About a month ago, our good friend, Steph, and her sister visited from San Francisco, so we decided to go check out the Central Library — a well-studied gem in the architectural world. (Steph’s sister, Christina, also happens to be an architecture major from Cal, thus the great choice in “tourist” attraction!) I knew we would ride up the yellow escalators, peek out through the Red Room, and wander along the Spiral; what I didn’t imagine was that we’d end up spending a good hour in a special section housing historic records ranging from Seattle’s yearly city directories (dating back to 1898!) to early census reports, to neatly compiled books full of newspaper clippings (sorted by topic). We flipped through gigantic insurance maps of Seattle proper, trying to figure out what used to be where (a lot of shipyards!), and I briefly browsed through a Japanese directory from 1955 listing every single Japanese business in America (from the Bay Area to cities in Utah! with street names I recognized in San Francisco). My ultimate favorite was a “Blue Book” of some local elite organization, featuring socialites (who probably paid to be listed), stating their prestigious college affiliations, spouses, and addresses. Can we say, the original Facebook?! view more →
Remember
Sarah? She’s finally getting married next month, so this past weekend, we surprised her with an awesome party, complete with hilarious spells to tear-jerking moments. Clad in bachelorette party favors, we roamed around downtown San Francisco for an awesome scavenger hunt, went Sonoma/Napa vinyard hopping in a fancy limo, and danced the night away at Infusion Lounge (with our fresh mani/pedicures). Pho was pretty much mandatory the next morning. Hope you had fun, Sarah!
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To commemorate our one year anniversary living in our Inner Sunset apartment, we threw a MADMAN-themed party. After all, it was a perfect excuse for girls to wear cute dresses and guys to show up in suits! — so we busted out the fake pearls and polka-dotted hosiery (is that even characteristic of the ’60s?). We really appreciated the efforts people put into their outfits, including the tie clips, tweed jackets, and newsboy caps. Somehow, Helen managed to find
candy cigarettes and vintage posters/Madmen promo material to complete the ensemble!
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8am Monday morning, I left the sunny pseudo-countryside for Kaohsiung, murky-grey industrial galore. Once again, I dragged my luggage through the front doors of my grandpa’s dilapidated high-rise and took the sketch elevator up. 6th floor is the office, 9th floor is the old condo in a sun-bleached shade of mustard yellow.The 6th floor has upgraded from cable modem to wifi, but my great-aunt still uses a typewriter for God knows what and wears glasses with a pearl chain draped behind her ears. view more →
