On the Streets of Tokyo

We had a fun-filled day yesterday. We walked all around Shibuya, which is the area we're staying in and is also one of the most popular shopping districts. It's sort of like a Union Square in San Francisco for the 25 and under crowd, and it's where some of Lost in Translation was filmed. Above is a picture of the famous crosswalks of Shibuya. We also went to one of the coolest hardware stores we've ever been to, Tokyo Hands. It may seem strange to hit a hardware store on day one, or at all, but our guide book said that if you only go to one store, go to this one and we like that kind of thing anyway. They have everything--kitchen stuff, outdoor supplies, kids toys, gadgets, party supplies, craft supplies, really cool bags of all sorts, and a whole lot more. We could have spent all day looking around in there, but we left to go to a park in search of cherry blossoms and witnessed two weddings.

Oooh, Japanese fabric--this is a store in Shibuya called Marunan.

Cuteness everywhere, even at the hardware store, Tokyo Hands.

Pretty potted plants and flowers line the streets.

Even the work trucks are cute and little. They look like toys. The construction workers outfits are cute too. I'll have to get a picture soon. From our hotel window we saw some construction workers doing their morning exercises in unison. It was fun to see.

Fake food displays are everywhere. Not too uncommon in the states, but here you don't walk a block without seeing a few. Sometimes it's actually helpful for us since we can't read menus if they're not written in English. But then again often we're not sure what the fake food display is supposed to be, and they usually look really gross even though this one looked fairly good. One other one looked so gross today that I felt sick afterwards. I had to remind myself it wasn't real.

Tokyo fashion is really something. I'll post more on that soon. I could people watch all day here and not get bored a bit.

A shrine in the park.

A wedding party we saw.

Another bride and groom.

She had a special car to accommodate her hoodie!

Sake barrels.

Cherry blossoms.

Can you see the plane? We see this from our hotel window. We're not sure how it got there or how it would get out of there, but we think it's neat that it's there at all.

More to come soon . . . .

Tokyo! We Made It

We made it to Japan! We survived the 11 hour flight and now we're in our swanky hotel with an incredible view of the Tokyo skyline. Here are two pictures from our room--one from last night and one from this morning. I'll post more pictures soon!

Artist Trading Cards

A friend of mine asked me if I wanted to be part of an ATC group (artist trading card group). Sounded like fun to me, so I said yes. Each month there's a theme, and each person in the group makes one card for every other person based on the theme. This month's theme was your birth year + or - 10 years. I was born in 1975, so I could have done anything related to 1965 or 1985. I decided on 1985. It was hard for me to nail down my idea. The possibilities were open and endless. I had a few ideas that just wouldn't have worked on something that had to be 2.5 x 3.5, which is the size the card has to be. I decided I wanted to do something related to 80's fashion, but what? I was looking at random 80's pictures online and thought something related to breakdancing would be great. Then I was reading Amy's blog and found the perfect image from Breakin' 2 (which actually came out in 1984, but that's okay--weren't people breakin' all though the mid 80's?). I love how it turned out. I wanted to make it look like a pop-up with glitter beaming behind the dancers. Initially I wanted to cut them all out and put the glitter behind the three of them in different glitter colors, but I didn't have time to cut all of them out. I like the way just the girl turned out in the center as the one that pops up. I can't wait till I get the rest of the ATCs in the mail when I get home. We're off to Japan now. Gotta run. See you from the other side of the world tomorrow, or the next day, when I recover from our 11 hour flight!

And Baby Makes Three!

I've been holding back for quite a few weeks, but now that I've seen the little peanut on the screen, I thought I'd tell you . . . I'm preggers! We're really excited and look forward to meeting the little one on October 9. A few years ago our friend Andrew doctored up The Arnolfini Portrait, inserting our heads into the painting and used it for one of his flyers for one of his Eurotrash parties (click through his gallery and you'll see a lot of other great flyers--other's like ours are towards the end). It originally had the party info on the flyer, but he removed the text for me so I could show you what it looks like with just us. I think the picture is a hoot! Below is the original, and then a more normal, everyday picture of us, though very close.

Pickled Hutch Picks of the week 3/20

I love pink and orange. You'd never know it if you came to our apartment, though. I also like earth tones, and that's mostly what our place reflects. But here's a splash of pink and orange from the Pickled Hutch just in time for spring. I think sfgirlbybay would like the little pink tufted pillow. Today's pink and orange made me think of her place. These adorable pillows are $6 each.

How cute would this hot pink hamper be in a little girl's room? Or a grown up girl's room! $42
Small Pyrex containers. $10 each.

The Pickled Hutch is an antique store in San Francisco that I love. Every Wednesday (or a few days after Wednesday!) I pick three items to post on my blog that I especially like. The Pickled Hutch is located at 1605 Church Street, San Francisco, CA. Open Wed. to Sun. 11 - 6. PH 415-641-8875. Ask for Lisa.

New Do!

After trying to let my hair grow for a year, I got it chopped today and love it! Bye bye bad bob. I was going for something between or near to these two cute short cuts below. Then my hair stylist showed me a picture of someone in Elle, and it was most like what I have now. I try to grow my hair every couple of years and always hate it. I think I'll just stick with short. Now I just need a little color to spice it up. (PS. I'll post my Pickled Hutch picks tomorrow--I have to get over there to take pictures!)

