Tea at the Palace, Christmas in the Library + So Much More on Today’s Weekend Meanderings

Today on Weekend Meanderings, tea at the Palace, a San Francisco landmark turns into an RH showroom, and my friend Annie’s holiday crafts.

Happy weekend, friends!

It’s Saturday and I’m joining Kim and Elizabeth for Weekend Meanderings.

Our weekly roundup of inspiration and goings on.

It’s been another busy week over here.

Thanksgiving snuck up fast.

I thought we had one more week.

Earlier in the month I shared these Thanksgiving spritzer and appetizer ideas.

It’s been a frenzy of activity getting my holiday decorating plans in order.

I like to decorate Thanksgiving weekend so we can enjoy it for a longer period of time.

I know you’re busy too so let’s get to it.

Are you ready?

Let’s go!

 

MOST LOVELY THINGS IN BHG!

Guess what? Annie of Most Lovely Things is in the December (aka Dolly Parton) issue of Better Homes & Gardens! What?! Yep, she sure is … in a 10-page spread showcasing her holiday DIY and foraged crafts. Annie is the best at creating beautiful crafts and projects for her home in Connecticut. The bummer is my December BHG issue hasn’t arrived. I’ve been waiting – impatiently – by the mailbox. Yesterday I went online to double check my subscription and sure enough the December issue is on it’s way. But it’s still not here. Sigh. While I wait you can see some of Annie’s clever holiday crafts on her Instagram. Her paper bag snowflakes are my favorite. And her latest blog post is all about making Scandinavian- inspired wreaths.

Update: Look what just arrived!!!

Congratulations, Annie! What a thrill to see you in this iconic magazine!

CHRISTMAS IN THE LIBRARY

Speaking of the holiday’s, ever since I first got the idea to turn Snowberry’s living room into a library during our renovation, I’ve dreamed of decorating it for Christmas. We’re approaching our third Christmas in the house, so I signed up for a blogger Holiday Home Tour for motivation to finally do it. The tour begins November 28th and will reach Snowberry on November 30th. More about that later … you can be sure I’ll let you know. In the meantime, here’s my Christmas-in-the-Library inspiration board.

Because I jumped into the Holiday Home Tour kind of last minute, I’m at the mercy of inventory issues and tight shipping timelines. Can you believe how early everyone is shopping these days?! Anyway, I ordered pre-lit garland from Frontgate, a simpler garland from Target, cypress and juniper stems and gold filler stems from Target as well. I love these pinecone stocking hangers and embellished stockings. Also from Target I ordered a couple of small wreaths for the library windows and from Amazon this antique gold velvet ribbon. My friend, Jane, gave me this Nest candle that I’d admired at Nordstrom … and I hope to incorporate it into the library decor too.

We won’t actually have a tree in the library. No space. But I finally made a decision about a tree for our great room and went with this pre-lit 7′ Sanibel Spruce Tree from Balsam Hill. I love this King of Christmas ‘Charlie Brown’ tree, but ultimately decided we need something fuller for the space.

The library holiday decor is starting to arrive.

 

PLANNING FOR THE NEW YEAR

It’s that time again, to order a 2023 planner. Do you still use a paper planner? I prefer it and, sad to say, don’t use an electronic calendar at all. I know, I’m a dinosaur. 2023 dental appointments and other stuff (an Italian wedding!) are already booked. It dawned on me that I’m late ordering a new planner. Last year I ordered in early October. But not to worry, Erin Condren planners are fast and mine is already on the way. My sister is a planner fanatic and got me hooked on Erin Condren years ago. I like the LifePlanner style and this year I chose the Flannel cover (looks plaid to me) with rose gold coils. The horizontal layout works best for me and the entire planner reminds me of my mom’s Sierra Club calendars back in the day. Her calendar sat open on a shelf in our kitchen, next to her cookbooks, and contained every little detail of our lives from activities to anything special things that happened each day. I usually have my full name on the planner cover, but this year I opted for initials only. There are so many options and choices for color schemes, inside and out. My sister goes all in for the stickers and other decorative and fun accessories.  But I stick with just the planner and colored pens to highlight birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and other important dates. On New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day I’ll sit down and transfer dates from one year to the next. I love this process because it makes me feel organized and ready to hit the ground running in the new year.

On the positive side of ordering late, it looks like everything on the Erin Condren site is 30% off … an early Black Friday sale.

 

RH SHOWROOM IN SAN FRANCISCO

Last Sunday I went with my friend, Jane, and her twin daughters to the new RH San Francisco Gallery at Pier 70. It’s near AT&T Park and Chase Arena with sweeping views of the City and the Bay. Jane and I have been friends since high school and it’s fun doing things with her and her girls.

