Delicious Spaces: Høst in Copenhagen

Gotta Getaway

It’s been a little while since we’ve had an installment of Delicious Spaces. Are you liking this series? I kind of see it as my 2018 version of Tasty Tuesday. But as I was perusing the interwebs to satisfy both my wanderlust (I haven’t left the country in over a year. that is NOT ok. Universe do you hear me?!) and my constant desire for pretty images last night, I stumbled upon Høst, a unique restaurant space in Copenhagen.

As a design enthusiast, it is incredibly embarrassing that I’ve never been to Copenhagen. It’s probably on the tippy top of my bucket list right now. Especially when I see that places like Høst exist. The restaurant was designed by my faves, Norm Architects and features many pieces from my favorite line, Menu. I love the really paired back, rustic look. It has a very Diane Keaton, The House that Pinterest Built vibe (have you seen that book yet?! It’s gorge. I’m obsessed). This space actually also reminds me of this San Francisco restaurant that I profiled a few years back.

The ceilings in this space are killing me. From the rustic wood clad ceiling and then that amazing arched concrete area? Swoon. While there is no adornment or even art, it’s not needed. There’s so much texture with the mix of materials – both rough and smooth woods, brick and concrete. The touches of greenery soften the industrial edge. I’m drooling.

Høst’s food sounds equally stunning. Høst means harvest in Danish and the menu focuses on local Nordic ingredients and seasonal greens. Dishes include things like Porcini Bouillon with pickled Black Trumpet-mushrooms, wild garlic and veal cheeks and Sea buckthorn sorbet with honey and chamomile flower. I’m not even sure what that is, but it sounds amazing. I think I’m ready to a hop on a plane. How about you?

For all of our restaurant profiles, CLICK HERE!

Delicious Space: Bar Crenn

Decor

The latest edition of our Delicious Space series is a seriously stunning new wine bar that I’m thrilled to report is in my own backyard. Bay Area readers, take note. Famed chef Dominque Crenn has just opened a new and seriously beautiful space in San Francisco’s Marina district. Situated next door to her two-Michelin starred flagship restaurant Altier Crenn, the small, intimate and lush Bar Crenn is intended to be a place to gather over classic French food, amazing wine and hopefully stimulating conversation. This isn’t your run of the mill pick up spot. Bar Crenn is meant to be like a home away from home for a wine and design enthusiast.

I have long admired Chef Crenn and my girl-crush only grew after I watched her on Chef’s Table (yet another show you must watch). While an amazing chef (best female chef in the world in 2016 in fact), Dominique goes beyond her dishes, taking a very creative approach to both her food and her restaurants. She is driven by her vision and the holistic experience she wants to create for her patrons. Bar Crenn is an awesome example of this.

When concepting her bar, Chef Crenn was inspired by 1920’s Paris – when the city was a cultural, literary and art epicenter. She wanted to recreate that salon-like environment where luminaries would gather and discuss the day’s pressing issues. When I first walked into Bar Crenn I could immediately image Gertrude Stein holding court in the corner. I would gladly wile away hours in this space.

Decorated by Dominique’s friend, Karan Brady, the room is shrouded in thick green velvet curtains, shielding the space from the street and giving the feel of the private club. Even the entrance is down a walkway off the sidewalk so you almost have to know its there to find it. Seating is limited to luxe settees and Louis VXI armchairs clustered around green marble-topped cocktail tables to further foster conversation. This is not a space where you pack shoulder to shoulder. This is where you come to sit, relax and enjoy. Everything in the room has a vintage patina like you stepped into the Nashville filter. Crystal stemware line the back bar and antique chandeliers dot the ceiling. Sheepskin topped stools line the bar. There’s a hint of femininity in the old world glamour, but it also doesn’t feel overly girly.

Bar Crenn’s menu centers around timeless french dishes that Dominique actually sourced directly from her directory of famous French chefs like Alain Ducasse and Guy Savoy. Must be nice. Plan to get a real education on French wines. Glass pours will range from $14-$50.

