August Wrap Up - NorCal Summer

urban sidewalk garden, Mission district

Lately, I haven't had much free time during the week outside of work and work-related events, so I've particularly savored any down time. And while I took a few much-needed moments to space out on the couch as well as to clean and organize my neglected home, I also wanted to continue taking advantage of free time to hang with friends and explore the area. I've gone around the Bay Area a bit (floating down the Russian River, barbecuing at China Beach in Marin, chilling out in Half Moon Bay). In the city itself I've mostly stuck to my part of town, going to a couple more Giants games, checking out some new-to-me restaurants and bars, and trying to avoid Karl the Fog during the month of Fogust. A while back I read this post on Apartment Therapy and realized I adhere to the mantra: "The city is my living room." In words and pictures here is what August looked like:

Summer Weekend: Mendocino Farm Life, Beaches, and Brews

Last weekend I had a quick getaway with some family up in Mendocino County, which is about three hours - and a world away - from San Francisco. My husband and I have visited the area before (wrote about it here) and each time we head up, we get to see a little more of the area. Here are some photos...

Links I'm Reading

Mindy Kaling on gaining confidence: 

Work hard, know your shit, show your shit, and then feel entitled. - Glamour

I have been thinking about role models recently and Mindy is definitely one of them. I can't wait to read her new book when it comes out next month. For some more Mindy goodness, I liked her recent post for The New Yorker on TV tropes.

I've never been that into Goop (although I dig their travel guides), but this FastCo interview with Gwyneth Paltrow and CEO Lisa Gersh is fascinating: Fast Company

An old(er) article on San Francisco's Get Out and Lean (GOAL) program that helps students finish high school. Sadly, the teacher who founded it died recently, and his family, friends and students have been paying tribute to him on the local news and in social media. Here's hoping the program continues. NYTimes

Looking forward to having friends and family visit San Francisco soon, and dreaming up how to entertain them:
Golden Gate Park
Restaurants Galore
Ocean Beach
Wine Country
HMB chillin'
anything outdoors

In the meantime, I'm heading on a weekend trip and watched this (from CNTraveler) as inspiration:

Summer Style

Over the last couple years my wardrobe purchases have slanted toward neutral/minimalist/basic (it just makes it so much easier to get dressed in the morning!) but that doesn't mean I've completely ruled out the fun and bright pieces. Here are some of the items I've bought in recent months to round out my summer wardrobe, aka what I throw on when I'm headed to the park, to brunch, to the stadium, the beach, the woods, the bar, etc. 

Except for my Birkenstocks, my sandals from previous years are pretty worn and I need more comfortable options. I found the above brightly patterned cloth espadrilles on the clearance rack at Anthropologie and they have been so fun to wear around; they are actually padded which I find rare in espadrilles and they feel like I'm walking around in slippers. They're a jolt of brightness to otherwise neutral outfits. The sandals below are a Nordstrom Rack discovery, and the silk pineapple-print top was a sample sale find from Amour Vert, a local sustainable (& beautiful) clothing line. I also bought printed silk pants at that sample sale though sadly I haven't taken any photos with them; you'll have to trust me when I say they go nicely with a plain top and sandals.

And here are some of the more neutral pieces making up my wardrobe, aside from the usual jeans and t-shirts: