#wovenbags Archives - Northern California Style

On this post, checking out the first Evereve store in Northern Cal, a vegan restaurant, toile pieces for spring, some beautiful woven bags, a book on J.Crew’s history, and more..

How’s your week been? I returned from a sunny three day getaway in the desert to see tennis at Indian Wells with friends and its was like being in summertime after this dark winter! We loved the two days and nights of tennis and even managed to sneak in a morning and lunch at the La Quinta Spa before we flew out on Saturday afternoon.. I updated my BNP blog with all the details if you want to know more about this tournament, the wonderful spa (like paradise), plus pics of some cute spectators we spotted with great style too.

I hated to leave and not to be negative, but time change has been a real bummer. Anyone else feeling the same? Both my husband and I said we felt a bit tired and off all week.. I do like the lighter nights though!

I noticed on one of those ‘On this day’ things that my wisteria was in full bloom this week last year. This year- not even a bloom! That never happens. I also usually have baby daffodils in my grandmother’s tureen in March and I couldn’t even find them anywhere. Settling for a green hosta plant for now.

My buried cabin!

You are all probably wondering why I never post about our Tahoe cabin, but sadly this year we haven’t had one weekend to go up there, that didn’t have the potential to be stuck up there with highway 80 closed. Another storm is coming Sunday. I am worried about the cabin, but we have two cameras and neighbors who live there full time that we are in touch with.

This is a photo on right, that the young guy Austin, who is digging the cabin out this week sent us. This is the front – you can barely see the top. .and we have at least 20 feet of snow and he is standing in the front yard.. And a previous year below left!

New places to check out in Palo Alto

On Thursday I met my pal Jeanne at Town & Country Palo Alto where we had lunch at a new vegan restaurant Wildseeds. It’s lovely inside and has a unique menu. We shared a mezze platter and I had a salad. She had the burger… A wonderful spot to try if you want to eat plant based beautiful food and drink. There is also one in San Francisco. This took the place of the Mayfield Cafe at T&C.

Afterward we checked out a new retail chain called Evereve. I had heard they have an eclectic collection of casual contemporary brands. This is their first outpost in Northern California and they have a huge emphasis on customer service and it shows. All the ladies there were wonderful and they have the prettiest changing rooms ever. If you are near Town & Country it’s worth checking them out!

They also have some of their own brand and I bought this white sweatshirt with the cutest sleeves…

I love sweatshirts so much lately. They are not as hot as sweaters, yet comfy and can be dressed up too. Evereve has quite the selection, which goes with their casual vibe. I also have my eye on this one and this one.

On my radar..

This COS toile dress popped up this week in an email and I clicked right away to COS which has a mini toile collection here. I love everything toile am glad to see it is having a resurgence. There are also shirts and a shirt dress and black toile pieces as well.

I just got Kingdom of Prep this week and was sucked in right away with the J. Crew’s origin story of how this small campus outfitter run by a father and daughter, became the first company to sell a lifestyle through its catalogue. In it are the stories of the struggles, backstories, and also the company’s visionaries like Jenna Lyons. Not forgotten are its phases through 90’s minimalism to outfitting Mrs. Obama to now. Really enjoying it! On that note, if you are a J.Crew fan going way back you might enjoy the Lost J.Crew Instagram, which is great inspiration from the company catalog 1983-1997, pre-internet age. I love it! Everything was simpler and looked so good.

Madewell has a gorgeous new woven leather bag collection. The green tote is a stunner and the perfect shade and the crossbody is a great piece, with a retro 80’s vibe in the blue and an assortment of other colors including the green. They are both 25% off now.

I love the brand Kule and they have a trench that is so darn cute -classic with a modern twist. Love the stripes on the belt and cuffs. With all the rain this year, I could use a trench coat that can stand up to the wet and look good thrown over jeans and a t-shirt. This is a bit of an investment, but a beautiful piece. Everyone needs a good trench. I also like this khaki classic single breasted look.

The 83 Year old Irish Knitting Sensation…

If you missed it there was a wonderful article in the NYTimes about Irish knitter Delia Barry who knit the sweaters for Colin Farrell in the Oscar nominated film, ‘The Banshees of Inisherin.’ She began knitting as a child and more recently in 2010 after her husband died. She studied 1920’s Irish Fisherman style sweater photos with a magnifying glass and made each sweater in a week. She has become something of an internet sensation on TikTok with young people trying to replicate her knitting designs which she does without patterns!

Have you seen this film? I sort of want to see it just for the beautiful setting..

Home Tour to inspire..

I need to get back to my California home of the week..In the meantime I found this home shared on The Sunday Times Living With Style section. The owner presenter Laura Jackson has a very personal and pretty home. Her kitchen is what made me share this. It’s everything I love down to the plants and drawers full of jammed un-ironed linens. This is the kind of home I adore..

This week Cindy Hattersley and I had our Signature Style posts and this month was Resort Wear. If you have a sunny getaway in your future check our posts out!

If you missed last weekend’s meander, I shared a block print dress for spring and travel that will be a go-to, a lipstick that helps the endangered species and is also a beautiful treat, the best tote organizer, a fun podcast and more..

Thanks for stopping by and have a happy weekend!

Kim

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

MAKE MINE A SPRITZER

PINECONES AND ACORNS

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It’s Weekend Meanderings time with Elizabeth and Juliet, and our chance to share some cool things that have come to our attention this week! I hope your week has been good. I’m on the mend from Covid, which I came down with on Easter.. Thankfully I tested before my dad popped over for Easter Brunch. I thought I had allergies! It’s smart to do a test if you’re gathering and feel as thought you have seasonal allergies..You never know right now.

Have you used table throws?

