The SF Antiquarian Book and Paper Fair

I often find out about interesting events in San Francisco just by accidentally driving past them on the weekend. That's how I learned about the Antiquarian Book and Paper Fair, which turned out to be exactly what the event name implies. I think I was the youngest person in attendance, but I thoroughly enjoyed pursuing booth after booth of delicate books and whimsical old illustrations still more vibrant in their ripe age than many of the children's books of today. I saw antique postcards that ranged anywhere from 25¢ to a few hundred dollars and prints from as far back as the 15th century. I left empty-handed, but I did take a few photos for souvenirs.


These paper dolls were sent in the mail as postcards and had instructions for play on the back.


I thought this was a charming reminder of how language evolves over time.


A collection of paper dolls representing soldiers throughout history.


Beautiful binding and a story about time caught my eye. Clearly this book was a time traveler itself.


This whimsical pop-up book was better watching a 3-D movie.

| iPhone Photos by: Me. |

Together We're Giant

First of all, thanks to everyone who was entertained by or expressed sympathy for my nachos story last week. You are the best.

Thankfully I made it out of the Giants game without nacho cheese in my hair. In fact, I had a really fun time despite the home team not winning the game. Our seats were in the arcade section, which is the section with only three rows just inside the right foul pole, with McCovey Cove behind it. Because there were so few rows in our section, we developed a good sense of camaraderie in it and everyone was friendly and courteous. I didn't want to hold up my sign too much because I didn't want to block the view of the people behind me. I would recommend this section for people who are enthusiastic but not necessarily rowdy or looking to party in the stands.

Here is a photo of me with my sign and panda hat after the game had just ended. The orange flower pin on my panda hat is something I got at H&M. I thought it would make my hat more Giants-colored.

| Photo Credit: N. Morello, for The Yuppie Lifestyle. |

The Head Panda

In no way do I consider myself a sports fanatic. You'll never catch me checking stats on my BlackBerry or staying at home just to catch a game on TV. But I will admit that after the SF Giants' success last season, I have jumped onto the Giants bandwagon. You'll never see me threatening to divorce my spouse on Facebook if he roots for another team and I don't feel a personal need for the players to succeed in order for me to carry on with my life. (I see folks who are really into sports make these types of hyperbolic assertions.) But I can appreciate how the Giants' success has brought the people of San Francisco together and I want that city-wide pride to continue. So, it is for these reasons that I purchased my first piece of sports fan gear ever. You'll see people wearing these panda hats at Giants games because player Pablo Sandoval's nickname is Kung Fu Panda—presumably since he is quite nimble despite his panda-esque physique.

When I bought the hat at the SF Pride festival, I had the pleasure of meeting one of the co-creators of this now-famous hat style. He and his business partner did not seem much older than me and all they had was a unique idea that they pursued. He told me about how they were just selling the hats outside in the cold when the Giants Dugout Stores approached them about selling their hats at the ballpark. I love hearing unexpected success stories about people who are brave enough to pursue their dream jobs. The Head Panda has since expanded to carry other cute animal hats for zoos, other sports teams, and schools. Prices are much lower than at the Giants Dugout Stores if you buy your panda hat directly from the source.

| Photo Credit: N. Morello, for The Yuppie Lifestyle. |

A Rainbow of Cupcakes

Here's a photo from last weekend of the KaraVan cupcake display window at the San Francisco Pride festival. The theme this year was "In Pride We Trust" and it is by happy coincidence that the reflection of the flag got in the shot.

This will be the last post of the week because I'm spending the rest of it getting ready for my friend Cate's Alice-in-Wonderland-themed wedding! I'm looking forward to lending my crafting hands to some of the prep. I'll be back next week with regular postings. For those of you living here in the States, Happy Independence Day.

| Photo Credit: Me. |

Ferry Building Marketplace Mosaics

While I was wandering around enjoying the Ferry Building the other day, I noticed that in between retail spaces there were these little square mosaics on the walls. They depicted California flora and fauna as well as what the Ferry Building Marketplace has to offer—there were mosaics of fish, crabs, cows, olives, lemons, lobsters, and the like to represent all the good seafood, dairy, and produce you can find there. I've been to the Ferry Building loads of times but this was the first time I'd paid attention to them and Nick, who works nearby and therefore visits quite often, said he'd never noticed them. Some retailers even cover them up with carts of wares that overflow out of their spaces and I couldn't find any information online on the artist who made them. I thought these little guys deserved some love so I photographed as many different ones and I could find throughout the ground floor and compiled them here as a tribute.