I was lucky enough to preview Bar Crenn and taste test its menu in conjugation with a special event hosted by American Express Platinum. Last year American Express launched their Global Dining Collection – exclusive partnerships with a team of Platinum Card Members’ favorite chefs from around the world – think José Andrés, Massimo Bottura, Stephanie Izard and Thomas Keller – to provide Card Members with exclusive access to one-of-a-kind dining experiences and events.

American Express hosted an exclusive dinner with Dominique at Bar Crenn the week before its grand opening and apparently they offer other events throughout the year. I’m going to add all the dishes I tasted to my Instagram story archive so you can see all the amazing bites we enjoyed. And I guess I better start paying better attention to my email to be sure I know when Platinum offers these crazy cool dinners. But I’m just thankful I can head down to Bar Crenn any old time.

Bar Crenn is an elevated, curated and thoughtful addition to the San Francisco food and bar scene. Dare I say this is a bar for grownups (yup, I’m officially SO old). You can make reservations for table seating up to a month in advance (apparently the first month sold out in the first 10 minutes reservations opened up online,) but they will also reserve half of their seats for nightly walk-ins. Reservations for the month of April will open up on March 20 at 11AM. I know I’m going to be clicking refresh to get myself a table.

BAR CRENN
3131 Fillmore Street
Open Tues – Sat 4:30pm – 12:00am

For our archive of Delicious Spaces – aka rurl prudy restaurants, CLICK HERE

original photography for apartment 34 by andrea posadas / portrait by jessica chou

Learn to Mix the Perfect Cocktail with Dona Tomas

Decor

Today’s edition of Delicious Spaces might look a little familiar to a long-time Apt34 reader. I’ve been a major fangirl of brunch at Dona Tomas since my days of pregnancy cravings.

I’m also a fan of the simply chic decor in Dona Tomas’ dining room. Tucked next to Oakland’s Temescal Alley, Dona Tomas keeps things clean and classic. Creamy white walls are dotted with authentic Mexican tapestries and candelabra sconces. Gorgeous ironwork separates the dining room from the exterior patio. Vintage Mexican posters, jumbo grass pendants and floral tablecloths on outside tables are colorful touches. But this pared-back setting is the perfect way to let Dona Tomas’ food and cocktails shine.

And if you’re in the Bay Area, I have an extra special treat for you. Dona Tomas is offering their first cocktail class at the restaurant this weekend! The class will focus on three unique cocktails off their brunch menu: the Celorita, Bloody Maria, and Coco Mocha, described below. You’ll learn how to make each of three cocktails, from the mixes and syrups, where to find the ingredients and tools, how to measure, shake and stir, and get answers to any questions about tequila and mezcal.

Celorita —
habañero infused Vida mezcal, agave & lime, pineapple, cilantro, cucumber & celery

Bloody Maria —
Cimarron Blanco tequila, tomato juice, lime, horseradish, Worcestershire, hot sauce, salt and pepper

Coco Mocha —
Flor de Caña dark rum, chocolate liqueur, coconut milk, iced coffee, piloncillo-canela syrup

If you’re in the mood to spice up your cocktail skills, or a simply in the mood for a fun afternoon of great food and amazing drinks you should seriously consider taking this class. I’ve included all the details below.

What: Dona Tomas Mexican Brunch Cocktail Class
Where: Dona Tomas, 5004 Telegraph Ave, Oakland CA PHONE: 510-540-0522
When: Sunday, Feb 25th, 2pm
Cost: $30 per person
Details: Call to purchase your tickets! 510-450-0522

images for apartment 34 by aubrie pick

Where to Eat in Portland

Food + Travel

Did you catch yesterday’s post about my recent jaunt to Portland?? I was so inspired by all the gorgeous design I saw in just 36 hours in the city. In fact, I saw so much I saved all the beautiful (and delicious) places to eat in Portland for today’s post. Think of this an install of my Delicious Spaces series on overdrive.

Obviously, Portland is quite the food mecca – it’s virtually impossible to eat (or drink) poorly there. However, I am particularly fond of eating in places whose spaces also inspire. I visited some gorgeous spots during my stay, but I suspect they’re only a drop in the beautiful Portland restaurant bucket. Travel Portland, might you have me back just for a restaurant-focused visit? I’d gladly eat seven meals a day!

Without further ado, pretty and yummy spots to eat in Portland.

