i spent last weekend recharging in sonoma. my mom's garden proved to be an ideal spot to sit and relax, as everything smelled so good - the citrus blossoms, honeysuckle, jasmine... it was the perfect environment to think about a friend i miss very much.

this is makaria farm - where m now resides and works. so beautiful, right? you can read about his progress as a first time farm apprentice here.

photo by m.

who says you have to look like schlump when you cook? thanks for the apron mimsy!

behind-the-scenes snippets of:

// 1 // steven alan's fall collection 2011 preview

// 2 // j.crew's womens spring 2011 behind the design

it's such a treat to catch a glimpse of a designer's thought processes, no?

today's farmers market loot... kind of seems like i'm carbo-loading. so i guess my secret is out: i love bread.

dinner: this salad + roasted asparagus done up Alice Waters' way + sandwich of black forest ham, fig jam, and brie.

something at which to marvel... and maybe the new definition of "handsome".

a trip in pictures / 1-3 / stumptown coffee at ace hotel. it's pricey for a reason. a little known fact about portland's ace hotel - there are free old school erasers and pencils... not really a selling point, but it's a real perk in my opinion. other portland highlights: frances may, alder + co, clyde common, jam. wish i had time to eat at the farm / 4 / roadtrip means winding skeins of yarn from happy knits for future projects / 5-6 / the ferry from vancouver to nanaimo on vancouver island / 7-9 /  granville island's public market / 10-11 / vancouver / 12-13 / a friend

it's one week later and i'm back in california from my week-long roadtrip to british columbia with m! i had big plans to document the drive and cities we visited. unfortunately, i wasn't particularly diligent about taking photos since it rained pretty much every day. i'll see what i have on the ol' camera at some point. in the meantime, these are some ridiculous photobooth pictures from portland.

space dyed left foot meets marled right foot...




i'm trying out yet another toe version on my knitted socks. this one is the short row toe which has a rounder shaped toe (not sure if this holds true) and a smoother feel (definitely true since it's "seamless"). it's quite easy to knit once you get the hang of it, especially if you refer to this incredibly helpful two-part tutorial.

edit / the same tutorial can be found here on ravelry since the original link is no longer active.

see what i mean? another item of clothing in raw sienna... the color obsession continues. i love this jacket because it reminds me of a man's standard carhart jacket (except it's made by jcrew).