If you know more about these mosaics, share it in the comments! I am curious about them and if there is a good story behind them.

| Photo Credit: Me. |

Treasure Island Flea (Market)

A brand new flea market opened over the weekend on Treasure Island. Despite living in the Bay Area for several years, I'd never actually been to Treasure Island so I thought this would be a great reason to check it out. Treasure Island Flea is on the Avenue of the Palms, right on the western edge of Treasure Island where you can see all of downtown San Francisco and both bridges. Despite the chilly breeze causing some problems for vendors, it was a beautiful setting for a flea market.

The flea market was relatively small but I imagine that more vendors will join in when people get a better feel of it. There were a few jewelry booths, some vintage lettering and botanical prints, and some interesting collections of antique furniture. I was looking to get a hodge podge of antique dishes but there unfortunately wasn't anything like that. It was nice that every vendor booth was completely unique and carried different stuff from the others, but overall there was a lack of the little knick-knack and treasure bins that I'd expect to rummage through at a flea market. Another downside was that it cost $3 just to get in which, to me, takes away a little from the trifting adventure that a flea market is supposed to be.

Snacking from the food booths and the amazing views of the city made the trip out to Treasure Island still worthwhile for me. The venue has such amazing potential (it's literally just a few yards away from the water) that I really do hope Treasure Island Flea will grow into a cool place to go antiquing. The flea market will take place on the last weekend of every month hereafter, but I think I'll wait a few months before returning to see if more vendors get added to the lineup.

| Photo Credit: Me. |

Ferry Plaza Farmers Market

I thought it was silly that I had written about the farmers markets in London and Paris but I hadn't even written about any of the farmers markets in the city that I actually live in. San Francisco has a bunch of farmers markets scattered throughout the week and throughout the city. Last Saturday, I went to the one that wraps around the Ferry Building, which is not at all a bad setting for an outdoor market. The Ferry Plaza Farmers Market has a good number of hot food stalls in addition to produce and flowers, and they even set up tables overlooking the bay for you to sit and eat. Some of the food stalls, like Blue Bottle Coffee and Hog Island Oyster Co., have spaces inside the Ferry Building, while others are street-food-style vendors, like 4505 Meats where I got my tasty, juicy breakfast sandwich shown below.

Something that was a bit of a bummer at this farmers market compared to my experiences abroad was that the presentation of the fruits and veggies wasn't quite at lovely as what I'd seen in London and Paris, where produce was displayed in cute baskets and really packed into stalls to look beautiful and abundant. I've noticed, in general, that presentation is kept more casual at the outdoor markets I've been to in California. But one thing that I did think was neat and unique about the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market was the Veggie Valet service that they offer for free on Saturdays. If you get there early to snag the freshest produce but want to spend the mid-day exploring the Ferry Building and the food stalls, there is a free service where you can drop off your farmers market purchases and they will be kept safely in the shade for the duration of the market. This is pretty handy since the market does get crowded and you don't want your lettuce to get crushed.

I don't know why but I am always drawn to outdoor markets like these. I think I like seeing what's being grown and jarred locally, and I've definitely been drawn into the street food craze. What is unique about the outdoor/farmers markets in your city? Which ones are worth visiting?

| Photo Credit: Me. |

Rhododendrons in Golden Gate Park

The 100th running of San Francisco's famous Bay to Breakers took place yesterday. And while I am not at all one for running/walking long distances, drinking cheap beer in the streets before noon, or dressing in furry animal costumes, I felt compelled by my San Francisco pride to at least spectate some portion of the event. So, my alternate Bay to Breakers Day itinerary involved packing up a couple cheeses, some finely-sliced salami, and a bottle of Pellegrino and having a picnic overlooking the Music Concourse at Golden Gate Park, where we were able to admire some of the costumes of the participants and party goers who passed by.

