| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
It always amazes me that even after crossing the same neighborhood paths again and again I can still find things new, pretty and amazing.
the loveliest porcelain name plaques
so nice and inviting
the craziest looking cabbage plant
nestled in the tiniest fenced pavement garden
good enough to eat?
a school building beautifully adorned with tiles
lovely colors
gorgeous pattern.
Love exploring my neighborhood.
xoxoxo
{photos by Tina Tarnoff}
On our walks I usually get distracted by magnificent buildings, which San Francisco has an abundance of. I have hundreds and hundreds of building snapshots sitting on my hard drive waiting to be sorted through. Once while we were driving I kept taking pictures of the houses through the car window (looking like a paparazzi, no doubt, a building paparazzi), as I couldn't resist all the beauty.
The sky was especially blue on this particular day, and acted as a brilliant backdrop to some of the houses. I also managed to sneak in some old chewed up docks and candy-pink blossoming trees...
wonderful house fronts
with potted plants on window sills
towering old buildings
blooming trees
made of pink tissue paper, it seems
rotting docks
lovely curtains in windows
buildings with world maps drawn on them
and more beautifully decorated buildings... more sky and buildings... sky... buildings.
xoxoxo
{all photos by Tina Tarnoff}
I always try to remember to bring my camera with me on our daily walks, hoping to record something unique and unusual. I often end up not taking any photos since not every day finds moments and events inspiring and worth recording. But on our last walk through the neighborhood I was in luck. It was one of those days where there truly was magic in the air. It rained shortly before we ventured outside so the air was still heavy and misty. It all appeared a bit odd, alive and fairy-tale like.
xoxoxo
{All photos Tina Tarnoff}
Meet Max, our buddy from the park...
Max is the cutest and the most ridiculous dog we've ever seen.
His hairdo is absolutely outrageous.
And his face is bound to melt away any bad moods. He's the best therapist one could ever have. :)
Curious Max. What's in the bag, I wonder? Cold cuts, perhaps?
No luck, Max, we're a couple of vegans.
And most importantly he luuuurvs cuddles.
xoxoxo
{Photos: Tina Tarnoff}
Al's Attire is this great old-style-type tailor store (old-style but very hip) that is located in North Beach, not far from where we live. The vintage-style clothes are custom tailored and handmade from vintage materials. (They also carry ready-to-wear clothing.)
I love everything about this place, the retro feel, the brick walls, piles of shoe forms, hat boxes from the 40s, dress forms, vintage sewing machines, steamer trunks that store vintage patterns... It's a heaven to go into.
Recently they started making clothes for kids, but not just any clothes for kids. Like tiny lord of the manor sport coats, and Oliver Twist hats, and things like that. It's just too adorable.
Terry had a shirt made there, an old-fashioned work shirt, and it's just great. It gets better every time we wash it. Al even put in a custom label with Terry's name on it. Which just cracks me up. Tom Waits had some of his jackets made there, with custom labels, I'm sure. Which I think is pretty cool. We are practically Tom's buddies. :)
One can also get shoes made. Oxfords, Spectators, foxy 40's femme fatale platforms, etc... They trace your foot, you choose the design, that kind of stuff, and, voila, they make shoes just for you. Like in the olden days. Go figure.
Here are some snapshots of the store's window display...
A coat for a fancy lady and a coat for a wee dandy.
Edwardian style shoes.
40's platforms.
The family ensemble.
Boxes of hats.
Look at this little suit. It's incredibly cute.
Love the old scissors and the sewing machine.
Visit Al's Attire website for more info.
xoxoxo
{photos by Tina Tarnoff}
No, this is not our kitty, this little cutie has been visiting our neighbor's backyard for about a month now. They have two cats that sit in the window all the time and out little guy comes every day (climbs over the roofs and fences, he's quite a jumper and climber), sits in front of the window and peeks at the cats inside. The funny thing is that the cats completely ignore him and always turn their backs to him. Or don't sit in the window at all. Until he leaves. Then they come back. Those cats.
Quite entertaining.
