Sarah Walker The Curated House, Author at The Curated House

Heart of The City Farmers’ Market | San Francisco

After a long day of travel, we awoke early to thick fog and the promise of adventure. With plans to see more of the sites over the next few days, we wanted to see what the local organic farming culture is all about and pick up some fresh fruit for inexpensive, healthy breakfasts for our time here. I absolutely love a local, open-air market. The beautiful sights, smells and the warm community feel are all filled with inspiration and the sense of possibility.

A little research led us to an early morning excursion to The Heart of The City Farmers’ Market at the United Nations Plaza just east of the architecturally impressive City Hall. Started 30 years ago, the spirit of this farmer’s market is amazing. Their purpose is to bring healthy, local produce and nutritional education to one of the poorest neighbourhoods in the city while sustaining small, family-operated farms. Over 75% of the food stamps used at farmer’s markets in the city are used here.

The produce is beautiful, the vendors warm and friendly, and the possibilities for the meals I could and would make every week if this market was in my neighbourhood? Endless. Here are just a few shots of the local, organic produce grown in Northern California’s good earth and on display at this Sunday morning market.

Some things were completely new to me, like these Bitter Melons above. The not so bumpy is the Chinese variety and the spiky-bumpy one is the Indian variety. Apparently it offers medicinal qualities {I think she said “good for your liver”?} and can be sauteed up with less bitter vegetables or added to soups. Their colour and texture certainly had me intrigued!

I cannot describe my excitement when we came upon this local honey farm’s offerings. Totally raw {unpasteurized}, their honey is available in a variety of different flavours based on where the bees collect their pollen. I simply had to bring some home and promise to bring you a follow-up post about the 3 flavours we decided to compare.

My guys fell head-over-heels for the cheese from this local, artisinal dairy.

These Dapple Dandy Pluots {a grafted marriage of plums and apricots} were this morning’s breakfast. Their red, juicy flesh is like candy. Incredible! Also like candy to me? The Asian Pears below. Yum. The browner ones tend to be sweeter, so look for more of a caramel-tanned colour when selecting yours.

Tomorrow morning we’ll be having these organic Queen Flavour Pluots for breakfast. I hope they live up to their name!

I wish you could smell the aromatic goodness of all of the herbs piled high on the tables in stall after stall. They had me swooning and wishing desperately I had a kitchen at my disposal while here in San Francisco! So many flavours, so little time.

The view to City Hall from the market in United Nations Plaza.

The splendor and variety of this vendor’s orchids were spectacular.

And the fresh dates…OH the fresh dates. I’m hoping to pop back on Wednesday before we leave the city for a bigger stash to bring home. Glorious sweet goodness. Perfect finish to a nice savoury meal.

The colours, shapes and textures of nature really are art in real life.

I hope this leaves you inspired to explore the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of your own local market! The experience is well worth the effort of searching one out, and the fresh flavours that will no doubt come from your kitchen as a result will be more than pleasing to the palate.

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|September 3rd, 2012|1 Comment

Balzac’s | The Lost Art of The Daily Ritual

Any good design excursion requires fuel. The process of gathering together fresh ideas, new materials and exciting products can spend energy faster than you realize, all swept up in the moment of inspiration. But when the realization hits, it is imperative to have a well-mapped layout of the city’s best coffee shops on hand for immediate action. There is no underestimating the urgency of this situation when it hits, and the need for REALLY good coffee at a moment like this is a serious matter. One of my favourite “suppliers,” nestled in the heart of the Distillery District, is the artisinal coffee roaster and neighbourhood café Balzac’s.

If, like me, you believe that daily rituals can be art, then Balzac’s is the place for you. With their exposed brick walls, vintage signage everywhere and industrial lighting mixed with antique chandeliers, the environment is the perfect backdrop for great conversation and great ideas. Not to mention that they present their lattés as coffee art {one of my favourite touches}.

Named after the French 19th century novelist whose prolific satirical works were said to be fuelled by endless cups of strong, black coffee, Balzac’s coffee culture is steeped in history while meeting the needs of the modern day joe-junkie.

It almost seems a shame to drink it at first! But it would be even more shameful to waste that slow-roasted goodness. And getting to the bottom of each cup {for me} is a ritual of seeing how my coffee art unravels with every sip. I try to have at least the tip of the milk-foam leaf left at the bottom of the cup as testament to where we began {just for fun, of course}. And then – fear not – I drink that, too.

An empty cup and a filled tank, ready for more adventures. Where do you get your fuel fix? Tell me about your favourite and inspired coffee shops and local eateries {and how you turn some of your daily rituals into art}. I’ll add your favourites to my ever-expanding “emergency map.”

xo
s.

All photographs by the lovely Gabriela Hansen

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|August 31st, 2012|5 Comments

Sources of Inspiration | KRAVET + ANTHROPOLOGIE

People often ask me where I start when designing a room or a home. The starting point is always as unique as the project, but in every case, it’s about inspiration. Inspiration can come from almost anything, but all good designers will have amazing trade-only resources that offer exclusive products that are simply unavailable to the general public. One of my favourites is Kravet, a fourth generation, family-owned, high-end fabric company that also offering trimmings, wall coverings, rugs, home furnishings and accessories. They sell to the design trade only and are always my first destination when searching for fabrics and wall coverings that will bring a space to life. Here are a few shots of a recent trip to their Toronto showroom.

SOUTHBOUND PLUME EARRINGS – Anthropologie

LACED DELPHINIUM BLAZER in navy + SUNBLAZE LACE SKIRT paired with the UNDERGROWTH TANK in navy – all Anthropologie.

Summer’s trend toward lace is still holding strong for the Fall. I just couldn’t get enough of it with this outfit and decided to go for broke with lace-on-lace. I love the feminine edge it gives to this professional look. Navy is also still going strong both in fashion and interior design this season. The combination is on-trend without feeling too much somehow. Bold yet sophisticated. Totally Anthro.

One of the reasons I adore the team at Kravet is that they always go above and beyond to make me feel at home. Val was a most gracious hostess to us as we drank in the creativity of the new collections in their beautiful Toronto showroom.

I fell in love with these beautiful durrie rug samples.

Goldenrod Leather Laser Cut-Out Handbag – Anthropologie

I love popping into the city for the inspiration and adventure that await. There is a hum, a buzz to life in Toronto that is contagious. I always leaving dreaming a bit bigger and swimming with ideas. This trip was no different.

I hope today’s taste of fashion and design left you inspired to travel into the big city in search of new looks for both closet and home. Would love to know what you find!

xo
s.

All photographs by Gabriela Hansen

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|August 30th, 2012|0 Comments