Infusing grandeur into otherwise drab Monday mornings with five things/ideas/events for the week:

I.  In anticipation of house-guests this weekend, I stocked my fridge full of delicious ingredients for meals to cook together (and maybe a few bottles of wine…).  I’ve been craving Eggs en Cocotte, and decided it would be the perfect post-Fourth of July breakfast.  Much easier to make than its fancy name suggests, the dish is a baked combination of fresh herbs, bacon, parmesan, and eggs served in an adorable ramekin.  An added bonus is that you can prep the ramekins the day before so that the only thing you have to do, other than nurse your hangover, is pop them in the oven.

II.  My mother recently tasked me with designing the interior of our home in Lake Tahoe.  The living room has an eastern facing wall completely comprised of windows, so we decided to draw in the pine tree view by using green in our color scheme.  While this sounds like it should be straight-forward, the majority of green-hued decor is more lime than emerald.  After perusing my go-to mainstream vendors and coming up empty handed, I turned to Etsy as a last resort.  I was delighted to find an Italian vendor specializing in handmade silk throw pillows, and selected complimentary dark green and cream Ikat prints for the sofa and chairs.  Priced much lower than anything I’ve found locally, I highly recommend checking out Textile Gallery the next time you have the urge to redecorate.

III.  My cousin recently posted a photo of the kitchen he just installed, and I instantly fell in love with the contrasting espresso wood with the white chandelier.  While drum-shaded chandeliers are relatively common, I haven’t seen many in kitchens.  I love both this similar rectangle chandelier, and this more-affordable circular option.

IV.  Thrillist just published a fantastic article highlighting the San Francisco Secrets You Didn’t Know Existed.  As a Bay Area native, I was sure that there would be nothing surprising about the suggestions, so I was excited when I realized that I never knew so many awesome things that our city has to offer - like The Cake Gallery, which makes these darling hamburger cupcakes (and anything else you can imagine).

V. I hope that you will join me for a ridiculously fun evening of dinner, drinks, dancing, and the celebration of the 2014 Opening Night of the San Francisco Symphony on September 3rd.  This year, the Symphonix Dinner Party is revamped and better than ever, with live music during dinner, open bars, and delicious food all in the beautiful setting of San Francisco City Hall.  Don’t wait to purchase tickets - this amazing event never fails to sell out well before gala day.

Have a wonderful week!  xx tt