I was sad to take down my Easter table, but I had bought this Marrrakesh Embroidered Table Throw from Pottery Barn a few weeks ago, and was excited to use it. I love how the clementines and the wood bowl warm it up. Having a black table is nice, but sometimes I feel like a pop of bright.

Have you used table throws? I kind of like that they show some of the dining table and have a more casual feel than a full tablecloth. I can use them on my outside table too as they can go on any size which is convenient. Pottery Barn seems to have the best collection and about 18 of them here.

I really like the lovely embroidery on this one.

Earth Day

I love Earth Day and also this yearly reminder to try harder to do the right thing for the planet.

On 2020, I wrote a blog about the history of Earth Day on it’s 50th anniversary and its founder Gaylord Nelson, who has connections to my alma mater, San Jose State, and Wisconsin.

Read all about Earth Day, it’s history and more small ways to make a difference each day on my post here!

You can join in this weekend’s Earth Day events that are happening all over the Bay Area! I wish I could get to the Earth Day Festival in SF. This weekend there are clean up days, talks, fairs and celebrations here all detailed here.

If you can’t get to one, grab a bag pick up trash on your local beach or walk, start using your own shopping bags, water bottle and coffee mugs and say no to straws and plastic bags and bottles as much as you can! It’s the little things done by us all that make a difference. Buy used and upcycled and less and better quality when you shop.

Straw Totes

In the Earth Day mindset, I though sharing a few great woven market totes might be in order. During the pandemic a lot of us fell out of our wonderful habit of carrying reusable bags to shop. People got weird about it, and frankly there never was a lot of proof that Covid was carried by bags at all, but at the beginning we didn’t know did we? Can we all please go back to bringing our bags? That made a HUGE impact on the earth.

A great idea is to use a cute market bag as your purse. I did this all last summer with this inexpensive woven tote, just like the French women do. I lined the bottom of it with a few of my favorite nylon shopping bags folded up, and voila, I always have shopping options. If the tote can’t fit all my groceries, the bags in the bottom will.

I use mine for travel, tennis and as my handbag. Great for a day out at the Farmer’s Market too. They come in so many sizes. Choose a one that will work for your budget, but also that you feel comfy to carry on a daily basis.

The straw bag has style cred and the girls carrying one that costs $20 are as equally chic as Gucci logo one in my opinion. Have fun and personalize it with a scarf or a tassel if you want. For the big open totes, I throw my wallet and keys in a zipper pouch and toss in. Some of these have pouches that come with them or fabric inserts that tie on top if you like…

Here’s a few that I thought were lovely..

Just like my collection of white shirts, I think it’s kind of nice to also have a little collection of straw bags. Look at this great display of my Instagram pal, La Dolfina’s home. She has a vintage shelf ( maybe from a department store) and her bag collection! Some gems in there. She’s one of my favorite antique hunter/collectors and her account is here.

And don’t forget our friend Contessa and her fab collection of totes that go with her caftans we shared on this post. By the way, she’s in the caftan business now and is selling beautiful monogrammed ones! Go check out her site and see before they are gone on this post.

White Shirt Foundations..

If you caught post this week about my love for white shirts, someone asked what to wear under them. A good skin-toned bra is ideal and is okay if it shows a little, depending on your comfort. Getting a bra as close to your natural skin is the best and my favorite that has support, and a lot of comfort and a nice smoothing back is this Wacoal Bra, below. This option by Chantelle is also highly rated for under t-shirts and things and this by Spanx has more skin tone colors.

If your white shirt is extra light and sheer, you can opt for a silky camisole, or a thin white tank or in something like a slub cotton for comfort and breathability. They are an important wardrobe staple you can layer. This from Banana Republic is the softest tank, not tight, and just the right length and weight for layering under something and comes in more colors. Hanro also makes excellent pieces and has this cotton seamless tank and this cotton v-neck camisole. All three below…

A new fish taco recipe

Looking for something fresh to cook? Well this week Max has done all the cooking and always loves trying new things. Today he made the best fish tacos from Once Upon a Chef, one of our go-to cookbooks. This recipe is totally different to us. He made a delicious crema for it and also pickled his own onions for it, which made it outstanding. He bought fresh cod and we thought this is one for our regular rotation – and so colorful!

The recipe is not on her site, so I am sharing here. Find the recipe in her book, Weeknight/Weekend.

Many more wonderful recipes on her website.

National Parks on Netflix

Have you seen the new Netflix series, Our Great National Parks? It’s produced and narrated by former President Obama and the first episode takes place in Indonesia, where Obama’s mother moved them for a few years the he was young. It’s so good and I can’t recommend it enough. Our world is unbelievable.

Guncle

If you’re looking for a new book that’s funny as well as heartwarming, read The Guncle! It’s the story of a gay uncle who is a former sitcom star living in Palm Springs who ends up caring full time for his young niece and nephew. The dialogue is hilarious and he is a fantastic character. I really am enjoying it.

I’ve been on the mend from Covid, but improving every day. I just feel fortunate to have not gotten this for almost two years, and now with the vaccine and booster it’s bearable. I have had three days where I took Advil for aches and fever and sore throat. I drank many mugs of tea with fresh yard lemons and honey and lots of chicken soup. I also sat in the sun as much as I could. I hope you are all staying well!

Well that’s my meanderings for this week now please pop over and see what great ideas my friends Elizabeth and Juliet have for you…I’m always learning so much from those two!

PINECONES AND ACORNS

MAKE MINE A SPRITZER

Wishing you all a beautiful weekend.

Thank you for being here!

Kim

If you missed last week’s post with the Mark D. Sikes collaboration with Anthro, Liberty x J. Crew home collection and a great California playlist, and more- find that 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!