Welcome to the first post in B2B Weekend Vibes – a weekly roundup of current goings-on here at From the Bay to the Beach. Here you’ll find some of my favorite things, a bit of home decor inspiration, and a peek into my week. Yay – it’s Friday!
A Peek Into My Week
Our “Why”
You may be wondering why we choose to live in two places when we could just settle down at the beach. The first answer is to be closer to family and friends here in the Bay Area for part of the year. The second answer is FOG. “June Gloom” is a real thing near the coast in San Diego. It follows “May Gray” and can sometimes lead to “No Sky July”.
We love the sunny blue skies of the East Bay in the summertime, so we skip out and head north while the tourists run amok in our little beach town. We’ll head back down when the “coast is clear”. Hopefully there won’t be a “Fogust”!
East Bay Eats
We had a fun dinner last weekend with our good friends at Kaia’s Island Kitchen and Tiki Bar in downtown Danville, our old stomping grounds. I love a good tiki bar! I had the best Mai Tai of my life (and that’s saying something with how many I’ve “sampled” in Hawaii.) The food was good too. I wish I had taken pictures. There’s always next time!
On the Home Front
Bay Area Backyard Cleanup
Here in the Bay I’ve been working on cleaning up our little back yard for the summer. The last owner of our place put in a pretty patio area with a deck. So far I’ve power washed everything (a pain – yet so satisfying!) and I’ve put the new rug and patio cushions out. I’ll share more details in a future post. Our little rose bush actually bloomed this year. The random white stripes on the hot pink petals are so pretty. I’d love to know what kind it is.
Speaking of our back yard, the eucalyptus trees behind our fence are the bane of my existence. They drop leaves and bark in our yard constantly. This is what we came home to after being away.
For the uninitiated, eucalyptus trees are native to Australia and were planted here in California during the Gold Rush partly to provide needed lumber for the gold mining operations. They are a non-native invasive species and they are messy and highly flammable, which is something we don’t need more of here in fire-prone California. They also have shallow root balls, so they have a tendency to topple in wind storms.
Too bad Koala bears aren’t native here. At least they’re cute.
San Diego Office/Guest Room Progress
Down at the beach, we are still waiting for Pottery Barn to deliver the desk suite for our home office/guest room, which I wrote about in this post. I was told that it should be ready to be delivered around the end of this month. Apparently it’s no longer available on their website, so that has me a little concerned. Fingers crossed!
Other than that, I have pretty much accomplished my vision of the room based on this mood board. Looking forward to sharing the finished space soon.
Wallpaper
In the meantime, I’m picking out a wallpaper to use as an accent wall in the room. I think I’ve found one, along with one to go in our half bath (you can read about that here.) Both are from Painted Paper. I’ll share updates soon!
Currently Reading
On-the-Go Reads
In the summer, I’m always looking for easy and fun reads for when I’m on a plane or a lounge chair. I just picked up the book The Inmate by Freida McFadden, bestselling author of the “The Housemaid” series, which I really liked. I’m looking forward to reading it on our trip to Hawaii later this month. I haven’t read a thriller in a while. Let me know in the comments if you have any other good summer read recommendations!
Coffee Table Reads
When I saw the title of this coffee table book I knew I had to have it. I’m all about coastal luxe style. I read it in one sitting the moment it arrived.
Written by Breegan Jane, best known as a host on several HGTV shows, it’s an in-depth tour of the gorgeous beach home she designed for herself and her two sons. Her style is so fun! Disco balls in your kitchen anyone?
It appears it’s also for sale! For more pictures of this spectacular home check out the listing here.
Currently Watching
Hi, my name is Susan and I’m a Homeworthy addict. Have you watched any of these videos? If you haven’t, allow me to introduce you to this website. You can thank me later!
Favorite Home Tours
I’m always drawn to California home tours first and foremost. This home in San Francisco is beautifully decorated while still respecting the historical architecture of the building. The owner, interior designer Sonny Kearns, also has the most adorable bulldog!