CAFFEINATE: COAVA COFFEE
1300 Southeast Grand Avenue
Open weekdays 6am – 6pm, weekends 7am to 6pm

Coava Coffee is a well known Portland-based coffee roaster with multiple locations in the city. However, their space on Grand Ave was formerly the original roastery that they’ve since turned into a cool industrial-style coffee house. While it offers a more typically Portland industrial vibe, I loved the beautiful wood-wrapped espresso bar.

Coava serves selections of hand poured coffee using their self-designed coffee cone filter – it was quite pretty – as well as espresso. If you’re headed to Spartan Shop (click here if you don’t know what I’m talking about), this is a great space to grab a yummy coffee either before or after your browsing session.

EAT: PROUD MARY
2012 NE Alberta St
open 7am – 4pm, kitchen closes at 3pm

As soon as I heard Proud Mary was an Australia-based cafe, I knew I had to check it out. I loved both the food and the coffee in Australia so much. The Flat White is a genius coffee invention. I would hop a plane back to Sydney for the perfect cup. Or now, just hop a plane back to Portland!

Proud Mary is in Northeast on well-known Alberta Street, but if you aren’t looking carefully you might miss her. She’s on a block with just a couple of other little shops, but she’s worth searching out. The space itself is light-filled thanks to a bevy of skylights. Polished concrete floors juxtapose Muuto pendants and simple picnic table-style seating. I sat at the bar and was able to watch the nonstop coffee making in action.

Proud Mary offers all-day breakfast, delicious lunch, specialty coffee (roasted in-house), specialty tea, fresh juice, smoothies, cakes, and pastries. You can order at the counter or sit and enjoy table service. There was many an Aussie working there when I visited and I totally felt that genuine, warm, fun and sometimes a little bit cheeky Australian vibe. I had the most amazing hot cake (below!) while there. It was stunning and definitely the most decadent (cream cheese is involved) yet beautiful pancake meal I’ve ever had. If you love breakfast food at any time of the day, I highly recommend this Proud Mary.

EAT: MILK GLASS MRKT
2150 N Killingsworth St
open 9am – 3pm daily

Milk Glass Mrkt is a darling gem of a lunch spot tucked into the Overlook neighborhood of North Portland. What started out as a food-truck years ago has turned into an order-at-the-counter cafe that serves amazingly delicious, fresh, seasonal dishes that put your sandwich-from-the-corner-store to shame.

TREAT: BLUE STAR DONUTS
921 NW 23rd Ave, among multiple locations
open 7:30am – 8pm, or until they run out

While I’m not typically a donut person, when I heard that Blue Star bills themselves as donuts for grownups, I was intrigued. Flavors include Meyer Lemon and Key Lime Curd, Orange Pistachio and Buttermilk Old Fashioned. Definitely more interesting then your grocery store variety. I appreciated that my donut was not a total sugar bomb, wasn’t overly fried or squishy. This donut definitely knew how to adult. With Blue Star locations dotted throughout Portland, I think I’d probably succumb to a donut craving more often than not.

EAT: MÅURICE
921 SW Oak Street
Open Tuesday through Saturday, 10am to 4pm

One of my favorite things about dining in Europe is enjoying a glass of wine with lunch. It’s a very typical habit. Scandanavian-inspired luncheonette Måurice in the West End of downtown Portland seemed like the perfect place to practice that lovely European tradition. With only a smattering of seats all painted a bright white, a mix of antique flatware and a lovingly handwritten daily menu, everything about Måurice is picture perfect.

Opened by well-known Portland pastry chef Kelly Murray, Måurice offers what’s called fika, the traditional Scandinavian coffee-break that often features beautiful baked goods starting at 10am. At lunch deliciously pretty light fare comes from the kitchen. While there I enjoyed everything from oysters and mussels to a gorgeous risotto and of course a few tasty desserts. I could have stayed all day. Well at least until they close at 3pm.

EAT: NOMAD.PDX
575 NE 24th Ave
open 5pm – 12am

Last but not least, I present you Nomad PDX. It’s rare that I have a dining experience that I know will stick with me for a long time. But the dinner I enjoyed at Nomad, a gorgeous yet unassuming space in Northeast Portland was truly special. Nomad features a multi-course tasting menu – which I know sounds super fancy. But Nomad’s genius is the delivery of sophisticated, truly creative dishes in a really accessible environment. There’s no need for fancy outfits or stuffy white tablecloths. This is modern elevated dining at its very best.

