a n h - m i n h . c o m

Last weekend, Meg and I were in L.A. for a handful of photo shoots — literally, a handful. I still can't quite believe that we pulled it off, shooting five homes in two days. I think we both proceeded to take an additional two days off to recover from the whirlwind.

Here's a couple of pics from one of the homes: an adorable 11-year-old pug, and you know, an Emmy award.

     

Last year, during our first-ever business trip for Anthology, Meg introduced me to this great Japanese spot, Furaibo, and during this recent visit, we went back there for dinner. I could eat Japanese food every single day, and that place is right up my alley. Other food highlights: the truffled arancini at Chateau Marmont and the short rib bowl at Forage. On the shopping front, Mohawk General Store was awesome. It was probably a really good thing that our schedule was tight and we didn't have much time to buy stuff!

Speaking of shopping, locally, I'm super excited that Steven Alan is opening up shop next this week in Hayes Valley!

Posted at 03:39 PM | Link

Issue No. 4 of Anthology will be released in a couple of weeks, and it includes a feature on my own home. While the photos in the magazine were shot by Kelly Ishikawa, I recently asked Victoria Smith — yes, that Victoria Smith — to come on over and snap some pics of the place for Refinery29. Victoria's photos, as well as the interview with me, are now up on the site!

I love that Victoria brought Lucy to the shoot. Of course, she made it into a couple of the shots, including the one below (taken in the guest bedroom).

Also: Lots more photos of my home can be seen in Issue No. 4!

Posted at 07:58 AM | Link

I don't spend much time in the kitchen, so if I'm making a dish — on more than one occasion even — then you know you don't need to have any skills to do it yourself.

One of my go-to desserts is the Greek Yogurt Ice Cream that Caitlin Freeman (the pastry chef at Blue Bottle Coffee) provided us for Issue No. 1 of Anthology. It is ridiculously simple, and also ridiculously good. Trust me. It pairs well with anything fruit-related — whether it's just a pile of cut-up fresh fruit or a fruit crumble. We went with the latter for our Fourth of July spread, and it got me thinking that I should share the recipe.

Photo by Thayer Allyson Gowdy (an outtake from the Anthology shoot)

1 cup half-and-half
1 cup sugar
2 cups whole-milk plain Greek yogurt

1. Combine the half-and-half and sugar in a heavy-bottom saucepan and warm over medium heat until sugar is dissolved, stirring about 3 minutes. Be careful to not let it come to a simmer. Pour into a small mixing bowl and press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the mixture. Refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.
2. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat yogurt on medium until smooth and creamy. With the mixer running, slowly pour in the cold half-and-half mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl midway through, mixing approximately 2 minutes until combined. Freeze according to the instructions on your ice cream maker.

That's it!

Posted at 02:51 PM | Link

Yes! It's finally here and ready for the fulfillment center to start processing! Here's an itty-bitty peek of the cover ...

You can see the rest of the cover, as well as an online preview of the second issue, right here.

Posted at 09:01 AM | Link

I've been freelancing for the SF Chronicle for a few years now, so I've gotten used to seeing my byline in the newspaper. But reading a story about me and something I'm doing? Well, that's pretty cool on another level: Yesterday's Home&Garden section featured Anthology in the Hot Stuff column. I grew up reading The Chron every morning at the breakfast table, over a bowl of cereal. So this bit of press is really special. Other recent coverage that's been awesome: Cool Hunting, GQ's Gift Guide.

(I know, I know, a lot of my posts lately have revolved around the magazine. But the reality is, I spend a ton of my time working on it, so it's natural that it's written about quite a bit on this blog.)

In non-Anthology news:

• Jon and I spent Thanksgiving in Southern California, where I introduced him and his parents to the deliciousness that is 3 Square's pretzel croissant.
• Earlier in November, we went to Napa for a weekend and had such an amazing meal at Morimoto. If you go, save room for the donuts!
• We went to Carmel yesterday and if you're ever down there, do yourself a favor and be sure to stop in at the Cottage of Sweets.
• Did you know that a bunch of websites — including one of my favorites, Hive Modern — have temporarily marked down all Herman Miller designs? You've got another week to save 15% off.
• HD Buttercup is opening in San Francisco! I'm seriously considering buying a new dining table from there.
• Speaking of dining tables, my current one has been doubling as a place for me to stack my files. So I made a life-changing purchase this weekend: a new file cabinet from West Elm. I haven't been this excited about a purchase in a long time.

Posted at 06:14 PM | Link

Here's the thing: I do not like throwing parties. They just cause me so much anxiety — I worry about how many people will show up, if everyone will have a good time, if things will go smoothly, etc. So when West Elm offered to host the Anthology launch party, Meg and I were thrilled.

As many of you know, the magazine is something we do in addition to our regular work gigs, so having one less thing on our plates was a big relief. Plus, the folks at West Elm know how to throw a party. Seriously. The turnout was amazing. I heard the drinks were awesome. The sweets and coffee came from Blue Bottle, so you know they were good. The DJ was great. 826 Valencia set up a little table (10% of the evening's sales benefited the organization). And one of the big hits of the evening was the Smilebooth.

Ashley Meaders helped staff the Smilebooth station. And she was an absolute delight. I want her at all of my parties (if I was the party-hosting type), with or without the Smilebooth in tow. You can view all of the photos (including a test shot of me that looks more like a mug shot) over here.

All photo-takers received a strip that included a trio of images. These are a few of my favorites:

Jon and me

Rebecca and Jordan

My nieces

Holly and Maggie (how did she get her hair to do that?!)

