Today on weekend meanderings, a few Mother’s Day gift ideas, favorite coffee table books, a Snowberry update and more.
Happy Saturday, friends!
It’s time for the weekend post with Kim and Elizabeth. Our weekly roundup of inspirations and goings on.
News Flash – Snowberry is in escrow! It happened with lightening speed and as a result our open house was cancelled. I’m so sorry if anyone planned to attend and wasn’t aware of the cancellation. Last week I shared our ‘for sale’ announcement, along with some lessons learned during the renovation. And, in other amazing news, Snowberry’s new owners are purchasing the furniture too.
Shout out to our awesome champions the Dana Green Team!
We returned home yesterday to begin enjoying every last minute we have here. I can’t say it’s not emotional, at the same time we’re thrilled for the new family who will take over stewardship of this home we love so much.
In the meantime there’s much to do and once we’re packed, moved and settled, we’re hoping to escape to Mexico or Hawaii for a few days to recover. We’re leaning toward Hawaii because Mexico can be incredibly hot during the summer months. Your thoughts and recommendations are welcome.
But back to Snowberry, I still can’t get over how much I love our staged twin-bed kids room. I always knew Serena & Lily’s scalloped side table would be the perfect centerpiece and I adore the Pottery Barn Sasha’s Garden comforters and shams. When my nieces were growing up they would have had so much fun with their friends in this room.
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We spent the last week at our Clayton Airbnb the same way we spent the first. Walking Pippa and Maggie on the beautiful trails right outside our front door each morning and returning to the scene of the crime at Skylar Bistro’s Happy Hour and Moresi’s Chophouse Taco Tuesday Cantina.
Remember when I styled our dining table with books? In prepping Snowberry house for sale I had to de-book the table, but I adore the look and can’t wait to do it again. If, like me, you have an obscene number of coffee table books it’s a great way to spread the love around the house when your bookshelves runneth over. And … someone suggests that perhaps you stop buying books. Quel horreur!
Image Jessica Brydson Photography
My inspiration for books-on-dining-table came from @jyoungdesignhouse who recently published his own beautiful coffee table book, Artful Home.
Images @joshyoungdesignhome
And recently I saw another Instagram favorite, @loithai, post his dining table styled with books. Swoon.
Images @loithai
Some favorite coffee table books that blend well into any home style ~
Mother’s Day is next weekend and I have a few gift ideas that I know my mom would have loved.
London was my mom’s favorite city in the world … mine too. When I saw Hotel Lobby’s London Candle from their City Collection I immediately thought of her.
While perusing Hotel Lobby’s website their Summer Collection got my attention. Positano, Capri, Hamptons, Island, and Poolside. Yes, please!
Wishbone Kitchen’s Meredith Hayden has her first cookbook coming out. I say that as though I have a clue who Meredith is. Thankfully there’s People magazine to keep me informed of important world events. After reading a feature on Meredith I learned she’s a private chef, turned Instagram star, turned cookbook author. I spent way too much time scrolling her Instagram … enough to know I can’t wait to try her recipes. I pre-ordered her cookbook (release date May 6 which is next Tuesday!) filed away a few recipes shared in the article.
The Wishbone Kitchen Cookbook | Meredith Hayden featured in People magazine
Back to the recipes Meredith shared with People … Cathead Biscuits, Blueberry Jam, and Boozy Blueberry & Basil Lemonade (now we’re talking).
I’m not sure I mentioned it here, but Cocktail Night at Snowberry will resume on Instagram over Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, and I think this Boozy Blueberry & Basil Lemonade is the perfect drink to kick off the season. We’ll have two Cocktail Nights at Snowberry before becoming Cocktail Night at TBD. Ha! Stay tuned.
In other exciting news, and just in time for Mother’s Day, my favorite local boutique, Flaunt in Danville, is hosting a Jenny Bird Sip & Shop!
I was beyond excited when Ashley, Flaunt’s proprietress extraordinaire, invited me to attend a preview. I immediately said yes, then quickly sobered up and realized with everything going on I won’t be able to attend. Drat. Still, I hope to swing by Friday or Saturday afternoon and gift myself with a little something, something.
Flaunt’s x Jenny Bird is very timely because as I’ve been downsizing my closet it’s dawned on me that my jewelry collection (if we can call it that) needs improvement. I’ve been planning a post around curating a basic jewelry wardrobe that doesn’t break the bank. My current collection is one extreme to extreme. A few treasured, higher end pieces, mostly gifts from Jim, and a bunch of fairly low end, inexpensive pieces I’ve bought in a panic to complete some outfit or other. I’d like to build a jewelry wardrobe of good (mid range) pieces to complement the pricier stuff and minimize regrettable panic buys. Anyway, Flaunts Jenny Bird styling event is the perfect place for me to kick off the acquisition phase with the help of styling experts, Ashley, Denise (Flaunt’s manager who never fails to find just the thing I need, or didn’t know I needed), and bonus … Jenny Bird’s Brand Director, Mercede will be there as well.
If you’re local, mark your calendars for Friday and Saturday, May 9 & 10 … from 10am to 6pm.
If you’re not able to visit Flaunt, check out Jenny Bird online. Here are a few pieces I’m eyeing ~
Next, for a Mother’s Day gift to beat all Mother’s Day gifts, Mrs. Bakewell’s Original Cream Tea Box. My mother would have been so excited to receive this and I would have been equally excited to share it with her.
