Coffee and mandarins

Portraits

Lovely retro teapot I found at a thrift shop!

My Summer Near and Far

Local 123, Berkeley, California



"The Crowd", Montreal, Canada



Animated mannequin at Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit, Montreal, Canada



Along I-80 at Dixon, California



Cuppa in Calistoga

My friend Steve and I celebrated our Napa Valley Marathon finish last Sunday with coffee at Yo El Rey Roaster in Calistoga. I love this quirky and independent coffee shop cum local gallery.

My beverage of choice- Americano with steamed soy milk

Art works and interesting quotes dominate the walls

As a lover of peanut butter, I had to take a photo of this! This was on the bathroom wall!

I love this bold quote!

This machine is their coffee roaster

Street view from inside

Store front

Village Market: A Charming Corner Store in San Francisco, CA

I first discovered this corner store cum coffee shop in October 2010 as I waited for my daughter who was taking an exam at a school nearby. After last Sunday's half-marathon race near the Golden Gate Park, I came back with a friend. The store's location is on 8th Ave. and California, in the Richmond neighborhood in the city of San Francisco. It is about 3 blocks away from another small but lovely neighborhood park, the Mountain Lake Park, a section of the Presidio.

Storefront of Village Market: Window reflects the houses across California St.

Perfect spot to sit as you drink your cup of coffee, in my case an Americano with steamed soy milk

I love the bold colors and simple furniture!

The store uses salvaged architectural pieces like this fountain to hold merchandise.

This appears to be a planter but repurposed as a bin for scented bath soaps sold at the store.

Coffee bar

Village Market 

4555 California St., 

San Francisco, CA 94118

(415) 221-0445

Art Projects




Maddie's original painting that would be part of a larger artwork

  Two nights ago, I was delighted to spend time with my daughter as we both worked on our own individual art projects. She was finishing up her Literature project, an artistic expression of Langston Hughes poetry while I work on framing a piece of embossed leather I bought on our trip to Italy in November.

I bought this piece of crafted leather for 10 euro at a leather shop in Santa Croce, originally for a photo album that will retail for 500 euro!



I found the frame at a local thrift shop for 60 cents!! I thought the gilded frame would work well with the piece of leather artwork for an Old World look.



Maddie's finished work, an artistic expression of Langston Hughes' "Harlem Night Song" and "Juke Box Love Song". Inspired by Pop Art, she printed copies of a New York City scene painting she did for an art class and put them together to form a montage. The images in silhouette depict Langston Hughes' Harlem- rooftops, jazz band, buses and taxis. The tree silhouette speaks of Central Park, not in Langston Hughes' poem but the artist's: Maddie's own love for New York City.

At a local FedEx to make copies