Can you believe the last weekend of summer is approaching? I honestly don’t know where the month of August went. This summer went by incredibly fast and while I’m already giddy about the crisp fall weather that is around the corner, I’m a little sad to say goodbye to impromptu trips to the beach and pool. With that being said, I wanted to inspire you for what’s to come – more layered ensembles. While this is still keeping with lighter tones I wanted to share what I’ll be sporting in the next few weeks as we see a more crisp side of things come our way. Have you spotted any pre-fall musts out there that you’re coveting? The Basics 1.) Skinny, Skinny Jeans in Black Frost 2.) Oversize Sweatshirt The Layers 3.) Belges Nail Polish 4.) ‘Ditte’ Textured Dial Leather Strap Watch 5.) Finch Eyeglasses 6.) Piccola Suede Chelsea Bootie 7.) Abstract Print Scarf #style

This past weekend was blissful – the weather was warm but had a hint of fall in the air. We enjoyed a night at the movies and got home projects accomplished. Knowing that it was our last weekend in town for quite awhile got us stepping into high gear. We’ve been working hard on project nursery – picking out furniture, painting, selecting rugs – I’m loving the way it’s coming together so organically. As pieces begin to arrive it has me giddy for this little guy to join us. Honestly, I can’t wait to show you the final design! Cheers to a new week ahead – I hope it is productive for all of you! Photo by Caitlin Flemming (nursery rug shopping) #lifestyle

It’s quite hard to write about someone you admire and truly adore. I first met Heather Day when she applied for an internship here at Sacramento Street. Let’s just say, I don’t know what I’d do without her help. But what many of you might not know is Heather’s has an incredible artistic side. Heather is a talented artist that I think all of you need to know about. When I first saw one of Heather’s paintings I was in awe of the way she layered the paint. Her paintings are fresh and calming, but at the same time they are loaded with depth and emotion. Read on to get an inside glimpse into her stunning studio and where she finds her inspiration. We love your Oakland Studio. Can you tell us more about it? I’m so lucky to have found this gem in the bay area. It used to be a custom tool shop for manufactured specialty automotive parts and license plates. A few years ago it was converted into a studio building and today there are over 25 artists involved in the community. It really is my dream space. After moving to San Francisco from Baltimore, I never thought I would be able to find a large enough work space without sacrificing good lighting, design and a budget. What’s your average week like? I’m typically in the studio Monday through Friday. Lately, I have made an effort to take weekends off, but I sometimes find myself back in the studio painting on a Sunday afternoon. By the time I get to the studio, I have usually checked email and created a to-do list for the day. The first couple hours are spent updating the website, social media and responding to clients, vendors or galleries. When I’m not in the studio, I’ll spend my time scheduling meetings with clients or working at Cafe’s in San Francisco. I’m not a coffee drinker but I can tell you the best places to grab a hot chocolate in the Mission District! When did you decide to become an artist and practice art full time? This is a loaded question. I’ve been painting for a while now. I like to think that I got a jumpstart on my career when I lived in Chicago and attended an arts high school before going to an arts college in Baltimore. After moving to San Francisco, I worked full time in the design center and spent evenings in the studio. I did this for almost two years while networking with clients and galleries before making the big jump as a full time artist. Can you tell us a little bit about your paintings and the process? I typically have about 5-10 paintings in progress at any given time. I begin drawing a quick gesture on paper or stitching an organic line across the canvas. This allows me to address the blank space and begin reacting to the simple moments I have already created. I continue building on this history by pouring and manipulating layers of paint. The result is a product of an experience, leaving behind documentation of how the event transpired. My paintings are never planned. Every mark creates a series of expectations similar to a conversation. When a question is asked, an answer is anticipated. The compositions often act as pages requiring several in a series to tell a story. Where do you see your work going next? I’m currently working on a project where I’m recycling older paintings on paper into an installation. I am exploring ways to break the average rectangular composition of a painting. Why not let the painting become its own shape? I figured since my work tends to be rather organic, I shouldn’t let the framework of the paintings be so confined in a solid shape. With this concept in mind, I’m also building larger paintings where it feels like the edge of the painting doesn’t really matter. Jackson Pollack explored this idea in his work a lot. He rarely touched the edges of the paintings because it was more about the fluidity of his body. If he was standing in the middle of the painting then the paint only went as far as his arms could reach. Speaking of Jackson Pollack, where else do you find inspiration? My favorite artists are Cy Twombly, Willem de Kooning, Joan Mitchell and Helen Frankenthaler. Aside from painters, I really enjoy the film by directors Paul Thomas Anderson, Mike Nichols, Spike Jonz and Wes Anderson. I wouldn’t normally pair painting with film but I can’t help but notice similarities when it comes to color and composition. Aside from art and design, a lot of my inspiration comes from traveling and interacting with new people. A huge thank you to Heather for giving us a glimpse into her beautiful studio. To see more of Heather’s stunning work pop over to her site – she just updated it with a brand new collection of work! Photos by Caitlin Flemming #lifestyle #interiors

