If you’ve been wandering around San Francisco lately, you may have noticed a lot of colorful mummified mannequins and objects around the city. Possibly accompanied by colorful posters that are large fabric swatches. If you’re really lucky, perhaps a mini of these swatches even arrived in your mail ~ in the form of one of the VIP Tickets to tomorrow night’s Levi’s x Opening Ceremony Launch Party! (If you weren’t so lucky, you still can be ~ just convinced Philip to give a few away ~ ENTER TO WIN, HERE!)

What an incredible collaboration ~ Levi’s x Opening Ceremony and design collective, CITIZEN:Citizen. There’s an unmistakable signature to all things CITIZEN:Citizen touches ~ and this is certainly the work of Philip Wood! Playful, with a high art flair, bringing a smile to your face before you even understand what is going on fully… and as you delve deeper into it, his concepts reach further than you expect! I can’t wait to see what the transformed basement of the Levi’s flagship store will be like tomorrow night, unfortunately i’ll be on a red-eye to NY, but hopefully some of you can go experience it for me! For now… take a peek at the scene around san francisco, and the beautifully designed invitations and posters!

p.s. don’t forget! Chance at VIP tickets… ENTER TO WIN, HERE!

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Tags: art - fashion - giveaway - levis - san francisco

So after a bit of hotel horrors ~ and bouncing in and out of the vitale over the last week ~ with sf gift fair and macworld happening, SF hotels seem a bit packed… just decided to check out the Clift Hotel in San Francisco which is part of the Morgans Hotel Group (with those awesome “The world needs to discuss it over drinks. The world needs more interesting.” ads i adore.)… they were nice enough to upgrade me to experience one of their suites, and i’m currently working at that “through the… orange… looking glass” feeling table above… and really, between the bizarre world within it and the stunning city views here, it’s hard to focus! It’s also incredibly calming and relaxing with it’s lavender entry way, light grey carpeting, and light wood furnishings… exactly what i needed after quite the crazy last few days! Go take a peek into their fun, spacious, suite i’m living in for the next few days on the next page!

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Tags: hotels - luxury - san francisco - travel

Looking down out this huge concave window in my Hotel Vitale room, has been strangely mesmerizing and inspiring to stare out of… from the spiderweb mess of bus cables to the curved arcs of the road and diamond of the cross walk and just watching the traffic/people flow through it… it kind of looks like a math or physics diagram…

Anyhow, Hotel Vitale has been one of my favorite spots to hide out in San Francisco since i moved out of this city… and while i’ve been in quite a few different rooms, this is definitely one of the most unique. I sleep better than usual in their beds… this room has a nice tub with a view… and this ridiculously large window! As well as the usual nice huge desk space to work at… and chaise to lounge on. Take a peek at a few pictures of the view in both day and night, as well as a peek at the room!

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Tags: california - hotels - luxury - san francisco - travel

I love print. I love magazines first and foremost, and newspapers right behind that. They just FEEL so good! All these lists of things that became obsolete in the last decade keep including magazines and newspapers and honestly it just makes me want to cry a little. And you know what else i absolutely adore in those mediums? ADVERTISING! When its good… which so often it can be amazing. Also collectively, taking a look advertising in a magazine or paper says a lot about the publication itself. Picking the right ads is critical ~ as much as people seem to want to squeeze anything on sites some days (yes, you advertisers know who you are) ~ choose wisely. Also if EVERYTHING moves digital, what am i supposed to read when the power’s out and its a gorgeous sunny day? Hmmm?

Ok that’s my little print/ad rant for the moment… mildly triggered by my overwhelming inspiration rush from sitting out in the sun reading, flipping through, and shooting McSweeney’s San Francisco Panorama… which is AMAZING. But since i ended up with so many parts i wanted to show you… lets start with the advertising that grabbed me. Literally with every page flip it was “oooooh amazing picture…. wow what a fascinating read… wait, that pic is actually an AD?” Both the graphics and advertisers that made it in are quite stunning, and together say so so much about the world they’ve created in the newspaper. So before i get to the rest, take a peek at some of the stunning design and fun ads that grabbed me.

