one month down (and on to the next)

Week 5 of Project 365. Here we go...


Last Saturday, Steve and I walked over to Pot + Pantry, a relatively new little store in the neighborhood that sells (and buys) vintage cookware, as well as some newer stuff. Donna, the owner, obviously has great taste, because everything there is really cute. We ended up buying two smallish Emile Henry lasagna dishes for $30. They'll be great for macaroni & cheese, gratins, roasted vegetables, etc.

While we were there, I asked if I could take a few pictures so I could get my picture of the day. I shot a few things around the store, including this shelf. I really like those ceramic canisters, but the bean can with flowers is especially charming.

29/365 pot + pantry

On Sunday, we did our new dish(es) of the week. I already wrote about this one in the 52 WoF post for January, but here's the short version. Steve made two recipes for stuffed piquillo peppers, and we ate them for lunch that day. He used a new Ikea plate for the salad with the chorizo and manchego stuffed peppers. It was great for pictures, but it was small enough that I had to be careful not to end up with food on my lap while I was eating.

30/365 stuffed gnome hats

Monday was the last day of January, so I decided to take a picture of the January and February pages of the Polaroid calendar I got for Christmas. I usually put the current month's page on the magnetic board in the kitchen. It's nice to look up and see it, but I have to stand on a chair to change it each time. I figured the window sill in the dining room would make a better setting for the picture, even though it was a more of an ordeal than I expected to clean it off. It wasn't just a little dusty like I thought; dish soap was needed because of that sneaky cooking grease from the kitchen.

31/365 changing of the calendar

I wanted to do some more sanding on Tuesday afternoon, so I shot a few pictures before I got to work—just in case I didn't feel like it afterward. I didn't have many ideas, but I've been trying to get a decent picture of our cookbook shelves for years. I gave it another try, and this was the best of them. It's really only about a third of our cookbooks; we keep acquiring more, since it's the go-to choice for Steve's birthdays and Christmas. Luckily, our 52 Weeks of Food project has made us use them more often.

32/365 cookbook shelf

On Wednesday evening, Steve and I went out to dinner at Farallon and then saw the musical Next to Normal at the Curran. I took pictures at dinner, but in the end, I chose a picture of some blossoms in the window of Sephora. I shot it on our way back to the Powell BART station after the show.

33/365 blossoms & stripes

Thursday morning, I got a call from Carmen, wanting to know if I would like to go out to lunch and to Flora Grubb with her. That solved my problem of what to shoot for the day. We went to Noe Valley for sushi, ran some errands around Noe Valley and Potrero, visited Flora Grubb, and then came back to the Mission for some ice cream at Humphry Slocombe. (I got Roasted White Chocolate-Lavender.)

Flora Grubb was definitely the most photogenic of our stops. It's a garden store in Bayview with really awesome stuff. I'm always tempted by the plants... until I remember that I'm not good at keeping them alive. Photos will have to do for me.

34/365 flora grubb

On Friday, I finally went to the post office downtown to turn in my passport application. (Since I got my old one when I was 15, I had to reapply in person.) Afterward, I walked around downtown a little and ran a couple more errands, taking pictures when things caught my eye.

Steve and I went for burgers with Dan and Carmen for dinner that night, and then we all watched Inception. Later, when I went through my photos from the day, my favorite turned out to be one I took of a sidewalk cafe on Sutter, downtown. I pass it every time I go to Steve's office, so I actually thought about taking the picture on Wednesday evening but decided to save it. Anyway, I thought it tied in well with the movie, since there was a scene at a Parisian sidewalk cafe.

35/365 sidewalk cafe

That wraps up another week—and January too. I leave you with a mosaic of the January 365 pictures. It's fun to be able to make these again.