Infusing grandeur into otherwise drab Mondays with five things/ideas/events for the week:I. Confession: I got little to no sleep last night. Though I’m completely exhausted today, it was well worth it… (And no, it’s not quite as lascivious as you may be thinking). The rain finally came to San Francisco! It’s been highly documented by the media that we are in an emergency state of drought here, but...

Infusing grandeur into otherwise drab Mondays with five things/ideas/events for the week:I.  Typically, I don’t have a big sweet tooth, but with Halloween weekend coming up candy has been on my mind more than usual. Rather than give out store-bought confections, my mom and I are cooking homemade Fleur de Sel Caramels. The recipe is from Barefoot Contessa’s How Easy is That, which means that it...

Infusing grandeur into otherwise drab Mondays with five things/ideas/events for the week:I. Truth be told, I don’t love Halloween… The kitsch, the sea of processed miniature candy, the entire week of over-served adults screaming in the streets… I could do without all of it. That said, it would be very unlike me to completely ignore a holiday. Lending one of my signature decor motifs to Halloween...

Infusing grandeur into otherwise drab Mondays with five things/ideas/events for the week:I.   What’s better than a combination of tart apple, cinnamon sugared oats, sticky honey, and smoky bourbon held together by melted butter? Nothing. That’s why I’m making my Brown Sugar Bourbon Baked Applestonight for dessert. This is the recipe you want to try if you’re a novice in the kitchen. All you have...

Infusing grandeur into otherwise drab Mondays with five things/ideas/events for the week:I.  One of my favorite lines from Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gablesseries perfectly sums up my feelings on our recent transition to fall, “September slipped by into a gold and crimson graciousness of October.” I carried this sentiment over to my decor for an anniversary party over the weekend....

Infusing grandeur into otherwise drab Mondays with five things/ideas/events for the week: I.  This piece titled Space Surfer by famed photographer Jorgen Reimerperfectly captures today’s exciting revelation that Mars has flowing water. NASA announced this morning that its satellite MRO (Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter) found signs of liquid water, a requisite for the persistence of life on the planet....

Infusing grandeur into otherwise drab Mondays with five things/ideas/events for the week: I. After rearing his refreshing head for just a few days last week, Karl the Fog gave way to the most intense Indian Summer I’ve experienced in San Francisco. It was literally too hot to sleep last night until four in the morning, and then the sun was back at it by nine. With my mind craving seasonal recipes,...

Infusing grandeur into otherwise drab Mondays with five things/ideas/events for the week: I. With Fall just around the corner, I have moody hues on the brain. Our weather is finally catching up with the season in San Francisco, sweltering sunshine-filled days were replaced by a thick blanket of fog over the weekend, and my decor is turning from tropical greens and bright pinks to rustic foliage...

Infusing grandeur into otherwise drab Mondays with five things/ideas/events for the week: I. My latest obsession is indoor greenery. Almost every surface of my home has something living on it - orchids, topiaries, ferns, and aloe vera are my favorites. Once I realized that I couldn’t possibly stuff another plant into my apartment, I decided to get a couple of trees, one for my living room and one...