Put A Monogram On It!

Monograms are making a come back. Look around and you’ll see them on stationery, adorning luggage, embroidered on clothing and on bedding, linens, pillows and even yoga mats.

Monograms have actually been around forever. In fact, they first appeared on coins as early as 350BC. Since then, they’ve been used as signatures by artists on paintings, sculptures, furniture and of course, more in the mainstream, they’re in use--you’d easily recognize the SF monogram as the one and only San Francisco Giants baseball team, right?

Now then, sometimes you need that special something that gives an item that personal touch. And that’s what owners and friends Abby and Molly were looking for when they conceptualized Bespoke Home. Having lived in New York and London, the friends since 1999, found that there wasn’t a store in Silicon Valley that catered to the niche of high-end gift giving for wedding, babies, house warming, graduations and other special occasions. Opening its doors in October of 2011, Bespoke Home has become the epitome of monogrammed gift giving, and oh, if you’re lucky enough, monogrammed gift receiving.

Baby Bloomers

Fouta Herringbone Guest Towels, Set of 2

Bespoke Home is a treasure trove of luxe soft good items that are within everyone’s reach. And although the store was created with gifting in mind, there’s no rule saying you can’t treat yourself. Monogramming is a wonderful way to make your very own home even more special. If you don’t have a family or house monogram, Bespoke Home will help design one. And then as the years go by you can continue to add layers and build on your style. For instance, you may start with hand towels in the guest bath then expand into pool towels. For birthdays, consider hooded towels for the kids. Who wouldn’t want to snuggle up with a personalized throw on a chilly afternoon…or slip into 300+ thread count sheets each night with your initials adorning the edge of the flat sheet? Maybe you’ve got a cook in the family, go for the unexpected, a monogrammed cutting board or a BBQ tool set. Oh the fun you can have! Monogramming doesn’t have to be stuffy or stiff, it can be chic and casual.

Letterpress Coasters - Custom

Nautical Cutting Board

If you’re looking to make an impression with your next purchase, stop by Bespoke Home and you’ll be amazed at the array of possibilities available to you. But beware: you may start receiving a lot of announcements in your mailbox! Want to do some after hours shopping? Check out their new website: bespokehomeshop.com to get up-to-speed in the art of gifting.

Throw Pillow - Libeco Ligae Napoli Vintage Linen

Have You Heard This One?

What do you get when you put three Duke educated guys working in the computer consulting industry together? Answer: Tava Indian Kitchen.

Don’t get it? This will help. Jason and Vijay were college buddies. Years later, purely by coincidence, Vijay ran into Jason on a flight. The two friends chatted while en route about how fortunate they each felt for the success they’d achieved since graduating from college. But both boys relayed that they didn’t feel like they were giving anything of value back to society and wanted to change that.

With mutual friend, Hasnain, on board, they brainstormed. Then it hit them. What better way to express gratitude than to share their mutual love of Indian culture with others through food?

And Tava Indian Kitchen was born. They set about to bring a new take on Indian food that is fresh and healthy. All of the dishes are from family recipes and special chef’s creations and they even grind and roast all of the spices in-house. Does it smell wonderful when you walk in!

Diners create their custom meal from an assembly line that begins with selecting either a burroti, more like the Indian version of a tortilla, or the far less messy bowl option. Next are the fillings, such as grilled chicken marinated in Tandoori spices, lamb that is slow roasted to perfection or paneer, a homemade Indian farmers’ cheese seasoned and tossed with garbanzo beans. Starting to sound good? Now it’s time to get saucy. Add to that tikka, a light tomato cream sauce simmered with Indian spices or the daal, savory lentils finished with a zesty sauce of tadka-excellent with the paneer. Can’t decide? You won’t be the first to ask for half & half so you can try both. Finally, you add to that your favorite veggies like lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and more to complete your masterpiece. Doesn’t it make you hungry just reading about it?

Well lucky for you they’ve recently extended their hours so you can dine-in or grab dinner to go until 10pm seven days a week, or opt for catering like former 49’er Steve Young does. Tava Indian Kitchen opened back in February and has been packing them in for lunch and dinner. Once you try it, you’ll know why.

X is for Xtreme at New Xercise Lab!

Are you looking for an exercise option that pushes your fitness limits? Need an exercise option that gives you great results? How about an exercise option that gets you out of the studio in less than an hour? If you answered yes to any of these questions, say Hello to Xercise Lab!

