Breakfast at Cafe Falai did not disappoint. Delicious yogurt with berries and candied almonds, the ever consistent Illy cafe coffee and the above donut-like pastry called bambolini filled with berries and custard. Mmmmmm. The environment is a chic white on white with more white experience.

Next we wandered around for more shopping. I found my new favorite black bag to replace the one I've been carrying for the last 5 years at Mayle. What a fabulous little boutique with very stylish and well made garments. I took the look book and found quite a few things I'd love to have for fall, but uh hem who am I kidding? I've got a baby to birth and then baby boot camp to survive?! Across the street is a funky toy store called DAILY 2.3.5 with wonderful tin toys and other great finds like a Brio Golden Gate bridge. Next I fell in love with all the gorgeous colors of both the housewares and the jewels from Dinosaur Designs. There were so many objects I admired and wanted. the color combos alone inspired me greatly.

We walked by Oilily and they were having a "everything in this box is $3 sale" so I dug through and got the baby girl in my belly her first super girly pink flowery outfit and darling sea horse socks. So sweet and cute! So much for gender neutral. We had to return home with a gift for Max so after hitting Kid Robot and Evolution we finally settled on the more preschool appropriate choice of Scholastic and got Max an "I Spy" puzzle and book (he loves the ones he has).

We got hungry (again!) and stopped at Centovini for some cured meats, cheeses and shared a scrumptious bolognese pasta. This place is very classy inside without being pretentious (especially in comparison to the grandiose interior of Del Posto - which is far far bigger but they should hire Centovini's interior designer and I'd think it was perfect). We both loved the rubber tables - a brilliant surface. I'd recommend this place as a perfect date spot. Centovini's attached wine store also does not dismay. We picked up two bottles on our way to our friends loft for dinner that night (and what a wonderful dinner it was —thank you so much Michael & Stellah!)

And during dinner Stellah surprised me with a very thoughtful gift. She knows I love yarn and knitting and she came across this un-dyed beautiful handspun wool and picked up two different hanks for me. So sweet, thank you darling! I need to research natural dying methods...quick searches show Fiber Arts links, and the Herb Society looks really informative, sheep to shawl as well, your history blog looks fascinating, one blog link led me to Procion, while Two Sheep goes into madder root dye, ok I could link on and on but this should get me started.

Technorati Tags: eating, fine dining, New York, travel

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We had a nice breakfast (but spaced out bad waitress) at the trendy parisian wannabe cafe called Balthazar. The cinnamon pastry was best (we had the pain au chocolate and the brioche too) washed 'em down with lattes in big bowls. My granola with dried cherries was super yummy and the soft boiled eggs with soldier toast points made my hubby happy. We then wandered around around all day checking out store after store mostly in SOHO but sadly no purchases were made. (Saw plenty to buy, don't get me wrong, I jjust couldn't get over the first purchase hurdle) One favorite and unique store to (re)discover was Opening Ceremony.

We ran into the frozen yogurt phenomenon called Pinkberry. A good friend raved about it so I really wanted to try. It does not disappoint. It tastes sour and tart like real yogurt but has just enough hinting of sweetness to be perfect —add toppings and you're in heaven (0 fat, 5 sugars, 6 carbs — no wonder the line is so long and filled with super models). Seriously, be prepared, the line is literally out the door but the people who work there are nice and handle the nightmare chaos in the tiny store.

At about 3pm we got hungry. We jumped in a cab taking the chance that we may not get a seat as we searched for the tiny restaurant Momofuko. The pork buns, grilled octopus salad, the Momofuko ramen plus the chicken over rice were all amazing. The beer was awesome too and label was so cute I had to take a picture. I'd go back in a heart beat and if I lived near there I'd eat it weekly. Super freakin' delicious.

We met a friend for a frosty beverage at Schiller's. Great drink menu including Pimms cups and a delicious homemade lemonade. It's a great hang out spot. We also wandering into cocoa bar and picked up a truffle or two and admired the simplicity and beauty of this cafe/bar concept. Why doesn't San Francisco have a cafe, chocolate and wine bar in one?

Then we headed back to our claustrophobic hotel suite for a little pre-dinner rest. It's funny I should complain about it 'cause it has stunning floor to ceiling windows and great views, but when the curtains are closed they are 3 inches from the end of the bed — and the bed is the only piece of furniture in the room. Plus there's only about the same width as an airplane aisle on the sides and the room's hallway. The bathroom door has to be closed to use the loo and sink. All the walls are a painfully blank and unimaginative white which really depresses me. Good thing the bathroom was floor to ceiling Bizazza tile and the shower was huge with two heads and big windows and I didn't run out of hot water. We'd actually stopped by the Bizazza show room earlier that day (image above) — I love those tiles! (We did our kitchen back splash with them)

Dinner was at 8:30 at Del Posto, The space is huge and there's lots to like about it and as much to dislike. While its grand, it also feels stuffy and I kept thinking it's like an old hotel lobby meets prom date spot. But for all my initial critical thinking dinner turned out to be amazing. We had the seven course chefs tasting and not a single dish disappointed, some like the shaved truffle pasta and kobe beef were simply heavenly. I particularly enjoyed the time to hang out with good friends and carry on a conversation that lasted hours. I can't believe I made it out to 1 am.

