Kathleen Whitaker Jewelry

Kathleen Whitaker Jewelry


Kathleen Whitaker's jewelry is my latest boutique-trolling find. Once I saw it, I couldn't unsee it, and it's definitely landed on my x-mas wishlist. Her pieces are somehow really dainty and refined but also stark and edgy. It seems like the kind of deceptively simple jewelry you wouldn't want to take out of your ear. 

Kathleen Whitaker JewelryKathleen Whitaker Stick Earrings

I love the stick earrings because they're minimal but exaggerated, which means they could go with anything, but are interesting enough to catch the eye.  They're sold individually, so a set is a little pricier, but consider it an invitation to make them even more striking by wearing one asymmetrically with your other earrings, or no other earrings at all.

Kathleen Whitaker Stick Earring


Kathleen Whitaker Stick Earring

The image above is from Totokaelo (one of my favorite places to boutique-troll) where, in addition to her own shop, you can find Kathleen Whitaker's jewelry online. Locally, it's stocked at James Rowland in Berkeley, a place I've been meaning to check out for their seriously amazing vintage shoes and boots (more on that later).

Tune In: Tame Impala



Tame Impala is probably my favorite band from Perth. Their 2010 album Innerspeaker is awesomely atmospheric and listenable the whole way through, and now they've got a new one out, Lonerism. Everyone's all Elephant is the jam, and it has the trippier video,  but I think it's Apocalypse Dreams.

Listening through a cloud of cannabis isn't my thing, but Tame Impala is great driving around on a sunny day tripping on being alone (as the album's title suggests), spacing out, and soaking up fuzzy, vintage guitar sounds.

Oakland Surf Club


Oakland Surf Club

Dudes, Oakland Surf Club is rad. A surf themed lifestyle store with a bonus upstairs gallery space for art shows and events, it's a fresh addition to downtown and the growing independent shopping scene that's been largely absent from Oakland until recently.

Oakland Surf Club


 Oakland Surf Club

When we stopped in, I chatted with one of the super friendly owners (who happened to be from the same beach town where I grew up, so topical). I told him I had found them by chance looking for places that carried Ace & Jig, and that I was super excited for Oakland to have a new shop. We had just returned from New York where we stayed in the LES again which has such an amazing concentration of boutiques that I couldn't help but feel jealous and disappointed Oakland had nothing to match. But when I walked into Oakland Surf Club and saw their selection, some of it literally straight out of an NYC boutique (viz. these little necklaces from In God We Trust), was just as awesome, current and well designed but California-centric — even Oakland-centric — well, I was stoked.

Oakland Surf Club Tee

Vintage Bob Mackie label


Oakland Surf Club Logo Tee




OSC stocks a range of brands and price points, and they even have a small, tightly-curated vintage selection, which is where I scored a vintage Bob Mackie linen tank and Levi's cut-offs that I practically lived in this summer. Traditional surf brands like Quicksilver and Billabong spin-off RVCA are represented, but they also carry labels like Ace & Jig, Edith A. Miller, and soon Mara Hoffman, that are more fashion forward but still heavy on the surf vibe. There's a focus on Oakland and Bay Area based skate and streetwear brands, plus they have their own tees, tanks and hats emblazoned with the snappy, modern/classic Oakland Surf Club logo, and actual surfboards by Mangiagli.

They've already put on art shows and live music events, and this weekend they're hosting the Juniper Ridge field lab, a mobile set-up that distills natural fragrances inspired by California's desert and mountain landscapes live, in front of your very eyes.

Juniper Ridge Field Lab Event Announcement

























If you live in Oakland or are visiting, definitely stop by Oakland Surf Club!

Oakland Surf Club Social Media Links
 (Last two photos by Oakland Surf Club)

Tune in: Harry Nilsson



Wacky, wonderful, rocking, poignant at turns,  Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him? His best friends are the Beatles, he'll take you out for a night of drunken revelry that might turn into a weekend (or a year, ask John Lennon), he'll wake up in his robe and sing you one of his songs about being hungover (he was an expert) and then break your heart with his original version of "One." He'll offer to let you stay in his London flat, but you probably don't want to take him up on it.

Nilsson's music is idiosyncratic, weird, verging on novelty (maybe getting there sometimes), but there's an affecting, heart-piercingness at its core, in his voice and lyrics, and he had undeniable talent as a songwriter. No one sings noises like he does, and whenever I listen to him, I find myself singing every yowl and wah wah hours later in my head. Plus, he's a genius with album titles: Nilsson Schmilsson, Son of Schmilsson, A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night, Knnillssonn.

If you like his music and are interested in his hijinks, I recommend the above referenced documentary. Let Harry Nilsson give you whirl!