Xercise Lab is the concept of Jenny Rowe, founder, owner, instructor and busy mom to three young boys, 2.5, 5 and 7 years old.

Jenny is a Palo Alto resident and like so many parents these days, is scheduled down to the minute of where she needs to be next. Active all her life, including playing competitive tennis in high school and college, she found it hard to make time to squeeze in exercise in between the long hours of her TV reporter job. So she started teaching group exercise classes after work that committed her to show up to work out. And now, other people were relying on her for their fitness. Jenny soon discovered that she loved this line of work and quit her reporter job and switched to fitness full-time. She went to work for Western Athletic Club and became the Program Designer for all of their clubs across the state of California.

She thought that one day she’d like to create her own fitness company to fill the two big holes she found in the fitness industry--The first being that most classes were too easy and didn’t offer enough of a work out. And secondly, to provide a turnkey fitness program for schools that have dropped their Physical Education program.

Fulfilling her first goal, she created Xercise Lab and opened the doors to the first studio at Town & Country Village in June. Xercise Lab consists of three labs, two for adults; Burn Lab and Build Lab and Recess Lab, created for children.

Warning Sticker— This is Xtreme exercise, with an X. These labs* are intense exercise programs for people who really want to be challenged or step up their fitness level. These classes pack a punch! (*Recess Lab excluded.)

Photo courtesy of Lisa DeNeffe Photography

Burn Lab is a highly intensive, 45-minute, pre-choreographed cardio fusion program that combines everything from kick-boxing to boot camp drills in an interval-style format.

Build Lab is a no-weights weight workout. It offers complete body-weight training in an intensive, 45-minute, pre-choreographed format.

Calling all men! These labs are equal opportunity sweat sessions. The exercises are very masculine and there are no dance moves in the labs. Jenny wants everyone, especially men, to feel comfortable in an exercise class setting.

Recess Lab is a pre-choreographed, cardio and strength-training program for boys and girls, ages 4–12, disguised as fun movements and games choreographed to music. All music created for Recess Lab is original and produced by Steve Plunkett—front man for the ‘80s band, Autograph. Remember the song “Turn Up The Radio”? It was a number one song in the ‘80s. Go to iTunes and listen to the sample. You’ll feel like another lifetime just came rushing back.

Photo courtesy of Lisa DeNeffe Photography

Jenny’s second goal from her original mission is alive and kicking. Individual schools or school districts can purchase Recess Lab as an affordable alternative to traditional P.E. classes when budget cuts have reduced or even eliminated their own P.E. programs. Xercise Lab will train Recess Lab instructors, a.k.a. your child’s regular teacher, in a one-day training program at the school site and they can incorporate exercise back into the daily curriculum.

Xercise Lab at Town & Country Village is the official headquarters for the company. Jenny says she plans to expand and offer opportunities to franchise the business every year. Franchise owners will have to pass a high fitness level to be allotted a franchise—no surprise here.

Lab fees are light on your wallet and will keep you motivated on your fitness quest. And that's sure to make you jump for joy! For $75.00 a month, adults can attend unlimited classes. $50 a month allows kids to attend Recess Lab as many times as they like. And Jenny knows you don’t want to feel like you’re just another face in the crowd. That’s why each class is limited to 15 people. And since you’re always on-the-go, you can register for classes through the website: xerciselab.com.

Photo courtesy of Lisa DeNeffe Photography

Xercise Lab’s philosophy is simple: Get in. Get out. Get on with your life. Exercise doesn’t have to take up a chunk of your day. Scratch out 45 minutes three times a week for Burn Lab, and 2 days a week for Build Lab, and bring the kids by for Recess Lab to encourage their road to a lifetime of fitness.

 Photo courtesy of Lisa DeNeffe Photography

Home Sweet Scandia Home

Can you think of anything that makes you feel as pampered as European bed linens and down pillows and comforters? Aren’t they the epitome of luxury?

And if you don’t know what we’re talking about here, or especially if you do, come into Scandia Home and treat yourself to a touch and feel test drive—let your hands be the judge of a fine bed sheet with triple digit thread counts. Maybe even try lying down on one of the display beds. It’s okay. Really. They encourage it!

Formerly the owner of Scandia Down and recently renamed Scandia Home, Lynn Ellison, is an expert on the subject of natural comfort and offers the best down and Euro bed linens around.