Chibi Bags

I've kind of gone a little wild shopping lately. Well, wild for me is spending like $300 total once or twice a year. Yesterday I got two Chibi bags. I LOVE them. I stalk the Chibi site often to look for new styles, but they usually sell so quickly that I don't have a chance to get the one I want (look in the archive at all the cute bags). I saw that Yuki is going to be part of the Mission Indie Mart on the 30th, but I won't be here, so I emailed her to see if she had any new styles. She sent me a few pictures, and now I have two Chibi bags! I think I especially love the brown one, mainly because of the shape, but I needed something black and bigger, and I like that the black print has all those critters on it (bunnies, deer, ladybugs and even skulls). She also printed the cutest map showing me where I can go to get fabrics while I'm in Tokyo (she lived there for a while). Thanks Yuki!

Pickled Hutch Picks of the Week - 3/14

My Pickled Hutch picks are clear and bright this week.

For some reason, I tend to like lamps with bulbous centers on an otherwise narrow stand. These do double bulbous duty, and I like them. $95 for the pair.


What a cool 1950's cart! The bottom shelf is mirrored, while the top is glass. Bar tote. I like it. $135

This chandelier is actually on hold till this afternoon, but I still wanted to show it (who knows, maybe it could be yours). I especially like the one purple crystal in the bottom, center. $225


The Pickled Hutch is an antique store in San Francisco that I love. Every Wednesday I pick three items to post on my blog that I especially like. The Pickled Hutch is located at 1605 Church Street, San Francisco, CA. Open Wed. to Sun. 11 - 6. PH 415-641-8875. Ask for Lisa.

And We're Off . . .

. . . to Japan! We're heading to Tokyo (and later to Singapore) on the 27th! Andrew has to go there for work, and I'm tagging along for a few weeks. I've been hush hush about it because things are always changing so much and so quickly with Andrew's work. But tonight we finally got our plane tickets. I'm so excited! It will be cherry blossom season, and the pictures I've seen look so beautiful. Andrew's been to Japan before, and he says I'll love it. He said among other things, "everything's cute and little." I definitely like cute and little. Japanese crafts, fabrics, markets, food, sights, gadgets, fashion . . . . I'm looking forward to all of it. I even found a list of some Tokyo flea markets. I'm in for a real treat. Last year it was Dublin and London (before I was blogging). This trip, though, I'll have all kinds of neat things to share with you while I'm gone. If anyone has any Japan tips--things to do, places to go, etc., let me know!

PS. I'll post my Pickled Hutch picks tomorrow night!

Easter Basket Party Hat

I flipped a few party hats upside down and made them into Easter baskets. I think they turned out pretty cute! They're a good size for Easter baskets, too, since you can't fit an insane amount of candy inside them.

This is a new party hat--Apples and Pears.

At the Flea Market

Today I went to the Alemany Flea Market. It was slim pickins because I got there as people were packing up, but I got good deals on a few things, and it was still fun to go!

This vendor wanted $15 for this box of buttons. I thought that was a pretty good deal since there were some really cool, big buttons in the box, but I do not need one more button, so I didn't get them.

I loved this aqua chippy painted table, but I have no place for it right now.

I got a few of these vintage noise makers. They're really cute, and I thought they'd make neat party hat stands, and I thought they'd just be cute in a kids room. These were $4 each. A little more than what I would have like to have paid, but I liked them a lot. I got 3 of them.

I got this shelf (which I'll paint) and the green wrought iron plant stand for our guest bedroom. $13 for the both of them.

Pickled Hutch Picks of the Week - 3/5

Things were looking peachy today at The Pickled Hutch. Here are my picks this week.

Pendant lamp. $165.
Vintage fabric quilt top hand sewn by a sweet grandma. $185.

Iron gate. $85. I think it would be neat to make this into a side table, like Paula's but smaller.



The Pickled Hutch is an antique store in San Francisco that I love. Every Wednesday I pick three items to post on my blog that I especially like. The Pickled Hutch is located at 1605 Church Street, San Francisco, CA. Open Wed. to Sun. 11 - 6. PH 415-641-8875. Ask for Lisa.

Perpetual Spring

The last few days have been sooo beautiful here in San Francisco. I've mostly been enjoying it from my bed, though, because I've been sick. Today I finally feel a little better and got out to run some errands. San Francisco can't be beat for the weather, but I do miss missing good weather if that makes any sense to anyone. I've sort of learned to take it for granted. Here we have about 40 weeks of amazing weather out of the year, but in Atlanta I was used to about 4 weeks of really amazing weather. Most days in Atlanta are uncomfortably too something--too hot, too humid, too rainy, too cold. The too hot is the worst, and it lasts usually from June to September. The kind of hot where your makeup starts dripping off your face as soon as you walk out the door--ick. Still, in Atlanta when the weather is great, it certainly doesn't go unnoticed, and it feels extra great. San Francisco is wonderful, but I still miss Atlanta for a lot of reasons--my strange longing for the not so great weather so I can appreciate the great weather is just one of them. I think something's wrong with me!

This picture is of some flowers that are in a bird bath in the garden at The Pickled Hutch. They are so cute and pretty. Very spring-like. I don't know what they are, but I like them.

Another Sweet Treat!!

My party hats are featured in today's Daily Candy Chicago Kids birthday party guide!! Two pieces of Daily Candy in one week--sweet!

At the Market

One thing we like to do on Saturdays is go to the ferry building farmer's market. It's an indoor and outdoor market with all kinds of fruit, veggies, flowers, meats, coffee, pastries, and gourmet just about anything you can think of. It's always a pretty expensive shopping trip. Still, it's a real treat. Here are some pictures from last weekend's market outing.