Nomads’ executive chef Ryan Fox knows his stuff. He trained for five years at Robuchon in Las Vegas. But Ryan diverts from all the traditional French recipes for dishes with a decidedly Asian influence. Every dish is conceptual, presented with artful expertise, but most importantly seriously delicious. I particularly loved a trio of duck, prepared and presented three ways, a dashi-based broth and a modern take on a tradition asian custard dish. The single shigoku oyster brought to me over a bed of smoking rocks was awe-inspiring. If I sound overly poetic – well, this type of meal deserves it. It’s truly that special.

Nomad also features Ash Bar – this really cool space tucked into a super an awesome cave-like room. The bar is now open seven days a week and serves bar bites like a stellar burger and lobster rolls. While you’ll probably want to save Nomad’s tasting menu for a special occasion – multi-course meals aren’t typically random Tuesday fare – I would gladly hit up the Ash bar any time the desire strikes for a really tasty cocktail and a super good meal.

I can’t remember the last time I ate better than my day and half in Portland. And I know I missed so many other amazing restaurants. I guess it just means I have to go back sooner rather than later.

Are there are Portland faves you care to share? I’d love for you to leave recommendations in the comments below. I’m always adding to my must-try-restaurant list. For all of Travel Portland’s recommended restaurants, CLICK HERE.

For the entire recap of my Portland trip, CLICK HERE.

For more travel ideas, CLICK HERE.

original photography for apartment 34 by Carly Diaz

This post is in partnership with Travel Portland. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Thanks for supporting collaborations I’m super excited about and that have kept apartment 34’s doors open.

New Series: Delicious Spaces

Food + Travel

As 2018 gets ramped up, I’ve avoided a standard list of resolutions again this year (confused: check out this post), but I do have a 2018 to-do list. On the tippy top is to get out and about more. Since this is Apt34’s 10th anniversary, I really want to focus on the making the most of every moment this year. And most moments I’m thinking about food. That includes exploring restaurants, bars, coffee shops in San Francisco and the Bay Area, but also beyond. There are so many good spots that need to be seen and experienced so I thought instead of simply screen shotting Instagrams, I would share my finds here. I’m going to call this series Delicious Spaces – any and every space I want to both dine and simply hang out this year.

First on my list requires a return to New York, but that’s just fine with me. Sel Rrose is a raw bar on the Lower East Side. You don’t have to sell me hard on oysters and champagne but when you put them in such a gorgeous setting I’m ready to book a ticket. The restaurant, on the corner of Delancey and Bowery, juxtaposes a rough industrial vibe with softer edges like custom wallpaper designed by Candice Kaye.

The menu features a revolving variety of daily fresh oysters, full raw bar and a selection of seasonal and well-constructed French inflected plates. The bar offers a French-focused cocktail list, featuring guest favorite, the effervescent house prosecco, alongside an array of premium spirits, natural wines and select beers on tap.

Sel Rrose offers a daily oyster happy hour from 4:00pm. to 7:00pm, ideal for a cozy winter evenings in the city. So if you’re in New York, go and have a drink on me and tag your instagram #deliciousspaces. I’ll be tracking and reposting favorites!

images courtesy of sel rrose

check out more of my favorite spots in the Bay and beyond RIGHT HERE

What To Do if You’re in Seattle this Weekend

Gotta Getaway

While I live in San Francisco and love it so, my hometown will always be Seattle. But most of my Seattle visits are dominated by the dash between all our family and friends, rather than exploring the swiftly changing city itself. But last week I was able to carve out time to wander through some of my favorite Seattle neighborhoods, making some killer discoveries along the way. I’ve picked a quick highlight reel to share with you. You will definitely want to mark these down if you’re headed to my beloved Emerald City any time soon.

