Future Momo Jewelry

Palo Alto field trip

Went down with a friend to Palo Alto yesterday to do a little architecture walk and check out the Stanford Campus.  It had been supposed to rain all day, but we got lucky and it stayed dry all day.

We started out having breakfast at the Palo Alto Creamery, a 50s style diner.

Then we walked around downtown.  Saw a Julia Morgan building, Hostess House

And the Caltrain station, done in streamline moderne style

And then some great buildings along University Avenue...

The Stanford Theater

The Varsity Theater, most recently a Borders and now sadly empty

The courtyard of the Varsity theater

An awesome succulent wall - I want to do this at home!

The post office, in a really pretty Spanish Colonial style

And a Julia Morgan house
And a Bernard Maybeck house

Lately, I'm really into both Morgan and Maybeck buildings.  I don't get out of San Francisco very often, but luckily they both designed lots of places in SF and I'm slowly starting to see them and some out of the city as well.

A pretty Queen Anne mansion

A lovely courtyard on historic Ramona Street, a natioanl historic district with great Spanish Colonial buildings

Then we headed over to Stanford, where my friend went for grad school many years ago.  I had never been there and it's incredibly beautiful.

The entrance to the quad

There were fountains everywhere

Thomas Welton Art Gallery

Memorial Chapel

The campus is enormous and we were exhausted from the walk through downtown, so we checked out the bookstore, then went to the cute Coupa Cafe for a very late lunch.

It was a beautiful day and I'm so happy that I got to see Palo Alto with my friend, who lived there for a year.  He also had a great time and says he now sees all of these buildings that he knew with a new light. Can't wait for the next excursion! 

Muir Woods

I went with the honey to Muir Woods recently.  I still can't believe I had never been there!  We had actually tried to go several times during the summer, but it was always too crowded so we couldn't get in.  The great thing about Muir Woods is that it's close to San Francisco, but it's almost too close as it gets incredibly crowded. At any rate, we finally made it there and had a great morning walking around.

I liked how new growth was growing from a fallen tree.  Similar trees were all over the park




We went over to Pelican Inn for lunch, an adorable recreated English Inn and Tavern.

It was beautiful, so we ate on the lawn.  While we were eating, I noticed something moving across the blanket from the corner of my eye and it was a baby snake!  It moved too fast to get a picture, unfortunately.  I was very surprised to see a snake!

The Inn has lots of historical ephemera inside

From then, it was on to Muir Beach.  It was incredibly windy, so we ended up not staying long, but it was very pretty and hopefully we can go back on a better day.

A beautiful day!

Monterey getaway

The honey and I went on a quick weekend getaway to Monterey.  We both needed it because he works way too hard and I needed a break from grad school, which has been sucking up most of my time.  We went on a whirlwind one night trip and managed to squeeze in just about everything there is to see! 

We stayed at the very cute Horizon Inn in beautiful Carmel.  I forgot to take a picture of the hotel, but it was really pretty.  They delivered our breakfast in a picnic basket (bagels, fruit and OJ)

And then walked around quaint downtown Carmel

Sorry the pics kind of suck.  It was very foggy and everything came out looking gray, but I swear it's the fog!

We had lunch at the Tuck Box, a little tea place.

These are what their house scones look like.  They were good and didn't taste like the scones I am used to

We went to the beach and saw two dolphins playing!  Okay, you can't see them in the picture, sorry.  It was so foggy the fins are just little dots.

And we went to the mission, formally known as San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo Mission.  It's one of the prettier missions that I have visited.

This where Father Junipero Serra is buried

And we raced through 17 mile drive.  It was crazy foggy but really pretty.

The famous Monterey Cypress tree

 

And then went over to the famed Monterey Bay Aquarium.  I was so excited to go and see the sea horses and jellyfish.  I hadn't been to this aquarium for over 10 years and was really looking forward to it and it didn't disappoint!

 

Then we had dinner at a restaurant on the water and saw otters swimming around outside.  I had never seen dolphins or otters in person before, so I was very excited.  Monterey and Carmel are so beautiful, I hope we can take another trip down there soon and spend a bit more time exploring. 

New England excursion

Well, it looks like I went m.i.a. again.  The past month has been a whirlwind of job interviews and a trip back to New England to meet my dad's family for the first time.  I saw Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire in a week.  My family somehow managed to live in just about every town from Hartford up to the border of Canada at Vermont along the 91 freeway through the area, so there was a lot to see. 