Technorati Tags: eating, fine dining, New York, travel

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We arrived in the "bargain district" in the late afternoon via the controlled $45 taxi fare (so how come on the way back to the airport you have to pay the metered fare?) which was easy breezy enough. The Rivington hotel was nice enough, but what an odd 2nd floor reception area they have. It reminded me of the movie Being John Malkovich 'cause the ceiling is so low and the desk so big and terribly awkward in the space that the three very friendly men working there seem ridiculously cramped. The hotel itself has the vibe of the Standard in LA mixed with the Gansevoort NY but isn't as low down cool as the Standard or chic and refined like the Gansevoort. The restaurant and bar Thor gets insanely packed on friday and saturday nights and I could hear it for hours up on the 10th floor, urgh. Anyway, not trying to write a hotel review here — just ranting.

After switching rooms (corner suite vs soaking tub and balcony) and decompressing we headed out for a walk and dinner. We wandered around and ended up eating at Freemans. It's a cool, hipster guy inspired spot. It serves comfy homey kind of foods in an awesome space I can only describe as carnivore lovers meet anthropologie's charm. The decor details are warm and rustic and I love that it's located at the end of an alley with strings of lights overhead reminiscent of a Cinema Paradiso outdoor scene. My favorite dish was the artichoke dip appetizer. Sadly the phone camera couldn't handle the low light but the result suits the experience.

Technorati Tags: eating, puppy, travel

Posted by big bunny at 9:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Muni Maps is a series of six posters created for the San Francisco Arts Commission's Art on Market Street Program. Each poster features a route map that has been annotated with an individual operator's portrait, hand-written notes, interview excerpts and related drawings — depicting the public transportation experience from the perspective of the operator. Posters will be on view in 24 kiosks on Market Street between Van Ness Avenue and the Embarcadero from July 16th - November 6th, 2007 (I found the one above on Market near 4th St.). Art by Helena Keefe.

Technorati Tags: art, Bay Area, illustration, San Francisco

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Yes, you can knit your way through art school. Apparently this women got an honors degree from "Bath Spa U" hmmmm and this was her final project, Anyway she knit this car cozy Ferarri replica and weld the under frame too (it says she had a little help from 20 friends and family knitting all those 250 garter stitch squares). Now where to put this italian masterpiece??

More entries and links about extreme/guerrilla knitters: knitta ladies, MicroRevolt, Dari Tavoularis, Freddie Robins, the little red blog of revolutionary knitting, guerrilla knitter exhibit, Radical Lace & Subversive Knitting exhibit, craftivism, & knittavism.

Technorati Tags: extreme knitting, knitting

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Eeeck here's an absolutely waistline-fattening but mouth-watering find, an entire blog dedicated to cupcakes! Found by way of moopy & me. Oh my, scroll to the end to see all those delicious recipes, mmmmmmm butter cream frosting is so good. Psst, honey you reading this?

Technorati Tags: blogging, eating

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I've been visiting the bloggers in my links list and seeing what many are up to (all fabulously inspiring things of course — where do you all find the time?), but just had to post these darling bunnies and shrooms made by Stephanie Barnes (Little Birds by way of Loobylu) so cute eh? Here's her etsy shop. Really, I need to master sewing.

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Serious serendipity! two days ago I blogged about Donna Wilson's fabulous hand knit toys and then on my way to work I look in the window of the CandyStore and there they are! Boy the world works in mysterious ways. Top is Cyril squirrel & Rudy raccoon, middle is Rill (Assuming raccoon too) and on bottom is Charlie monkey. My favorites from her site are bunny blue, sleepy pom, mitten kitten and then I can't decide Olive owl is pretty darn cute and those raccoons are pretty funny too. Her designs rock.

Technorati Tags: inspiration, knit toys, San Francisco

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I just found these knit animals by 'i golfini della nonna' which translates roughly into 'the little sweater from grandma'. I'm partial to the cute animals, especially the floral pattern on the bear, but there's also an interesting robot, fire truck and more.

I love the proportion of these bunnies and elephants ears and their overall shapes though they are made of fleece and not knit. It says they're handmade by israeli artists? Interesting eh?! I'm always skeptical of the handmade label, being one who actually makes things by hand, I just wonder if they sew on on eye and consider it "handmade"? Guess I just under estimate the exploitation of things made by cheap laboring hands.

And here's a cute knitted (looks like crochet too) bunny face from Mamas and Papas in the UK, that lamb's face and whip stitched ears are pretty sweet too.

These are a special sweet treat find for my donut aficionado husband...found at Forest & Zoe.

Technorati Tags: inspiration, knit toys, knitting

Posted by big bunny at 10:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

all found via Karin's style blog...

Wonderful designs from Nadia Sparham, I adore this little birdie.

Oh what a find! Fabulously unique knit toys and illustration by Donna Wilson and it's a great website to explore. I just downloaded the questions & answers PDF to learn she's basically my knit toy hero — she's living the artist life, ah I aspire. I must order one!

Illustrations in thread and more by Paula Sanz Caballero. And later when I'm not so sleepy — here are a few sites to explore: a blog: PoppyTalk, an embroidery illustrator Lizzie Finn, illustration by Caroline Hwang, still more by Karin Mårtensson and a very cool site with more embroidery illustration by Angrad South.

Technorati Tags: illustration, inspiration, knit toys

Posted by big bunny at 9:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've been craving heirloom tomatoes by the bucket full, so we've been eating this delicious version of a greek salad just about every night over the last two weeks. I'm still not tired of it.

Technorati Tags: eating

Posted by big bunny at 3:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their creator, with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.

Right on founding fathers! [ uh "men" meaning people and of course including bunnies ;) Want to read more?

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No one means all he says, and yet very few say all they mean, for words are slippery and thought is viscous.
- Henry Adams

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