for Anthropologie

I’ve been waiting every week for the Mark D. Sikes collection for Anthropologie to arrive. I had seen a few pieces of it trickle into my local store, but I was awaiting the full collection to drop to share it on here and it’s quite lovely. If you are a fan of Mark, his ‘Beautiful’ books and the color blue, you won’t be disappointed. Mark named the collection after his darling dog Poppy.

My picks of all the pretty offerings ..

blue floral runner/floral dishes/ lamp/ dining chair/ modular chair/blue floral plates/blue ottoman.

A few things I also like that were added to the collection after I made this collage are this blanket, which would be fantastic at the end of a bed or over a couch to curl up with at night, the napkins and rings, and stemless wine glasses .

Much more than I can share in this spot, see the whole Mark D. Sikes collection here. If you are unfamiliar with Mark, his latest book, More Beautiful is a good one. I also love his Instagram account. He’s a true gentleman and has old school taste and class.

Liberty London x J.Crew Home Collaboration

I’m a huge fan of Liberty of London the exclusive and historic London department store and textile maker. Liberty has been making their own printed fabrics since the 1800’s and their florals are especially famous. My first Liberty purchase was a set of sheets and they are still the nicest ones I own, so I was excited to see this Liberty home collaboration with J. Crew. Now we can get their beautiful sheets and fabrics without traveling to London.

I am sort of disappointed they do not carry the sheets in California King, but I am going to go with a King Duvet and make it work. I just can’t decide which print to choose. There are also tablecloths and placemats, and napkins . All the collection here, which will no doubt go fast.

White Jeans for Spring

Speaking of J. Crew, I had the chance to run to the mall this week and thought I’d try all the J. Crew white jeans on and see if any work. To me this was this jean was the winner, not too tight, perfect thickness of fabric and a mid rise at 9′ inches and hits just above the ankle. They did not have my size in Petite so I just ordered a pair and will report back. Love the raw edge and the demi-boot shape of these.. They also have this in a light blue wash. Note that this jean runs small, so size up if you’re between sizes.

What’s on your California Playlist?

DO you listen to Forum on KQED? This week they had a great show about the California soundtrack. It’s a fun episode with people calling in and giving their personal stories of how a song became special to them or marked a certain time in their lives and you can listen here. On the show they also shared that the New York Time’s crowdsourced list of the songs that represent living in the Golden State here. Once I began looking Spotify had many labeled NYTimes California Playlist, but this is the original and it’s up to 200 songs!

As a native Californian, so many California songs touch me. The top ones are ‘California Dreaming’ by the Mammas and Papas, ‘San Francisco, (Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair)’ by Scott McKenzie, and ‘Lights’ by Journey and all the Beach Boy songs. I would love to hear what yours are!

What to watch- First Ladies

Next up on my watch list is this new series from Showtime, First Ladies. Starring Viola Davis as Michelle Obama, Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford and Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt, this anthology series goes deeper into their lives and struggles. You can watch the trailer below. Looking forward to knowing more about three amazing American women.

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 a good Easter, Passover or Ramadan if you celebrate.

Thank you for being here!

Kim

If you missed the last Weekend Meanderings, on pretty pillows, some cool slides for summer, walking the golden Gate Bridge and more you can catch that post here. I also posted my monthly Signature Style blog this week on what to wear to a wedding here.

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