TDF: Dream House

I was browsing the San Francisco Chronicle this morning, educating myself on very important national and global events, when out fell the "Home" section of the paper. Normally, I don't bother with this section because I am too busy reading the real news (oh who am I kidding, I hardly ever read the newspaper) and I'm light years away from being able to afford a house anyway, but sometimes it's fun just to look at all the crazy mansions that are for sale in Marin or San Francisco and remind myself that this is the kind of place that I live in. I like to marvel at these monstrosities that people call "houses" and judge them for being too gaudy, too big or too expensive, all the while conjuring up bits and pieces of my own dream house, which someday, hopefully, I will be lucky enough to live in.

The house featured on the cover of this morning's glossy "Home" spread comes pretty darn close to being my ultimate dream house. It's a little big for my taste, but it's undeniably beautiful.

 

This charming brick manor, a jewel nestled in the crown of Pacific Heights, was built originally in 1927 by the same guy that designed the Palace of Fine Arts, which one can conveniently gaze down upon from the property.

Oh haaay, PoFA!

One can also gaze upon two other famous historical landmarks - Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge, in all their splendor.

Oh haaay, GGB!

On top of million-dollar views, the manor (speaking of which, that was the name of my first elementary school - could that be a sign??) also features a small, lush courtyard shaded by ancient ferns as tall as trees, a library (which every literature nerd has always wanted in their house), a study complete with a wet bar, a gorgeous kitchen glowing with warm wood panels everywhere you look, and more bedrooms and bathrooms than anyone with a reasonable number of children could possibly necessitate. If I lived in this house, I would constantly have parties, and my friends would never have to worry about driving home drunk or paying for a cab, because they would have no excuse not to spend the night!

My favorite part.

I would have cats. Lots of small, exotic-looking cats. And an art studio, and a darkroom, and a gym, and a butler... there would be no reason to ever leave the house! Except to go to whatever ridiculously high-paying job I have that allows me to live in such a spectacular house in one of the most coveted neighborhoods in the world, or to take my spoiled rotten children to school, or to meet up with my friends or dashing husband for a night out on the town, or go for a hike in the golden hills of Marin... okay, so there would be plenty of reasons to leave the house.

I know it all sounds totally far-fetched, but if a girl can't dream, then what's the point of living?

"Dreams are necessary to life," said Anaïs Nin. "Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the action stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living."

All photographs and real estate information courtesy of Gloria Smith Homes.  

Shopping Online is Like a Box of Chocolates…

You never know what you’re going to get!

Unless I am looking for something specific that I can’t find anywhere else, I try to avoid shopping online as much as possible. I prefer the tangible experience of shopping in the real world, where I can socialize while I ramble through little consignment boutique, touching things and trying them on for size. I mean, how are you supposed to know how something looks and feels on your body if you can’t try it on?

Occasionally, however, I make an exception. The other day, I received an email from Refinery29, offering me a 50% off coupon from an online store called Plum for Polly. The deal was, if you spent $40 you could get $80 worth of merchandise, or if you spent $80 you could get $160. I had never heard of the store, but they had some really unique Jeffrey Campbell shoes. I bought the $40 coupon and picked out a pair of shoes that I liked, which were exactly $80. To my despair, however, I found out that the shoes I wanted were sold out… AFTER I had already purchased the coupon!

Saddened but not without hope, I decided to browse the shop and see what else they had that I could get for under $80. I settled on this turquoise Urban Expressions clutch ($25), which Plum for Polly calls “The Alligator Clutch,” but is actually faux ostrich skin. I figured you can never have too many bags and you don’t have to worry about how it fits you, so it was a safe purchase.

Then I picked out this “Aztec” fringed scarf ($45). As I said before, I love Southwestern patterns right now, and I figured you could never go wrong with a cute scarf. 

Finally, since I had about $10 left on my coupon, I picked out these brightly colored, oversized bobby pins by Jane Tran ($9). Bright colors are in style right now, and these are a subtle and unexpected way to add a dash of color to your outfit without going to drastic measures, such as dying your hair pink.

So I ordered these three items and hoped for the best. While the bobby pins and the clutch were spot on, the scarf was not exactly what I expected. In fact, it wasn’t really a scarf at all. They sent me a shawl! It was a big, tablecloth-sized thing with two holes for arms in the middle, and lots of fringe. It wasn’t even the right color! I ordered a blue and black scarf. They sent me a blue and red shawl. I didn’t even know that color combo was an option! On their website, they only have it in black and white:

At first, I was disappointed and I immediately thought about sending it back. But I decided to try it on and just see how it looked. I slipped my arms through the holes and let it drape around me. I decided that the color scheme was rather pretty; I like unexpected color combinations of warm and cool tones – and then as I started shifting the shawl around different ways, I suddenly realized how much potential it had. It could be worn in several different ways –with your arms through the holes or simply draped over your shoulders – it was even reversible, so you could choose to sport blue on red, or red on blue. It could even be worn as a very large, very cozy SCARF!

The added bonus was that they charged me properly for the scarf, but the shawl was more expensive ($60), so I ended up getting the better end of the deal. I already have more than enough scarves anyway, and this is a much more interesting and stylish way to keep warm during the chilly months, or cover up at the beach!