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Tags: gifts - magazines - newspapers - print - san francisco - shopping

I was heading to Petaluma from the Broad Summit ~ and just as i was getting out of Sebastapol i did a double take, pulled the car over, made a u-turn, and popped into California Carnivores in hopes it was open (it was late afternoon on a sunday) ~ and it WAS! And it is AMAZING. Apparently it is the "largest carnivorous plant shop in the united states"!!! AND omg. wow. you HAVE to see how stunning (and huge) this place and their plants and their kiddie pools filled with more plants in the process are... Good news is that they are carnivorous plant obsessed, extremely informative, super nice, and you can order online and they will ship anywhere in the US (he was even describing their intense packing process for shipping, and after hearing about it i'm confident to order more soon!) ~ but for now, i couldn't resist and currently have a box of 4 in my car... SO beautiful. They are so incredibly inspiring, take a peek at the pics of many species i have never seen up close before!

On unexpected discoveries, next time you're up in wine country california style ~ California Carnivores is a definite stop not to be missed!

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Tags: california - gifts - nature - plants - san francisco - shopping - travel

Just a quick peek at last nights festivities ~ i'm currently at the Broad Summit at the Boon Hotel up in the Russian River Valley ~ what is it? "So. You may be wondering what this party is all about. In short, The Broad Summit was an idea hatched over Margaritas at SxSW. Maggie has "organize a retreat" on her life list, Aubrey is a party planner, Laura Mayes is a conference organizer, and Helen Jane supplies wine and cheese for the entire Internet. We talked about how fun it would be to have our blogger friends in one place for the weekend. Tipsily laid plans don't often come to much, but we're an unusually efficient group." Basically its like a blogger/tech ladies summer camp (fall camp?) of sorts, but with wine, massages, bonfires, pajama parties, hot tubs, and fun sponsors! So, yes, i'm totally at a tech conference north of SF... and the bonfire was so pretty, had to share a few quick pics with you! (More random pics keep popping up over on my twitter) ~ so first take a peek at the awesome fire, and the surroundings on the next page!

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Tags: events - san francisco - travel - wine

While in SF, between the madness i simply had to make time to stop by and visit the folks behind the incredible products and packaging of Incase! If you haven't noticed over the years, i'm a bit of an Incase junkie ~ their design aesthetic, product concepts and details, and their understated hyper-functional stunning packaging skills are just irresistible. The user experience of their products from the time you see an image of them, or spot it on the street or in a store... to the time it's in your hands being unboxed and being put to good use ~ is just so well thought out. No wonder their tagline is "A better experience through good design."

Well, i'm honored they let me take a peek into their SF studio space, and it was just as inspiring and minimalist as you'd imagine. Clean black and whites ~ turn tables, couches, and a bathroom waiting for your doodles.... wiped clean weekly, and re/decorated by everyone that visits... check out some of their boxes i had yet to see in person... and the patterns that magically transform into those bags we love... and perhaps most interesting, what inspires THEM! A fantastic mix of goodies discovered while shopping in japan interspersed with their products greet you in their gallery space... on to the pics on the next page!

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Tags: incase - san francisco - studio - travel

So now you've seen the creatures of the California Academy of Sciences ~ ready to see what the scene was like for NightLife (their Thurs late night party/events ~ with drinks, food, djs, and more)... basically imagine going to an incredibly awesome museum/science center... but no kids! and the scene is like a 25-55 singles/date night! and as the evening progresses, the drunkeness runs a bit rampant... definitely have to feel for the poor museum folks who had to chase a few inebriated folks through the rather steep planetarium... and those starfish in the tidepools where it's one hand in the tank and the other holding your beer with your arm around your girl... Interesting scene. And BEAUTIFUL space! Definitely worth doing the VIP tour if you've never been, since you get some behind the scenes sneak peeks, checking out the roof in a tiny group of about 15, skipping the rainforest queue, a look in the Vault, reserved passes for the planetarium show (and they let you in first!)... oh, and open bar too. Anyhow, take a peek at the experience!

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Tags: architecture - museum - nature - san francisco - science - travel

So many pictures i didn't even know where to start ~ while in SF, i finally got to check out the California Academy of Sciences ~ did the Nightlife VIP tour (really, if you can, its perfect! You actually get to have the fun of Nightlife, but without the lines, so you can see everything in the few hours ~ including reserved spots for the planetarium ~ and an open bar)... The space is beautiful! So first, CREATURES! A look at some of the critters encountered... and in the next post you can check out the space... check out the pics on the next page! Everything from (what look like) hummingbird lollipops, frogs galore, living walls, albino gators, dino poop and more...

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Tags: animals - museum - nature - san francisco - science