Today on weekend meanderings, a hockey mom’s words that inspired and touched me, Berkeley’s rose garden in full bloom, and shopping consignment for furniture.
Happy Saturday, friends!
It’s time for the weekend post with Kim and Elizabeth. Our weekly roundup of inspirations and goings on.
It’s crunch time over here at Snowberry. There are so many moving pieces and things to do related to our move, and I have to admit I’m not crushing it. Thursday night I told Kim and Elizabeth I didn’t think I could post today, but I woke up early yesterday and thought ‘I can do this’ even if it’s short and sweet. And that it is.
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Adorable Hockey Mom
To all the mom’s out there I hope you had a lovely Mother’s Day. This week I saw the sweetest video about a mother’s love and determination and it really touched me. So much so that I couldn’t stop thinking about it and wanted to share. Brief back story, the mom concerned is Ema Matthews, mother of Auston Matthews who is the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs and one of the best – and highest paid – players in NHL.
Auston was born here in the East Bay and then his family moved to Scottsdale where he got involved in the Phoenix Coyotes hockey camps. Kids sports are expensive and hockey is notoriously so.
@espnoriginals The sacrifices #parents make for their #children know no bounds ❤️ #nhl #austonmatthews #hockey
“I was very fortunate to have two jobs. And if there were more hours I would have had more jobs.” Fortunate to have two jobs! How often do you hear that? I can’t get over her expression of joy and gratitude. I also appreciate her son’s emotion as he reflects on the sacrifices his parents made for him (and his two sisters) growing up.
Auston is a rare American born player from the West Coast. And one of Mexican American heritage. Thanks in part to him, the Leafs hung on last night and I can’t wait for game seven on Sunday.
Speaking of hockey, this is the happiest time of the year if you’re a sports fan. Playoff season means hockey (and basketball) every single night. I love it. Sadly our Golden State Warriors were eliminated this week which means I can focus 100% on hockey. I have no team in the Stanley Cup race and can enjoy all games equally. Anyway, don’t call me, I’m watching hockey.
Berkeley Rose Garden in Full Bloom
On Wednesday I put my to-do list aside and made the annual pilgrimage to the Berkeley Rose Garden. I dragged Jim along. Now that he’s retired it’s harder for him to avoid my field trips. He’ll soon learn that when I ask what he’s up to it’s a potential trap and he should have an answer at the ready if he wants to avoid my shenanigans. But there are worse things than traipsing around pretty gardens with beautiful bay views.
I’m really glad I set aside my to-do list to visit the garden and soak up and appreciate a moment of tranquility and beauty.
The rose garden was dedicated in 1937 and hosts over 1500 rose plants and 250 varieties.
I shared a little video tour of our garden visit here.
Consignment Furniture to the Rescue
Yesterday Anderson Bros. Movers (can’t recommend them enough for local moves) was here to assess our moving situation. We’re not moving a lot but it’s still a lot if you know what I mean. They estimated over 100 boxes. Yikes.
We leased a two bedroom apartment downtown. It’s the same place we lived after selling our Fidalgo Island house during Snowberry’s renovation. We sold all the furniture with that house too. Like last time, we turned to Home Consignment in Danville to furnish our temporary home. I talk a lot about consigning and consignment shopping for clothes, and I love home consignment just as much. A couple of weeks ago we scored a comfy sofa (it’s actually a new sofa, Home Consignment often receives deliveries of model home furnishings), side chair, and a console table for the TV. We also found an ottoman and Ethan Allen writing desk at Estates Consignment in Pleasant Hill. Everything was delivered to our garage this week.
The secret to successful consignment shopping for home stuff is similar to shopping consignment for clothes. Repeat visits are often necessary to find what you’re looking for or finding something you weren’t looking for but turns out to be exactly what you need. Get on the mailing list at favorite local shops so you’ll know when great stuff arrives, including model home furnishings.
Consignment shopping is a good way to trick out college dorms and apartments. I was at Home Goods this week and could tell it’s getting to that time of year. When our nieces were moving into their first apartments and homes I encouraged them to scour local consignment shops. And for their kids rooms too … buying and selling as kids transition through various stages of growing up.
In addition to big furniture pieces, consignment shops have great lamps, art, decor … all the things. Similar to shopping vintage, you never know when there’s a treasure to be had. When we were furnished our last temporary home I found an awesome Restoration Hardware sofa at Home Consignment. When we moved into Snowberry that sofa ended up at niece Sophie’s house. I still pine for that sofa.
Yesterday we made a run to Home Goods in search of an area rug. We got lucky on the first try because they’d just received new inventory of large rugs (which are selling fast). We grabbed one from Reece Witherspoons Draper James brand. It’s called Floral Garden and is a pretty mix of green, blue, rust and ivory.
Apparently Draper James rugs are part of a home goods collaboration with Town & Country Living debuting in the fall. But there they are at Home Goods this spring. I found a Reddit thread indicating the rugs can also be found at Home Sense which seems to be part of the Home Goods universe. I love the rug and appreciate its reasonable price.
We’re still on the look out for a couple of bar stools, but I’m not sure if we’ll need bar or counter height and I’m holding off to confirm. When the time comes we’ll make another sweep of local home consignment shops … as well as outlet stores.
The best part is that when we’re ready to move to our new house we can send these pieces back to Home Consignment to find their next home.
Current Favorites ~
So that’s what I have for you today.
Good morning Juliet,
I am so happy that you joined us even though you have so much going on right now I can’t figure out how you are managing.