Sea Wolf Bakers may be tucked into an unassuming building in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood and it may have a pared back industrial vibe (which I’m totally into), but when you step through the door and catch a whiff of the freshly baked bread, or break into a perfectly flakey croissant, you’re going to want to spend a lot of time here. I certainly left rather reluctantly. Sea Wolf offers a variety of rustic loaves, classic baguettes and the best seeded rye bread I’ve had since I was an exchange student living in Germany. I’d gladly while away a Sunday morning with a newspaper, apple tart and bottomless cup of coffee here. You can watch the bakers make everything right in front of you as you chill.

Sea Wolf Bakers – 3621 Stone Way N, Seattle

Thankfully, when it came to grabbing a good meal, I didn’t have to look far from our hotel. I just had to go down to the lobby. The Palladian houses both the Penny Royal bar and Shaker + Spear restaurant. The restaurant’s brunch was recently named the best in Washington. I can attest, the lemon ricotta blueberry pancake is incredible. Plus I can only love on a restaurant that features copper bar stools and cement tile work. Yummy food and yummy design should always go hand in hand.

Penny Royal & Shaker + Spear 2000 2nd Ave, Seattle

Of course, I couldn’t just eat my way through Seattle – though I would gladly take that challenge anytime – I had to get in a little retail therapy too. Especially when I heard that one of my favorite Seattle boutiques, Moorea Seal, had recently expanded to a new downtown space. Well, I certainly wasn’t disappointed when I made the trek down First Ave. The new store is just gorge. Soaring windows open onto a wide open spot that features crazy high ceilings, a sweet sitting area, kickass dressing rooms and plenty of space for an expanded collection of apparel, shoes, jewelry, bags and home goods. Virtually every single detail in the store is shoppable – even the light fixtures or the seats in the dressing room which you can score at The Mine. It’s a wonderfully dangerous spot to shop!

Moorea Seal 1012 1st Ave, Suite 150 Seattle

Now of course there are a myriad of spots on my Seattle must-visit list that I didn’t get to. Mainstays like Totokaelo or Oddfellows. Favorite coffee spots like Fuel, Cafe Victorla or Cafe Ladro. Of course it seems new restaurants are popping up every two seconds. Guess that’s why you’ve just always gotta make time for home. It just might surprise you.

Do you have any Seattle favorites that I need to know about?? I’d love to hear about them.

For our entire travel archive, CLICK HERE.

photography for apartment 34 by belathée

Tasty Tuesday: You Scream, I Scream…

San Francisco

Summer is pounding down the door! Are you excited?? It’s currently brought unusually warm temperatures t0 San Francisco, which is sending the entire city scrambling for ways to cool off. It so rarely gets warm here no one has air conditioning (seriously!). So when I heard there is a new shop serving up authentic Italian-style gelato in San Francisco, I had to make my way there stat.

Meet Coletta Gelato. It is a welcoming peach of a shop, and not just because of its welcoming peach color scheme. There’s bar-top seating and a nice sunny spot to enjoy your treat outside. The daily rotation of flavors are hand written on the butcher paper menu. At the counter, you find said flavors ready for scooping, but you won’t find any of those prototypical mounds of candy-colored ice cream that you might associate with gelato shops in Italy. That’s actually because those gelatos are filled with stabilizers and fillers to get them to stand up like that. Sadly, a lot of Italian gelato is made from powder these days! I know, I’m horrified too.

But Coletta founders, Antonio Massimini and Henri Waltenspühl are purists. The two share a childhood love of gelato, growing up with Italian grandparents, but they did not meet until they were getting their Masters of Management in Food & Beverage in Milan. While there, they fell in love with the idea of making the best gelato they could create. So they attended Bologna’s Carpigiani Gelato University to perfect their craft. Luckily for us, they decided to bring their gelato to the US. As Antonio explained, the decided San Francisco is the ideal location because the abundance of amazing ingredients in the Bay Area allows them to make a product that is a cut above.

At Coletta, they make their base from scratch daily. It’s a long, laborious process that includes mixing milk (that they source from local Clover Dairy), mixing it with sugar and raising the mixture to a precise temperature. Then there are the unique flavors – Coletta offers classics like Pistacchio, Gianduja (chocolate + hazelnut) and Tiramisu, but also more local-influenced options like Gauva sorbetto, fresh Peach or Mint Chocolate Chip. All of their ingredients are selected for their quality and freshness and are organic.

