Let me begin with admitting that there hasn’t been much sewing going on around here; a refashion here and a baby blanket there. It was hard to get inspired in a mostly bare sewing room. And today we received our sea shipment made up of 60 boxes. Half has been unpacked and nothing organized. So now with most of my sewing stuff here, I find it hard to sew because everything is out of place. Gah! Send me a fairy godmother quick! Sooo, I decided to share my going-ons of late as a way to procrastinate the inevitable. I mean, why not? It’s been a while.
Last week I had a great visit with my best friend. We headed into San Francisco (I’m living in the burbs, y’all) a few times and did quite a bit of sight-seeing.
No visit to SF can go without visiting Britex. Quite pricey but quite inspiring. I don’t see myself shopping here unless I had a very specific, fine project I was working on. Maybe best to go during one of their big sales?
During another visit to the city we walked along Fisherman’s Wharf, nipping into stores here and there. It was a gorgeous day so the walk was quite pleasant.
My friend Linds is a barista so stopping into some of SF’s best coffee shops was a must. We hit Blue Bottle Coffee. The constant long queue reminded me of Monmouth Coffee. But sadly Blue Bottle Coffee didn’t hold a flame to it (Monmouth forever!).
We nipped into a Tcho chocolate factory. It smelled gorgeous. I resisted buying any but I did get to try a bite of some dark chocolate and it was delicious. Must go again! Maybe even give the factory tour a go? Hmm…
We carried on until Pier 39, home of a colony of sea lions. So so cute, and so so smelly.
I knew another 2 mile walk would take it out of me so we headed back on the light rail. The tram was super cute and quite a nice way to get around in the city.
Over the weekend we decided to be adventurous and drive to an overlook and see the Golden Gate Bridge. Quite the adventure when you (well, my husband) are driving a manual car on steep hills. Greg grew some grey hairs on that trip. But we made it!
And that pretty much sums up what I’ve been up to in my neck of the woods. I really enjoyed having my best friend around. You can probably imagine how boring it can be, moving to a new city with no friends. Linds saved my sanity last week (come back!).
I guess I should go tidy up the place. Maybe…
Until next time! Hopefully I’ll have something cute to share (other than a baby!).
Pincushion Treats 
So good to hear about what you’ve been up to! I can totally understand why you have not been sewing – if things are not precisely where they should be in my sewing space I can never get a project started so I can only imagine what an entire house organization would do to my sew-jo! It will all get settled in good time, as it always does. Looking forward to hearing more about your adventures in the West Coast.
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There is so much to be said about a tidy space; it totally sparks creativity!
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Philz is better than Blue Bottle for coffee, try it next time you’re in town. Also, check out Discount Fabrics in SoMa (11th/Howard I think). When you get to Berkeley, go to Stonemountain and Daughter, they are super friendly, though much smaller than Britex or Discount Fabrics.
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Thank you! I am adding it to my on-going list of places to hit. I randomly walked into Discount Fabrics but didn’t have time to browse. But I definitely want to go back!
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Berkeley has BOTH Stonemountain and Daughter and a Philz. hint, hint
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I really want to hit these places up! Maybe we can do a meet up sometime?
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If you guys ever do a meet up, I want to tag along!
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Cool! I’ll definitely want to do a meet up for the summer. I’ll make sure to post about it to work out the logistics!
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Helloooo!! Lovely to hear what you’ve been up to, and I don’t blame you that sewing’s on hold- lots going in, lots to get sorted and for sewing it’s for me something that you can’t do if surrounded in domestic disorder / still moving in!!!
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Hello! I cannot wait to get back into some sort of sewing routine but it will have to wait for now. The chaos needs to be sorted. I must plan a big reward for myself when it’s done 🙂
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How nice to hear from you! Can´t wait to see your new sewing projects! Now that you have your sewing room dismantled, you can place all the stuff carefully and in the logic way.
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Hey Mela! Good to hear from you! Glad you’re settling in even if you are living it box city with only half an idea where everything is… Don’t worry about the sewing, you’ve got enough going on! Make it fun, I’d hate it to be a chore 😦
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Bump is looking so adorable.
This so reminds me of how I felt when I upped sticks to live with The Husband. I knew no one and it was soooooo tough. Thankfully you have the lovely SF to distract you. Its a place I’d love to visit. It will get easier…I promise. Joining a knitting group changed my life. I wish I’d joined earlier.
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I am going to follow your lead. My husband’s co-worker’s wife is in a local knitting group. I am going to join (eventually) so I can actually be held accountable for my projects and meet people. I like my alone time but I do crave interacting with people.
