jeffrey + upstairsloft

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Kate and I hit up the Alameda Flea Market for the first time today and scored some sweet things. The Alameda Flea Market happens every first Sunday and it’s an antique flea market that takes up the old naval base at Alameda Point. I had no luck finding a used electrical chair, a Yugoslavian bidet or a guillotine to furnish our apartment, but we did come home with some other cool pieces like 30 year old whiskey, wooden block type, a skeleton key, a cool mason jar and eyeglass frames I plan on popping new lenses in.

Because any reason to design something cool to send out to your closest friends and family is exciting (like baby announcements, invitations, hell, even a new haircut) we were thrilled to share the news of our new place of residence in San Francisco—in the Sunset District.

We had a handful of boxes that fell apart during our move and we caught ourselves almost dumping them in the recycling bin when we realized—Oh! We can use this for our moving announcement. So we did. Crate and Barrel boxes, moving boxes, all sorts of boxes. So each piece has its own character.

From the Richmond, we were Sunset Bound. The card pays homage to The Sunset, specifically where we live, just off 9th and Judah, where we can conveniently catch the N-Judah line, thus the blue-circle N. We had a local alterations shop sew the printed piece onto the scrap cardboard—mimicking the MUNI tracks and transit lines. And it gave it that extra tactile feel. We had fun working on this piece.

Rituals are important, especially in times where I need to just sit back and unwind. Especially, when after I sit back and unwind and I’m back to grinding. Rituals and mini breaks are vital and it’s one of the main ingredients that keeps me on my grind, and keeps me sharp when working late nights, non-stop, jumping from one project to the next and meeting quick-turn project deadlines.

The Morning Ceremony
Every morning when I wake up, I hit snooze for about 15 minutes. This is easy. When I wasn’t working from home, I had to hit snooze for about an hour before I got up. Now I hit snooze for about 15 and get up after a 6–7 hour slumber. I pick up my iPhone to end the alarm, scan through emails, tweets and Facebook updates and my calendar. Okay. I’m up.

I put on my glasses, my robe (it’s still pretty chilly in San Francisco) and I walk over to the kitchen, heat up water in the kettle, brush my teeth, head back over to the  kitchen and press coffee for 5 minutes.

Over a delicious cup of black brew, beans courtesy of The Beanery, I read emails, catch myself up to speed on the ol’ to-do list, read my RSS feeds and create a playlist to last me at least a 1/3 of the day (thank you iTunes Genius playlists!). And then I’m on my hustle.

Midday Crash
I either make something for lunch or walk around my neighborhood, which is known for being a purveyor of all sorts of deliciousness. And it’s just great to stretch the lo’ legs.

Into the Night
By 5, I’m drinking a glass of wine. It slows down that race in my head and it calms my pulse. It induces that need to reflect and just kick it for a bit.

But Wine Everyday?
Yeah. At least a half bottle of wine a day. There are 9 days in a week, right? Well, I think it it’s fine. But my stubbornness is typical of Taurus behavior. So in respect of the wife’s wishes, I decided to cut down my wine intake. I can’t blame her as the same blood that courses through these veins have a history of a handful of diseases. As I’m within arm’s reach of 30, paying mind to my health, cutting down on my intake of wine, butter and bacon isn’t something that’ll punish me.

So Then What?
As a gift for my cooperation, the wifey bought me a cool teaset She knew that both wine and tea both calm me down and she knows I scoff at drinking tea out of a paper cup like it’s coffee simply for the sake of caffeine consumption. Drinking tea is something you do sitting down, not something I love to do when I’m on the go-go. Coffee in the morning and 2–3 pots of continuously hot tea throughout the day.

The wife is smart. 2 weeks in since switching up the routine and I’m still sane. Kate, you’re cool.

When my iPhone is docked, I like having a pretty clock to look at when I’m idle. My desktop and laptop screensaver is set to that FliqLo flip clock that’s all over the cool person’s web. What I’m really about is that Swiss Railway Clock iPhone app. I love how the seconds hand pauses a bit every minute. It reminds you to catch a quick breath. That’s 540 micro-breaks in a 9-hour a day.

I always thought swiss clocks were dope, especially since they set the precedence of being punctual and organized. I heard they castrate men if they’re late to the synagogue. That’s not true.

Check it.

Since I was in high school, there have been some strong parallels of interests with what the European folk across the pond are doing.

1. The Metric System. I always hated the standard system. It’s stupid. We should get on the metric system, for real.
2. Siesta. Please, please, please me.
3. A bottle of wine a day is moderate drinking for one person. That is not alcoholism. It’s real talk.
4. Tea breaks. The key to a healthy mind is incubation. Most Americans are two juiced up on their 2nd or 3rd cups of coffees and power through their workload. We need tea breaks for modarate caffeine consumption and mental relaxation. Tea time is always relaxing.
5. Observe holidays. At my lat job, I found myself working over even the major holidays. While corporate America got to enjoy Thanksgiving, Black Friday and the other two days of their weekend, I was working on their shit so they had something to pretend to care about and review come Monday. Yes. Let’s observe more holidays.

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Nothing says swagger like Gucci Mane’s Bart Simpson chain, or Lil Wayne’s teef. But the Majorminor business cards are a close designer-version second. At least to us *wink*

Printed on Crane Lettra 220#, 3/0 with Mirasheen silver ink. Big ups to Jeff and Jim at Third Bay Letterpress. They definitely helped us carry out our vision on the most minute details of such a simple business card—from the impression (or depression) of the blind deboss to the registration from printing on such a thick stock. These guys are a pleasure to work with and we’re super satisfied with the final outcome. Check out a few pictures from the press check to the business cards themselves.

The wifey landed a full-time job and well, we’re in a better situation. So… we’ve gotten into some impulsive furniture-buying. A few days ago I felt like Cragslisting a credenza, just to see what’s out there. So I found one. Well, I found a bunch but I fell in love with one—some 60’s credenza with 9 drawers. It’s a beauty. So the seller delivered it from Santa Rosa on a sunny Tuesday. Today, I finally ordered the vanity that the misses has wanted for some time. Two years later, our apartment is finally shaping out and feelings like ours. Really, our first SF apartment, as small as it was, and I’m not hatin’, was to get us settled in SF. Now, we’re living it up in SF. Life is great.

(The third image isn’t from our apartment).

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of business and work but today starts a new week and my morning playlist is pretty much spot-on. It’s the right amount of energy and chill. Here’s my playlist from 9-10am, sipping on my black, French-pressed cup of hot coffee, reading my Feeds and sorting out my schedule.

Morning rituals are important. They are especially important on Mondays.

Respect the ritual.