Life Lately

Flowers.

I think flowers make a space feel so lived in and alive. How one little vase of cut blooms can do this amazes me. Flowers are one of those purchases that Joe thinks are totally frivolous, but I ignore him and buy them anyway. I picked up the above yellow and pink roses last weekend and they’ve been opening beautifully. They remind me of the roses my grandmother grows in her own rose beds — those things are legendary (no really, she used to have people knock on her door and ask if they could cut one to take it home. Or sometimes people would cut them without asking, which was like the uncoolest thing ever). I try to purchase a different type of flower every other week, based on what is prettiest or on sale. You too? 

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The Studio.

Like I said, we’ve been jamming over here! One of the two big projects I’ve been working on all summer finished up last week. The site is for Hudson+Bleecker, and will launch very soon! I’m working on a couple other updates for clients and myself (some changes to my own blog coming soon), plus the remaining big website project; three new projects (two blogs and a fitness company) start in the next month and a half. It’ll be busy from now until the end of the year, but I feel like I’ve really hit my stride and I’m excited about the diversity of things I get to work on. Update from last month’s column: I think I’m leaning towards staying solo for 2016. I need a year with no moving and general life stability, you know?

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Exploring the City

It’s been so fun trying new restaurants and exploring neighborhoods that have changed since we moved a few years ago. In some ways, being back here is this odd (but good!) mix of feeling like you’re home, but that you’re also in a new place that you are still discovering. Last week, Sara took me to this coffee shop on Polk called Saint Frank. She had instagrammed it ages ago, while I was in NY, and I commented on it…so of course, she had to show it to me in person! It’s a beautiful, minimalist space — check it out if you are in the area. They have a cool story you can read about here. Polk/Polk Gulch is one of those areas that was changing when we left, and now I feel like we’re seeing the transformed version of it. So many new shops, cafes, restaurants. It’s interesting to see.

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Work it Out

Okay, I never thought this would be me, but I’ve been working out a lot. Well, a lot for me, at least (around three times per week). It’s true what they say — the number 1 thing that will determine gym attendance is convenience. I live very close to a Barry’s Bootcamp, so even though it’s pricey, the proximity keeps me going. That and the efficacy. It really kicks your ass and you see results so quickly. I have a secret about Barry’s though — despite trying it out for a while, I could never get into the treadmill portions of the workout, even after trying to run on my own outside and (literally) find my stride. I’m just not a runner. I don’t know why I should fight it, I never have been my whole life. I can do virtually any other form of exercise except that — it’s just the worst for me. So, I primarily book double floor workouts at Barry’s, which means you stay on the floor the whole time and do strength training. For me, at least, it’s just as effective!

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It’s been hot.

Like, really hot for San Francisco. Over the weekend, I met up with a girlfriend for brunch in Potrero Hill, and when I got in the car afterward, the thermometer said 98. NINETY EIGHT. I thought that had to be a mistake, like the car temp was high from sitting in the sun, but no. After driving around for a while, no change. I came home and looked at the weather report, and yep, low 90s. Potrero tends to be one of the warmest parts of the city, so 98 isn’t a stretch. Let’s also remember that virtually nowhere in this city has air conditioning, because the fog is our air conditioning. When it’s gone…it’s hot. I recently bought one of these classic Hunter fans for our bedroom. We really love it — it looks stylish enough for a fan, it can be taken apart to clean (a huge thing for me), and is powerful. I loved it so much I bought another one for my office. With the heat wave the last few days, we brought both in the bedroom at night and created a super fan facing us. Not glamorous, totally real life. Hey, it worked.

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Music Man Lady

It’s a running joke between my friends that I never knew any new songs or artists that were popular. For years, before we had a car (i.e., no regular radio exposure), I didn’t really listen to anything except the same two stations on Pandora, so there wasn’t a whole lot coming into my rotation. When I joined Spotify a few years ago, one of my girlfriends cracked up when she saw my recently played artists and it was all 90s bands. Fast forward to the last month or so. I don’t even really know how it began, I just started getting more active in terms of saving/following/adding artists and songs on Spotify. Which led to organizing all my playlists. Which led to better recommendations. I also started paying attention to what friends were listening to, which inevitably sends you down a rabbit hole of discovering new music. I’ve found myself actually looking forward to Mondays, when Spotify releases a tailored playlist for you to discover new songs. I put together a list of songs I’ve recently been jamming to — you can follow the August Life Lately playlist here, if you’re so inclined. The mix is kind of random, but I hope you find a couple you like. Let me know if you do, so I can be like this. Side note: has anyone tried Apple Music yet? Do you prefer it over Spotify?

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I should also note that when I thought about doing a Life Lately post this week, I thought, “No, it hasn’t been long enough,” then realized the last one was July 9. Where is the time going?! Summer’s going to be over any minute now. How are you enjoying the end of August?