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My knitting group is such fun…I haven’t been for a while and really miss it. Often not much knitting occurs, but it’s just great to be with like minded women (and men…we have chaps there too!). Also, when baby arrives, it’s lovely to chat with grown ups too. Good luck with this. I’m sure you’ll love it and I know they’ll love you.
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Lovely to hear what you’ve been doing and that you are settling into your new city. And so much excitement still to come!
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Thank you for this beautiful pictures. I’m from Croatia, and I haven’t got opportunity to travel a lot, so I love to see pictures of sightseeing.
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I loved Croatia! You live in a gorgeous country. We stayed in Dubrovnik and loved the city. Everyone was so nice. I would love to visit the rest of Croatia one day!
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Great to see how your are getting on. Having moved to quite an isolated town in NZ for a while and not knowing anyone for a while – I can relate! Having said that, coming home was equally strange, but now I have better friends than when I left. We passed through SF on the way to NZ (long story!) and loved it. Happy memories and I would love to go back… Hope you sort out your chaos soon and the creativity comes back to you. When is you baby due?
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We are due 4 March so I must get all this stuff sorted STAT! Luckily my mother is coming for a visit and I’m sure she can help if for some reason we’re still unpacking (hope not!).
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What an amazing weekend…all those sites and cool things to do! I’m so pleased you had your best friend nearby, how lovely!
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It sure looks like a fun weekend! The photo’s remind me of when we were on holidays in SF. We went to Britex and I was so overwhelmed.. I hope you’ll settle in soon and that you make new friends too!
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Thank you! I think I’ll starting meeting people once I feel settled. i feel guilty leaving the house in such a disarray 🙂 Britex was definitely overwhelming. Definitely a place to visit if you have a project in mind.
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Don’t feel guilty, there is more in life than an organised house 😉
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Very true. Very true indeed.
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These are fantastic pictures. I especially love the one of your baby bump with the bolts of fabric – getting him accustomed early, I see! LOL!
I’m taking notes about the fabric shops too, because I might be out that way this spring 🙂 I hope your settling-in doesn’t take too long, so you can get some time to just kick back!
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How cool would it be to meet up for a small shopping spree?! Keep me posted 🙂
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That would be totally awesome!
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Oh moving…sigh. Never easy is it? I think you go from the excitement of the move to the reality of “now we’re here, did we really do this”. It’ll all fall into place and you live in such a lovely area it’s going to be great!
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Amazing photos!
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I hope you guys are settling in nicely! San Francisco has to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I loved visiting SF and Berkeley when I lived in LA. The sea lions are too cool! A little stinky, though. 🙂
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San Fran looks amazing, def on my bucket list! I read “chocolate factory” and my tummy started growling haha
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Thanks for the glimpse of San Francisco. Your pictures make me want to go to Britex and see the sea lions and hang out with a dashing cat.
Luck with the settling in!
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Thanks! It’s a city very much worth a visit.
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What could be cuter than a baby?? Great pictures!
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Thank you so much for the pics of SF — all my favorite spots. Yes, Britex is pricey, but a treat to visit. Lots of inspiration there, and the 4th floor remnants are reasonable, and many are good lengths. Now I’m so homesick! Love the wharf, the seals, etc. Have fun in the city, there’s lots to see and do. Over the years Chinatown gets more globalized, which makes me sad. I remember when all the shops were mom-and-pop, with much more variety. Still colorful and fun, but not the same. . .
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Hi Mellzza, nice to hear what you’ve been up to. Hope you get settled real soon. And then to make some new friends and build a life I that new city.
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Thank you!!
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Now, I know I previously read this post but it doesn’t look like I commented! So sorry about that! Thank you so much for taking us on this tour of SF with you. It looks so sunny and nice – I definitely can’t wait to visit one day. I definitely think I’d like the quirky shops and the trams and the bridge.
Hope you’re still doing well and that you have your sewing mojo back. Packing, moving and unpacking is my least favourite pastime ever so I’m definitely sending good vibes your way.
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Thanks Mandy! I am swimming in boxes after a new shipment arrived yesterday. But at least I am not bored 🙂 Thanks for the good vibes. I need them!
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Oh no! More boxes? What a nightmare! I guess you had them coming from both London and Austin too?
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Right! We had two shipments from London and one from Austin. We have less storage space so we’re having to work magic over here. We’re managing. Mind over matter 🙂
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Moving to a new city is so hard until you make friends! I’m so jealous that you’ve moved from one amazing city to another. I hope you’ll post tons and tons of pictures about life in SF! And California in general!
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