Coletta is also putting a foodie twist on their gelato, creating infused flavors, such a basil and chai. They even let it slip that they’re working to perfect a low-sugar option in the future! But what really sets gelato apart for me is the texture. Real, beautifully crafted gelato is light, airy and oh so creamy. You don’t feel gross after eating it. That might by why I was known to indulge as many as 3x a day when I was in Italy (eek!).

There a number of contributing factors to this. For one, unlike ice cream, gelato is made with milk and only milk. Ice creams are made with a mix of milk and cream as well as eggs. This makes gelato a lot lighter (and often half the calories!) of ice cream. Also gelato is made and kept at much warmer temperatures than ice cream. That makes it much more flavorful. Gelato also isn’t meant to be stored for a long time. It’s intended to be enjoyed the day it is made. Coletta doesn’t keep any gelato more than two days to ensure the highest quality and freshness.

After living in Italy and visiting many times since, I’ve spent years sampling gelato anywhere I see it pop up in the US, hoping to replicate the memories I have from Italy. It’s very rare that I’ve found gelato that lives up to those expectations, but Coletta actually surpasses them! The texture is perfect, the flavors are amazing (I was particularly impressed by the almond topped with coco powder) and the space is just the cutest.

But if you can’t make it downtown, fear not! Coletta has also imported roving gelato carts straight from Italy. Bike powered and totally adorable, it’s going to be popping up around San Francisco this summer. I will certainly be stalking it. Follow them on Instagram to find out where they’re popping up.

For now, head to 685 Harrison Street to get your gelato fix. Coletta is open Tuesday-Sunday 12pm – 9pm.

For more of my favorite San Francisco gems, CLICK HERE

original photography for apartment 34 by andrea posadas

FluFOMO: Traveling Off the Beaten Path

Gotta Getaway

It’s so easy to get stuck in our daily routines. Whether we’re chained to a desk literally or figuratively, it’s rare to break out of the norm – the ebb and flow of day to day life tends to sweep you away. You frequent the standard coffee shop on the daily or head to your weekly brunch spot without blinking an eye. As we rely on old standbys, time seems to blur, days blending into weeks, weeks slumping into months. But what if, every once in awhile, you were free to to kick the standbys to the curb?

When Clorox asked me to share some FluFOMO – what you might be missing out on if you’re unfortunate enough to catch the flu this season – I decided it was high time to break out of my routine. Since I’ve done my best to keep the flu at bay this season (you can see how I kept from catching the stomach flu from my kid right here). Sure there are thousands of trendy spots in and around San Francisco that would check every hipster box you can think of, but I wondered what might be out there if I looked a little past the usual.

I recently took the opportunity to enjoy a crisp January day ditching my routine entirely and instead, hitting the road excited to discover what Hwy 1 might bring my way – no set itinerary, no set agenda, no Instagram stalking beforehand. Just a sense of adventure.

Upon snaking up the coast, I stumbled upon the charming little town of Bolinas a little less than an hour north of San Francisco. Nestled against the Pacific and beloved by surfers who hate crowds, the one-street hamlet, pop. 2,000, feels like a throwback to a bygone era. You can belly up to the bar at Smiley’s Saloon, the oldest bar in California, or lunch on oysters plucked only miles from Coast Cafe, the town diner. But what I love most about places like Bolinas are the people. Also quick to smile, happy to share a kind word and eager to tell an interesting story, it’s a wonderful reminder of the power of human connection. At Smiley’s, I was regaled of the celebrities that often come through Bolinas as they explore Marin – often unsure of what to make of town residents who really couldn’t give two sh***!

an artist community still thrives in bolinas

a quiet stroll on the beach soothes the soul

When the world seems to spin a bit out of control, a little time spent breaking free of the usual is the perfect way to reflect on what matters most. You never know what you might be missing out on until you simply get out there and explore.

Have you missed out on some adventure this winter due to the flu? Click here to share your story and be entered to win a Clorox prize pack!

