August 25'
What we have been doing
August has been a full one—juggling ongoing projects and kicking off a couple of exciting new ones. With site visits, design presentations, and construction details (and everyone hoping to have complete/furnished homes before the holidays) it has been nonstop around here. But not to fear, we managed to fit in some fun: a family trip to Cabo, a wedding in Aspen, and a few weekend trips to the Bay Area.
What we have been loving
For the home- I’ve been so drawn to traditional details lately—ornate moldings and millwork, natural stone slabs with ogee edges, metal accents, and of course, wallpaper. Lately, I’ve been working on a lot of fireplace designs, and in California (and probably everywhere), they come with numerous limitations and regulations. The challenge is always making them feel unique and classic while still working within the parameters. Each one has sent me down a new rabbit hole of inspiration, but my current obsession is with Swedish fireplaces. I love the simplicity and the classic brass details.
In the kitchen- Our house is surrounded by wild blackberry bushes—which can be a huge pain since they’re so invasive—but the upside is getting to pick fresh berries every morning to toss into my yogurt this time of year. I also made a batch of blackberry jalapeño jam, which turned out so good and feels like the perfect mix of sweet and spicy. We’ve been continuing to BBQ a lot, and I’ve been pulling a lot of inspiration from The Ranch Table. I love how seasonal her recipes are.
In the garden- Everyone will be relieved to hear that we finally have tomatoes! Even though I’m thrilled to be enjoying our late harvest, I’ve also been loving the early signs of fall creeping in. We’ve been scheming up some fall landscaping plans, we’ve found that anything planted in the fall does so much better and is so much stronger throughout the summer than anything planted in the spring. We’re also finally starting on our long-awaited porch projects. Our house has three porches that are currently pretty janky, and I can’t wait to bring them back to life.