I have featured this next home tour before, but I love it so much that I’m sharing it again. It’s the home of Leslie Martin, an interior designer in La Jolla, California. If you’re a Nancy Meyers fan, you’ll love this tour. Her tasteful beach-inspired design aesthetic is stunning. La Jolla is just a few miles south of where we live.
I couldn’t NOT reshare this last home tour. It’s also a Nancy Meyers-inspired home, owned by interior design Camille Mesa-Ruiz. She lives not too far from where we do in northern San Diego county. She has transformed a modest dated townhouse into a cozy coastal retreat. So talented!
Shop
Fashion Favorites
My newest favorite summer outfits are matching sets, whether they are a matching top and bottom, or just matching colors. It’s such a clean, modern look. Here are a couple of my recent favorite purchases from Banana Republic Factory and Free People.
Free People
I love this neutral Strada Set below from Free People. I wore it all last summer, including on vacation. It’s really comfortable! I just bought the Dark Denim Set to wear this summer as well. You get the top and the shorts for what you’d normally pay for just one or the other.
Banana Republic Factory
I popped in to our local BR Factory store the other day and found some great basics for summer. I stocked up on their Timeless Crewneck T-Shirts in white and black. They’re awesome because they’re 58% cotton, 38% modal, 4% spandex, which means they don’t shrink and they have less of a tendency to wrinkle, so they’re great for packing. I sized up so they would be loose and not clingy.
I also found a matching shorts set in a pretty lilac color. I’m not sure I’m keeping the cropped shirt (I’m tall so cropped anything is tricky) but I did find a lilac sweater vest that also matches the shorts.
Latest Posts
Be sure to check out the latest posts here on the blog! I’m sharing some great ideas for summer decor, a refreshing cucumber cocktail recipe and a fun DIY bar cart.
100 Easy & Inspiring Ways to Decorate for Summer
Summer is a fun time to refresh your home. As the days get longer and warmer, I’m feeling inspired to prep our Bay Area home for summer. I’ve already been hard at work cleaning up our tiny yard and power washing the deck and furniture. I’ve finally put out the new outdoor rug I bought at Target last March – you can tell I’ve been looking forward to being outside for months now! I’ll be sharing more about our little deck refresh soon.
In the meantime, I did a deep dive on all things summer decor and came up with a list of 100 ways to add a little summer fun to your home. (I’d rather shop than power wash any day!) Enjoy! Read more…
From Vintage Tea Cart to Modern Bar Cart – Plus a Refreshing Cucumber Cocktail
Welcome to the 10th monthly Styled 2 Ways with my friend and fellow blogger MaryJo of Masterpieces of my Life. Today on the blogs we’re sharing two of our favorite summer cocktail recipes, The Porn Star and a Coastal Cucumber Spritz. I’m also sharing a fun vintage tea cart makeover to serve these pretty drinks on all summer long! Let’s get to mixing! Read more…
Back to the Beach
We’re headed down to San Diego this week to play in a charity golf tournament and give our oldest daughter a proper send-off as she moves from San Diego to New York to start her new job as a physical therapist. We’re so excited for her! I’m thinking here will be lots of trips to the East Coast in our future. I’ll be looking for travel advice from my New York readers when the time comes!
Happy Father’s Day!
That’s all I have for you this fine Friday on Weekend Vibes. Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Father’s Day to all the dads and father figures out there. You are appreciated and loved more than you know.
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6 Responses
We are about to do a little makeover in our laundry room! We got inspired by our neighbors! I am having fun shopping my closet and thrifting some pieces when I see some fun looks on Pinterest: I have been lucky to often find something similar to what I am looking for and usually for $5 or less!
http://www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
Hi Mireille! Having an attractive space can make doing the laundry a little more bearable! Thanks for stopping by!
Those striped roses/flowers are so pretty!
Hi Joanne-
I love them too! I’ve never seen striped ones before. Thanks for stopping by!
So much to like in this post. I’ve never seen striped roses before. Beautiful! Love the beach themed comforter set from the Pottery Barn. And surprisingly, I do like the disco balls in her kitchen. Ha!
Hi Olivia-
Those roses are so fun! With those disco balls you could have a dance party in your kitchen! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!