Today on Weekend Meanderings the magic of Emily Joubert Home & Garden, my new favorite eye cream, a comfort food recipe and more.
Happy Weekend Friends!
It’s time for the weekend post with Kim and Elizabketh.
Our weekly roundup of inspiration and goings on.
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It’s been a crazy week around here.
And a busy one too.
Our weather is all over the place.
From high winds and torrential downpours to periods of clear, sunny skies … on repeat.
On Thursday I had technical difficulties and my cruise post couldn’t go out.
The same issues threatened to derail today’s post.
By yesterday afternoon my site was back up and running and here we are.
Let’s jump in.
LUNCH WITH NORTHERN CALIFORNIA STYLE
Yesterday Kim and I met up for lunch. I know … you might be a little envious because who doesn’t want to have lunch with Ms. Northern California Style! Our lunch date was long overdue and a long time in coming. We’ve scheduled and rescheduled multiples times since last September. Crazy, right?
Before lunch we worked up an appetite by taking a swing through Emily Joubert. A amazing home and garden shop in Woodside (there’s a San Francisco location too). I had to steady myself after entering the shop … it’s almost too much to take in. Unique and beautiful pieces for the home and garden. Swoon.
Their selection of throw blankets is wonderful. They also carry a small selection of clothing, beautiful scarves and have an adorable kids section. It’s the ideal place to buy gifts if you want to get on someone’s really good side. It’s also amazing to find something special for your own home. During spring and summer their outdoor garden area comes alive. But even in these chilly months, their selection of pots and urns is so good.
No, I did not leave empty handed. I’ve been in search of a catch all for our new foyer console table. This oval rattan basket tray with a brass rim caught my eye. There are several size options, oval, round, square … and even a taller baskets you could put an orchid, or kitchen utensils in.
After a glorious half hour at Emily Joubert we wandered next door to The Village Bakery. A casually chic and popular restaurant open for breakfast, lunch and dinner (check their website for hours). The front patio is usually hopping, but we opted to eat inside. Look at these pretty flowers and branches in their entry.
They also have a covered patio in the back which looks enchanting and I’m sure is very romantic at night.
The menu is packed with American favorites from generously sized salads, yummy soups, creative sandwiches, a popular burger and pizzas.
I ordered the cauliflower soup and garden greens salad. My eyes popped when this ginormous bowl of goodness was placed in front of me (I was expecting a small, side salad). Anyway, both the soup and salad were delicious.
Kim had an amazing salad too but I’ll let her tell you about it.
First things first, before Kim and I ordered our entrees we agreed that bread was very much needed. We’re in a bakery after all. It was a tough choice between the many bread options and we settled on the 9-grain bread which arrived in a small loaf with sweet butter and flaked salt on the side. Who says you can’t live on bread alone?
Lunch was over way too soon and we were back on the road to our respective homes to finish up our weekend posts.
Before we move on, let me tell you what I wore. My new-ish and favorite Madewell wide-leg jeans. Yes, I’ve mentioned them a few times. Are you tired of hearing about them? I’ve been loving my Dolce Vita boots. Kim may be wearing the same boots in a different color (correct me if I’m wrong, Kim). And, a brand new-to-me The Reeds x J.Crew striped sweater that I picked up yesterday at my favorite consignment shop, ReChic in Orinda. It’s so cute and I love the side button detail. Better still, I had a credit at ReChic so I came home with a fun new sweater and didn’t have to reach for my wallet. Woo hoo. Oh, and I’m carrying my much loved Naghedi St. Barths tote that I wrote about last week.
I did a quick search and found the same sweater in small here on Poshmark. They also have an x-small with tags still on. Here’s another x-small at ThredUp. For reference I’m wearing a small, and it fits perfectly. I could not size down. Anyway, if you’re feeling the stripes, here are a few other options.
OSEA ADVANCED REPAIR EYE CREAM
A few weeks ago I mentioned ordering Osea’s Advanced Repair Eye Cream and promised to report back. I’ve been using it for a few weeks now and I like it just fine. I don’t mean to sound lukewarm about it, but if I’m being completely honest I can’t think of an instance where I’ve noticed a particular product making a noticable difference in my skin. Have you? What I do notice is if I forget to use my serum and moisturizers my skin will feel dry and get flakey. So that means the products I’m using must be doing their job. I also notice when a product feels heavy or greasy or it has a strong fragrance … I don’t like those things at all.
What I look for in any skincare product is … a clean product, a reasonably priced product, and one that is fragrance-free. I like them to be easy to apply and absorb nicely into my skin (not feel greasy or tacky hours after application). I’m happy to report that Osea meets all my requirements and I’ll definitely reorder.
FOYER REFRESH – UPDATE
Last week I shared part two of our foyer refresh which included a mock up of the scalloped mirror and table lamp I ordered for our new bamboo console table. This week our mirror and lamp arrived. Jim hates – HATES – putting nails in the wall and prefers to hang things using Command Hooks. However, in this case the screw heads securing the mirror backing stick out an enough that Command Strips were ruled out. After exhausting all other options, he reluctantly used the anchor bolts that came with the mirror.
Last week I mentioned the difficulty of finding a very thin area rug in the right size for our not-very-wide-or-long foyer. In a perfect world, I’d find a very thin 4.5 x 6.5 Persian style rug. Our current rug, which I love, is 3.5 x 5.5. A little too small, but it’s very thin and the front door will open over it. Thank you for those who offered ideas and suggestions in the comments section last week. I haven’t had time to investigate them all, but let me share these sources for those of you struggling with similar challenges.
Shelley – Spicher & Co.
Karen – Ruggable
Annie – LL Bean’s Water Hog
Lisa – Chilewich
EASY, DELICIOUS COMFORT FOOD RECIPE
Rachel Ray’s Lemon Chicken and Leek Rice Pilaf is a favorite comfort food recipe I’ve been making again and again … for over ten years. Jim loves it too. Last weekend I made it for our Sunday lunch … and we enjoyed a repeat performance on Monday. I like to add about 1/2 – 1 cup of frozen sweet white corn at the same time the chicken, lemon juice and parsley go into the pot.
WHAM! DOCUMENTARY ON NETFLIX
Whether or not you were a Wham fan in the 90’s (I was, Jim was not) you might enjoy this insightful history of the duo on Netflix. George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley narrate their own story which is really interesting. The documentary is a journey through George and Andrew’s meeting at school at ages 11 and 12 respectively, their early efforts to write songs, form a band, culminating in their mega success. And ultimately results in the decision to go their separate ways as George’s solo career takes off.
Odds & Socks ~
Did you know that Thursday was the 44th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice? When our underdog USA hockey team beat the Soviets to win the Gold Medal at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. Are you old enough to remember the excitement of that win … a national moment of surprise and pride. In honor of the anniversary Jim and I rewatched the 2004 movie Miracle starring Kurt Russell and Patricia Clarkson. What a great movie, and a great memory. You don’t have to like hockey (I love hockey) to enjoy and appreciate the movie. If you love a feel-good, underdog story, Mystery, Alaska is another excellent movie (with a phenomenal cast) that we used to watch annually with Kyle and the nieces when they were young. Might be time to queue that one up again as well.
Current Favorites ~
And that’s what I have for you today.
Let’s visit Kim and Elizabeth to see what’s inspiring them.
If you missed last weekend’s post, you can catch up here.
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Until next time, cheers from Snowberry!
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