My sister Sandy invited me out to San Francisco last week to assist with several decorating projects. This struck me as somewhat comical since she is the one with the the interior design credentials, but she offered to pay for the ticket, and if there's any excuse to visit my other favorite city, I'll take it, even if work is involved. Another carrot she threw my way was that we could take in the exhibitions at the DeYong ("Masters of Venice") and Legion of Honor ("Pissarro"). Frankly, the most important bonus was that I could also visit with other family members, including a son and another sister, who live in the Bay Area.
The photo above shows the view as you walk around Strawberry Point in Mill Valley, which is close to Sandy's condo. In the middle distance you might see San Francisco; Sausalito is to the right. Unfortunately, I didn't take my better camera, the Canon G6, which would have produced superior photos. I was worn out by the Halloween posts and wasn't sure I was even going to take photos for the blog while I was away. Of course, once I got there I quickly changed my mind. I find, and I've mentioned this before, that I am always looking for ideas that might translate to the Central West End, and San Francisco is fertile ground for that sort of inspiration. See below for examples.
Off Union Square there are flower vendors who are able to set up shop all year 'round because of the favorable climate.
And because of the weather, the florist on Clement St. can just roll up her garage door, and she's open for business. There were three fabulous florists in the CWE years ago, the late Jon Prel, who operated his business out of the space where The Eye Bar is located at Euclid & McPherson, and Hereford Andrew, which occupied a space on Lindell just west of Salt. Regrettably, that business moved to a location on Brentwood Blvd. Ken Miesner, a well-known florist at Plaza Frontenac, had a shop space where Cecil Whitaker's is on Euclid.
Sidewalk planters, above, outside Le Centrale, and autumn-hued Kalanchoes, below
Another interesting idea is the use of alleys for bars (not advocating another one!), restaurants, and shops, above and below.
The photo, above and below, shows Claude Lane, where one of my favorite clothing shops, Maggie O'Leary, is located.
Here's an idea for a simple, very sturdy bike rack that I saw outside the DeYong Museum. We could definitely use more bike racks here, and I understand a design is in the works.
On Union Square the latest in shoes and sunglasses hatch out of gold-filled eggs in the Louis Vuitton window.
Back in Mill Valley, thirteen snowy egrets (in next post) that hatched out of real eggs in April and assorted ducks were my entertainment as I hung curtain rods in the windows overlooking the estuary which happens to be Sandy's front yard. So, I did earn my keep on the trip, shopping for fabric (fabulous Sal Berressi's on Bryant in the Mission District), being the navigator to the upholsterer's workshop located in a garage in the Haight, and of course, a couple of trips to the hardware store for assorted whatevers. Next time I'm summoned to help I'll pack my own screwdrivers. Sandy's were given to her when she left home at age 18—we lugged the same handleless toolbox with a license tag that says "Sandra, Missouri," from project to project, and lo these many years later, tools that have seen better days.