For more getaway ideas, CLICK HERE

original photography for apt34 by emily scott

This post is in partnership with Clorox. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Thanks for supporting collaborations that I’m excited about and that have kept apartment 34’s doors open

Obsession Reinvented: How I Rediscovered Inspiration

Business of blogging

As a blogger, it can often be hard to find fresh inspiration. Instagram algorithms, Pinterest overload and blogger ubiquity can make the online world feel a little one note. Over the years (have I really been at this for 9 years now?!), I’ve certainly struggled with ideation, often feeling like I was banging my head against a wall of stale style. That’s why I was intrigued when HP approached me earlier this summer with a challenge: Give their all-new HP Spectre notebook a try and see how its inspired design might inspire me to reinvent my work (in case you missed, check out the rather unique way I was introduced to the Spectre laptop here – it was all caught on video!).

So over the past few months, the HP Spectre has been my new companion. As I mentioned in said video – my laptop is almost like an extension of my hand. It’s never far from my reach – even in places you should never admit taking your laptop! Thankfully, the Spectre is so light and sleek it doesn’t weigh me down like my old laptop did. It’s actually the Spectre’s featherweight body and super-thin profile that inspired the reinvention of my work. Let me explain.

You see, since having my kiddo, I’ve felt a bit hermit-like. I used to pride myself on knowing the latest hot spot, trying out the new restaurant or being one of the first to discover the up and coming…whatever it might be. And I swore things wouldn’t change when I had a baby, as all people without kids do. But reality proved that with less time in the day and shifting priorities, I fell out of the loop. It was just too hard to avoid. And when you’re out of the loop it’s hard to discover fresh things you haven’t seen before. But with the help of HP, over the summer I felt inspired to shake off the mama-shackles and get back to what I love – collaborating, connecting, and being inspired by people way more talented than I.

As you may have seen in this post, collaborating with the furniture company Cisco Home to design my dream sofa certainly got me re-inspired from the tips of bloggin’ toes to the top of my head. But that type of opportunity is not an everyday occurrence. To feel reenergized on a daily basis, I’ve been grabbing my Spectre and making a point to simply get out and about in the world. For example, I’ve been trying to work from new places in and around San Francisco, like the amazing Tartine Manufactory recently opened in San Francisco’s Mission neighborhood.

There are 1,000 things to love about this place. Starting with all the carbs, but I digress.

Housed in the Heath Ceramics Factory, Tartine Manufactory was created with the intention of articulating California aesthetics, to serve as an intersection between design and food and be a celebration of process. The Los Angeles based cool kids on the design block, Commune, looked to the architecture of alpine lodges, Dutch design, Stickley furniture, Japanese joinery and of course all things California to inspire the way they melded industrial architecture with a welcoming feel. Huge factory windows extend to high ceilings allowing natural light to flood the space. Unglazed Heath subway tiles along with crazy good Calacatta marble counters with faint gold veins, white plastered walls and concrete floors create a muted palette. Other details include reclaimed Douglas fir woodwork, Noguchi lanterns and mesh metal light fixtures.

It’s official, when it comes to the computer I’m working on and the space I’m working in, aesthetics make all the difference. I consider Tartine Manufactory my new happy place where I can work, run into friends and meet new ones.

When it comes to the actual work side of things, the Spectre makes it nice and easy. I’ve already espoused its petite size repeatedly. It really is an awesome feature. I also love the good battery life. I can power through a morning session at Tartine, no cord required. I also really like the wireless mouse that perfectly matches the laptop. I seriously hurt my shoulder doing too much work using a trackpad from which I am still recovering. Using a mouse is a must! The Spectre’s speed is nice and fast which is always a requirement for my short blogger attention span. I can charge my phone with the USB port and pop in headphones if I need to tune things out. I won’t sugar coat it, trying to re-learn Windows has been my least favorite part of the whole process, but the laptop’s lovely copper accents and glowing keyboard lessen makes it worth it!

The notebook is a great tool, but I’m most grateful for the opportunity to search out and rediscover what gets my creative juices flowing. That’s been the true game changer of this entire experience.

What inspires you when you’re in need of a creative boost? Please comment below!

To catch up on my entire experience with my HP Spectre click HERE and HERE.

Original photography for apartment 34 by andrea posadas
This post sponsored by HP. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Thanks for supporting collaborations that we’re excited about and that have kept Apartment 34’s doors open.

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