Friday, June 6, 2014

Tocco, Super(handy)man

I have to say, I'm really impressed by Tocco. He is, without a doubt, the hero of this house renovation. I came home yesterday to find the kitchen counters half demo'ed (the second half getting done today) and new counters measured, cut, sanded and installed. He told me going in that he could do all of this stuff, but it's hard to believe until it's actually happened (several times over).

It would take me weeks, if not months (or years) to get up the nerve to take a sledgehammer to perfectly fine countertops and tile, without ever having done it before. You need a ton of confidence to do these things and be sure you can get them done correctly, in a good style, and in just a day or two. To know that you're not only smart enough, but resourceful enough, and creative enough to do it (not just on this project, but countless others, very big and very small). This is not to say that he's always right or we always agree (see: basement steps, # of coats of paint required, exterior paint color, and whatever else we've disagreed on). But still. Awesomeness

Proud of you, T. Keep up the good work. xo

No, it's not finished. No, there won't be three colors painted on our cabinets. Yes to the gray and white. 

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Happy birthday liebe Birte!

Tocco's little sister Birte flew in from Germany last night and today we are lucky to celebrate her birthday with her. Here she is with her birthday breakfast - an amazing chocolate cake made by Tocco and carefully hidden yesterday (definitely not Whole 30 approved, but shush it).This is a big year for Birte. She's started her own coffee truck business, Birte on Tour - the first coffee truck in Bremen, Germany! Alles Gute zum Geburtstag Birte! xo



Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Pinterest Tour!



Yesterday I had the good fortune to invite myself (and be told yes) to a very cool, private tour of Pinterest's headquarters around the corner in San Francisco. Along with two coworkers from New Relic happily bounced along on a two hour tour Pinterest's HQ. Our lead was their head designer, Jen. Pinterest's offices are famous for being inspiring and unique, all thanks to Jen, and it seriously did not disappoint. Luckily they're also just a 10 minute cab ride away. We arrived for lunch (which was all healthy and awesome, and offered daily along with dinner and endless drinks and snacks - it's like a little Google!). While we ate, Jen gave us the vision for the office and how it all came to be. Interestingly, the space was a strongly considered contender for New Relic but in the end NR turned it down, because it's a little too edgy and arty for our crew, but ideal for Pinterest. After lunch, Jen filled us in on all the stories behind each space as we walked along, from the conference rooms, craft table (fully stocked and oh so tempting) bike parking, laboratory, all manner of common areas, desks of course, the "top pinned items" display, a badass garage door conference room, pictures of pinners, a sweet lending library, red English public phone, lunchroom, coffee bar, game room, mother's room, zen room, wine room, yarn bombs... on and on....it was impressive. It was rad not only to hear how each area was conceived, but how the actual scouting of materials went down - auction houses, made-to-orders, commissions, and funny stories like Ke$ha trying to make off with one of their couches at a flea market. A lot of the moveable designs and decorations in the space were created by Pinterest employees, who are all super talented and creative (natch). They do monthly "makeathons" like our "hackathons" where they get together and make what ultimately gets displayed.
Anyway, here are some pics. I obviously had a great time, was really inspired, and would love to do this for a living! I didn't take as many photos as I now wish because I was asking lots of questions and trying to keep up, but I did take some. These are from the first space - which they have already outgrown. I wish I'd taken a photo of the center common area, right when you walk through the main doors, past reception, and where the lunch was taking place. Great space. No wonder it's next to impossible to get a job here. 
We also got to check out the unfinished space where they're building out the next offices next door. The second Pinterest building has a lobby so beautiful I think I took about a billion pics. I'll post those later.  


Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Wish * List

Lately I've been totally in love every time I see white quartz countertops ...  

from Upcoming Decor
they're so pretty. So fresh! So clean! But also so spendy! I think we'll go with the becoming-traditional-by-now wooden countertops that I've had my brain on ever since we bought this house. They're also really pretty and *I think* we can do them ourselves. But if we only had two kitchens! sike

Lill Therese