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My office moved to a new building last week and my 30-second commute grew to a 20 minute walk across SOMA and Union Square. It’s been fun to have a bigger transition in the morning and see all the holiday storefronts, but I’ve needed to bundle up like never before! This outfit was inspired by…

Last night’s LAC party was a fun and easy holiday craft. Lindsay hosted us for making sock snowmen, a project she remembered fondly as a kid and wanted to recreate. Along with the project, she served wine, hot cider, hummus, jalapeno jam with cheese and a homemade chocolate cream pie. Making the snowmen is super…

There’s one thing I really wanted to bring home from Japan but didn’t: the Homestar Aqua Planetarium. You see, in Japan, there’s a whole category of gadgets designed around relaxation. From glowing humidifiers to floating fountains for the tub – it’s serious business. I fell in love with the idea of this little planetarium for…

The holiday season arrived in full force this weekend, whether we were ready for it or not! On Friday, I spent the day at the amazing Nob Hill Spa with the women from my office. A full six hours of lounging in a bathrobe, sitting on the terrace, hot tubs, saunas and facials. That night,…

Margaret and I went to see Carmen at the opera last Friday. We met up with our friends Greg and Kevin at the show – which officially doubled my usual social scene in the lobby! Carmen is fun because the music is so familiar, you can practically sing along. There’s a love triangle, a bravado…

So that’s it! Our ten day trip to Japan covered in four blog posts. A few final thoughts: Japan is awesome! There is no street crime, everything is super organized, people seem so relaxed. Almost every sign is in Japanese and English. Most restaurants have one person who speaks English or will be happy to…

We came down the mountain from Koyasan and spent our last few days in Osaka. We were back at the same hotel as our first night but exploring the city for the first time. It was a bit of an adjustment to the hugeness and bustle of Osaka after staying at the temple! The service…

Another set of great reader suggestions led us to spend two nights at the Shojoshin Temple. Bobbi recommended Japanese Guest Houses as a source for booking traditional Ryokan hotels online and two anonymous readers recommended Koyasan. It was quite the trek from Kyoto to the sleepy mountain town. Seven different transit lines from subways to…

Our friends who live in Japan, Alex and Mayumi, invited us to meet them in Arashiyama, a wooded neighborhood outside of Kyoto, for the Labor Day holiday during our visit. Our first stop in the early morning was a monkey park. I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was really great. The monkeys roam…

Our 10 day trip to Japan included three distinct cities in Kansai: Osaka (huge), Kyoto (medium, like San Francisco) and Koyasan (tiny). After arriving in Japan, we spent the night in Osaka – but let’s come back it at the end. Kyoto was super lovely. Just big enough to be a real city but perfectly…