candy girl.

anyone who knows me well also knows that i am a FIEND for cotton candy. (in fact, a good friend even gave me a cotton candy machine for my birthday this year! *squee*)

i was surfing retronaut the other day and found these FANTASTIC photos by nina leen, one of life magazine's first female photojournalists.

i am most definitely going to have to print the whole series and put it up in the house somewhere.


















and here's one bonus picture for you. AMAZING, right?

paul mccartney and stella mccartney eating cotton candy at the
barnum & bailey circus at madison square garden, 1974.

wishing all of my readers lots of cotton candy fun today!

local inspiration.

it's really hard not to appreciate living in this amazing place. i am convinced that you would actually have to work hard to hate it.

san francisco is filled to the brim with things that inspire. i'm trying my best to get back to decorating the house (i've obviously lost some steam of late) and, while i have no current plans to paint the exterior, i still can't help but be excited and and influenced by all of the beauties i pass every day!

here are two of my all-time favorites - they make me smile. and they remind me to think of my home, and everything in it, as a way to create joy. huzzah for exuberance!

this is the "rainbow house" on clipper street (#521, for locals) in noe valley. (photo courtesy of pj taylor)

and an amazing one from my old neighborhood: the old vedanta temple in cow hollow (webster @ filbert, for those of you who'd like to walk by). it was built in 1905 as the first hindu temple in the u.s. and is still in use. pictures from then and now.

and the view on filbert street. (photo courtesy of patrick boury.)

more on it's fascinating history here and here...

what's currently inspiring you?

me an' mah baby.

i heart my house! (and ace hardware!)

just sent to me by a friend. i love this photo!

and, ladies, remember, when headed to the hardware store it never hurts to put a little extra effort into your outfit. much better service...

jen xx

the first time....

"can you tell from the look on my face that i... love you more TODAAAAAY..."

one year ago today i walked into this house for the first time. i didn't know it at the time, but i had finally come home.

this year has been a whirlwind - and rather like falling in love. joy, doubt, fear, butterflies, and hard work. and i wouldn't trade a single second.

here's a quick look back at that first day. these are the photos i took at the open house (click the photo to see a larger version). and click here for an intro to this crazy project.

we've certainly come a long way!
(top row, l-r) entrance, downstairs hallway, formal dining room, living room

(2nd row, l-r) downstairs (illegal) bathroom, kitchen, view of city hall from kitchen, upstairs hallway

(3rd row, l-r) master bedroom, master - 2 closets. w00t!, view from master (you can see the bay!), guest bedroom

(4th row, l-r) upstairs bathroom, office, view from office, backyard

(last row, l-r) backyard, backyard entrance to basement, basement

"although sometime has passed
i still remember just like it was yesterday.
the time is moving fast.
the love i have for you
time won't ever change -
i'll always feel the same
now until the end..."

hearts and hearts and hearts and hearts...

the fabulous ally at From The Right Bank has issued her annual “What’s Your Style in One Picture Challenge”. i remember reading about it last year - in the throws of trying to find my very own home - and thinking "what, exactly, IS my style? well, i'd better figure it out fast!"

thankfully it wasn't hard. my house style is pretty much the same as my closet style - whimsical, colorful, eclectic, and fun. oh, and sexy. of course. ;)

there are so many great designers at work these days that fit that description - so many that my virtual style files are bursting at the seams! but, somehow, i can't help but come back to this photo again and again. anne coyle, you are a glamour genius!


hope you enjoy it! so what's your style in one picture?



"beauty's where you find it."

i want cake!

while most of you follow this blog to see what i'm up to on the home front, some of you know that one of my other creative outlets is cake making. i'm not a professional, so this is just a hobby that happens a few times a year, but i really do enjoy it.

all of these cakes are made with one of my very best friends, sarah, who will be leaving with her husband and 3-year-old twins to travel the world for a year. in honor of her husband's birthday, and their trip, we made a cake to celebrate.

the cake is topped with edible likenesses of the girls (though they insisted "don't cut me!" and "please, mommy, don't let anyone EAT me!") and a *very* inaccurate map of the world showing some of their planned stops. (one friend remarked "i'm not great with geography, but WHAT PLANET is that?" haha.)

for those of you who are interested, here are a few (crappy cell phone) photos i took while we made and served the cake.

covering the ugly (and delicious) thing with blue and white marbled fondant.

add partial continents and flags (that's the old vietnamese flag, nguyễn dfynasty/ pre-communism, on the top right for those of you who aren't familiar.)

serving to many appreciative little people.

happy kids.
and a happy gracie.

OMG!

some of you may have seen this san francisco toothpick carnival (i'd never even HEARD of toothpick carnivals before this) on apartment therapy today, but here it is in action.

this is one of THE COOLEST things i have ever seen. scott weaver, thank you for your genius.

it's like the "wild kingdom" up in here!

wasn't that an amazing show? ah, the memories... i love me some tivo but sometimes i long for the days when the whole family would gather together to watch an amazing program together. it was pretty special.

anyway... i'm at home tonight working on some errands to prepare for the weekend and, a few minutes ago, i was about to go outside when i noticed a HUH-YOUGE cat sitting on the fence. i thought maybe it was this little guy's momma - but it turned around to look at me and...

