DNA = Art?

Who knew?!

This super smart international company, DNA11, has taken DNA (super impersonal) and made it into art (EXTREMELY personal).  You can literally send in a sample of your own DNA and have a custom piece of art made out of it - I love that every single piece they produce is one of a kind since its made of you... or your family... or your dog!  Über modern, and usually, I'd say that is not at all my taste, but the black and white makes it more abstract, and actually kind of cool!  I think I also just like the idea that my genetics is made into something visual... that is so futeristic.


Apparently the guys that started this company are smarty pants (and not at all bad looking!)  I should tell Kira...  anyways, one has his degree in molecular genetics, and the other... just looks pretty?  I'm not fully sure, but they certainly have one successful business!  Recently, they've been featured on Wired, New York Times, NBC, Today Show, BBC, and the list goes on!  


LOVE it!!
http://www.dna11.com/default.asp

Pumpkin Spice really IS everything Nice

And it was totally worth being 20 minutes late for work this morning.... AMAZING

It's Fall!!

It's technically not really fall yet, but today... I felt it.  The air just changes and suddenly it's fall.  Not that we had much of a summer here in SF, but it went from winter to fall - essentially the two seasons this city sees.

In this whirlwind apartment hunt, I have been darting about the city all day - from work to view an apartment, back to the office, to a rental agency, and on and on and on - and in the back-and-forth I realized - it's fall!  The light is changing, and and we are moving into a new season.  I am so excited, because this is my favorite season! The changing leaves, the waning light, and everything Pumpkin.  I pulled out my fall candles and my apartment now smells like fall spices.

I have really been watching what I eat as we prepare for Hawaii (one week!), but tomorrow I am going to treat myself to one of my favorite fall indulgences... Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte.

This weekend we are set to celebrate my mom's birthday, and we are going to the shore.  A little walk on the beach, some cocktails under the heat-lamps on the patio, and dinner at the Half Moon Bay Brewery.  I love it when we all get together, and am so looking forward to just hanging out.

One of the things I love most about being an adult, is being able to give my parents good gifts on their birthdays.  I have been obsessed with the idea of getting a cape for the fall and winter after reading the September InStyle - oh my god.  ADORABLE! While I'd love one for myself, I bought my mom a beautiful belted Cape for her birthday, and I can't wait to see her open it.  It is chic, but timeless, on-trend after fashion week in NY, but classic enough that it won't be "done" in two-point-five seconds.  I hope she loves it as much as I do... maybe I can get one to match and we can be twins!

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LOVE this cape:
http://etsyfavorites.tumblr.com/post/893523823/etsy-margery-daw-0s-fall-cape


...and this one:
http://www.polyvore.com/black_belted_cape_paul_smith/thing?id=8921283

....and this one too!
http://www.intermixonline.com/product/designers/rachel+zoe/leather+trim+cape.do

Is this the one?!

As I mentioned, Kris and I have been apartment hunting for the past few months.  To cut the story short, it has been an extremely frustrating process.  Rent is at an all time high, and there are very few options right now... BUT... tonight we went to see an apartment, and I think this could be it!!

I can feel myself getting my hopes up, so I really need to take it down a few notches, but I left the apartment feeling so excited, I could barely contain it!  Kris just kept laughing at me - you'd swear I won the lottery.

I can just imagine how lovely this new home is going to be - the living room has tall floor to ceiling windows, and the whole unit gets a lot of light.  We can have dinner parties in our formal dining room, movie nights in the expansive living room, and order in because the kitchen is VERY small.

While we don't have it yet, I have already started dreaming about the nesting... I can't wait until the suspense is over and we can plan out our new apartment together.  Kris likes modern and I like more classic, so I think we can find an easy balance with what I am going to call... contemporary classic.

For fuel I headed over to House Beautiful - the epitome (I feel) of contemporary classic.  Some of the homes and rooms are a bit too fashion-y for me, but this magazine truly inspires me to experiment with more colors, fabrics, and textures to create something really interesting... I want practical meets stunning.  Kris wants what I want

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LOVE this slide show...
http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/designer-living-rooms

Must remiknd Kris that I am "streamlining" and "exercising restraint" when his bachelor couch goes bye-bye
http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/ideas/designer-decorating-secrets-ideas-0511


*Sigh* if only this were our house
http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/sophisticated-san-francisco-house?click=main_sr

All Loved Up

I met Kris 5 years ago.  At a bar.  As all great love stories start.

I've always known how lucky I was to have him, however, recently I have found myself more in love than ever.  That actually sounded way more cheesy out loud than it did in my head, but it's true.

After 5 years of dating, we have made the decision to move in together.  For us, this is a big step.  It's grown up.  And it's us finally acknowledging that unless we kill each other in Ikea over which ottoman to get, then we will most likely get married.  It's scary and exciting, and having him meet me at lunch to see a 1BR/1BA in the Marina (a neighborhood which he hates and I love) reminds me of everything I love about him.

To my hunny bunny - with whom I have never celebrated an anniversary - I am luckier than you will ever know.  Thank you for not calling me back when I first gave you my number next to the mechanical bull.  Thank you for making me work for it.  And, thank you for showing me what real love is like.

Single girl, Obsessed with Weddings

It all started when I was 8.  Well... the fantasy of being a princess began when I was 4, but the real obsession began with a secret page torn out of the pattern books at the fabric store.  From then it snowballed.  How many flower girls would I have? Colors? Pink or pinker? Flowers? Galore!  Poofy sleeves?  The poofier the better!! (hey, it was the '80's)

A formal folder that was once reserved for school was started, and into it went clippings from the special spring wedding section in the Sunday paper.  In middle school, I baby-sat for a family whose mom still hung onto her old wedding magazines...... jackpot!  And then... the internet.  We got a computer when I was in high-school, and there were many MANY hours spent searching for dresses.  Rhinestone encrusted, full floaty skirts, tulle, beading, lace, pearls (because that is classy, and elegant) - the more the better.  That was the motto.

My tastes (thank god) have evolved, and now I have a much more modern, streamlined idea of what a dress should be.  Something simple yet unique.  Something interesting and beautiful.  Carefully pleated bodices, body skimming trumpet skirts, ballgowns that float instead of drag.

And it's more than just the dress... its the day... the magic, the whimsy, the celebration of life and love and this whole picture in my head that becomes more and more built up.

Luckily, I have discovered that there are tons of other bridal obsessed woman out there, and that I am not alone.  That I can be single, and be totally in love with the idea of my one-day marriage without freaking my boyfriend out.  I will get married one day, and then there will be no wedding for me to look forward to.  So for now, I do not feel bad at all, and thank god Kris laughs at my wedding magazines.  Yes, I have found one that accepts my crazy, still loves me, and tells me I'm his nut... and so, I can continue to day-dream...