You may recognize Meli (on the left) from the bicycling article in Issue No. 1

That's our copy editor, Kate, in the middle up there

Laure, Elizabeth, Rebecca and a sequined squirrel

Bonnie, Ashley, Joy and V

Me and Meg, with the lovely Abigail (from West Elm)

Thank you to everyone who came out last night to help us celebrate our launch!

Posted at 10:17 AM | Link

We started our weekend with a trip to the Palo Alto Farmer's Market, where I picked up $5 worth of hydrangeas. I split the bunch, placing some in the guest bathroom and the rest on the entry table.

I know I've shown pictures of this bathroom before, but I've finally gotten around to accessorizing it. There's art on the walls (well, a few of the Penguin postcards from this box of 100); a vase from my favorite Etsy store, High Street Market; and a vintage shaving/mirror thing from The Perish Trust.

The entry area is a work in progress. I recently replaced the mirror with this twig one, which I'd been eyeing since seeing it in Benjamin Dhong's SF Decorator Showcase room a few years ago. I still haven't decided whether to keep it this natural color or paint it (Ben's design includes a gold version). I got a great deal on the mirror at a One King's Lane Tastemaker Tag Sale. If you're not already checking these out, you should! Most of the stuff is out of my price range, but every once in a while, there's something so good and deeply discounted, I can't pass it up.

Other weekend notes:

• We had a delicious dinner on Saturday night at Wayfare Tavern. A woman in the restroom actually struck up a conversation with me about the well-designed bathrooms in the restaurant. Random, right? Though she had a good point.
• I haven't worked on a craft project in ages and it was fun to make something again. It's for the Anthology launch party on Thursday, which is going to be a good time. If you're in the Bay Area, come join us!

Posted at 07:19 PM | Link

A few weeks ago, right before we took our anniversary trip to Nick's Cove, Jon took a trip to the fulfillment center and picked up a small batch of advance copies of Anthology. So of course, I spent part of the weekend flipping through the issue — and basically just marveling at the fact that this thing actually exists.

Now, I am so pleased to announce that those of you who were early purchasers of Anthology should be receiving your copies very soon. The fulfillment center is bagging each and every issue that goes out. We think it's worth the extra time and effort — because don't you hate it when you get a magazine in the mail and it's all mangled?

We also just added a Stockists page to the Anthology website, so you can see if there are any shops in your area that will be carrying the magazine.

And can I just point out one thing about our stockists: When Meg and I first brainstormed our ideal list of retailers, Anthropologie was at the top of our list. We thought the content as well as aesthetic of the magazine would be a perfect fit for the store. But since Anthropologie doesn't sell magazines, it seemed like a pipe dream — until earlier this month, when we heard from the folks over there. (Yay!) So if you're in NYC, definitely keep an eye out for Anthology at the Anthropologie location in Chelsea Market!

Posted at 02:51 PM | Link

While I was out of town, CasaSugar ran an interview with me about Anthology. The post included a sneak peek at another home featured in our premiere issue.

I love love love this living room. It just feels so warm and inviting.

Photo: Thayer Allyson Gowdy
Styling: Jordan Ferney

Posted at 12:53 PM | Link

A big THANK YOU to every single person who has tweeted about Anthology magazine, hit the "Like" button on Facebook, and purchased an issue or yearly subscription. I really can't put into words how gratifying it is to know that there are others out there, like Meg and me, who value print magazines. We started this crazy thing because of the void we felt in the market, and it's nice to see such an outpouring of support.

And there's another group of folks who I need to thank — our amazing contributors. Here's a rundown of a handful of the people who I was lucky enough to work with on at least one photo shoot for our first issue:

Grant K. Gibson (interior designer) - I met Grant in early 2009 when I interviewed him for my weekly column with the SF Chronicle. He was an absolute delight and I'm so glad we've remained in contact.

Jordan Ferney (stylist) - Like many of you, I've been reading Jordan's blog for a long time. Our first face-to-face interaction was quite a while ago — back when she was pregnant with her older son Moses. I've gotten to know Jordan better over the years and am constantly in awe of not only her creativity, but her ability to execute on her vision.

Kelley Lilien (stylist) - You know how vivacious and fun Kelley comes across on her blog? Well, that is exactly how she is in person. In addition to having a great eye, she is one smart lady.

Laure Joliet (photographer) - I met Laure through Apartment Therapy (she writes for the LA edition; I used to write for the SF site). She is as sweet as she is talented. She is doing so many great things, and I'm positive you'll be seeing her name a lot more!

Lisa Congdon (artist) - Lisa was kind enough to help us out with the shoot for our video, "Print Is Not Dead." She is a busy lady, so we were thrilled that she could take some time out of her schedule and lend us a hand. (Did you know she has a book coming out next spring?)

There were about two dozen others who contributed to Anthology and they are truly all-stars. Starting a magazine is a great excuse to work with people whose work you've long admired!

P.S. If you're interested in writing, photographing or styling for Anthology, send us an email!

Posted at 09:02 AM | Link

So Internet, I've been keeping a secret from you — a pretty big secret.

The very talented Meg Mateo Ilasco and I are launching a print magazine! Anthology is a shelter and lifestyle quarterly that will be available in October. (You can currently buy individual issues and subscriptions on our website.)

Design*Sponge posted a lovely write-up on the magazine this morning, with links to our stop-motion video and a sneak preview of the first issue.

Even though we're an old-school print publication, we're keeping up with the new ways of doing things. So you can follow @anthologymag on Twitter and "Like" us on Facebook as well.

Meg and I have been working around the clock to get the magazine to the printer and get the website up and running. I've got so much more to tell you. But right now, I think I need a little nap. And it's not even 8am yet ...

Posted at 07:47 AM | Link