Moving is STRESSFUL and when you are trying to furnish a new place and build a house at the same time that is a whole other level of stress.
Thankfully you have Jim at home, retired and helping as well as taking time to enjoy little moments of respite with you.
The rose gardens are beautiful! There is something so relaxing and peaceful about sitting in a garden taking in the sights, sounds and tranquility.
Shopping consignment for clothes and furniture is always a good idea. I had no idea that in addition to moving and packing that you were also furnishing your temporary home. It’s going to be beatiful just like everything that you do.
Mom’s are amazing, and Ema Matthews is just that. I am sure that in addition to working 2 jobs she was at every game she could attend. Such an inspirational woman.
Have a wonderful weekend Juliet, don’t work too hard.
xo
P.S. I hope that Maggie is feeling better.
Thanks, Elizabeth … I think Maggie’s on the mend.It’s so hard seeing our sweet pets struggling. xo
Hi-
I just want to thank you for the beautiful pictures of the Berkeley rose garden. It brought a tear to my eye, as that is where my Mom and Dad got engaged ( both went to Cal) back in the 40’s. We dont live in the Bay Area any more so I really appreciate all your weekly pictures from all over-
Love your writing style and so look forward to your notes each Saturday!
Sending love,
Ellen
Oh my gosh, Ellen, that is the best story. What a beautiful and memorable spot to be engaged. I’m so happy I took the time to visit this week, the garden is in full bloom and at it’s most enchanting … and now it’s even more meaningful knowing about your parents.Thank you so much for your kind words and for reading my little blog. It means the world to me. xo
Hi Juliet — You are so organized. Sounds like you are crushing the crunch to me! Even your temporary apartment will be blog worthy! I am glad you took a break and visited the rose garden. You deserved it. And thanks for sharing!
Thank you for your confidence in me, Molly! I’ll try to live up to it. 😉
Hi Juliet,
The Ema Matthew’s heart is the best. I so relate to what she stands for. Her work ethic touched my heart. What a talented son and a lovely family.
I so enjoyed seeing the Berkeley Rose Garden, it was time for you to take a breather to go and smell the roses, I bet the views are beautiful of the bay. It makes me home sick. It was good Jim stopped what he was doing to join you. He’s a good guy.
To total amount of boxes did not totally surprise me. It’s still lots.
Happy for you that you found such wonderful furniture and such a beautiful rug. The big year that the consignment furniture store will take back the furniture.
I’m sure you will create a cozy apartment.
Take care of yourself, from what you said your head must be swimming with the endless “to do list.”
Have a fabulous weekend.
Thanks, Katharine … the end is in sight and I’ll just keep paddling for the next few weeks. Glad you enjoyed the snippet of your beloved Bay Area. Happy weekend! xo
Oh Juliet
You have sold your beautiful home . I will miss your wonderful work.
Where are you off to now.
Hi Jess, we’re not going far. Last year we bought an old, tiny house downtown – walkable to everything. We’re going to be rebuilding that house and hopefully able to move in next year. Stay tuned! xo
Definitely! Sounds exciting ! I visited your link to the Washington house. You really had great views. I found that was all the area was. The downtown is really lacking in stores restaurants etc. We enjoyed our time there but I was ready to move on.
Looking forward to your next adventure.
Jessica, I can’t disagree … it was a lovely neighborhood but a long way from the city. I wonder if that’s changed post-pandemic when more people left Seattle and moved further north? Nice to hear from you! xo
Hello Juliet,
Gorgeous roses thank you they look stunning! I used to grow so many David Austin roses and then the drought in Southern California sort of put an end to that but l think l might start again. Just love having home grown flowers in the house. We bought a floor model leather sofa from Pottery Barn for 60% off recently and it’s fine for us we love it, great condition, so like you we love bargains!! Take care.
Francesca! Wow … what a bargain and great find. Congrats!!! I love roses but have fits trying to grown them … it’s either too shady or too dry or too something. I hope you try again! xo
Thanks for another enjoyable “chat” this fine Saturday morning. I like the idea of consignment furniture for your next temporary home. I never thought of doing that! I might look into it as we are in the initial planning stages of our last move coming up within the next year.
Deanna, I highly recommend you start touring your local consignment shops. You might be surprised by the treasures you find … both for short and long term living. Exciting that your move is coming up … a year goes by so fast! xo
I am fairly new to your blog and so far so good:) I clicked on the blog you had posted at the end of yours called Northern California Style and I was SO turned off by her snooty political remarks against the current administration. She is totally misguided and deceived by the lies she’s been fed by the fake news media! I definitely won’t be following her! I’ve never known a blogger to be so ruthless in her political leanings on a style blog!
100%. I used to have her blog bookmarked and checked it often but I just had to let that one go. It’s her blog, she can say what she likes there…but I don’t have to read it. 🙂
She’s one of my top favorites!!!
LOVE the gorgeous apricot colored roses you featured, Juliet — my favorite color in the garden!!! And thank you for the Cal rose garden tour: it gave me a sense of home/Bay Area/freshman year when I attended Mills College for my first semester and headed to Cal on the weekend to ‘meet guys’… Bay Area consignment is a LOT better than small town Midwest consignment;-)
Hang in there on the tough stuff!
Juliet, Sorry I am late to this! Loved seeing the beautiful rose garden! It’s on my list now. Love the story about the hockey player. I wish I could watch the video, but I don’t have TikTok- but I think I can retry on the computer.
Smart going to consignment for your rental! We don’t have many of those places down here.
Looks like you found some gems. xo