So what makes a good product, you might ask. Lynn says it all starts with the quality of the cleaning of the goose feathers before they’re put into fabrics that gives them their elite status. Then those lovely goose feathers are safely tucked inside a fabric called tick. And when your down items’ lose their poof, Scandia Home can add more goose feathers and plump things up again. Cleaning services are available as well. For Scandia Home, it’s really about creating a long-standing relationship with your bedding.

What about linens? Now you may know that anything with the word Euro in the name means a heftier price tag. Right? So why would you consider spending more than you might on standard bed linens? Euro tells you that you’re making a real investment in quality products from the finest producers of items of comfort and beauty and probably most importantly, lasting products derived from natural sources like Egyptian cotton and wool. It’s sleeping smart.

But like the name says, Scandia Home carries additional items that make your house a home including more than the eight lines of Euro bed linens plus the Scandia Home line, down beds and down pillow tops, rugs and plush towels, slippers, robes and more.

Scandia Home has recently relocated to its permanent home in between Touleh Pet Boutique and Williams Cutlery Company. To get on their list to receive special promotions and offers, go to: www.downandlinens.com.

One of Oprah’s Favorite Things

Handbags, clutches, totes, carry-on’s, duffels, tour bags, cosmetic bags, computer bags, wine bags, wristlets, mini bags, laundry bags, eyeglass tote, hobo tote, jumbotote, cabin bag, luggage tag, rolling bag, jewelry pouch and oh, we’re just scratching the surface here!

Let’s just say, if you have a hankering for bags, you’re not alone. Want to know where you can find a fantastic bag for any and all occasions? If you’ve not already met, let me introduce you to Toss Designs.

Here’s a story about turning one girl’s passion into a very successful endeavor. Jennifer Hogan, a true bag lady, in the most flattering sense of the phrase, is a San Francisco native. About 8 years ago, she took her successful wholesale business of roughly 3,500 vendors, which stretched the gamut from Gumps to your local boutique, directly to the world of retail. She chose locations in smart, swanky, fashion forward areas: San Francisco on Chestnut Street, St. Helena (definitely need a cute bag to carry home a bottle of vino-check out the Quit Whining bag!), San Anselmo and her newest home, Town & Country Village.

Jennifer designs all of the bags herself. And the she-devil is in details! There is a lot of attention to the intention of each product with functionality being key and a high-end design flair capping off the look. For instance, the boarding bag is the perfect carry-on. There’s lots of interior pockets for organization, including a padded compartment for your laptop or Kindle. The Delphi Expander Tote means you'll never compromise style or function with this perfectly designed weekender that expands to a roomy 24’’ x 9” x 21” to accommodate the extras. Or there is the Vineyard Tote which looks like a perfectly stylish every day tote! Two exterior pockets will keep you organized, the vinyl covering wipes clean and need we state the obvious? Plenty of room for a bottle of red and a bottle of white! You’re getting the picture here.

Toss, Jennifer’s original line includes purses, travel bags and accessories. About 3 years ago, she came out with the Bella line. Again, show stopper details, dazzling colors and patterns! The Bella line has an insulated aspect. And they’re brilliant! You will be the envy of all when you show up for the tailgating party with the Stadium Tote. It’s got an insulated bottom compartment with lower zip closure that will keep your food cool or warm for up to 2 hours. The top compartment remains a regular tote with a zip closure. Nylon shoulder straps and trim are corresponding in color. Want more? How about the Not So Brown Bag lunch bag? This sassy shaped little number will keep your lunch cool or warm for hours as well! Built in handles and velcro closure keep it secure and you’ll look like you’re carrying a chic little tote, even if you really are just trying to save your lunch money!

And one of the biggest endorsements a product could ever wish for, Toss Designs was featured as one of Oprah’s Favorite things! Not to mention “As Seen In” RealSimple, InStyle, Allure, Brides, Coastal Living, Parenting, Country Living, Ladies Home Journal, Redbook, Oprah, of course, and many more.

So it doesn’t matter if your style leans toward preppy, chic, casual or just plain practical, we dare you not to be drawn to something at Toss Designs. Toss speaks to everyone. Put this little nugget somewhere in your thinking cap and pull it up when you need something for that someone who has everything. Or when you need a teacher’s gift or hostess gift or something clever for the new graduate. You’ll find something wonderful here. And we haven’t even gotten to the accessories, wraps, jewelry…

Nanoo To You!

Nanoo to You!