After a whirlwind week in Raleigh, NC, it was such a treat coming home. While I feel incredibly lucky to be able to travel and discover new places there is nothing I love more than being back home. This weekend we escaped the fog and headed up to Marin for some sunshine, enjoyed an early morning run to the farmers market, and then spent the majority of the weekend planning out baby Flemming’s nursery. Lately I’ve felt like I’m constantly working on client projects that I haven’t had time to sit down to really brainstorm my own home. This was such a treat and definitely got me re-energized for the new week that lies ahead. I hope all of you have a splendid week! Photo by Caitlin Flemming (one of many design ideas for the nursery) #lifestyle

The past week was quite incredible – all of the heartfelt comments and congratulations from everyone brought Eric and I so much joy. A huge thank you to everyone. Sharing our baby news with you was such a treat. Over the weekend we escaped the city to get some much needed sunshine – San Francisco has been covered in gray fog for days. It was so blissful getting some much needed vitamin d. Yesterday, I ventured to the Alameda Flea Market for treasure hunting. I hadn’t been in months – although I didn’t find any treasures, it was nice to see what is out there that can get you inspired. We recently recovered this antique chair (above) in Madeline Weinrib fabric – I absolutely adore it! It’s amazing the transformation you can make on something you already own with stunning fabric. Cheers to a new week – I’m en-route to Raleigh, NC to teach at The School of Styling. Photo by Caitlin Flemming #lifestyle

Wrapping gifts has always been something I’ve loved. With each gift I think it’s important to set the tone with the wrapping – weather it’s a signature look or has a seasonal touch. I have to admit, at Christmas my mom, aunt and I go above and beyond with the details of our wrapping. All of us think it’s important to make the package special. Since I have such a love for wrapping I wanted to call upon one of my dear friends and gifting expert extraordinaire Simone LeBlanc to bring you “Seasonal Wrapping.” We’re kicking off this brand new series that is inspired by the colors of summertime. Think bright sunshine and softly sun-washed colors. Simone and I gathered inspiration over on Pinterest in order to come up with a mood board behind our inspiration – something both of us find essential when creating and brainstorming new ideas. Simone has put together three different styles to inspire you. These wrappings feature hand-dyed and washed silks that Simone dyed herself and fresh florals in a palette of poppy citrus and warm blush tones. Throughout the process she was thinking about sunbeams, sun-kissed skin, sunlight and strong shadows. I think she created stunning inspiration that already has my head swirling with inspiration for my next gift. I love the way Simone showcases that you can use fabric instead of paper and fresh flowers instead of ribbon, something I find myself forgetting when putting together special packages. A huge thank you to Simone for a stunning post – I’m left excited for the next gift I need to wrap. If you have an event or theme you’d like us to focus on here in this series please leave a comment or reach out to us. We’d love to help you with any wrapping inspiration. I hope you enjoyed this first seasonal wrapping post! Wrapping and photos by Simone LeBlanc for Sacramento Street #lifestyle #entertaining

This month Natalie had warned me before meeting up about the bright colors that inspired her for this month’s arrangement. I told her the brighter the better! It’s summer, why not add a pop of color into your home? Especially when your home all white. When I saw this beauty for the first time I couldn’t believe the assortment of blooms. Honestly, I kept finding different flowers she had used and was in complete awe of how it came together. It just goes to show you that Natalie is one talented gal. Read on to hear about her inspiration. These colors are so summery. What was your inspiration behind the color palette? The bright red and soft pink reminds me of summertime fruit and peaches and berries. I love mixing bright tones with a hint of white to soften the overall feeling. I love this vase! I have seen you use it once before and wonder what it is the material? This vase is one of my favorites and it is by Martha Sturdy. They are based in Canada and make beautiful hand-made cast resin vases. I love the feeling of the vase to the touch and how it almost feels like marble. I’ve started to see a lot of blackberries on the side of the road and in the wild. Is that were you got these? These blackberries are actually from Oregon but we do get them from Northern California at times, too. If you happen to have some growing in your yard, I encourage you to snip a stem when the berries are green (so you don’t stain anything) and put them in a vase! Natalie and I hope this inspires you to bring a little pop of color into your home! Flowers by Natalie Bowen Designs | Photos by Caitlin Flemming #lifestyle

As you can tell, I’m on a farmers market cooking kick. I find it incredibly inspiring to go pick out different vegetables every week for our meals. It has actually been making me experiment more and more, which I love to do. Last week I made this fresh fusilli pasta with organic early girl tomatoes and corn. The first bite was so delicious I knew I’d have to recreate it to share with all of you. Friends, this pasta is insanely easy and mouth watering. Enjoy! Ingredients 6 to 8 fresh organic tomatoes (I like Early Girls), large chunks 1 to 2 ears of fresh organic corn 2 cloves garlic thinly sliced 3 T olive oil sea salt red pepper flakes parmesan cheese – grated fusilly pasta roughly cut basil Directions: 1.) Put a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Clean the corn.  When water is boiling, place corn in pot for 2 to 3 minutes.  Remove with thongs.  I used the same water for the pasta after removing the corn. Shuck corn from the cob and set aside. 2.) In a large sauté pan, place olive oil on a high heat. Add garlic for 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Add corn. 3.) Remove pasta when it’s to your liking and toss with tomato mix. 4.) Add a generous amount of parmesan cheese, a dash of basil and season with red pepper flakes and sea salt. Serve it nice and hot! Photo and recipe by Caitlin Flemming #entertaining #cooking