SWEET BABY CHEESUS, THAT AIN'T NO KITTY CAT!

it is a ginormous, well-fed raccoon. seriously, WHAT is it with this house?! our wildlife (like bob the rat) grows to unbelievable proportions!

he's pretty cute though. if i didn't know he would bite and scratch me (seriously, doesn't it look like he's saying "b*tch, i will CUT you!"?), i would want to hug him!

and, while i was up in my library (i'm SO hoity-toity) watching him, i noticed how lovely the view is tonight. thought you might enjoy sharing it with me. *wink wink*

check ME out! i'm on brooklyn limestone!

how very exciting! i've been an avid follower (along with thousands of other folks) of "a brooklyn limestone in progress" since stumbling upon it a year ago - just when i was starting to daydream about how this old house would take shape.

aside from being insanely talented (seriously, check out her before-and-afters on apartment therapy), stefanie, the author of brooklyn limestone, is so lovely and gracious with her feedback and time.

today i am thrilled to be included on her blog, filling in as a guest poster while she is away on yet another glamorous trip.

please stop by and check out my post -- and leave a comment so she'll consider having me back!

jen x

well, what do we have here?!

came home on sunday from a FUN girls' weekend with my mom (facials, massages, shopping, dinner on the town) loaded up with new flowers for the yard (YAY). as i was heading out back to put them in a nice sunny spot, something gray and fuzzy caught my eye.

this is, generally, cause for alarm in my house, as our vines are the secret hiding place of bob - the biggest rat i have ever seen in my life. (seriously, he's the size of a chihuahua and totally unafraid of us).

luckily for me this time it was a kitten!

he ran for one quick second but, upon hearing my friendly (and sultry - i assure you) voice, he came running. he's quite the little loverboy! i'm really hoping he comes back soon but, in the meantime, here are some photos.




are you in love yet?

iceland again.

if you read this the first time around, go ahead and give it a skip.

i was reading more about the motherland, and eyjafjallajokull volcano today (fascinating, right), when i thought to myself that it might be a good idea to remind my readers (all two of you) that iceland isn't so bad!

so, here again is the post i put together after christmas in iceland, meeting the fam!

me at the blue lagoon. the colors were indescribable!

i know that this blog is supposed to be about the process of renovating and decorating the house, but i still thought it relevant to include a post about my trip to iceland last month. after all, each place that we go leaves an indelible impression upon us and changes us - which ultimately influences how we live. for me iceland was about the colors, the simple and modern interiors, and all of the fabulous art.

street art in reykjavik. i heart graffiti.

some of you will undoubtedly ask "WHY ICELAND? and why iceland in the MIDDLE OF WINTER?!" well, it's simple really. my grandmother was from a small town in the north of iceland, akureyri (note: this is the 2nd largest city in the country at 17 thousand people. a HUGE portion of the population, 200k+ out of 300, lives in reykjavik).

my grandfather met her when he was stationed in iceland during WWII - and she broke off her engagement with some poor local boy to run off to the u.s. and marry this tall, handsome american boy.

the fjörds of akureyri, where my grandmother was from.

akureyri architecture - surprisingly like home!

i'd never visited but my dad and i had talked about it for years as he had not been either. and so, when he saw a great deal in one of his travel newsletters, we leapt at the chance. and i then got in touch with my family there (not hard since we are actually in almost daily contact despite the fact that we'd never visited) and made plans to meet them all.

we flew in for a very short trip - just 6 days because i have taken so much time off this year to deal with the house, and had a fantastic time.

perpetual dusk in the wintertime - great since it's my favorite time of day!

iceland LOVES christmas.

meeting my family was a memory i will treasure forever. i was the only non blue-eyed person there (my mother is from taiwan, my father met her when he was stationed there during the vietnam war), but i felt like i fit right in. i saw my freckles, i heard my laugh, and felt my grandmother's spirit in them all.

my family (and me looking, and feeling, like a drowned rat!)

what struck me, too, wass how big a part of the culture art, in all its forms, is with icelanders. from food to sculpture to street art to fashion - iceland is at the cutting edge of it all. you can't walk through reykjavik, in particular, without noticing.

SWOON! local fashion is gorgeous (and expensive- these were over $600 u.s.)!

bronze statues in reykjavik's town center.

tasted as good as it looked!

there's so much to see in iceland and the people are so warm and lovely - there's no doubt that i will return.

enjoying our favorite pastime.

one too many for dad?

i hope you've enjoyed "getting away from it all" with me, even for a few minutes! i've kept this VERY brief, but will write more if you all seem interested - it's a fascinating place.

jen x

me and dad at gullfoss.

and one of my favorite songs from "cousin" björk for your entertainment: