abigail ahern.

i haven’t been dreaming nearly enough lately. dreaming of wonderful places to live beyond san francisco. this city is amazing, but in my dreams, i live lots of other places. this week i’m dreaming again and this time i think i’ll live in vermont. mind you, i’ve never been to vermont, but i imagine being tucked away in a modern cottage in the woods with a big beautiful bed with those dark moody walls that make you want to sleep in. it will be the kind of place i can have pancakes each and every morning with maple syrup from the neighbor down the road (hey, it’s a fantasy) and i’ll probably have breakfast in bed. ready? let’s go.

the kitchen will be small, but functional with a chalkboard wall for scrawling notes — you don’t want to forget anything at the market which is miles away (via the design files and design*sponge). and even my laundry room will be cabin-chic with a fun chandelier and wood barn siding on the ceilings, like the colesmans in love. charming!

the dining area will be quite rustic, but comfortable — a big farm table right there in the kitchen so visiting friends and i can cook together drinking wine while we chat. i’ll collect loads of vintage glassware from the local flea markets and estate sales and it will all be mismatched just perfectly.

the living area will be tiny and intimate, with just enough space to unwind after dinner with lazy sunken slouchy sofas to keep us cozy by the fire and there will be modern touches, too — like the milk table lamp just to keep things from getting too rustic.

i’ll have a comfy little enclosed porch with globe lights hung, where i can read and nap. that’s an essential. and of course a clawfoot tub for soaking after hikes in the woods. ah, vermont. you’ve got me dreaming.

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In her book Things I Love, Australian interiors stylist extraordinaire Megan Morton inspires us by example, sharing her infectious enthusiasm for the houses, people and design she loves. But Things I Love is also full of wonderfully practical tips –- from how to fold those pesky fitted sheets (gah!), to how to clean a vintage painting you’ve picked up at a flea market. It also contains postcards, a stylists’ glossary and even a list of the ‘best movies for house-perving’ (like the royal tenenbaums), as well as a ton of awe-inspiring homes, and cool, creative people. Quirky, witty and irreverent, Things I Love will put you in touch with the things you love and teach you how to make sure they fill your home in your own unique way. love this book!

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last week you all enjoyed the post on umami mart in oakland that sfgirlbybay assistant editor rachelle dunn put together, we thought it might be about time to share more of oakland — also fondly referred to as oaktown. and right in the nick of time, maia mcdonald of the awesome blog conundrum, über pinner and art director at rue magazine offered to show us around oakland with her own little guide to the best of east bay, including where to dine. so, without further ado, i give you maia’s most excellent guide to oaktown!

Umami Mart.

Since moving to Oakland almost 2 years ago I’ve become a tad obsessed with my new home. People always rave about San Francisco, but little do they know that it’s slightly grittier neighbor to the east has some pretty amazing things going on. Don’t just take my word for it, not only was it ranked in the Top 5 Places to Visit by the New York Times last year, it also got top honors for the Best Climate, boasting more sunny days than Orange county. I could probably go on forever about everything I love about Oakland, from the breathtaking views when hiking in the hills, to the vibrant First Friday art and music scene. But for the purposes of this post I’ll stick to the revitalized restaurant and shopping scene. Below are just a few of my favorites in both categories and many of them are within walking distance of the Bart for those of you who are venturing over from San Francisco without a car.

temescal alley.

EATING

Plum
2214 broadway • oakland
A local favorite helmed by executive chef Manfred Wrembel. You can’t go wrong with their deliciously modern take on California Cuisine.

Ramen Shop
5812 College Avenue • Oakland
Don’t miss the newly opened Ramen Shop in Rockridge, but get there early because there is always a crowd! Created by Jerry Jaksich, Rayneil De Guzman and Sam White, formerly of Chez Panisse, they’ve taken the classic ramen to the next level with a menu that changes weekly featuring interesting flavors such as Meyer lemon and maitake mushroom.

Mua
2442 Webster Street • Oakland
Mua’s large cavernous industrial space in uptown Oakland is perfect for large groups. With great art, loud music, superb drinks and even better food, I find myself going back again and again.

mua, photographed by tim gatto at bit by zeus.

Camino
3917 Grand Avenue • Oakland
Wood fired perfection at Camino, with former Chez Panisse chef, Russell Moore at the helm.

True Burger
146 Grand Avenue • Oakland
True Burger takes a fast food burger to the next level. Specializing in house-ground beef patties served on homemade toasted egg buns, each bite is simple perfection!

Chop Bar
247 4th Street • Oakland
A great brunch option just a short ferry ride away from San Francisco.

Esqueleto.

Wood Tavern
6317 College Avenue • Oakland
A really great neighborhood spot serving up consistently delicious locally sourced California Cuisine in a comfy environment.

Donut Dolly
482 B 49th Street • Oakland
It really doesn’t get more indulgent than the fried treats at Donut Dolly. These donuts don’t have holes but instead are filled by hand with custom, seasonal flavors, such as raspberry jelly, salted mexican chocolate and lemon curd. To-die-for!

Beauty’s Bagel Shop
3838 Telegraph Avenue • Oakland
Beauty’s takes their bagel making seriously. Done in a traditional Montreal style, which includes hand-rolling them before boiling them in honey water and baking in a wood-fired oven. All I can say is the outcome is mind-blowing!

Atomic Garden.

Hopscotch
1915 San Pablo Avenue • Oakland
If you really want a treat try Hopscotch’s yonsei oyster, topped with sea urchin, salmon roe and citrus soy!

Boot & Shoe Service
3308 Grand Avenue • Oakland
Scrumptious wood oven pizza and a killer brunch spot on weekends.

Brown Sugar Kitchen
2534 Mandela Parkway • Oakland
What can I say about Brown Sugar Kitchen that hasn’t already been said? It’s classic chicken and waffles. They are heavenly! Go now! Just make sure to get there early.

SHOPPING

Atomic Garden.

Atomic Garden
5453 College Avenue • Oakland
Atomic garden is a elegantly curated shop with everything from French stoneware to beautiful Turkish towels to some of my favorite stationery finds. I can always find the perfect gift for a friend here.

Atomic Garden.

Umami Mart
815 Broadway • Oakland
Specializing in Japanese kitchenware, Umami Mart has the most stunning items for the modern kitchen. An added bonus, they host a Ramen pop-up on First Fridays and carry bento box lunches on Tuesday/Thursdays.

Umami Mart.

Crown Nine Jewelry
461 A 9th Street • Oakland
Opened by local artisan Kate Ellen, Crown Nine specializes in the most beautiful handmade jewelry, not only by Kate herself but also by other local jewelry makers.

Crown Nine Jewelry.

Marion and Rose’s Workshop
461 9th Street • Oakland
A quirky little shop featuring art, jewelry and other odds & ends that I always find irresistible.

Ali Golden
470 49th Street • Oakland
Ali Golden creates locally produced fashion, that you will cherish for a lifetime.

Esqueleto.

Esqueleto
482 49th Street, Suite A • Oakland
Another great jewelry store featuring amazing pieces by some of my favorite local artisans.

crimson horticulture, via Stephen Lam, Special To The Chronicle.

Crimson Horticulture Rarities
470 A 49th Street • Oakland
I could probably spend hours in this tiny store in Temescal Alley. With unique botanicals and everything you need to create your perfect terrarium or succulent garden, it’s awe-inspiring.

le Kube Studio.

le Kube Studio
5451 College Avenue • Oakland
le Kube has a great collection of new and vintage, European furniture all with a modern aesthetic.

McMullen
1235 Grand Avenue • Piedmont
You no longer need to venture into the city for your high end fashion fix. With brands like Carven and Jenni Kayne, you can find that special piece that you’ll love forever.

• all photos by maia mcdonald unless otherwise specified. fox theater via Noah Berger, for the SF Chronicle.

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oh, lookee. ’tis summer on the way and what is it about summer that just screams ‘stripes!!’? i dunno either. i think it has something to do with sailing on those summer seas. anyhow, i digress. this week on new and noteworthy i’m rounding up some of this summer’s sassiest stripes. traditional blues and reds, yes, and some perhaps with a more surprising twist of modern color.

1. Anthropologie Blue Striped Linen Dishtowel; 2. Anthropologie Handwoven Meridian Blanket; 3. Anthropologie red Chival-Striped Hand Towel; 4. a close-up look at Anthropologie’s Blue Striped Linen Dishtowel.

5. toast uk selsey stool; 6. toast uk oleron striped quilt; 7. striped nutcase bike helmet from public bikes; 8. clare vivier striped painter tote from anthropologie.

9. striped edge WALNUT SERVING TRAYS & PLATTERS BY DAVID RASMUSSEN DESIGN; 10. NOTTING HILL DUVET COVER from h.d. buttercup’s in bed; 11. striped color edged chopping boards from the hambledon; 12. PINK and yellow LINEN DOUBLE DUVET COVER from lab; 13. Indigo Stripes Pillow at shop terrain.

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i have not been reading nearly enough lately. and i love reading and get immense joy from it. it’s the perfect summer escape. so when go mighty and rivet & sway eyeglasses offered to sponsor a find your joy post based on my goal of reading more i thought i’d give back to you readers a little and sponsor a find your joy summer reading group. i can’t read without eyeglasses, which is what inspired me to promote reading — it seemed like the perfect fit. so, here’s my plan: i’m going to give away one pair of women’s prescription rivet & sway eyeglasses, and i’m also going to give away 10 books to kick off the summer reading club — one hardcover book to 10 sfgirlbybay readers who’d like to join the group and read along together. then, i’ll host an evening of book club, live on twitter so we can all share our thoughts on the book. anyone will be welcome to read the book and join in on the online book discussion!

the first book of the summer is gillian flynn’s novel gone girl. have you heard about this book? it’s a really intriguing whodunit which has been at the top of the new york times best sellers list for a while now. we’re going to read three books this summer, and i’ll announce the other two book giveaways in late june and july.

to enter to win a chance at the one pair of women’s prescription rivet & sway eyeglasses, and one of the 10 gone girl hardcover books and join our summer reading group for june, simply:

• visit rivet & sway and tell us — what’s your favorite pair of eyeglasses?

• share your favorite rivet & sway glasses here by tuesday, may 28th at midnight PST.

• so sorry, this giveaway is for U.S. residents only.

• as always, please be sure to leave a way to contact you via twitter, facebook, your blog or email.

• we’ll announce a random winner friday of the one pair of rivet & sway eyeglasses and the 10 winners of the book, on may 24th on my twitter account, so be sure to follow along.

• if you enter, please be prepared to read the book and join us if you can in an online book discussion one evening the last week of june, live on twitter. i will email winners with date to be announced and announce it on twitter so anyone can join in on the discussion.

all rivet & sway glasses are on sale at $50* off right now through May 31st, too! rivet & sway offers free home try-ons exclusively for women’s eyeglasses. they also ship your designer glasses directly to your home, with or without a prescription once you choose the pair that suits you best. so happy reading, people! let’s start the sfgirlbybay summer reading club!

• *Offer valid on the purchase of glasses from Rivet & Sway through May 31, 2013, 11:59 ET. This post in partnership with go mighty and rivet & sway, but all opinions are my own.

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just in time for Spring — the newly revamped Girl Crush site is live. have you ever checked out los angeles-based Wendy Wither’s clever blog dedicated to inspiring women everywhere? well, if not you should. the new site is Designed by graphic maven Mary Frances Foster, and the collage-style aesthetic perfectly captures the core of what Girl Crush is all about: sharing stories of women from all walks of life. wendy was inspired by this mood board below of images she created, and mary frances created the new site from this inspiration. spot-on and beautiful!

The visual overhaul of wendy’s site means the main page now exclusively features rotating Girl Crush stories of awe-inspiring ladies and what they do. Everything else — from wendy’s personal bits, to interests and events, to the latest about what Girl Crush is up to – will live over on the Girl Crush blog page. check out the beautiful new Girl Crush space, where you can find your regular doses of female-powered inspiration.

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home for sale on Stadshem, via emmas design blogg.

i’m just home from a long weekend away which was so wonderful. you know how when you leave town and go on holiday, the prospect of it is just so exciting? sleeping in a new place, with new adventures ahead. and then, after a week or so, maybe even less than that, you have a hankering for something a bit more familiar. usually for me, it’s my bed. i love my bed with it’s soft white linens and all the comfort and contentment it brings. no surprising pillows that simply won’t fluff just how you like them. no foreign bumps in the bed, or in the night. just home, just your very own bed calling you to surrender from your travels near and far. your sanctuary — ahhhh home. serenity now.

BODIE AND FOU.

Sköna Hem, photographed by Lina Östling.

apartment therapy.

annie mcelwain, via the city sage.

house number 15.

alvhem makleri.

House and Leisure, photographed by Anton Robert; las cositas de beach eau.

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when i went to antwerp, belgium a few years ago, i couldn’t help but notice the neoclassical influence in the architecture there. i was given a tour of the Cogels-Osylei neighborhood with gorgeous old gothic homes, once sitting in ruin, that had been restored to their original beauty by a community of locals artisans in the city who banded together to save them, and eventually occupy them. so when i saw this NEOCLASSICAL GALLERY HOME IN BELGIUM which also serves as a gallery in dwell’s newsletter this week it brought back all the memories of those Antwerpen homes, and my desire to have a peeked inside them. luckily dwell had access to this beauty so i’m finally getting that voyeristic itch scratched. visit dwell for the full story.

• Photography by Chris Tubbs.

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christine ralph’s lakeside home.

happy friday readers! i am actually taking the day off today. i’m up in sonoma county with my family celebrating my mum’s birthday. we’re staying in a great house, it even has an airstream in the backyard, which is where i’ll be sleeping tonight. i think it’ll be a little like camping — fun! so, today, i thought i’d share a few more ideas for relaxing and roughing it — decorating with vintage cots. add some cozy throws and pillows and you’ve got a great place to curl up with a good book or have a lazy afternoon nap. we have one from elsie green at makeshift society in the loft, and you can often find someone nodding off up there. you can find them all over — from army/navy surplus stores, to etsy and ebay. have a great weekend everyone and i’ll be back on monday!

chez les voisins; and stellan herner.

a super cozy nap spot, via Hickory and Juniper.

tom adair’s home via poppytalk.

vintage cot via ethanollie.

etsy cot; vintage cot via 86 home; even pups love them mono no aware.

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ciao, si from the french by design blog here. today, we’re visiting a 13^th-century-old franciscan convent in brianza, lombardy region, italy, brilliantly renovated as an artist’s home and studio.

in this 13^th century brianza franciscan convent, partially destroyed during WW2, lives architect and painter marco grassi. marco, who curated himself the renovation project, has kept most of the original internal structure such as the ceiling beams and part of the original brick walls. in marco’s gorgeous home, vintage, design, paintings and sculptures co-exist in harmony, giving the space a unique character.

si –- french by design

• photos by sergio magnono for brava casa magazine.

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