Anthropologie in India

Images from anthropologie.com

I noticed that Anthropologie's May 2011 catalog was shot in India! Which is exciting since I remember growing up in the Midwest in the 1990s, when being different or South Asian wasn't exactly celebrated. Happily things have changed. I love that India is being recognized for its beauty and up and coming designers like Anupama Dayal.

The catalog photos remind me so much of my family trips of the past and make me want to visit again as soon as possible (which unfortunately won't be for a few years). Until then, I'll have to watch this gorgeous video released of the catalog outtakes, have a look!

Shared Closet

Photos by J. Mears

Our bedroom closet has been bothering me for quite some time. So over the weekend, I finally took action and began part one of our closet clean-out project.

When we lived in Michigan, Jay and I had separate clothing closets. His clothes were organized with wooden hangers while I used white plastic hangers. It looked fine in our individual closets, but when we combined our clothes in our shared San Francisco apartment closet, it was an utter mess (as you can see in the first photo above).

A simple solution for closet organizing is: get all your clothing on one type of hanger. It's such an effective and inexpensive solution. Using the same type of hanger on each piece of clothing ensures that the space between them is standard and if you use slim hangers without a bend, a space saver too! If you want to take it to another level, organize by type of clothing and color as well.

I personally love the look of wooden hangers so I recycled my white plastic hangers and replaced them with natural wood hangers from Target. And while I was transferring clothing from one hanger to another, I also used this time to edit. I ended up taking over two bags of clothing to our local Salvation Army. This entire exercise took just a few hours, but the results are really gratifying. 

Now that the hangers are in order, it's time for a complete overhaul. If Jay and I are going to continue sharing a closet, we need to bring in a more California Closets type of layout. Stay tuned for closet clean-out project part two!

Google Letterpress

Image from google.com

I don't typically pay too much attention to Google's homepage, I know that they change it often. But on Sunday, I couldn't help but notice Google's letterpress-style logo for Mother's Day! Very cute! Seems that there are more and more letterpress enthusiasts out there (myself included)!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Photo from Desai Family Archives

Photo by J. Mears

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! Today we honor you!

Thank you for loving us unconditionally. No matter where we are, we always know that we have you close, encouraging us. You forever have just the right thing to say, because you know us so well. A hug, a kiss, a patient ear, sage advice, you have helped us grow to be our best.

"You are a piece of my heart", these are your words that echo in my ears. Mom, you are a piece of our hearts too. We love you so much, you are the core of our family. Wishing you a beautiful day and many more to come!

Love,

Dad, Manan & Kavita

Weekend Wishes

Photo by J. Mears

Happy Friday friends!

I was just thinking that this week has gone by extremely quickly, but even more so, this year is beginning to move at hyper-speed (slow down, please!).

The spring season will be ending soon. And this thought has triggered an intense desire for additional spring cleaning and apartment editing. I'm also hoping to start some more apartment improvement projects in the coming months, so stay tuned!

Have a beautiful weekend! And don't forget to send some love to mom on Sunday!

Mr. Pollo. Where do I begin?!

Photos by K. Mears

I confess, I judged a book by its cover and that's why it took me so long to finally try Mr. Pollo. That and I have selective hearing.

Jay and multiple friends have told me that we must try Mr. Pollo. That a meal from Mr. Pollo was among some people's top 10 favorite meals of all time. And that's saying a lot in this city. 

Image from foodhoe.com

Yet, I could not see past the beat-up yellow Mr. Pollo restaurant sign that looked like just another taqueria in the Mission (I'm sorry, I know). And somehow I missed the fact that everyone was talking about not a taqueria, but a Latin restaurant with a four course chef's tasting menu (for an unheard of price, $15).

So last weekend, when I realized my judgement mistake, we headed right to Mr. Pollo to correct the issue. And what a fool I have been! Mr. Pollo is fantastic, superb even!

We of course ordered the tasting menu. Each plate was so delicately prepared. And each course was better than the next. It was amazingly delicious! My only regret is not having gone there sooner! Lesson learned.

Cheese Flights, Yes Please!

Photos by K. Mears

I am thoroughly familiar with a wine flight, but a cheese flight was something I had yet to experience. Recently, a cute little spot called Mission Cheese opened its doors offering such a thing!

There are several flights to choose from, categorized mainly by the region. My cheese loving friend and I tried the Vermont flight, we were not bold enough to go for the Monger's Choice flight. I may have to return at a later time for that one!

I cannot recall the names of each cheese we tried, but we sampled a variety from both cow and sheep's milk. We really enjoyed each one for different reasons, pairing them with fruit and bread (and wine!). One sample in particular was like butter (possibly the Camembert Vermont or Constant Bliss). I feel that I need some more tasting to do, so this may not be the last that you hear from me on the subject of Mission Cheese!