SFBayStyle

Oliebollen

What happens when a shopaholic is on vacation and can't shop? They go online!

That's exactly what I have been doing. I would really like to be wandering the streets of Hayes Valley, enjoying my cup of Blue Bottle coffee, maybe stopping for lunch at Bar Jules... but, no, I am on vacation. Stuck out by the beach. I can buy an array of lighthouse motif items, or perhaps some Lily Pulitzer. However, that is just not my style. I have never been able to pull of that pink and green "WASP" look. So what does this Bay Area shopper do, other than dream about home, I take advantage of internet shopping. (My husband is just thrilled about this rainy day activity.) It is never to early to think about back to school shopping for my kids. This is also the time of year that many online boutiques are having sales.

One of my favorite online boutiques is Oliebollen. Though not based in the Bay Area, the company carries many Bay Area designers, and is similar to shops that I frequent. The owner, Margaret Schankler, a former stay at home mom in Michigan, has assembled a wonderful selection of clothing, toys and gifts for children. You can find Bay Area favorites like, Dagmar Daley, and Tea Collection.. In addition to have a unique selection, Oliebollen does something that we value in the Bay Area. They have Olie Aid, and give a percentage of net profits to charities every year. This corporate campaign supports a variety of worthy children's causes. I always love to shop for a cause, Oliebollen makes that possible.

I have had my fill of nautical themed clothing, and am looking forward to returning to the Bay Area. Not only for the style, but I could use some sunshine. Vacation is great, but there is truly no place like home, especially when home is the S.F. Bay Area.

Hotcakes Design Exclusive

Caramia Visick has been designing jewelry in her Rockridge studio since 2000. Caramia's company, Hotcakes Design Jewelry is sold worldwide. I own a few of the hand cast resin bracelets, and have my eye on a necklace.The resin necklaces are all hand made, and the acrylic image is surrounded by black onyx. You can choose the image from a wide selection- all with a distinct vintage feel.

On a recent visit to S.F. MOMA to see the Frida Kahlo exhibit, (You must go!) I caught a glimpse of one of Caramia's limited edition necklaces with Frida as the image. Hint to husband, this would be a great anniversary gift...or a great gift for anyone for any occasion. The perfect combo of a local designer, with any amazing female artist.

Hotcakes Design studio is located in Oakland, at 5337 College Avenue.

100% Pure Cosmetics

I have a confession – I sometimes watch QVC. Wait! Don’t dismiss me just yet. Really, QVC is not all bad. There are some hip brands selling on this 20-year-old shopping channel, such as Maxx of New York handbags, Bare Escentuals cosmetics, and even designer Chloe Dao of Project Runway fame sells her gear on QVC.

Besides, a girl can learn a lot from just watching. Case in point: One Sunday afternoon I switched on the TV while I was puttering around. I did my usual QVC check and found an attractive and vibrant woman presenting her own cosmetics line called 100% Pure. I’m a sucker for lip gloss, so I kept it on. Turns out Susie Wang and her five-year old company make cosmetics and body care items from pure ingredients such as seaweed, teas, kelp, fruit oils, vitamins, and antioxidants.

Glug Sample Sale in Palo Alto

If you missed the Glug sample sale in Marin and San Francisco, you have one last chance to score some Glug designs at wholesale prices. My kids love the shirts!  Glug is available at select boutiques throughout the Bay Area, and designed here in the Bay Area. Here are the details :
   Glug Sale, Friday June 27, 10- 1
   2005 Park Blvd.,Palo Alto
Happy Shopping!

Goodbye Cody's Books

The landmark Berkeley book store, Cody's has closed. As a U.C. Berkeley alumnus, Cody's held a special place in my heart. This was the epitome of a Berkeley book store- you could get your copy of any Noam Chomsky novel there ! The store opened in 1952, and closed this past Friday, June 20th. The loss of Cody's is sad for the community in Berkeley and all of the Bay Area. I have many fond memories of wandering through the store on Telegraph Avenue. Just a reminder of how important it is to support our local book sellers in the Bay Area.

944 Magazine San Francisco Launch

It has to be magical when one can stroll the streets of downtown San Francisco sleeveless. And so it was Thursday night for the launch party of the San Francisco edition of 944 magazine, a fashion, entertainment and lifestyle publication with other big city editions around the country. An unusually balmy evening with the full moon casting a glow around the fashionistas, the event was held at the historic Bentley Reserve building located in San Francisco's financial district. Over 1000 fashion forward people gathered at 8pm on Battery street sporting spring attire.

The ladies' chosen style for the evening was the tunic dress in bright colors and patent leather sandals. Accessories included large cocktail rings, chunky necklaces, and clutch bags. Always appropriate black made an appearance as well and the gentlemen donned everything from black jeans to suits (like those worn by Ezra Miranda, Jeremy Roberts, JD Elquist, left). No fog and no chilly breeze meant there wasn't a coat or wrap to be seen.

Rainsong Shoes

I have been wanting a pair of Repetto ballet flats for a while now, and I chose not to join the crowds of fashionable Parisians (is there any other kind?) and buy some flats at the shop on Rue De Paix. The exchange rate made that decision. However, my closet needed a pair to join my growing ballet flat collection - I am so clearly meant to own a pair! Why else would the last pair of Demeter Ballerine shoes have been in my size?

Just minutes before closing, I took a peek into Rainsong Shoes in downtown Healdsburg. Rainsong has an amazing collection of hard to find designers like Giraudon, Pons Quintana, Cydwq, Espace and Repetto. I ran over to the sale rack and saw a few Repettos, not one was in my size, and I figured there was no back stock. I got brave and asked the sales woman to check anyway. Now I am the proud owner of some Repetto ballerina flats and I got them at half-off. The moral of this story: run into stores before closing, and always check the sale rack. You never know what treasure you may discover.

