The Voice of East Bay Living

Plant lavender plants this Memorial Day. If you live in Montclair, check out Thornhill Nursery at 6250 Thornhill Drive. This neighborhood nursery has been at the  same creek side location for over 60 years. They offer a wide variety of plants and shrubs and best of all-everything is 50 per cent off this weekend. 

Every week  I see a diversity of homes in all shapes and sizes. This week's picks: Balboa fixer (top left) Bushrod 50th Street (top right) Mediterranean on Oak Knoll (second row, left) Craftsman on Estates Drive (second row, right) San Francisco mansion (bottom row, left) Work in progress on 66th (bottom row, right) If you are looking for your new home, email Sheila at ssabine@grubbco.com

While driving home on Mandanda Blvd. in the Crocker Highland’s neighborhood, I noticed a sign on the corner which said Farmer’s Market. Since I was actually headed to the grocery store to buy vegetables for dinner  I decided to follow my instincts.  It  directed me to a lovely house with another sign in the front yard saying, “Farmer’s Market Organic.” I went to the front porch and found an abundance of kale, lettuce, broccoli, and strawberries. I chose some wonderful items for dinner and left money in the mail slot.  This is a great idea to support growing our own food. 

Latest visiting artist-Andy Warhol-SFMOMA Take the Jack London Ferry to San Francisco, followed by fast Lyft ride to the world famous SFMOMA.  The latest feature is a huge collection on three floors of works by Andy Warhol. This well known New York artist was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works span a variety of media including painting, silkscreening, photography, film and sculpture.  A few of Andy’s memorable quotes: “A picture means I know where I was every moment. It’s a visual diary.” “I think everybody should be nice to everybody.” “You have to do stuff  that average people don’t understand because those are the only good things.”

My designer pick of the week is this 18,000 sq. Ft. Mansion patterned after le petit Trianon  at Versaille.  This star studded attraction is collaboration of 33 of the top Bay Area designers  and is truly worthy of loud applause.  For the past 42 years, the San Francisco Decorator  Showcase has raised over $16 million dollars to benefit the San Francisco University High School financial aid program. Each year a noteworthy San Francisco mansion is transformed and on view for the world.  This year’s choice features a large downstairs ballroom, two living rooms, 200 year old wall paper, balcony garden, central atrium with cascading ferns, a central viewing garden with amazing geometric shapes and  four levels of  sumptuous living. The photos say a thousand words - Enjoy your viewing.....

Skyline Equestrian Ranch , at 5750 Old Redwood Road, opened their hearts today to the Center for Early Intervention of Deafness (CEID) . After doing color drawings of horses, each child was  able to touch and brush the horses. This wonderful activity was organized by George Luna of Berkeley Rotary who is an experienced horseman and very kind human being.