Today I’m excited to announce that Eric and I have embarked on a new chapter of our life together. We’re welcoming a baby boy into the world in late December! We have pretty much been on cloud nine ever since we found out. It’s been incredibly hard to keep it a secret for this long. Back in April I was blindsided with all day nausea while on a business trip to Dallas. Then came a whole month of not being able to look at a computer – it was not a fun month, but I just kept thinking “it’s all for this little nugget that I will be able to hold soon.” Luckily, the nausea (for the most part) is gone and I’m back to my old self – except with the desire to spend every waking hour nesting and my craving for pickles, fruit and tons of veggies. I’ll be sharing little bits of inspiration, tips and nursery progress here on Sacramento Street. But until then, I’ll be revving up the inspirational content for y’all. Pardon the past few months and I appreciate you all for hanging in there without knowing what the heck was going on! We can’t wait to become a family of three! Photo by Caitlin Flemming #lifestyle

Graphic designer, knitter, and blogger extraordinaire Emma Robertson gives us a glimpse into her creative workspace in Oakland, CA. I’ve been following Emma’s design career for quite some time and when she decided to make the move up to the Bay Area a few mutual friends thought we should meet – let me tell you, this is one talented gal. Her graphic design aesthetic is uncanny, she is sweet as pie and lastly, she’s written an amazing book on knitting (a new hobby I’ve taken up). Today I’m bringing you her light-filled workspace that everyone is going want to move into – the windows are dreamy! Read on for my full interview with Emma. Can you tell us more about what inspired you to start the blog? I started Emmadime, the blog, in 2010 while attending college in Stillwater, Oklahoma. As an inspired 18 year old, I felt the need to do something more proactive with the visuals I was ​coming across! A blog seemed to be the perfect way to share and organize it all. It has continued to serve that same purpose while offering up new unexpected opportunities and friendships. It has become an official extension of me and my creative career – an extension that I plan to keep around for as long as I possibly can! At what point did you know you were ready to make the big jump into full time designing and blogging? ​If i’m going to be completely honest, I became a freelancer out of desperation. I had just moved to ​the Bay Area with my boyfriend ​and my portfolio was​ ​ solely student​ work from college.​ I applied ​to as many jobs as ​humanly possible without a single ​positive ​response​! I was devastated. ​F​rom there, ​I simply told people I was looking for clients and made it work. Sometimes being forced down an unfamiliar path can be the best thing for us – I had no choice but to hustle and claw my way up to where I currently am. Now that I have put so much love and energy into the job, I can’t imagine doing anything else. I do believe that being an active blogger has increased my exposure to potential clients – I am constantly being presented with creative opportunities through that specific outlet. How does your workspace reflect your style in fashion? Color-free, clean lines, and inspired by the simple details. What’s your favorite part about your space? Oh man, can I say all of it?? If I had to pick I think it would have to be the huge windows that bring in all that natural light. They create this feeling of openness and peace that leaves me focused and not feeling all… cooped up. It keeps me awake, happy, and feeling connected to what’s going on outside. What was your main priority when you began designing your own workspace ​? My main goal was to leave it as open and spacious as possible – I wanted to have room to create, make a mess, stage photo-shoots, run around…!! But at the same time, I wanted to make sure it was welcoming and comfortable for meetings and design days at my desk. How has this space influenced your work as a blogger and designer? Having all of that space has definitely allowed me to think bigger!! Since moving in I have thrown creative get-togethers, hosted design workshops, and improved the quality of my photography for both my blog and my design portfolio. Do you have any personal favorite websites, magazines, books etc? I am currently ( and slowly ) reading A Story Lately Told by Anjelica Huston. She is one of my favorites so I couldn’t help but dive into her life! It’s all about her enchanted childhood in Ireland, her teen years in London, and her coming-of-age as a model and nascent actress in New York. Sounds magical right? I also got ‘It’ by Alexa Chung – I couldn’t resist the light pink cover and the insane layout of the interior of the book. One flip through and I knew I needed to spend more time with it. It has turned out to be more visual than contextually rich, but it’s still awesome. Websites are hard to narrow down… I’m not even going to try! I just got two magazines that I’m really into now – Mood and One – both are really great eye candy. Where do you see Emma​d​ime going next? Graphic Design and running my own business is my passion so I plan to continue freelancing. Although, I have had my heart set on putting together a design studio and managing a team for a while now. I’m enjoying my current situation but there are definitely plans in place to promote growth. Stay tuned! A huge thank you to Emma for opening up for beautiful workspace to us! Profile Photo by Eva Kolenko | Studio Photos by Caitlin Flemming #lifestyle #interiors