We had a fabulous brunch at The Palm Court Restaurant and then toured five floors (80,000 soft) of jaw dropping galleries, including the Rooftop Park. It was an unusually beautiful, sunny and warm November day in the City, and the views of the Bay were spectacular. The new gallery is in the restored Bethlehem Steel Building constructed in 1917.

Images from RH via Forbes

The gallery is a sea of modern, neutral furniture. All white and beige and camel accents. While minimal, the fabric textures and colors give it a very warm feel. People were wandering around with glasses of wine in hand. Yes, even red wine, which made me very nervous. We surmised there must be a cleaning crew ready to spring into action should there, heaven forbid, be a spill.

 

Speaking of RH, did you know they’re moving further into the hospitality realm with hotels? The RH Guesthouse in New York City is already open. You can read about it here. And it’s rumored they’ve purchased the historic and long abandoned Soda Springs Resort in Calistoga (Napa Valley). You can read about that here.

Let’s take a peak at RH Guesthouse New York in the Meatpacking District. The RH showroom is across the street.

Images from RH via Forbes.

There are two restaurants, the Dining Room & Terrance and the Champagne & Caviar Bar.

 

The rooftop pool. It will do.

Before we get too excited, the hotel rooms are pricey. Even by New York standards.  $3,500-$5,000/night with a two night minimum. The penthouse flat is $30,000/night, 2 night minimum. Keep buying Powerball tickets. Children and pets are verboten.

RH does not do social media and don’t appear to be suffering for it.

 

TEA AT THE PALACE

Yesterday I met up with our favorite Contessa, our Kim and a new friend, Laurie, for tea at the Palace. Not THAT Palace. The historic Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Afternoon tea is served in the Garden Court which is so beautiful. If you’re local and haven’t been, it’s a really special experience particularly during the holidays.

Contessa arranged our lovely tea luncheon and invited her friend, Laurie, who lives just around the corner from me! What a fun surprise. Contessa says she is a connector of people … and I have been a fortunate beneficiary. In looking through the pictures of the day my mouth is constantly moving. Why can’t I zip it?

 

You can keep up with the Contessa’s goings on here.

About the Palace … the original hotel opened in 1875 and burned to the ground in the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake. The ‘new’ hotel opened in December of 1909.

The public spaces of the Palace are defined by the Garden Court, where we had tea today, under a magnificant ceiling.

 

And, the Pied Piper, famous for the Maxfield Parrish painting over the bar. More than a few times Jim and I have enjoyed late night burgers here at the end of big nights out.

 

In addition to see-and-be-seen restaurants, the Palace has beautiful meeting spaces and I’ve attended many conferences and fun events here through the years. My favorite memory is a Mardi Gras themed company party hosted by Arthur Andersen, where I worked for a decade. My boss, the office’s managing partner, was the Mardi Gras King and my BFF, Bonnie, and I were part of his court. When Arthur Andersen threw a party it was quite something and this night in the Palace’s main ballroom is one I’ll never forget.

Pride & Joy was the entertainment. They’ve been the Bay Areas favorite funk and party band for nearly 30 years playing everywhere from private clubs to corporate shin digs and celebrity weddings. Who else has danced the night away to Pride & Joy?

I don’t know what to say about my bangs … it was the early 1990’s, truly unfortunate. My dress though. I bought it at I. Magnin and wish I’d held onto it. It was velvet trimmed with satin. I wore a black velvet bolero jacket over it. Wish I still had that too.

Ronald, my former boss and Mardi Gras king, sent me this article recently marking the 20-year anniversary of Arthur Andersen’s demise. I loved my years there.

So there you have it, this weekend’s meanderings.

Let’s visit Kim and Elizabeth to see what’s they’re sharing.

PINECONES AND ACORNS

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA STYLE

Odds & Socks ~

Last week my wine industry friends shared their Thanksgiving wine recommendations.

Here are more ideas from Town & Country.

And Food & Wine.

I made it to the post office to mail the Gobble book, mentioned a couple of weeks ago, to all my nieces.

We’re looking forward to a very low-key Thanksgiving.

Jim’s been traveling a lot, including the last three weekends.

It will be nice to have some down time over the long weekend.

And hopefully get stuff done too.

Our to-do list is long.

Wish us luck.

If you missed last weekend’s meanderings, you can catch up here.

And follow along for more fun on Instagram and Pinterest.

As always, I appreciate your visit and welcome your thoughts in the comments below.

Happy Thanksgiving from Snowberry!