List 90

Love: New Order, one of the big bands of my youth, who I am over the moon about seeing for the first time in decades this Friday night at The Fox Theater in Oakland.  I may need to watch 24 Hour Party People on my flight home from New York to gear up.

Like: The Union Jack ottoman and RAF tent from Restoration Hardware's Baby and Kids' collection.  Screw the kids, I fancy these myself, and wish Stella would have agreed with me that the RAF tent is 100% cooler than the pink one she was eyeing.

Discovery: London-based Herb Lester's playfully-illustrated fold-out guide maps. They started with several takes on London and have expanded to cover a host of cities around the world with their hand-picked finds, often according to themes, be that an Uncle's take on London, or where to find Old L.A. 

Obsession: I finally made it to The Wolseley in London this summer and think it's one of the most spectacular restaurant interiors going. Apparently, former car dealerships can clean up nicely. Seeing it in summer gave us a jones to plan a Christmas trip to London, complete with a holiday dinner here.

Complaint: That even though I'll be in New York twice this month, I'm going to miss MOMA's two screenings of my all-time favorite Bond film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, which is part of their 50 Years of Bond Festival. Contrary to popular opinion in 1969, George Lazenby made a very good Bond, his romance with Diana Riggs' Tracy brought a depth to the series the other films lack, and the chase scene in the Swiss alps is a picturesque thrill, complete with a charming village holiday festival and Tracy's badass driving of a red Mercury Cougar Cobra.   

List 89

Love: Rookie Yearbook One, which gathers the best of crazy-talented, crazy-precocious Tavi Gevinson's teen girl site's content from September 2011-May 2012 into one well-designed package. I love Rookie's use of monthly themes("Secrets," "Girl Gang," "Transformation"), its writers' breathless discovery of, and quasi nostalgia for, things I actually did grow up with (the band Heart is "Literally, the best thing ever"), its exploration of the emotions and angst of teen girldom ("How to Approach the Person You Like Without Throwing Up," "How to Look Like You Weren't Just Crying in Less Than Five Minutes," "How to Survive a Small Town") and its mapping of the all-important little details ("Midnight Snacks: A Taxonomy," How to Clear Your Room In 10 Minutes.") Rookie Yearbook One is hands-down one of the most fun and vibrant things I've read through in ages.

Like: Portland's Olympic Provisions sausage. Double like that you can now buy it in certain Bay Area gourmet shops, like Oakland/Berkeley's Pasta Shops.

Discovery: Temescal Alley, or, as Erich brilliantly dubbed it, Hipster Deadwood.™ Tucked away behind Pizzaiolo, parallel with Telegraph Avenue, it features, among other things, a solid mid-century antiques store, a vintage clothing shop, a dry goods store, a horticulture shop (for your terrarium needs), and, yes, a barber shop.

Obsession: Horses.  Back when I was a kid, like most girls, I spent hundreds of hours playing with horse models, reading horse books like Misty of Chincoteague, and researching the feasability of turning our garage in Milwaukee into a stable (a no-go).  Stella is now playing with my old models, which had been carefully boxed in the attic all these years, and for her birthday was given a wonderful gift by some good friends, the next best thing to having her own horse: partial sponsorship of one at Sunrise Horse Rescue in Napa, outside St. Helena.  The horses they've saved have heartbreaking stories with happy endings.  This weekend we decided to contribute toward the upkeep of thoroughbreds Richie and Stryder, and plan to visit them every couple of months.

Complaint: After years and years of avoiding it, I'm going to have to suck it up and subscribe to Showtime because of Homeland.  We are rolling through Season 1 on DVD, it's gripping, the acting is bang on, and we just can't bear to wait a year with the promise of brand spanking new episodes starting this weekend.  This will likely push our monthly Xfinity Xtortion/bill past $275.

List 88

Love: The Cato-Clouseau scene from The Pink Panther Strikes Again. One of the great physical comedy bits of all time, I'm reminded of it daily watching Clara and Fritz stalk and attack each other around our house.

Like: Craspedias, the Nelson Bubble Lamps of flowers, which look as clean, modern and nice dried as they do when they are fresh. 

Discovery: The next must-try San Francisco restaurant meal, this one from the new spot Rich Table in Hayes Valley. To start, watermelon and squid salad with olive vinaigrette. In the middle, order two different pastas and trade bowls half-way through - we had both the rigatoni with smoked eggplant and ricotta and the spaghetti with peas, mint and goat cheese. To finish, their caramelized olive oil cake with roasted strawberries and cream cheese.  (The menu is seasonal so it's likely these particular versions are gone, but the variations are bound to be as good.) Rich Table also has stellar cocktails and a well-done rustic-y space.

Obsession: Traveling to Ghent and Bruge, thanks to last month's issue of Travel and Leisure.  Sometimes one photograph is all it takes and you're desperate to be somewhere.

Complaint: That the excitement of back to school - buying supplies, finding out who's going to in your class, picking out what you'll wear the first day - can only be experienced vicariously now.  Sharing in it is one of the cool parts of having a kid, but it can make you ache for those innocent, carefree days of childhood yourself.  

Stella's back-to-school shirt from Gap Kids

Her new backpack from American Apparel

List 87

Love: FuseBOX, deep in West Oakland, which is currently open only for lunch 3 days a week, but has the feeling of someplace that will become a destination for foodies. Everything was delicious - from the assorted vegetable skewers to the host of housemade kimchees and pickles that accompanied a skirt steak, to a potted cheesecake with corn flake crumbles. Their wings are supposedly out of this world too. I need to get some coworkers to sign up for a Friday lunch excursion.

Like: Sylvie Bednar's Flags of the World book, which is so fun to look through, filled with interesting facts that decode each flag's various symbols, colors and patterns, that I bought one for us and a dozen more to have on hand to give as gifts to all the kids whose birthday parties Stella will inevitably be invited to in the coming year.

Discovery: The Strawberry Alarm pizza from Seattle's Flying Squirrel, which pairs spicy coppa salumi with the sweet fruit, along with goat cheese and toasted walnuts.  Who knew this combination would work so well? Might be worth trying at home before the local strawberries disappear.

Obsession: The perfectly-sized, nicely-weighted spirit glasses Pizzaiolo uses for their negronis. I tracked them down at East Bay Restaurant Supply, a good place to stock up on other things as well, like a commercial ice cream scoop and wood-handled whisks. Oh, and randomly, they have a GIANT taxidermy polar bear by the entrance. Yes!  

Complaint:  That there is no ferry commute option from the Berkeley Marina into San Francisco. I had the occasion to take the ferry roundtrip from Tiburon a few weeks ago, and can't imagine a lovelier way to cross the Bay each day for work (bonus points for walking through the Ferry Building twice a day, for a Blue Bottle coffee in the am, and then to pick up groceries for dinner on the way home.) Googling "ferry from the Berkeley Marina" showed some very promising activity up until 2009 - including site maps and a parking structure plan - but then the trail goes cold.