The trip was a spontaneous trip after a late invitation to a family reunion in Southampton, MA.  My dad's entire family stayed in the New England area, so we were the only ones flying in.  I had only met one or two of the family members before and it has been at least 20 years since I saw them last and a lot of the other family haven't seen me since I was a baby.  It was a very chaotic and interesting experience to say the least.  Because I've also been working on my family tree, we took the time to visit some of the old family houses and other related things too, so those were cool to see.

I got to see a few covered bridges...

Creamery bridge, Brattleboro, VT

Thompson Bridge, Swanzey, NH

Cresson Bridge, Swanzey, NH

And a lot of rivers Ashuelot River, NH

I ate in a diner made out of an old train car Chelsea Royal Diner, West Brattleboro, VT

 I got to see the houses my immigrant ancestors built Historic Deerfield, MA

Charlestown, NH

And some houses other family lived in

Charlestown, NH

Greenfield, MA

And who could resist going to the Yankee Candle Company flagship store? You can smell all the candles from the parking lot!  This place is so huge they hand out maps when you walk in.  After a minute you can't smell anything anymore.

The entire trip looked like this from the car I've never seen so many trees in my life.  You couldn't even tell that there were towns anywhere because of all the trees.

I also saw a lot of very New England-y thingsLike church steeples rising above the trees - Keene, NH

And town squares - Keene, NH

  And very old houses - Historic Deerfield, MA

And I got to eat at an inn and tavern than has been open since 1776, the Griswold Inn in Essex, CT.  This place was amazing.  It was like an enormous antique store and I wanted to take half of the things home.  (An old wagon is parked in front, sorry it's so dark) 

The whole historic section of Essex was adorable.  Many of the houses had signs stating the original owner and the year it was built. 

Isn't that a cute birdhouse?

 And of course there was a river

And we took a day trip to the Mystic Seaport, which is a "living history museum" - a recreation of a historic seaport, complete with a real whaling ship

The quarters in this ship were so tiny, I can't imagine a bunch of men living in them for months at a time!

There was also a recreation of the Amistad

A cooper

And lots of cool other things

Oh, and there were some real, historic ship figureheads too.  These were enormous.  Sorry the pics didn't turn out great.  It was really dark inside and the figureheads were mounted pretty high up on the wall.

I'm so happy that I got to go and see where my dad grew up and where the family still lives and meet most of them.  Hopefully I'll stay in touch with them and get to know them better. The heat wasn't even as bad as I was scared it would be.  Super fun trip and I am so glad I went!

I also got a job offer the day before I left, so I've been trying to get back into work mode.  Luckily, it's a good job at a good organization and the morale is very high.  So, I think I am going to like working there.  And of course, now I will have money to start buying craft supplies again!  (Now I just need to make time to make things...)

  

Erin go bragh

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

I might be celebrating with a Jameson's and ginger later on tonight....

A couple of pics from my trip to Ireland in honor of today:

  

 

I also just finished reading Black Potatoes by Susan Campbell Bartoletti.

I think it's a young adult book, but it was written very well and not dumbed down at all.  It was a great introductory book into the history of the famine.   It's also a very fast read with lots of historical pictures.  Check it out if you're interested in the background of the potato famine!

I also made a couple of samples of shaving soap and gave them to people to try out.  So, as soon as I get their reactions, hopefully I can make some to post in my shop.

 

 

Montreal part 2

Okay, I'm back with a few more pictures!

One area that I really liked that I didn't get to explore enough was Plateau. 

 

It had great architecture and lots of great shops....

And great food!

It was such a hot day, a bit of gelato on the patio was just what we needed

With your choice of milk or dark chocolate with it too!  The gelato was from Suite 88 Chocolatier and both the gelato and chocolate were yummy!  I can't even remember what flavors I had, but they were good.

And of course there were lots of places selling maple goodies

I wish I could have taken everything in this display case home!

Isn't this the cutest bench?  It was outside of a kid's clothing shop in Plateau on rue Saint Denis

I loved this Metro entrance!  It was the only one like it that I saw, though.

 

The Queen was right across the street...

 

The beautiful Town Hall building, which was unfortunately under renovation so I couldn't see it all

Here's a pic from the official Town Hall website so you can see how pretty it really is!

 

Some street art in Old Town

Old Town was such a fun mix of old and modern

Along the Old Port, I spied

the Cirque du Soleil site

loved these lamp posts

 
I have no idea what this building is, but it was really interesting to me

We also visited Saint Joseph's Oratory

The oratory itself was.... skippable, but I really liked the curving staircases

 

After leaving the oratory, we stopped by this cute little farmer's market

I love the fruit baskets!  Somehow grapes look tastier in those baskets than the plastic bags we use here

We also visited the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, which was fantastic

They had a small exhibit on Napoleon, with some art from the time, plus some of his personal possessions, like his hat, pen holder, some clothes and even a locket of hair that was owned by George Sand. 