If you were a fan of the Mork & Mindy Show back in the ‘80s, there’s not doubt that you haven’t forgotten that famous greeting Mork, from the world of Ork, said to all earthlings: Nanoo, Nanoo. Just tried the official Ork spreading of the fingers, hand gesture. Yep. Can still do it! You? Don’t lie. I know you tried it. But I digress.

Nanoo, the beautiful children’s boutique at Town & Country Village, is also from another world -- The European world of children’s designer duds.

Soheila, Nanoo’s owner, tells the tale of the store’s name, sharing that her young niece was trying to pronounce her Aunt’s name, and the word Nanoo came out instead of Soheila. Now, 29 years later, the name stuck and all of Soheila’s nieces, nephews, friends, and even her own mother, call her Nanoo. So if you were wondering, there it is.

Soheila, as we’ll call her so there’s no confusion here between the lovely owner and the store, had a thriving career as a financial analyst. On business trips and family vacations to Italy and Europe, she would bring back clothing collections for her friends and colleagues and hold “trunk shows” dressing each of them, at their request, from her bounty of Euro-loot. And word spread about her beautiful taste. At a crossroads 11 years ago, Soheila made the decision to resign from the world of finance and start her store.

Nanoo is a store created out of love for children and a passion for the world of fashion. Like her former “Trunk Show” days, the store is set up in collections, showing you what and how items go together. It’s nothing like the department store children’s sections where you’ll find loads of every size and color of each item. Not here. There’s one size of each of everything. Maybe two, if you’re lucky. The philosophy behind these small collections is that it gives each child an opportunity to be an individual and not see himself or herself all over town. Now, who doesn’t appreciate that in our world of fashion cloning.

So, as we were saying, Nanoo is all about high fashion for young people. She carries girl’s sizes up to 14 and boy’s to size 12. And features only European brands, hand-picked up to at least two seasons, or about 8 months in advance of their debut. In addition to European brands you may not have heard of, you’ll certainly recognize high-end designer names like Dolce & Gabbana on these smaller creations. But Soheila’s a smart business lady and purchases their more reasonably priced lines. These clothing items, like their larger relatives, are unique and meant to be treasured. What grandparent, parent to-be or Auntie wouldn’t be thrilled to present a gift like this to a special child?

It’s a Lifestyle

Palo Alto and the surrounding area is the perfect topography for a lifestyle bike: flat streets, bike paths and endless options to get around town. It’s also the home of A Streetbike Named Desire at Town & Country Village.

Okay, what is a “lifestyle” bike you’re asking yourself. Maybe we should start with what a lifestyle bike isn’t; it isn’t a road bike, it isn’t a mountain bike, it isn’t a racing bike, heck, it isn’t even a hybrid. Confused? Maybe this’ll clear things up a bit--It’s a cruiser, a commuter, a way to express yourself, that gorgeous upright bike you’ve seen in the movies where the girl is riding through a small town in Italy with her basket full of flowers and baguettes. A lifestyle bike is a choice. And it’s catching on!

A Streetbike Named Desire’s, Joe Robinson, says that 99% of the lifestyle bikes he and his dad and business partner, Dan, carry are from Europe, mostly Italy. A country that has made riding bikes around town look enticing and romantic. And when you see one in person, it’s like looking at a Ferrari, only in bike silhouette. The components aren’t welded together, they’re lovingly forged and the edges are almost seamless. The paint colors are so delicious, you want to eat them. And don’t get me started on those leather satchels and saddlebags—like a fine Italian pair of heels. Details, details, details. Now, if you don’t need the Ferrari of lifestyle bikes, there are less pricey options. A Streetbike Named Desire also carries bikes for those in say, the Honda-budget.

Why would you choose a lifestyle bike? Well, chances are that you’re probably a progressive thinker, have a romantic notion about peddling your bike and smelling the roses along the way, don’t need to do a cross country tour to get to the office or school, or just looking for another outlet to express yourself.

Dan and Joe’s roots go back about 6 years when Dan purchased an electric bike. And their enthusiasm turned into an electric and folding bike retail business out of a warehouse in San Carlos, which then expanded into lifestyle bikes. They love their job. And it shows. There’s no pressure or intimidation in their selling style. It’s all about finding the right bike for you and your lifestyle.

And if you’re wondering how they came up with the name, A Streetbike Named Desire, stop in and ask them!

Follow them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/streetbikenameddesire