For a while now, I’ve been hearing about some super secret button store which is stocked with all manner of vintage buttons. I never understood why it was a secret, because I’m sure such a tiny little business could use the support and customers!

Anyway, I finally found it. Exclusive Buttons in El Cerrito is a teeny tiny little shop run by an incredibly helpful older lady, and stocked to the brim with vintage buttons still on their cards, along with buckles, closures, etc. The owner told me that they stock no plastic. I’m still confused about that because a lot of them seemed like plastic, and some things were clearly marked “bakelite,” which was the first manufactured synthetic plastic.

I bought several cards of beautiful buttons, but seriously had to restrain myself. Beautiful buttons can transform the plainest piece of clothing, but it’s really hard to find full sets of nice vintage ones.

But I think my favorite purchase was the vintage belt buckle kits for making fabric-covered belts! Remember when I was just recently pining for such a thing when I posted about this beautiful yellow Lorick dress?

And just look at those red and white flowery things. They look like christmas cookies. And the ones below are my favorite.

I always thought Tender Buttons in NYC’s garment district was the be all and end all in buttons. And it still wins for selection. But Exclusive Buttons is so much more charming, magical, old fashioned, and helpful.

We had a wonderful time in Sonoma last weekend. Hot air balloons are neat.

…and I love horses.

Afterward, we had breakfast in this beautiful garden. It was basically a scaled up version of my dream garden. There were separate mini gardens within it for various cuisines: Italian, south american, etc.

We also visited a very nice winery and had dinner at an adorable little restaurant in a converted old pullman train car. It was a pretty fancy birthday.

{more photos on flickr, if you’re interested}

One of the things I really missed when we lived in san francisco was the beautiful, overflowing gardens of the east bay. I’m so glad we’re back.

This is a walk we frequently take through the neighborhood. We don’t live in the swankiest, greenest of neighborhoods, but we live very close to one. Which is almost as good. almost.

On this particular day, we walked to the nearby chocolate seller/cafe and shared a piece of chocolate cinnamon cake.

The Maker Faire was fun, although I must admit I’m beginning to feel like I’ve seen much of what there is to see there. It hasn’t changed much from year to year, except that there is way more corporate sponsorship, though that seems mostly limited to the expo room (we called it “corporate ghetto”).

BUT there were goats! I don’t know why, but they were there, playing king of the hill on a bale of hay and butting each other. I LOVE goats. See how happy I am?

Also, a lovely girl came up to me to tell me that she recognized me from this blog and wanted to say hi! That was really cool and friendly of her and made me feel warm and fuzzy.

Last night, we checked out Oakland Art Murmur, a regular art event on the first Friday of every month. We saw some wonderful work, including photography, paintings, video, and large installations.

There were several paintings I was really drawn to, but not having that sort of money to spend, I was happy to come away with a patch for my hoodie, a sticker for my bike (both from the Rock Paper Scissors collective), and best of all, several posters from The Small Stakes!

I especially love the Noise Pop poster.

I’ve long loved the work of The Small Stakes, so it was really a dream to find a large selection of slightly imperfect silkscreened posters for $5 each! Pretty incredible. I don’t mind the little imperfections at all, it only emphasized their hand-pulled beauty.

Every day, I grow more and more happy with the decision to move back to the East Bay from SF.

Yesterday we went to Kinokuniya for japanese craft book goodness, then just took a drive down to the ocean because it was so clear and sunny, and back up through golden gate park. It reminded me what a sigh-inducingly beautiful city this is. When it gets warmer, we’re going to go for bike rides and picnics in the park. Perhaps that should be one of my resolutions.

Then coffee and pear-raspberry pie at Mission Pie. I think another resolution will be to eat more pie.

I wore one of my favorite hand knit sweaters, from the book Vintage Knits by Sarah Dallas. There are some very cute patterns in that book.

On Saturday, we went to see one of my best friends perform her burlesque act at Tease-o-rama. It also happens to be Fleet Week, so there was a huge pack of loud drunken sailors behind us. (Actually, they were mostly quite nice, but they were loud).

There were some pretty incredible acts this year. I particularly enjoyed the fan dance by Michelle L’amour, which was far and away the most beautiful fan dance I have ever seen. The whole room stood still for that one. In a completely different vein, I also really liked the adorably dirty cheerleading of the Cock T’s. Not to mention the gorgeous Miss Delirium Tremens dancing to Tom Waits’ Temptation (not that I’m biased or anything).

Drinking whiskey before the show in my shadowy apartment.

I wanted to mention how amazing Al’s Attire is. Located in North Beach, Al does custom tailoring with a vintage flair. He specializes in suits, does some amazing women’s coats, and also has plenty of classically styled dresses, blouses, and men’s shirts around the shop. He’ll work with you to pick out exactly the right fabric, style, and details for your piece.

I’m seriously considering saving up for a gorgeous custom coat come winter. Maybe something curvy in a scarlet red wool. It’s a good investment, since in San Francisco a coat comes in handy about 11 months out of the year.

On Sunday, we rode our bikes to the new Flora Grubb Gardens location. What a gorgeous nursery. I was clutching my heart, pining for an actual house with an actual yard. Or at least a porch that gets a bit of sun. Anything.

San Francisco, why do you taunt me with your stylish nurseries and completely insane housing prices?

Ritual Roasters has a little outpost here. We took our coffee and pumpkin bread into the garden. A perfect way to relax on a sunny sunday.

Saturdays have become market days around here. In the mornings, we head to the Alemany Farmers’ Market, the oldest farmers’ market in the bay area, and my favorite source for delicious, cheap, seasonal, locally grown produce. I like to come armed with a grocery list, but I leave room to be inspired by what’s available. This week, I was smitten by fava beans, one of my favorite foods in the world, and picked up some potatoes, mint, and meyer lemons to accompany them.

It’s also a great place to grab lunch or breakfast. You can get tamales or fantastic butter, lemon, and sugar crepes like these.

After the market, we head to Rainbow, our local co-op, for our non-produce needs. They have an astounding selection of bulk foods and unusual ingredients that inspire me to experiment.