{view from our porch into the neighbor's backyard}
At first I thought he was trapped there as I saw him on the roof one day, meowing and trying to climb down. I even made Terry go visit several neighboring houses to inquire about the little fellow. We learned that he comes and goes all the time, looks very healthy and well kept, so he must be a local cat with a home. He's there every morning around 9, sticks around for a while, leaves, comes back in the early afternoon, peeks through the window some more, leaves. He's never there in the evening or on weekends. Hmm. He probably waits until his ma and pa leave for work, sneaks outside and comes to watch the cats. What fun!
He and I even had a little encounter one day when I caught him in our back yard trying to jump over the fence. He was a bit startled at first but then walked over to me and we had a little cuddling session. Even let me pick him up and take him to the apartment to say hello to Terry.
You are guessing right, I want a cat. This cat in particular. I kind of wish he was trapped so that I could rescue him.
xoxoxo
{p.s. my laptop has been healed and returned to me so I'm fully back and ready to blog!}
Love stumbling onto some fun street art and having my camera with me.
Don't know what this means but I like it.
...
Another empty building, beautified. Whoever buys it should consider keeping the card fronts.
It's too darn hot to say anything else. Be back tomorrow when our Fahrenheits go back to normal.
xoxoxo
{photos by me}
One of the things on my wish list for a long time has been a vintage Underwood Typewriter, dating from somewhere in-between 1900-1920. I had a specific design and image in mind. And the price, too. (I was aiming for low, like $20 low.) I know that for a working Underwood Typewriter that is virtually impossible. But who wants a nicely fixed, completely redone, working typewriter from 1912, with no dust on it, anyway? What I wanted was an Underwood that has been sitting in someone's basement for the past 60 years (longing to be re-descovered), that has enough dust on it that would inevitably cause you to cough and sneeze for about 15 minutes, that has rust which will have you pulling your vinegar out, and some pieces missing and broken. But, will also have in it the potential of working again, if you put some expert care into it.
And that is exactly what I found. I scoured the ebay forever, lost several bids which went over $19.99 (I was strict with myself about that), got disappointed so many times... but finally I scored!
And here is our dandy Underwood fellow...
Dating, I think, from somewhere between 1900-1915, it was sitting in someone's family basement since the 50s when they remember playing on it. There was a lot of dust on it, a bit of rust, too, the keys work, the roller rolls, there is ribbon in it, and we managed to write a letter T with it. The roller doesn't move though when you press the keys. I'm sure we could have it fixed, and perhaps we will eventually, but for now I'm just so thrilled to have this beauty. I vacuumed it and cleaned it as best I could, and now it sits proudly in our living room...
I just love the way it looks there. It gives that special atmosphere of a writer's study from the 20s and 30s. When you could hear the typewriter keys clicking away, and there would be a writer sitting there, fully concentrated, a cigarette hanging from his mouth, sporting a fedora. A bottle of scotch on the side of the table a must. And, how about a foxy lady sitting cross-legged on the edge of that table? Ruining his concentration. Why, of course!
I know I'm overdoing with the photos, but here's more...
You will forgive my excitement, won't you. :)
On another, more flowery note...
I've been oohing and aahing over these bougainvilleas in our neighborhood...
Can you imagine walking under this green-red cloud every day?
So wonderful.
I've been following the blooming stages of one particular bougainvillea (which I mistakenly called a fuchsia plant, btw). Here is the plant now, fully bloomed...
Love the colors!
Ah, to wake up, and come out on this balcony in the morning. Heaven. You can see its blooming stages here and here.
I guess I thought this plant was a fuchsia because of it's fuchsia color! How smart of me.
Here is the real fuchsia plant...
Adorable! It looks like a little fancy cake decoration out of a Parisian patisserie, doesn't it? I'm going a little bit flower and plant crazy this summer!
xoxoxo
I've been noticing people decorating their house fronts with an abundance of potted plants. It makes me smile every time I see such a house front. Whether they do it because they're running out of space indoors, or because they just feel like it, I'm all for it. It looks quirky and pretty.
Here are a couple of my favorites...
...street plants on Green Street...
...
...
...
.....
Street plants of Greenwich Street...
...
...
Lovely!
xoxoxo