Thread Lounge Is Back In Town

I was on my way for my daily dose of Fraiche yogurt, when my kids noticed the sign. "That sale is back!" They are right - the Thread Lounge designer sample sale is back in Palo Alto. (There is a permanent sale in S.F. as well.) As I combed through the racks, I saw some pretty impressive labels. There is a collection of Copenhagen designer, Ivan Grundahl's pieces, as well as some cute Catherine Malandrino dresses. The collections change almost daily, and styles are limited. They are expecting a delivery of ten racks of kids clothing in the near future.

The Thread Lounge is located at 203 Forest  at Emerson in downtown Palo Alto. Hours are 11-7.

Kate Spade Private Sale

Thanks to an e-mail from Top Button, I was able to find out about the Kate Spade private sale online. I have already ordered my green boar skin "Wellesley Sam" bag, and  am trying to decide if I want the neon pink "Lady" ballet flats.

I collect ballet flats, but all sales are final. What if they don't fit? I have been a fan of Kate Spade since 1994 when I wandered into her first N.Y.C. boutique. I owned many of her famed micro fiber bags, and even sported a Kate Spade diaper bag for years. The designs now include shoes, apparel, accessories and lovely stationery.  The sale is only online.  Kate Spade boutiques are located in Palo Alto and San Francisco.

Dreaming About That Orange Clutch

I knew I would regret not buying that handbag!  Have you ever had a similar experience? I was walking around the Capsule Design show in S.F. in May and I stopped by the Lulu & Mac table. The bags were beautiful. Simple, and soft. The kind of bags that - like wine - look like they get even better with age.

I had my eye on the orange coffee clutch. This bag would just be perfect for nights out. I chatted with the designer's mom, and then decided to come back after checking out some other booths. Big mistake. We never made it back for my bag. My sister got an S.O.S. call that her newborn needed her, so off we went.

I have spent the last month thinking about this bag...and clearly need to own it. Lulu & Mac bags are designed by Tracy Cardenas, a Northern California native. After graduating from F.I.D.M., Tracy worked for Esprit, Gap and Gymboree before launching Lulu & Mac in 2005. The collection is available at select Bay Are locations, and on their website.

Piensa Mas Alla, Think Beyond Fashion Show & Charity Event

Palomita & Chucho First Annual Latino Fashion Show Auction, benefiting the Palomita Education Fund, was held at Terra in San Francisco.  It was a night of celebrating creative expression through fashion and art with VIPs, artist, and celebrities of the Latino community. 

Molly Robinson (shown here, right, with Blanca Garza), the beautiful creator and event organizer, greeted all attendees as they preened on the pink carpet before entering the reception.  Once inside the transformed gallery, guest sipped on delicious caffeine and guarana infused vodka cocktails called 'P.I.N.K Rocks' and enjoyed traditional Latin hors d'oeuvres like pupusas, taquitos, and various salsas.

Happy Father's Day

The image above is from the store window of Limestone in Healdsburg, courtesy Pamela Hornik.

Alligators, Old Mink and New Money

As a lover of all things vintage (almost all things), the book Alligators, Old Mink & New Money: One Woman’s Adventures in Vintage Clothing caught my eye immediately in 2005 when it was published. Since then I’ve read it twice and could enjoy it again and again.

Written by Alison Houtte and her sister, San Francisco journalist Melissa Houtte, Alligators is about Alison’s journey from a childhood in Florida with five siblings to a high fashion modeling career in the 1980's to her current role as a vintage clothing fashionista. With a conversational and upbeat tone, Alligators allows readers to feel as if we’re tagging along with Alison on her adventures. We are as excited as she is when she flies from Florida to Paris and makes the rounds (called go-sees) looking for modeling jobs, often sporting a vintage Brooks Brothers suit she had bought at a Florida flea market.

A Vegan Visits Le Colonial

Le Colonial is tucked away in a little alley not too far from the Union Square area in San Francisco. It's not the kind of place that gets walk-by traffic. In fact I doubt anyone just stumbles upon Le Colonial: You're there because you're one of the cool city folks who knows it's there. I was surprised my new car's navigation system even recognized the address. Once there, the tucked-away-in-an-alley location adds to your feeling of being transported to another time and place...in Le Colonial's case, French Colonial Vietnam.

Normally Asian restaurants, no matter how fancy or modern, do pretty well by vegans like me. After all, tofu was an Eastern food staple centuries before it made its way onto Western plates and into our Safeways. but I was attending a large group dinner on Monday night, and those always make me worry about leaving as hungry as I came. Large groups get served set menus, and some restaurants are extremely prickly about going off that plan. It always helps to give the kitchen a heads up, rather than just showing up to foil their well-laid plans, but it doesn't always guarantee a good veg*n meal.

And the set menu laid at every place Monday night was decidedly non-vegetarian, let alone vegan. Everything from the salad to the side dishes had a little something for the omnivore, and nothing for the veg*n. My heart sank.

Yogoda: Living with More Energy

Since Elephant Pharm drugstore moved to Los Altos, I find myself stopping by for one thing or another.  I love going there because they are much more than a prescription and herbal pharmacy, but a one stop wellness center.  I especially love the fact that they offer free daily classes.  One of these free classes was  "Yogoda: Living with more Energy", where I met the instructor Luca Moschini, ABT (Asian Bodywork Therapist), and founder of Need Relaxation. He taught us the art of Yogada, a unique healing technique designed to strengthen, recharge, and harmonize the body. 

SFBayStyle: So what is 'Yogoda'? 

Luca: Yogoda means harmony.  It is a healing modality designed to harmonize the energy of the body and calm the mind.  Yogoda was developed by Paramhansa Yogananda, an Indian yogi, who came to the United States to teach meditation and yoga.