Friday Finds - Sherbet Summer

June gloom has settled upon the city and so has my mood. Since San Francisco summer is still a few months away, I created a summery inspiration collection. Apparently I'm on an elephant kick too as this is the second elephant accessory featured this week!

TGIF!

Clockwise from Top L:
The Pink Pagoda - Orange Chinoiserie Floral Elephants
J. Crew - Loretta Dress in Eyelet
Banana Republic - Millie Collection Enamel Lock Bangle in Pool Green
Joss & Main - Home Pillow

Our FURminator Review

The price is no joke. Over 50 bucks for a cat brush? It's a bit hard to choke that one down. But when it went on sale at Petco (as it is now) and when I had enough points to redeem a coupon for another $5 off, we decided to test it's claims. 

We've been using the FURminator for several months now and I feel that there is a noticeable difference in Oliver's shedding.  Particularly during the week after a brushing, I believe there is much less shedding. Obviously it's hard to measure because I don't collect all of the little tumble weeds throughout the house and weigh them to compare week to week.  And Mr. P says he doesn't notice a difference. So I only have my subjective opinion that the FURminator cuts down on extra hair.

One thing that isn't subjective is the difference between what the FURminator collects during a brushing and what our previous comb did.  Our previous comb was lucky to collect 10 hairs while about 20 more were spurned into the air.  The FURminator collected this after about 2-3 minutes of brushing:

Now, I'm not getting paid for this review and FURminator doesn't know I exist.  I paid for the brush myself and just think it's a good product.  I think the ROI, especially in a multiple pet household, would be positive for the FURminator and I'm glad we have one. Oliver isn't thrilled by it, but he does find it curious and will eventually lay down so that I can finish his brushing.

Speaking of Oliver, if you're not following us on instagram @palindromeathome, you're missing gems like this:

Retro Redesign - Excelsior Mod Bathroom

Excelsior is a southern neighborhood of San Francisco with good values relative to the city.  Good value is also a kind of code for needing some TLC. I chose a house for the redesign this week because I think the interior doesn't currently reflect the style of the exterior.  The interior is in good shape and maintenance, but not my taste. As you know by now, I'm a fan of keeping the spirit of the house alive in the decor as well.

The exterior is 70s-licious in all its boxy mustard glory. I might add some subtle changes like painting the brick planter and the house numbers white for a little more contrast.

And then we have the interior. Someone obviously loved some old world style. I just don't feel it's reflective of the house's character.  It's a bit cluttery and overworked in my opinion.



If I were to redo it, I would go with a look more in tune with a retro color scheme and modern lines. Something more with this flavor from a home tour featured on Belle Maison:

To achieve this look I think the following pieces would introduce the right color palette while still being fun and minimalistc:

Clockwise from Top L:
Home Depot - Martha Steward 3-light Vanity Fixture
Pool Pony Design - Aquarium Print
Home Decorators - Parsons Wall Mirror
Joss & Main - Benevuto Vase Decor
Joss & Main - Faux Spider Mum Arrangement
Pool Pony Design - Blue Love Birds
Cotton Bath Towels - Two Turkish Towels, Mustard and Turquoise
Joss & Main - Elephant Statue

All We Needed was a Stair Car

We ate frozen bananas, rode Segways and I broke out my chicken dance.  It was an Arrested Development  themed weekend, albeit unintentionally!

My friend and I bought our husbands a Segway Off Road tour around Christmas time.  They booked up super fast and we only got around to cashing in on them Memorial Day weekend. We decided to make a mini-weekend trip out of stopping at Alameda, Danville and Livermore along the way.




The East Bay gets this sortof you-move-there-when-you-have-kids-or-retire-suburban-purgatory reputation, but during our little trip, I remembered all the beauty of suburbia.  Wide open spaces, yards, cute towns, easy parking and spectacular views from San Francisco to San Jose.

We started in Alameda and completed about half of this SFGate walking tour. Our favorite stop was Tucker's Ice Cream where I got the butterscotch swirl and Mr. P couldn't resist the chocolate frozen banana. There's always money in the banana stand ice cream shop.

From there, we headed out on what we thought was a three hour tour.  A three hour tour.  Drew, our intrepid Segway tour guide, gave us our money's worth and then some with a 5 hour tour.  Drew is a local character who knows a lot of history about Oakland, has a passion for forestry and can drop more names than you're annoying co-worker.  It was a hilarious introduction to the regional park system of Oakland and Segway off-roading.  We're already contemplating the Marin tour he leads.

