Shopping in Berkeley
15 Apr 2013
I think we should canonize a new law of physics. It will go like this: a body in motion will not realize how tired it is until it stops being in motion. And then it will say, “Hey, wow, I am really tired!” I am really tired, but in the best possible way. Eric and I had such an incredible weekend in Berkeley/Oakland. The weather smiled upon us, and it was nothing but warm sunshine. I never imagined I’d need a short-sleeved shirt. The whole weekend was, I must say, nothing short of luminous. And now we must unpack! I was looking through my pictures and trying to decide what to write about first, and I realized that we did an awful lot of shopping, so I thought I’d catalogue my exploits! One of our first stops was the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse, which I have written about quite effusively already. It’s one of my favorite places in the world, and now they have these pretty new murals.
You never know what you’re going to find there, but it’s always something interesting.
Perhaps a guide to orthography and punctuation for employees of the press? It might come in handy.
More pretty murals!
And more Turkish coffee pots than you can shake a stick at.
The next day we wandered up and down College Avenue and stopped to gawk at The Meadows. I wanted to buy all of these gorgeous flowers. They are so magnificent. One evening a few years ago, Eric and I were walking past this shop as it was closing. We were at the end of the block when one of the employees came running after Eric with a bouquet of white roses to give me. So very sweet.
One of our next stops was a discount fabric shop. So many gloriously bright colors! A lot of the fabrics were for upholstery, so we mostly just took a stroll around, but it was big fun. I don’t even know how many fabric shops Eric has been to with me. Best husband ever.
Then we headed over to the best art store I’ve ever seen. I love spending time there and looking through their amazing selection. I bought supplies for oil painting (eeee!), and it was kind of hilarious/crazy how much stuff oil painting requires. Still, exciting!
And, of course, no trip to the Bay area would be complete without a trip to Berkeley Bowl. It is the best grocery store on earth, and we see things we’ve never heard of every time we go. Also, it is astoundingly affordable. A perfect combination for people who like to eat. That would be us!
So many square feet of awesome, just pure awesome.
This time we bought a bergamot (!!), and an etrog citron, pictured here with a very excited shopper.
Eric wanted to record for posterity that, yes, lettuce costs far less than a dollar here. Amazing! There is so much more I want to share from our trip (unless you are all totally tired of hearing about it!), and I have all kinds of projects up my sleeve too. It’s going to be a fun couple of weeks around here–thanks so much for being part of it!
Apr 15, 2013 @ 05:54:22
I’m so glad you both got to have a little stopover in Berkeley! Your Dad and I thought about you guys all weekend, and all the fun you must be having!
Apr 16, 2013 @ 13:56:07
We definitely did! Can’t wait to go all those places with you too!
Apr 15, 2013 @ 06:24:22
I think I would have died and gone to heaven in that grocery store. Here where I live it is quite lacking in healthy variety!! Love the art store, I’m a wannabe artist
Apr 16, 2013 @ 13:56:52
I’m a wannabe artist too!
Berkeley Bowl is our favorite store of all time–so many new things to discover each time, and it’s all so affordable! We stock up every time we are in town!
Apr 15, 2013 @ 08:47:00
Looks like a lovely time. I am so jealous. I would have died and gone to heaven in any one of those stores. GIVE ME ALL OF THE THINGS! haha
Apr 15, 2013 @ 16:28:06
HEY! I know you!
Apr 16, 2013 @ 13:59:22
Apr 16, 2013 @ 13:58:23
Aw, thank you! It was an awesome trip. I think everyone should have ALL THE THINGS!
Apr 15, 2013 @ 13:19:39
Looks and sounds you two had a really great time.
Apr 16, 2013 @ 13:59:11
Most definitely! Can’t wait to go exploring with you too!
Apr 15, 2013 @ 16:29:46
Erm, the Depot of Creative Reuse sounds like the best place in the history of the world, and I am kind of sad I never went there. But not really because we’ll go back someday and go.
So glad y’all had a great trip!
Apr 16, 2013 @ 14:00:25
Oh yes, we must definitely go there! I am trying to think why we didn’t go before…did I not know about it yet? Or maybe we were just all caught up in the wedding festivities!
In any case, yes, we shall go there one day! There are plenty of paper towel rolls and stacks of paper for C to play with!
Apr 16, 2013 @ 20:23:34
OMG, *Squeals*!! That grocery store looks so fabulous! Were you able to bring alot of produce back? I would wanna travel with a cooler to bring home half the store!
Apr 16, 2013 @ 22:11:21
I would love to take you there–you’d love it!! Yes, we brought back four bags full! We always plan our trips around it–it’s too good to pass up!