While seeking refuge from the cold wind, I happened upon a little treasure—the John McLaren Memorial Rhododendron Dell. Here are some photos I took of this pretty section of the park.

I think this is a much lesser-known garden within Golden Gate Park because it's not even mentioned in the Wikipedia article about John McLaren, despite the garden being a memorial for the first superintendent of the park and his large role in developing it. Undisturbed by the Bay to Breakers event, it was quiet, with lots of open benches, winding paths, and blossoming bushes. The best part about it for me was that the trees that helped seclude the space also did a nice job of blocking out the cold wind that was blowing that afternoon. There is a main entrance off JFK Drive, but I found it much more charming when I entered by the small hidden path behind the Goethe-Schiller statue, where the entrance to the rhododendron dell is marked by a faded, carved wooden sign.

| Photo Credit: Me. |

Noodle Fest 2011

With 2011 as its second year, the Chinatown and North Beach Noodle Fest is pretty new as far as SF festivals go. It has special appeal to me and Nick though, because it is a bridging of Chinese and Italian cultures (like our marriage). For a $20 ticket, you get a beverage sample and 3 food samples from each neighborhood. The samples are decently-sized—as shown below—and the ticket will probably get you enough food for a light meal. Some people complain that the price of tickets is steep relative to the cost of a large plate of noodles at a Chinese restaurant, but I don't think they realize that this is a charity event with proceeds going to the Chinatown Community Development Center and the North Beach Merchants Association.

| Left. Chinatown samples: salted fish chow fun from Four Seas; Shanghai noodles with scallion and pork from Bund Shanghai; Singapore curry stick noodles from New Sun Hong Kong | Right. North Beach samples: pacchera pasta with prosciutto and truffle from È Tutto Qua; tagliatelle with pork rib, peperoncino, and truffle oil from Vicoletto; gnochetti with garlic, gorgonzola, and toasted pine nuts from The Stinking Rose |

It was interesting to see how each neighborhood went about organizing their part of the event. The Chinatown side had a good variety of very simple Asian noodle dishes available, with booths manned by students and volunteers from the community and a free hot tea tasting booth. On the North Beach side, it seemed like there was a much stronger presence of restaurant proprietors, many booths were decorated with fresh produce or jarred things for sale, and the dishes had more complex flavors like truffle oil and wild boar. Everything tasted yummy and very fresh for a street fair. My favorite was the prosciutto and truffle pasta from È Tutto Qua; despite it being the least pretty, the rich truffle flavor made it the most delicious.

Nick was hoping to see some sort of well-choreographed West Side Story dance-fight take place between the two neighborhoods but no such thing occurred.

| Photo Credit: Me. |

2011 Cherry Blossom Festival

Every year there is a big Cherry Blossom Festival in SF's Japantown that spans across two weekends. I think the best day to go is the day of the Grand Parade. The Japantown here is not very big so the area was pretty packed but it was still a lot of fun to be there. These are some of the photos I took of the huge cast of characters that made an appearance. All of the kids in the parade were so adorable and the anime costume portion of the parade was quite intense! I thought the guy with the pointy helmet thingy over his head and the giant blade was especially hardcore.

| Photo Credit: Me. |

Mad Green Party.

While driving past the Concourse Exhibition Center last weekend, Nick and I noticed a sign that said "BIKE VALET" and large masses of hippies heading towards the building, where apparently the Green Festival was taking place. After some quick research, I learned that we could get into the festival (henceforth referred to as the hippie convention) for free by each spending $10 at Rainbow Grocery. Since we didn't seem to have a better way to spend a rainy Sunday, Nick and I proceeded to do just that, and subsequently found ourselves attending our very first hippie convention.

While there, we got free reusable tote bags, free granola bars, and tons of free samples of açaí juice and chocolaty quinoa. It was pretty packed and we agreed was much more fun than the bridal fair we attended while planning our wedding. We almost wished that we hadn't had such a huge breakfast at Brenda's beforehand because we were too full to try all of the organic yogurt, organic agave syrup, and organic whole grain crackers that the hippie convention exhibitors had to offer. And while we didn't learn anything about how to be better environmentalists, we certainly learned that hippies love swag just as much as yuppies do.