I owe the discovery of Mrs. Bakewell’s to Kim who sent me a box for Christmas last year. I was floored – and delighted – that such a thing exists. Jim and I enjoyed the tea on Christmas morning and these are the best scones we’ve ever eaten, including my own homemade currant scones. Since then I’ve sent the Original Cream Tea to friends for various occasions and a couple of mother’s in my life may soon find a box on their doorstep.
The box comes with scones, tea, jam and clotted cream. I usually have a jar of lemon curd on hand because I love it on a scones too. This is a good recipe.
A few notes …
- Orders only ship on Monday’s, Tuesday’s, and Wednesday’s, so order right away for Mother’s Day delivery.
- I found it difficult to locate the ‘gift message’ option and Audrey at Mrs. Bakewell’s was nice enough to send me a screenshot of where to find it. Sure enough, there it is.
- Enjoy 10% off with code MOTHERLOVE10 through May 6th!
Odds & Socks ~
Are Flip Flops the Shoe of the Summer? I hope so, and it seems so and if you don’t believe me you can read about it here and here (gift link). A couple of weeks ago Kim and I chatted about updating last year’s Summer Sandal post for summer 2025. Let’s see if we can get our act together … stay tuned. In the meantime, I’d like to pack this pair in my bag for Hawaii (or Mexico).
It’s not too late to get tickets for next week’s AAUW ‘Escape to Serenity’ Garden Tour – May 9 & 10. Six beautiful gardens in the Alamo, Danville, Walnut Creek area, I can’t wait!
An unsung hero retires (gift link).
It’s time for another San Francisco Decorator Showcase. It started April 26 and goes through May 26th. Kim and I went last year and it was incredible. We’re hoping to coordinate a date this month, but we’re both busy. Still, I hope we can make it happen. Buy tickets here.
Are you familiar with GoodJanes skincare? They recently reached out to me and I agreed to try their products and share them on Instagram. The package arrived – Say Goodnight Exfoliating Cleaner, Collagen Sleep Butter, Collagen Cocktail Boosting Serum, and Best Face Oil – and I’ll share what I think next week. This couldn’t have come at a better time. The last few weeks have been stressful and my skin could use a boost.
Have you used GoodJanes? Let me know.
Currently Reading ~
Last week I mentioned Michelle Wildgen’s, Wine People. I’m about only a third of the way into it and enjoying it quite a bit. Because I worked in the wine industry, and Jim spent his entire career there, it’s hard to tell whether I like it because it feels familiar, it’s a really good storyline, or both. The story takes place inside a wine importing firm which is different from our experience on the supplier side, but so far it’s rings true to my experience. And I can see Jim in the Gavin character, the company’s national sales manager. Of course, let me say, I’m at the beginning of the book and if Gavin takes an unexpected turn, I take back what I said.
Wandering off topic, have I ever shared how Jim and I met? He was the national sales manager for a large wine and spirits company who bought the mid-size winery where I was the human resources manager. When their management team came to assess our management team it was not exactly love at first sight … for me. But he very quickly won me over and the rest is history. One of these days I’ll spill all the whole story.
I Regret Almost Everything a memoir by Keith McNally. Wait a second, he stole my book title. I’m vaguely aware that Keith McNally is the man behind a number of highly regarded restaurants – Balthazar, Pastis, Odeon, Nell’s … the list goes on. Other than that I know nothing, but I got interested after reading the NYT book review (gift link). The book is available for preorder and a May 6 release date.
Ezra Klein has been making the rounds of late night shows and podcasts with his latest book, Abundance, co-authored with Derek Thompson. It’s next up in my Kindle queue. I like to balance out frivolous reading with more serious topics. Come on … serious does not mean boring.
On the lighter side, I can’t wait to get into Emily Henry’s latest and highly anticipated A Great Big Beautiful Life.
Currently Watching ~
It’s NHL playoffs – hello! My team’s not in the mix and my ultimate Stanley Cup match-up bit the dust earlier this week when the Capitols knocked out Montreal. I thought a Kings vs Canadians final would be ratings gold. I’ll hang in there with the Kings. Jim and I got lucky and saw them win the Stanley Cup back in 2012 – truly a bucket list moment. I won’t be mad if Toronto, Edmonton or Winnipeg prevail (as I write this Winnipeg is getting pummeled and needs to pull their goaltender), the last time a Canadian team won the Cup was 1993 (Montreal). That seems cruel for a country for whom hockey is national obsession. But the Panthers. Please. Not again.
Hacks season four on Max …to be totally honest we’re five episodes in and not loving it. It may have jumped the shark, but we’re still watching and hoping it finishes strong. If you’re watching, curious about your thoughts.
Mid-Century Modern on Hulu is a good, old fashioned sitcom staring Nathan Lane, Matt Bomer, Nathan Lee Graham, oh, and Linda Lavin. Sadly she passed away just before the final three episodes were filmed. I loved her. While this is a classic sitcom a la Golden Girls, it’s R rated. I love it!
Current Favorites ~
So that’s what I have for you today.
We’re off to the Lafayette Lifestyle Tour, and wish you the best weekend!
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