On the recommendation of Sunset Magazine, we decided to bed down near Danville to explore the little town and then hike in Las Trampas Wilderness.  We had burgers and fries at Pete's Brass Rail and Car Wash while we swore everyone in there looked like they were 16-years-old.  Seriously, when did the 21-year-old set start looking baby-faced? Oh, that's right, when we push 30.  Huh. Either that or they were serving underage.  Let's go with a crime rather than us getting old.

Hiking the ridge in the Las Trampas Wilderness kicked our butts after we got spoiled on the Segways! For being Memorial Day weekend, both the Oakland regional park and Las Trampas were havens of practical solitude.  We came across very few other hikers and had relatively clear views for the season.

Top photo courtesy of Segway Off Road, bottom photo courtesy of our friend

When we hit up the Livermore Outlets we figured where all the people were.  Shopping tested our agility, endurance and stamina way more than the morning's hike! The Livermore Outlets are kindof swanky and we were kindof stanky in all of our hiking glory. I walked away with out buying one thing.  I tried to get a Frappucino towards the end of the day, but the 20 person line at Starbucks dissuaded me.

By the time we got home, I couldn't have been more ready to put on stretchy pants and watch the new season of Arrested Development. To warm up, we watched the old series finale then jumped straight into two new back to back episodes.  I think we would give the previous seasons 5 stars and this one maybe 4 stars.  Not altogether awful, but not quite as funny as we remember.  C'mon!

Retro Redesign - Parkside Bungalow Bedroom

Word.  It's Wednesday and time for another Retro Redesign!  The inventory actually looked higher to me this week in San Francisco and I wanted to feature a lesser known neighborhood.  Parkside is part of the Sunset District and while it may not boast the same thrills as say the Mission or Castro, it's AFFORDABLE! (Well, relatively in SF.)  When I saw this sweet bungalow for just under 600k, I wanted to see more.  With a smidge of imagination and a few trips to Lowes (imagine even a trimmed lawn!), I think the curb appeal can be pumped up to super cute.



It's a teeny little starter home at just 900 sq. ft., but the large attic master bedroom option really drew me in to the house.



The pictures look like the previous sale in 2009 and boast a sad attempt at staging. Talk about a bed in a bag and table lamps sitting on the ground.  Boo to the hoo on that.  Look at the potential in here though!  On the other side of the attic, there's room for cute sitting area or office too.



I thought something cottage inspired with a natural or seaside twist would make this space retreat worthy.  I found inspiration from Des Moines of all places. It just goes to show that no matter where you are, you can capitalize on the good bones of your home and build from there.

After a little browsing and searching, I settled on a few key pieces I think would achieve this look.

Clockwise from Top L:
Benjamin Moore - Paint in Bali, Linen and Falcon Brown
Joss & Main - Cubist Wall Clock
Ten Thousand Villages - Resplendent Rooster Pillow
Joss & Main - 3 Piece Kelly Planter Set
Restoration Hardware - Belgian Linen Bedding (on sale right now)
Overstock - Bali Wood Side Table (40% off similar table at West Elm)

Friday Finds - Emergency Kits

The NERT training I've received, combined with coverage of the Oklahoma tornadoes, stresses the urgency of having an Emergency Kit in one's home.  It's a simple precaution that could mean the difference between surviving a major disaster and not.  Of course, you'll have to tailor your kit for any particularly likely natural disasters in your area, but there are several items everyone should have at the ready.

Clockwise from Top L:
Amazon - Heavy Duty 4 in 1 Utility Shutoff Tool
Cell Phone Stop - Mini Solar Charger
Amazon - 5 in 1 Survival Whistle
Amazon - Red Cross First Aid Kit
Walmart - MagLite
Vermont's Barre - MRE Rations
iTunes - NOAA Weather App

Find complete lists suggested by FEMA here: Basic Disaster Kits

Look What the Mama Dragged In

I promise, I was walking around and minding my own business.  Mr. P thinks I go looking for strays to take in, but my defense claim is that I'm Type A and know that I will see the situation to a beneficial resolution.  On my way to our neighborhood cafe, I came across Quinn, an energetic fellow running off leash.  It wasn't completely out of he blue as a big park is nearby and dogs often are off leash chasing frisbees.  I asked around to some morning commuters if they recognized the dog and cyclist said, oh yes, his house is right there.  As it turns out, the garage door was slightly ajar which left this pup to his own Houdini devices.

I called both numbers on his collar ID tag (PSA - keep these updated!) and he was united with his mamas within a few hours.  To keep him safe from the street, I waited with him at our house. Oliver curiously tried to engage Quinn, but to his never ending dismay, this dog didn't want to be friends with him.  I swear, he's the friendliest cat and poor little guy just faces rejection after rejection!

Quinn's mama gave me a cafe gift card as a Thank You and I've been enjoying lattes for my pet responsibility for the past several weeks.  No, thank YOU Quinn!