Inhoudsopgave van February 2016 - Sunset

LAST DECEMBER, my family and I landed at San Francisco International Airport with eight suitcases, two car seats, four carryons, and a rickety stroller bound with packing tape. We had just left our close-knit community and the only home our small children had ever known. We were melancholy, jet-lagged, and more than a little out of sorts. Somehow we hauled our oversize load to the tiny bungalow we would inhabit for the next few months and, fumbling for the light switch in unfamiliar rooms, embarked on the process of beginning our brand-new life. And then it happened. The doorbell rang—and a dear old friend stood on the porch with a split of Champagne and a basket of treats from her favorite places in the neighborhood. Forty-five minutes later, my husband's…

CONQUER THE CANOPY Bay Area-designer Will Wick (wickdesign.com) really loves canopy beds. "If I can fit one in the room, I'll do it," he says. "They're so cozy." His only complaint is that many four-posters feel squat. So when he designed this room for a San Francisco show house, he partnered with a metalworker to create a custom bed that soars. "People are afraid to get a bed close to the ceiling because they think it will feel cramped," he says. "But I thought, Let's take that chance." Wick draped the taller-than-usual 8½-foot posts with wispy linen voile and kept the rest of the room spare to let the bed speak for itself. 1. CHOOSE FABRIC YOU CAN SEE THROUGH Anything more substantial than a sheer canopy could make the…

[The following content appeared in the Northern California edition.] IDEA WE LOVE Urban and unthirsty This San Francisco backyard celebrates the best of water-wise plants. Prostrate rosemary trails over the wall in the foreground, while bright green Correa "Coliban River", yellow-blooming Euphorbia "Ascot Rainbow", and juvenile nonfruiting olive trees flank a path of Dymondia edged with blue fescue. Behind the small decomposed-granite patio, a tall tree aloe (Aloe barberae) shows off its shapely canopy against the stucco wall, while clusters of Agave attenuata planted below it echo the aloe's rosette shape. Chinese windmill palms (Trachycarpus fortunei) add extra texture with their fan-shaped leaves. The garden is a serene retreat in an urban world. DESIGN: Patrick Lannan, Flora Grubb Gardens, San Francisco; floragrubb.com. PLANT Start tomato seeds indoors for seedlings to…

PARTNERS IN CREAM (AND CHOCOLATE!) FUDGE CAKES with JASMINE TEA WHIPPED CREAM Adapted from Nicole Krasinski, chef-owner, State Bird Provisions, San Francisco MAKES 4 (2 FOR THE NEXT DAY) / 2 HOURS, PLUS OVERNIGHT FOR COGNAC PRUNES This sensual dessert offers intriguing flavor combinations and textures that range from cloudlike to crunchy. Krasinski tops her cakes with a tasty fennel-hazelnut granola; for simplicity, we've used toasted hazelnuts. For her recipe, see sunset.com/granolarecipe. 6 large prunes, cut into ¼-in. dice ¼ cup cognac (or other brandy) ⅓ cup whipping cream 1 heaping tsp. jasmine pearl tea ½ cup unsalted butter, cut into chunks ⅓ cup coarsely chopped peeled fresh ginger 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate (70%–74% cacao), coarsely chopped 5 tbsp. plus 1½ tsp. sugar 2 large eggs ½ tsp. kosher salt…

SERENITY NOW BEST BUDGET INDULGENCE " Typically a spa is a sterile space," says Erica Malbon, cofounder of Los Angeles' The Now. "But we wanted to create an atmosphere we liked being in all day." Inspired by Mexico's Riviera Maya, Malbon and business partner Gara Post dreamed up a massage boutique that's a modern interpretation of West Coast cool. Raw wood beams and concrete floors form the backdrop for jute light fixtures and groupings of cactus. Wall hangings featuring semiprecious stones serve as contemporary versions of dream catchers. Instead of spa music, comfortable headphones plugged into iPods will offer a guided-meditation component to each session. Walk-in appointments are welcome. Oh, and the best part? A 30-minute massage starts at $35. the-now.co. INSIDER TIP "There's a cactus farm in Reseda where…

THE LOCALS Thomas Both, fellowships director, Stanford's Institute of Design; Drue Kataoka, visual artist SHOW ME THE COFFEE Coupa Café $; 538 Ramona St., Palo Alto; coupacafe.com. THOMAS BOTH All the valley stereotypes are true here. You'll see people meeting with VCs, you'll overhear investment chatter; the cafe itself prototypes start-up ideas like ways to order new menu items and give feedback to the cafe owner. There's a scene in The Social Network (in the last five minutes of the movie) with a Coupa Café cup in it, which I thought was cool. It's like a little Easter egg in the movie. MORNING WALK Los Trancos Open Space Preserve Page Mill Rd., Los Altos; openspace.org. DRUE KATAOKA When you walk the San Andreas Fault Trail, you can see trees that…

A wall of built-ins in the guest bedroom got a jolt from peacock blue spray lacquer and brass hardware. COLOR Naples Blue 2057-30, Benjamin Moore ENTRY DROP A HINT WITH ARTWORK To Murray, an entryway is like the opening scene of a mystery movie: It should foreshadow the elements to come. Her device of choice? A striking artwork that features colors found throughout the home. Singer's original Salvador Dalí print, Lincoln in Dalivision, fits the bill with its avant-garde style and kaleidoscopic colors. To introduce green, a color not prevalent in the artwork, Murray sourced table lamps from Etsy that match the kitchen cabinets (page 67). The midcentury peacock credenza hints at the vintage furniture within and introduces the brassy tones that appear in nearly every room. CREDENZA Organic Modernism…

