travel: exploring the north country

another weekend road trip. more exploring of the north country. traveling with mischa (hiker, storyteller, and piesmith). in less than 4 days, we drove over 1,000 miles. we visited fresno, mendocino, tomales, marin, and san francisco counties. we ate a delicious and overwhelming supply of baked goods. and we had a few adventures along the way...

+ relaxing at mercey hot springs in fresno county

+ exploring the beautiful town and woods of mendocino

+ driving the pacific coast highway, north of san francisco

+ feasting at a beautiful outstanding in the field dinner


+ and camping at marin roots farm

i can't wait to go back! for more photos, check out lillieinthecity / flickr.

listening to: birds fly away by theresa andersson (listen)

travel: maker fair @ san francisco

another trip to san francisco! i'm finding lots of excuses to visit that lovely city. if only the drive from LA didn't take quite so long...

this weekend's excuse was the world's largest DIY festival: maker fair. wandering the fairgrounds, my friend alex and i found makers of all kinds: crafts, robotics, fashion, technology, food, and more. it was inspiring madness.




our trip also included an overnight in fresno; saturday morning at the ferry plaza farmer's market; sampling ice cream at bi-rite creamery; a foggy morning glimpse at day 1 of the 545-mile AIDS life cycle; a visit to the seward street slides; and a turkish delight.

see more photos from our weekend in san francisco at lillieinthecity / flickr.

travel: catalina island

life has been full of lots of little adventures lately, which makes me feel pretty lucky. this weekend, i went on a short-but-sweet trip to catalina island in the good company of one californian and two germans. we got up early and drank hot chai tea on the ferry. watched sea lions and dolphins on our way out into the pacific. and eventually docked in two harbors, the smaller of two villages on the island. our campground had a gorgeous view of the water. we hiked and ate lots and rented kayaks and picnicked on a deserted, remote, little beach.

it was--as self-proclaimed on the village logo--a little "island paradise."


listening to: deep blue sea by grizzly bears (listen)

a little college reunion

and then the fun continued! within days of my family adventure ending, more of my favorite people arrived in town. this time for a little college reunion.

it's not easy to coordinate the lives of six friends in five cities across the country and to agree on one location and one time for them to all to converge. but thanks to some marathon email chains and several "just do it!" phone calls, we managed to reserve four days, several plane tickets, and an excellent campsite for one laugh-love-food-filled weekend.

our main destination was jalama beach, three hours north of los angeles and a solid half hour from general civilization. there in good company, we got our fix of campfires, enormous egg scrambles, late night dominoes, banana s'mores, cowboy coffee, and sunshine.



a special thanks to in-n-out for being conveniently located by the airport. to gmail for making our email marathons possible. and to skype for allowing dave in prague to join in on the fun. it was all very well worth the effort.

see more photos of our camping at lillieinthecity / flickr.

listening to: total eclipse of the heart by bonnie tyler (listen)

family in the city

greetings! lots to catch up on in life and online. the past few weeks have been awesome and exhausting and adventure-filled and enjoyed with some of my very favorite people.

our little family reunion in san francisco was a perfectly balanced weekend of catching up and relaxing, eating and drinking, sitting in coffee shops and exploring the city. we have a good time for ourselves.

a few lasting memories: the many hours spent at the bean bag coffee house on divisadero. pesto pasta at caffe sport in north beach. makeshift sleeping arrangements in my little brother's apartment. visits to the flower conservatory and the craft & folk art museum. an amazing dinner at chez panisse (more on that soon). one night at a little cottage on the russian river. wine tasting via bicycle in sonoma valley. plus, a great roadtrip from LA to SF and back with half a pie, garlic ice cream, and an unexpected detour to the outskirts of yosemite.

it was a very good weekend.





see more photos of our family adventures at flickr / lillieinthecity.

listening to: thunder road by bruce springsteen (listen)

san francisco weekend

a few photos from my weekend exploring san francisco...

i'm in love with every aspect of this city: historic buildings, art and music, neighborhoods with big personalities, car-free living, so many city parks, delicious fresh food, and lots of coffee shops. although a dose of southern california sunshine wouldn't hurt. it's a near perfect city just as it is.






see more of the weekend's photos at flickr / lillieinthecity.

listening to: her morning elegance by oren lavie (listen)

::images from lillieinthecity

welcoming the new year

hello 2009!

this new year has had a slowwww start--or maybe it's just me. i am still trying to get a handle on all of the projects and adventures and plans and resolutions for the next 12 months--while cleaning and organizing and making sense of the clutter left in the wake of 2008.

but i'm feeling optimistic.

i will get to writing more soon.
for now, a few favorite photos from my time at home...





see more photos of my holidays at home at lillieinthecity / flickr.

the coast

sometimes i forget how beautiful it is.


:: image from myflickr

labor day weekend -- a trip to maine

the summer was complete with long-weekend trip home, including a night with family (and friends!) at the cottage in maine.

if you ever find yourself in west newfield, maine, check out:
- barnswallow pottery (buy yourself a mug!)
- willowbrook (mostly for their sweet shop)
- bond mountain (where you can still get fresh & free spring water)
& boonie's country store (they still sell penny candy!)




orrrr just sit by the lake and relax.


:: photos from myflickr

road trip

allison & i took a road trip over the weekend.


:: images from myflickr

paris in the springtime

two recent stories about paris caught my eye (and heart!) in the past week.
+
these amazing snaps that were taken on a quick week in the city.
markets. chocolate. street life. cafes!
+
this mini guide to paris.
the first image of the patisserie makes my mouth water.

both make me want to take off on a whirlwind trip there...
and take more (better) photos this time around!!



::photos from myflickr

may day!

catching up from the last two weeks...

highlights from a weekend with mom:
1. sunset & cocktails at the del on coronado island
2. visiting the zoo in san diego
3. exploring the flea market in long beach
4. shopping at the farmer's market in hollywood
5. lunch at moonshadow in malibu


and happy {belated} earth day!
a. inspire change with 50 ways to help the planet
b. buy an designer tote bag, 90% of proceeds go to environmental education
c. look out for the path to survival, the 2009 sequel to al gore's inconvenient truth
d. plant a tree--or at least, pot a plant!

my goal is to post each day for the month of may.

exploring brooklyn

i had the pleasure of spending an excellent work-hard-play-hard week in new york & brooklyn. fantastic friends & wintry weather.

here are a few shots that i managed to snag in park slope & williamsburg.




[photos via myflickr]

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