(from the Museum website)

They also had an amazing exhibit of a collection of jewelry that Cirque du Soleil and Boucheron collaborated on for Cirque du Soleil shows

 

This picture (from their website) does not do the jewelry justice!  It was all beautiful, but of course pics weren't allowed.  I wish they had had a book or something about the exhibit in the gift shop, but I couldn't find anything.

There were also beautiful paintings by Matisse, Picasso, Monet, Rembrandt and more.  

I spotted this graffiti piece about a block from the museum

 

I'm not usually into graffiti, but I thought it was interesting

Of course, I also visited the Jardin Botanique.  I never miss an opportunity to visit botanical gardens when I can!  

I'm crazy for orchids....

I wish I had a greenhouse so that I could grow more of them!
 

 

There were lots of other very cool plants in the greenhouses too

 

 

Unfortunately, it was the one day that It rained, so I didn't get to wander around the gardens very much, but it did clear up enough for me to visit the Chinese garden, which was nice

And saw some lily ponds

 

Admission to the Insectarium was included.  It was pretty

And creepy

All at once.  Remind me never to go to the remote parts of Asia, where rhino beetles get as big as your head.  Eek.

Anyway, Montreal was a beautiful city and I definitely didn't get to see as much as I wanted to see.  I would definitely go back, although if I go to Canada again soon, it might be to Churchill to go see the polar bears.  We'll see what life has in store next!

Montreal part 1

Well, I finally made it back from Montreal a few days ago, only to sadly find that a friend's father and another friend's husband died while I had been away, so I have been meaning to post some pictures from the trip, but got sidetracked.  It's been a bit surreal because I've been fortunate enough to have only had to go to two other funerals in my life and then suddenly had to go to two in just one day.  It has been a very crazy week.  Sorry to be depressing, but it's one of those periods in life that makes you reflect and everything is kind of happening at once and I can't wrap my brain around it. 

Anyway, I had a great time in Montreal and Quebec city.  I stayed about a block from Old Montreal and right around the corner from the beautiful Notre Dame Basilica.

(view from by the hotel, the building in the center)

 

 

The huge organ
 

a beautiful staircase

The basilica was actually designed by an Irish guy, which I think really shows in some of the decorations, which were really pretty

The Old Town was just like I had thought it would be.  I loved walking around and seeing the older buildings. 

 

There wasn't a lot of color that I saw, except for the occasional splash of color here and there

 

Rue Saint Paul was about as touristy as I expected, but I still loved it.  Early in the morning, the street was peaceful and I could explore without the crowds

My mom and I had a nice meal at La Sauvagnie on rue Saint Paul

 

 

right across the street from.....  poutine!
 
I didn't brave trying the poutine at Montreal Poutine, but I have a good excuse because I don't they make any vegetarian poutine!

A stop sign

 

Casa de Fajitas.... scary!  Somehow I didn't feel like trying Mexican food in Quebec...

 

Notre Dame de Bon Secours Chapel

The church had miniature ships hanging from the ceiling.  It is also known as the sailor's church from the sailors that came from the nearby port.

Pierre du Calvert - a beautiful inn/restaurant across from street from the Bon Secours church and one of the oldest buildings in Montreal.

 

Although the sign could use some work...

\

Fairyland!

 

Place Jacques Cartier was pretty

 

and had lots of horse drawn carriages!

More pictures soon!

San Juan Bautista

A couple of weeks ago, some friends and I went down to San Juan Bautista to visit a friend who recently moved down there.  None of us had ever been there before, so it was a bit of an adventure.  It's only about an hour and a half drive south of San Francisco, but it's a really cute small town of about 1,500ish people and has one of the original California Missions.

We had lunch at our friend Becky's house and we were all jealous that she has an actual house instead of an apartment, with a backyard, front yard and a patio.  After lunch, we walked around the town.  Parts of San Juan Bautista were featured in the movie Vertigo by Alfred Hitchcock.  

I think the most famous feature that made it into the movie was the actual mission and the tower. Apparently, the bell tower was a fake, but there is still a pretty um, bell wall there.

Almost a tower, but not quite.  Definitely no ledge for Jimmy Stewart to stand on.

 

 

I love this walkway alongside the mission

The mission was built in 1797 and is the 15th of the original 21st missions in California.

Unfortunately, they also built it right on top of the San Andreas fault!

 

Luckily, it's still standing! 

