Special Orders at Breakneck Speed

Phew! This week has been a very busy one, with special orders and customers wanting the capes for Halloween. I sold four of the ones that I made ahead of time and the above one was a special order. I was proud of myself with this order, because I got started on it early in the morning. I cut, sewed and shipped it out by 4:00pm that afternoon. I like how this customer let her daughter choose the lining. So cute that she liked the little wolf heads. I then had a special order for the little hat with ears that was shipped to Canada, but the one above, is one I just finished for a friend to give to an expectant mom. I'll be making more of these for the holiday season.  As far as the capes go, I have two left with the cute Japanese fabric, both in the combo size of 2/3.  I might make up just one more in the 4/5, not sure yet, but they can be special ordered.
On Thursday I took a break and headed into Berkeley to get some more fabric and supplies, that is always so much fun! It was such a beautiful fall day, and it was so nice to take a break and just wander around.
This weekend we plan on going to a polenta feed. I've been to crab feeds but this will be a first. I sure hope the traffic isn't snarled up to kingdom come though, since BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) is on strike!  As I type this, I just heard on the news that they may come to some agreement by 10:00 tonight. Yeah, right! I'm not holding my breath.
David is doing a charity hike on Saturday for a really good organization called Shelter Inc. This organization will help people get on their feet if they have a crisis and can't pay their rent. They want to help people before they fall behind on their bills to avoid becoming homeless. I think it is such a good organization. If you are a long time reader you will recall he did one a couple years back. That  hike was at the Grand Canyon. This year it is in our own back yard so to speak, so it makes it handy.

Still working on the guest room. The bed was purchased last weekend and all set up. I still need to get something up on the walls and sort through a bit of things Caitlin wants to store, but it's coming along  and I will show you as soon as it looks more presentable.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Last Sunday Was a Fun Day

This past Sunday Nicole invited Caitlin and I to the Vintage Expo in San Francisco. So much eye candy that it became overwhelming! There were a couple of booths that I spent a lot of time in, one being........
The button lady's booth. Everyone kept calling her that, so that is what I will call her on here. Nicole was there the day before and had lots of fun buying buttons for a collection she is working on at the moment, so she knew the merchandise well, and helped me navigate some of the boxes.
Looks like she found some more :)


I was sad that I didn't take many shots of the place, but some of the vendors seemed kinda put off by photos being taken of their booths. The button lady loved Nicole, so she said she would let me, but had turned down several others that day.
These buttons pictured were from another booth that I think was my very favorite there. It had all vintage notions and patterns. I think I could have been happy if I stayed there the whole afternoon!
The little blue bird buttons are glass, and I just love the shell buttons shaped like flowers.
The crochet lace on the far left is all hand done, and from Ireland.
How cute are these patterns?!
I also bought an adorable vintage toddler dress, but I want to wash and press it before I show and tell. It looks like it would be perfect to wear for a birthday party or easter. I promise I will show you, but like I said, it needs a little bath and a press.

I hope to incorporate some of the darling vintage buttons in the clothing I'm making, to give the pieces that little something special.

I cut out a darling little dress today, that I will begin sewing on tomorrow. I wish I could work faster than I have been lately, but darn it, so many things getting in the way.

Hopefully I will have enough to open up very soon.

Thomas Keller

Last night some good friends and I went to "a conversation with" Thomas Keller. Yes, that Thomas Keller, of French Laundry, Bouchon, and Ad Hoc. I was a bit star struck I must say! We went to French Laundry back in 2008 for our 25th wedding anniversary, and it was everything they say it is. Very memorable and simply sublime.

I loved the other two books that he wrote, or had a hand in, but I found them to be gorgeous eye candy, and I couldn't justify buying them for a couple reasons, the first one being that they were not recipes, that I could execute at home (the French Laundry one) and two, the Bouchon cookbook, had many recipes, that I already have at home from French cookbooks that I bought while living in France. Then came this one above, "ad hoc." I hadn't planned on buying it, but when my friend asked me if I wanted to go to this, I decided to look up the book and read the reviews. They were very good, and I decided to throw caution into the wind and order it on Amazon. Upon receiving it, I immediately poured through it, and decided that I wanted to make several recipes just by glancing at them. ad hoc , the restaurant, is in Yountville. I have been to both French Laundry and Bouchon Bistro, but I have not yet been to ad hoc. This restaurant is family style, meaning you eat what they are serving that night, no menu. We tried to get in once, when we happened to be over there, and could not get in, so I would love to try again some time. In the mean time, I can use this lovely new book and make some of the yummy things it has to offer.
While we waited they had a slide show of the food served in each of the restaurants, and photos of the interiors as well.
Sorry about the quality of the photo, I didn't bring my giant camera, because of everything else I had to carry. I really enjoyed the format of getting to know Thomas Keller. The man asking the questions was very engaging and brought out Thomas' more playful side. He talked about how he started out, his impressions on everything from buying local, to what it takes to be on top. Nothing stood out more than the story he told about his father, and why he signs the inside of the ad hoc cookbook with, " It's all about family."

His father came to live next door to him back in 2006. He then, shortly after, got in a horrible car accident that left him a quadriplegic.

One spring night, his father asked him to make him his favorite dinner, of barbecue chicken and mashed potatoes, followed by strawberry short cake. He recalled it being a very lovely evening, relaxing out side on the patio and enjoying dinner with his father and some company. The very next day, his father passed away. He said it had been a great honor to cook his father his last meal. That story really got to us! To read a bit more in depth about it, go here.
We stood in line for a bit, had a quick exchange of words with him,then he signed our books; It's all about family.......Thomas Keller.

