San Francisco: Any advice?

In ten days, Alex, Toby and I will be taking a long-awaited trip to...San Francisco! We're staying in Noe Valley and can't wait to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge, hang out with my sister, and ride these insane-looking cement slides. Alex also wants to walk around Berkeley and reminisce about his college days. We don't know the city that well, though, so I'd love to ask: Do you have any recommendations of fun things to do? Restaurants? Shops? Day trips or hikes? We would LOVE to hear! Thank you so much for any tips. San Francisco is so amazing! xoxo

P.S. These sails look incredible.

Three pretty things

How would you like to wear this...
read a book here...
and vacation here?

(Top photo by the Sartorialist, bottom photo by Papa Stour. Via TKOW)

Paris daydreaming

Let's go lie on the cool grass and play a game of Would You Rather. Who's in?

(By Emily Nathan)

Dinner in the sky

Dinner in the Sky is a Belgian company that hosts dinner parties high above cities around the world. They hoist up the table with a giant crane, and three chefs cook an amazing meal. The photos are thrilling, but would you dare?

P.S. Alex has a fear of heights, so he'd never do it. (My phobia is elevators, so I'd be ok:)

(Via Black Eiffel)

Travel fantasy: The Hudson Valley

Crikey, how rad is this rental house in the Hudson Valley? It's only 2.5 hours from New York City, and the property has three bedrooms, a claw-foot tub, heated towel racks (!), an apple orchard, and a sauna. It would be such a fun weekend escape.

Babies in Paris

My darlings, my mom also sent us some photos of our family in Paris, right after my sister and I were born. I totally adore this breastfeeding photo, it looks so tender and made me a little teary.
And I'm also amazed that her clothes look so current!
You can see Versailles in the background...
My mom delivered us by C-section at the American Hospital of Paris and stayed for a whopping ten days afterwards to rest. My mom also said the hospital food was amazing, including slices of Camembert.
The view from the Eiffel Tower...
I really loved looking through these; thank you so much, Mama! It was the best birthday present.

Our Los Angeles hotel

A few readers asked where we stayed in Los Angeles, and I'd love to share: We were lucky enough to stay at the Oceana Santa Monica, which was one of the nicest places we'd ever stayed. We booked a two-room suite through the amazing (and addictive!) website Mr. and Mrs. Smith, so that we could stay up and hang out after Toby went to bed (at his cute 7pm bedtime:). The rooms were beautiful and and homey; our bed was insanely comfortable, and the hotel was right next to the beach.

But the biggest plus was the service. Every time we walked into the hotel, they would say, "Hello, Ms. Goddard! Did you enjoy your walk?" or "How was your lunch? How's Toby doing?" Fancy! I was amazed that they remembered our names, and they'd coo and chit-chat with Toby for as long as he wanted. :) The staff made the hotel feel so personal. One night, we invited friends over to play games, and we wanted to order pizza, so I called room service, and the guy answered the phone, "Hello, Ms. Goddard! How can I help you?" and when I asked for a recommendation for a pizza place, he brought up local menus, along with bowls of crushed red pepper and grated parmesan. How sweet is that? Those little touches make such a difference, especially when you have a baby. We can't wait to go back next year.

Anyway, we really loved it and would highly recommend it if you're planning a trip to L.A.! :)

Vacation photos: Palm Springs

On our Christmas vacation, after spending the four days in L.A., we headed to Palm Springs to meet Alex's mom and sister. We all stayed together at this rental house. The house was totally tricked out--with a huge pool, a waterfall, a hammock, a fireplace, and toilet seats that automatically opened when you walked into the bathroom (seriously, they had sensors!). Bonus: Crazily enough, it was actually cheaper per person than a budget motel.
We took Toby swimming for the first time. He sort of loved it for a few minutes...and then decided he hated it. :)
One morning, I took a quick shower and came outside to find Toby and Alex playing "helicopter."
I have to say, it made my heart swell a little bit :)
Here's the Toby-eye-view!
Toby loved chilling with his grandma. And check out the mountain views! The desert is so gorgeous. (We heard a freaky story about a now-infamous tourist couple who took the tram up the mountain and then decided to stroll back into town. "It's just a short walk," they figured. "Doesn't our hotel look close from up here?" All they had was a pack of chewing gum, and no maps or hiking gear. Five days later, they were rescued.)
Right before Christmas, we thought it would be cool to take a family photo, inspired by these old shadow shots. It didn't really work, but we tried!
Another morning, we went to Ruby's Diner, and Toby tried mashed banana for the first time.
Despite a valiant attempt...
...he was not impressed. (His expression cracks me up.)
Another afternoon, Alex, Toby and I snuck off for a couple hours and went to the Ace Hotel & Swim Club, which has a rad pool and is amazingly family- and dog-friendly.
Alex immediately got a beer and parked himself by the hot tub.
Toby and I hung out on deck chairs...
...and dipped our feet into the gorgeous pool. Everyone there was really friendly and chatty; it felt like being at a party. :)
And on the walk home, Toby fell asleep in the stroller...
...and since he'd wake up if we stopped moving, we had to keep going...
...so we walked in circles around a cul-de-sac...
...over and over...
...for a half hour...
...ahhh, vacations with a baby! :) It was a wonderful, restorative trip and made us much more confident about family travel and, honestly, parenting in general. Sometimes it takes a break in your routine to show you what you can do. Thanks so much for reading! Have you been to Palm Springs?

A couple other favorite things: Renting fat-tired bikes, everything on the lunch menu at Cheeky's, and the local speciality: delicious date milkshakes. Any other tips, my lovelies?