QUICK CHICKEN PHO SERVES 4 / 45 MINUTES For pho, the Vietnamese soup now found all over the West, a rich-tasting broth is crucial. But how do you produce one quickly? The answer: Simmer whole pieces of chicken in chicken broth. Leftover poached meat can be mixed with mayonnaise, chopped celery, and a pinch of curry powder for chicken salad. 2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves, plus 4 thighs 9 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth 1 stalk lemongrass 2 oz. fresh ginger, peeled and cut into ½-in.-thick slices 1 large yellow onion, peeled and halved 8 oz. rice noodles 1 tbsp. Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce ⅛ tsp. ground white pepper ½ bunch cilantro, washed, dried, and torn into 3-in. sprigs 1 lime, cut into wedges 4 oz. bean sprouts 1…

1 It's the easiest way to get to Cuba. Haimark Tourist visas aren't readily available, but don't let that stop you from visiting this fascinating country. On February 11, the MS Saint Laurent, with 24-hour room service and free-flowing wine, will be the first vessel to disembark from an American city (Miami) and make port in Old Havana—after which it circumnavigates the Caribbean island, collecting stories from santerias, trovaderos, and cigar rollers. From $4,599/person/10 days; haimarkline.com. 2 It's the only way to explore the so-called "new Alaska" (which isn't actually in Alaska). Princess Cruises From 1848 to 1849, nearly 800 East Coast ships rounded Cape Horn to reach Gold Rush territory. Others opted for the calmer Strait of Magellan, lingering in the penguin-populated waters of Chile's Punta Arenas. You can…

AN AVID GARDENER, Tom Hansen was thrilled to see freshly planted greenery in the steep, sunny yard surrounding his new home when he moved from Chicago to Marin County, California, in 1999. After the first full year, though, Hansen noticed that the landscape architect-chosen, one-size-fits-all plantings of Japanese maples, ferns, azaleas, and rhododendrons were struggling despite his constant care. He could keep them alive, but he had to use more water than he thought appropriate for waste-wary California. And the color palette looked out of place on the dry, terraced hillside. Of course, Hansen had expected a change in the weather when he moved from the Midwest, but he hadn't fully realized something that gardeners new to the Bay Area soon learn (and that the home's landscaper had ignored): He…

IF YOUR LATE-WINTER to-do list includes pruning deciduous shrubs and trees, consider recycling some of the clippings to make a natural chandelier like the one pictured here. Gather plenty of long, pliable branches from plants with soft wood, such as wisteria, stone fruit trees, or elderberry (pictured). Then bend them to form a hoop, fasten them together with floral wire, and festoon them with string lights. You can hang the chandelier right away, or allow it to dry completely before adding the lights; drying before hanging cuts the weight in half. We stored our hoop on top of a garden shed for three months before debuting it in a summer garden. DIGITAL BONUS For detailed directions on making your own chandelier, visit sunset.com/chandelier.…

How long have you lived in Santa Barbara? My parents moved our family here when I was 6 months old. I left for a time when I was about 18 or 19, but it's my family's home now. What makes the city unique? The region has so much to offer. Obviously we have the ocean, but we have the mountains as well. It's just a really pretty place. Even after all the time I've spent here, I can't say I've grown accustomed to it. Why does it have such a strong environmental ethic? I think the 1969 oil spill has a lot to do with it. It started then. There's really not much room for physical growth here, so we have to be careful about the growth we allow. For…

AFTER WANDERING through the huge open-air market of Ixmiquilpan, in eastern Mexico, past stall after stall of chiles, cactus paddles, wild herbs, and what smells like a thousand toasted tortillas, we finally find the beans. Steve Sando runs his fingers through piles of them, hunting for discoveries, saying the names of the ones he knows. Dark red Sangre de Toro, bull's blood. Glossy brown San Franciscano ("hints of chocolate and toffee," he adds). Ojo de Cabra, the rare Eye of the Goat beans, with stripes and swirls of rich brown. Compared to the dull, plastic-bagged pintos and kidney beans in my neighborhood grocery store back home, these glisten like jewels. Sando owns the California company Rancho Gordo, grower and seller of heirloom beans since 2002. Famous chefs across America (and…

Wine Oysters taste famously of cucumber, melon, and the sea itself; what you need in a wine to match is something extremely dry, crisp, and minerally, with loads of citrus. An herbal vein is a bonus. Skip highly fruity and floral bottles. CHAMPAGNE DELAMOTTE NV BLANC DE BLANCS (France; $78). Bracing citrus works like a spritz of lemon, while the wine's melon melds into the oysters' cucumber, and its yeastiness morphs into a nutty quality. IRON HORSE 2010 "BRUT X" (Green Valley of Russian River Valley; $50). This sparkling wine is as dry as they come; it brings a brininess of its own for a sea-breeze effect, with a fresh cucumber finish. SCHRAMSBERG 2012 BLANC DE BLANCS BRUT (North Coast; $39). Pear and apple flavors in the wine punch up…