There's a teeny cemetery behind the church

 

I loved how these statues were all lined up

In the garden...

 

There were chickens walking around all over the place, seriously.  I have no idea where they all came from.

The beautiful Plaza Hotel on the plaza, across from the Mission.

After we walked around the mission and the historic area, we walked through the shopping district, full of "antique" shops, which were more like expensive thrift shops, but still cute.  We were almost back at Becky's house, when I fell like a moron inside one of the antique shops.  Luckily I didn't bang my head on any case or anything, but I did feel pretty stupid.  I am a bit of a klutz and I fall somewhat often (maybe once or twice a year) but usually not in front of people I know, so I was actually a little embarrassed this time.  I really have no idea why I actually fell all the way over instead of just tripping over that stupid chair, but I guess it could have been worse.  I'm still trying to fix a fractured ankle from a fall just over a year ago but thankfully I didn't make it worse.  I did, however, get really achy and sore and so I got delayed in blogging yet again, but I think it's a good excuse!  Crossing my fingers that it's my last fall for a very, very long time!  It also gave me a good excuse to watch the Olympics, which I love.  This year I got really into the skiing and snowboarding events more than the ice skating, but I did end up watching most of it still anyway.  I'm still sad that the US didn't beat Canada for the hockey gold, but silver is still good!

Wine tasting

I recently went wine lasting in Livermore, a farming community that is at the eastern edge of the Bay Area before it turns into the Central Valley.  I never knew that Livermore even had wineries until just a couple of months ago! 

We went to four or five different wineries in the area.  Only a couple actually charged for tastings and gave generous pours and lots of tastes for free or about $5, which is a great deal, especially when places like Napa charge up to $25 for tastings.

 

One fun place we visited was the Thomas Coyne Winery.

 They had a ton of great wines and I think I tried about 10 wines before giving up because I was getting too tipsy!

There was this funny sign by the tasting room-

It was a fun and surprisingly warm day!

Copenhagen

I can't believe it's been a year now since I visited Europe. The last place I visited was Copenhagen.  By the time I got there in late September, it was getting very cold and a bit rainy and the sun rarely came out from the clouds.  Still, it was a beautiful city with very delicious pastries (they're called danishes for a reason!).  I was feeling nostalgic and looking through my pictures this weekend.  Here's some of my favorites from Copenhagen.

As soon as I arrived in Copenhagen, I headed to Tivoli Gardens, an amusement park and so much more.  Luckily, it was the last week it was open before closing for the winter and it was half priced to get in!

Asian Station - where they served mostly sausages...

 

 

There are tons of lights and fountains at Tivoli

 

There was some sort of play going on...

 

The mermaid in front of the Hans Christian Andersen ride... It was a bit like It's a Small World, but with little scenes from Andersen's tales.  I tried to get pix inside, but it was too dark and the ride moved too quickly.

I also visited Nyhavn, the famous canal.  The sun kept flitting in and out behind the clouds, but it was a beautiful place, complete with typical Danish architecture.

There were other pretty canals and buildings too

Right by these buildings was a little flea market

Smurfs!

I also visited the Carlsberg Brewery.  You got to try 4 beers.  Unfortunately, I don't like beer very much, but I did meet a nice Swedish couple visiting from Malmo and we had a great conversation.

The giant Carlsberg elephants at the entrance.  It's hard to tell in the picture, but they're pretty huge.

 

One of the royal family's palaces.  There are 4, situated around a plaza.

A royal guard

The Round Tower (Rundetarn), built in 1642 as an astronomy tower

 

Rathaus, the city hall. It's across the street from Tivoli Gardens and on the entrance to the Stroget, a big shopping promenade

There were little statues all around the Rathaus and surrounding plaza

Rosenborg Palace.  This is where they keep the crown jewels, which are absolutely amazing.  Of course, you can't take pictures inside and there were a ton of heavily armed guards, so I didn't risk it!  It also functions as a museum now.

It was a bit rainy out, so I couldn't get a great picture of the outside, but it was very pretty.  Around it are the king's gardens.  The Royal Family are apparently pretty down to earth and can be seen around the city walking their dogs and things like that.

I also visited Christiania, a sort of city within the city.  Back in the 70s, some people took over an old military site and declared it Freetown Christiania.  They have a street called Pusher Street where you can buy drugs and other things.  It kind of reminded me of the Haight Ashbury neighborhood here, with dogs running around and people selling rasta stuff and other things.

   The entrance

The red with the 3 yellow dots is their logo

I would definitely visit Denmark again, but I have sooo many places on my travel wishlist that it may be awhile before I get back there!