Finally, a new library!!

I really like the town I live in, but it was really lacking one thing, a good library! After years and years of struggling to get this built, we finally have the library that this town deserves. The grand opening was yesterday, and we decided to go and take a look. We went from a 47 year old, 9,420 square foot library, to a state of the art, "green" built library of 42,000 square feet. It has a cafe even! The above photo isn't the best, because it is a very long building, and I couldn't get it all in, but you get the idea.
The artist that did this piece, spent nine hours putting in all those grey bound books, to reveal a librarian shushing people. The library site, had a time laps video of it being assembled, it was something else.

Lots more art work hanging about. This one has colorful bottles in it.
Wood sculpture
I loved this on the wall, near the kids area.
Children's reading room
Teen zone. The chairs look super comfy.....
I know where I might be killing some time this fall, right here in front of the fireplace.


Some nice details out side.

If you only knew how long it took to get this much needed library, you would know how excited I was.

Hope you liked the tour.

Bakesale Betty's

The line is always looks like this,when the doors open to Bakesale Betty's. Everyone knows in the Bay Area, this is just what you have to do to get that amazing chicken sandwich. Betty is an alum from Chez Panisse, and hails from Austrailia. She and her husband opened Bakesale Betty's in 2002. We missed out on this opening while living in France, and it took us a while to get the scoop on it. I think I went for the first time a couple years ago. Then I took my husband, and he was hooked too. Betty's portions are very generous, and while you are standing in this line, she sometimes comes out, wearing her bright blue wig, and hands out free baked goods while you wait. They are so efficient, that you don't stand in line for long. The reason you probably don't, is because there are only two to three choices of sandwiches, and as you are getting in the doors, you can ask for the baked good, while they grab your sandwich choice. I would say though that almost everyone is there for the chicken sandwich.
I'm at the end of the line in this picture.....
getting a bit closer, and it has only been about four min.
We are now in the door!! The sandwich will soon be ours!!
Cue hipster music, and this guys rocking out while they are making these extremely tasty sandwiches. They always have great music playing by the way.
I love how all the coleslaw juice is splattered all over the glass.
I can taste it now.....
We split this one, because last time I couldn't quite finish it, but I must say, that I could have eaten the whole thing this time. The chicken sandwich is a huge breast piece, that has been marinated, so it is very moist, then battered.The coleslaw is vinegar based and is spicy with jalapenos. Now, I normally do not eat fried foods or any thing breaded, but when something tastes like this, you just can't help it.
This is the seating you will find at BB, the bright colored ironing boards are all lined up along the sidewalk with the little stools. When the weather was as good as it was yesterday, it was a delight to sit out there.
This isn't the best picture of Betty's treats, but boy are they good. We had hoped to have one of the most popular desserts there, strawberry shortcake, but they sold out. There was a lady that had waited in line, got in, and was told they had sold out. Dejected, she walked out the door and broke the sad news to others in the line. There was a collective," Awww Man."

The other fun thing about going there, it that they are extremely generous with giving a lot of their baked goods away. On another visit, I ordered a couple of cookies and a sandwich, and when I opened the bag, there was a slice of banana bread and another cookie. Somedays, if they are really busy and selling out, you may not be as lucky.

I snapped this photo on my way out of all the beautiful Acme rolls they use. Acme is one of the best bread bakeries in the Bay Area, another alum from Chez Panisse opened this years ago.
As we were finishing our lunch this guy started setting up.......
Then his friends showed up. Fun music, pretty day, and excellent food!!

Checking out Mill Valley

Yesterday we hopped in the car and went to Mill Valley, in Marin county. I happened to hear that Tyler Florence opened up a kitchen store there, and after perusing the web site, I just had to go and tale a look at it.
There were so many cars whizzing by, that it was really difficult to take a good shot of the store front. I also brought the point and shoot and not the Nikon, so the photos aren't as good as they could be


We really had a good time looking at all the goodies in this store, it wasn't the run of the mill kitchen shop. What I liked about it was that it incorporated antiques and new things.
In the far back of the store, was a whole room filled with cookbooks and cozy chairs to sit in, along with a nice little fireplace. My idea of fun!
On this table, there were many items I wanted!!
Part of the really pretty window display.
We decided to walk around town and see what was new, as we haven't been to Mill Valley in years. Sad really, since it is a very short trip from where we live. I guess it is just one of those things that you take for granted living here in the Bay Area, with so much to see and do! These flowers were part of a cute little shop on the sidewalk.
The following are a few shots of the cozy little town itself.




After our nice little walk around town, it was almost time for our dinner reservations at the old "Lark Creek Inn" I say old, because they changed the whole concept of this restaurant, along with the name. It is now called "The Tavern" I was very sad that they (Bradley Ogden) changed the whole thing! The original design was so beautiful and dramatic, and now it seems kind of run of the mill. The food was good though, I must say. Luckily we have a "Lark Creek" restaurant in my town, just like it use to be.
Perhaps my dining experience was a bit skewed, since the previous night we went out to a very fancy dinner in the city. The restaurant was called " Quince." We had a gift certificate, and decided to give it a shot. It was a very gorgeous restaurant with impeccable service. Their web site is under construction, as they just recently moved, so if I linked it, you wouldn't get the full scope of how beautiful the restaurant is. You can google it though and hit images.

So.....this weekend has been a fun filled food weekend, and now I'm off to the store for dinner fixings. I'm making homemade chicken soup, with fresh pasta of course :)