Shopping Respite

My mom, our dear friend Tina and I went to San Francisco for a weekend getaway when our dads were hiking Mt. Whitney. It is only a 5hr drive to get up there, but the feel in Northern California is markedly different than SoCal. The houses are older and the people look very east coast; there is simply more attention to aesthetics across the board. We stopped in Berkeley first to hit some shops, one of my favorite being Addison Endpapers, a tiny little store stocked with vintage paper treasures in an adorable old building. Their displays and simple approach really appeals to me. Notice the beautiful pink rose wallpaper and clean white shelving, and use of glass throughout.

Tail of the Yak came next, full of quirky French and German ribbon and decorating items. It's one of those stores that the longer you remained the more things you discover hiding. It felt like an old-world fairy tale.

The next morning we ate breakfast at Bette's Diner, the birthplace of my favorite buttermilk pancake recipe. The nice thing about Bette's is my pancakes taste as good as theirs, so I can enjoy fluffy, flavorful buttermilk and buckwheat pancakes whenever I have the desire, which is quite often. After filling our bellies, we drove into the city and first went to a phenomenal art supply store called Flax. They have a huge room devoted to paper, printed, handmade, plain, from India, Italy, etc. So fun. Around the corner is Bellochio, a trove of vintage and woodsy treasures. The store is small but not lacking in enticing items. Next we hit up Timeless Treasures, which, could you guess, is a vintage store! They had an amazing selection of cool old letters and my Mom purchased a great little gold and alabaster chandelier for our not-yet-built house. There were a few items I wanted to purchase here, namely a few old cutting boards, some iron candlesticks, and two old apothecary jars. I refrained, seeing as my only job is working for the parents, which proves to be unstable and not super lucrative.

Then we drove to Cookin, which as the name suggests, is a store devoted to old cooking stuff. You should see this store, just stacks and stacks everywhere of cooking paraphernalia. It was heaven for me. I emerged with a fabulous old footed glass beaker and a French octagonal cake pan. After our scores at Cookin, we drove to Ghirardelli square to bask in the English glory of Crown and Crumpet, the cutest of tea rooms. If you are familiar with Cath Kidston, an English designer who is very much into polka dots, red, pink and blue florals and fifties-feel decoration, this really embodied her aesthetic. I particularly liked the pink and white floor! We came out with loads of cute ideas for decorating and feeling very satisfied with our chicken noodle soup.

The next morning we made our way to Washington Square to get in line for Mama's, the most delicious and charming breakfast place! There is a line from when they open until closing and for good reason, their food is fresh, delicious and beautifully displayed. We got the best seat in the house and came out super satisfied and ready to face another day of shopping brilliance.

We filled our day with antique stores and ended at Bi-Rite, the most fantastic food market I've ever been to. The sandwich I had was made on killer fresh ciabatta and had locally produced lettuce, tomatoes, turkey and cheese. It was heavenly. And the people watching outside was top-notch. Their ice cream is equally noteworthy, made fresh daily from organic Straus dairy products starring unique flavor combinations. We got a brownie sundae with mint chip and vanilla ice cream. It was complete with spiced pecans and dense brownie goodness. Shortly after licking our bowl, I got a voicemail from Chandler that he had received his mission call so we hopped in the car and raced home to open it. He has been called to the Dominican Republic Santo Domingo East Mission, reporting Sept 23!