Marquee Salon


Marquee Salon sign

There's a new salon in town: Marquee. It's exciting to have creative, local, independently run places like this popping up in our neighborhood, which used to be relatively barren. You wouldn't know it now looking at Subrosa coffee, with its Four Barrel coffee and shiny new parklet, Manifesto bikes, 1-2-3-4Go! Records, and mac and cheese haven Homeroom.  We went to Marquee Salon this weekend to check out the space and all the awesome action at their grand opening weekend. On Friday night they had drinks, including a deliciously strong, and rapidly disappearing, whiskey apple punch, delicious food from Boffo cart, a dj, and pop-up shops with great collections of vintage and new clothes and accessories.

Job & Boss scarves

Job & Boss bags


I saw these dyed pieces from Job and Boss the week before at Esqueleto for Temescal's First Friday, and when I saw them and liked them all over again, I decided to go ahead and pick up one of their beautiful hand-dyed scarves. Job and Boss's textiles are dyed in indigo using Japanese shibori techniques to create traditional, yet one-of-a-kind designs. I chatted a little with the designer, Kirby, who told me that to get the desired effects some pieces are bound between boards, or wrapped and tied to poles. The history of this technique and the striking minimalism of white and indigo make these miles more sophisticated than hippie-dippy. I also love their cute lookbook.

Job & Boss scarf


Job & Boss scarf




Job & Boss scarf



















I went back again on Sunday when there were even more vendors at the daytime pop-up shop. LA based Girl on a Motorcycle's handmade, tough-luxe leather bags and clutches had a 60s rock'n'roll vibe. Local designer Serial Cultura's architectural silk dresses and tunics featured house designed patterns. SF's Micaela Greg showcased an array of cozy looking geometric knits. But one of of my favorite Sunday additions was the 'garage sale' put together by the ladies of Marquee Salon. They had super affordable, and super cute, vintage dresses, tops, bags, belts, shoes and accessories. And they're some stylish ladies. I picked up these two vintage dresses for a song.

Vintage floral dress

























vintage Gunne Sax dress



The top dress is a bit of a departure for me, but I was weirdly drawn to it. My guess is that I'll either never wear it, or it will be amazing. The second dress actually belonged to a long lost friend from high school who, as it happens, is one of the stylists at Marquee. It's not the vintage YSL Rive Gauche that I loved borrowing from a friend to wear to a wedding this summer (and which inspired my search for the perfect sack dress) but I'm hoping this Gunne Sax sack will do for now.

My friend says they'll be having pop-up events like this seasonally, so stay tuned to what's happening at Marquee Salon!

Design + Relief


i still heart ny t-shirt

Give a little help to those still recovering from the continued ravages of Sandy and pick up this artfully designed embellishment to Milton Glaser's original tourist classic.

From Grey Area:
Sebastian Errazuriz’s studio was paralyzed after the hurricane. Unable to work and tired of watching the horrible disaster unfold on the news, Errazuriz decided to design something to help raise much-needed relief funds. This idea occurred to him after seeing the water line marked on the walls of the flooded galleries in New York’s Chelsea art district.
100% of profit goes to Hurricane Sandy relief programs.

Give directly, too:

Donate $10 to Red Cross disaster relief efforts by texting REDCROSS to 90999. Or donate online.

Masbia: a non-profit New York soup kitchen providing healthy, low-sodium meals to seniors displaced by Sandy. Donate online or text SOUP to 20222 to donate $10.

An article that details lots of ways to help.

Mood Marry!

We did it! We got married on October 6, 2012 at Slide Ranch. It was an absolutely beautiful day. The weather, the ceremony, our friends and family, all the work we put into planning, everything aligned and the whole day I had this magical feeling of everything being just as I had imagined - even better than I had imagined!



We had our ceremony on a breathtaking bluff overlooking the ocean and Northern California coastline, followed by a sweet champagne toast given by one of our best friends. The toast gave everyone a chance to spend more time hanging out at this beautiful and crazy scenic spot before we headed down to another (also amazing and very scenic) lower bluff for tacos and yurt partying!







It's true what everyone says, it went by in a flash, and the only thing I would change is to get hang out at our wedding for about 7 more hours. Well, that and I would have eaten one more fish taco :) Luckily, we can already remember the good times with these pictures from Instagram (thank you @pattyhume, @lovelightimages, @brianabreaks, @pandamystery7, and @chalibu!) and the awesome photobooth our friends Steve and Christian set up for us (and these are just until the official wedding photos arrive from Love Me Sailor - can't wait!). The photobooth was really a hit, especially with kids, as you can see in the video Steve put together.



Jody and Tim's Wedding Photobooth from Stephen Loewinsohn on Vimeo.

Some of my favorites from the photobooth...