Musings
The Allure That Is San Francisco
I'm often faced with the question "What made you move to San Francisco?" from friends and acquaintances. While I wish I had a juicy tale to tell, it is really quite simple.
I traveled to San Francisco quite frequently in college for sailing regattas, which included extensive training for a national championship. I was instantaneously drawn to the energy the city possessed and the paralyzingly beautiful landscape. I knew in my heart, I'd someday come back on a more permanent basis. Several years after college, I decided it was time to move out of Rhode Island and conquer city life as a young adult. I flew to San Francisco for a "trial weekend" to see if the city still spoke to me. That particular weekend, I went for a walk in the Pacific Heights neighborhood where I was absolutely enamored by the landscape around me. Never before had I felt so invigorated. It was a natural high I wanted more and more of and was determined to make it a constant fixture in my life. It single-handedly sold me on San Francisco.
Two years later, now a resident of San Francisco, the allure continues. My walks are still one of the most invigorating experiences.Yesterday, I was memorized by the fragrance of wisteria, hyacinth and rose, while watching a tanker ship enter the bay from a long journey overseas. The fog was slowly and elegantly folding over the golden gate bridge and the streets were peaceful and desolate. I get great joy from always seeing the old white-haired woman in her periwinkle colored nightgown peering down from the top window her Edwardian mansion, almost as if she has never left her post. In a life that is often complex and trying, my walks speak to me. They will always be one of the greatest components to my love affair with San Francisco.
Scenes from the Savannah
As weekend plans heat up, I leave you with remarkable photographs courtesy of Wired from Zack Seckler's Botswana series. Zack's collection of bird's-eye photographs are thanks to an ultra-light aircraft, offering him breathtaking views of the country from 50 to 500 feet vertical from the African savannah.
A majority of his photographs depict striking views of the Makgadikgadi Pans, one of the world's largest salt flats. Very few animals live here - the salt flat primarily serves as the home to a thin but abundent layer of blue-green algae.
Be sure to view more photographs from his collection here.
The Silver Thief
When I moved cross-country, I didn't bring much with me by means of furniture and home decor, but did tote with me my Father's and Grandparents' silver. I love the idea of integrating antique silver into any design scheme, particularly if it has any sentimental value. I get great joy from using my Dad's sailing trophies as jewelry troughs and bar accessories, and love serving my Pink Panty Punch in the same punch bowl my Great-Grandmother used for her parties in New Orleans. (Read more about the punch bowl's fruitful life, here). I look forward to one day flooding my home with their treasures as each one has a unique tale to accompany.
I thought the recent story in Garden & Gun about the infamous "Silver Thief" was quite remarkable. Blane Nordahl, the man behind a long string of large-scale silver thefts in the south and beyond, has finally been charged after thirty years of suspected robberies. (Silver and the South often go hand-in-hand as it represented a new beginning after the Civil War. Because so much of it had been lost during the war, curating a new collection of silver post-war signaled that life would go on and people would prevail. I suppose Nordahl knew this all too well, too)...
Among other themes and takeaways, the article was a reminder to keep treasures like such under a watchful eye. Now I'm off to take inventory!
Read the full story here.
I loved her look at the annual amfAR Inspiration Gala. Her Saint Laurent sheer gown was the perfect blend of 70's boho meets evening elegance, a look Kate can do in her sleep. The girl can pull off anything.