apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I don't know if you're getting the heat the way we are but we're going to get up to 100 degrees this week in NYC (not including heat index). Can you say "blackout"?

I'm here in DC, and they're predicting a heatwave of 100 at least for the next four days. Blackout is an appropriate term - no doubt there will be power outtages as technology overheats and the like. Good luck in NY!

Oooouuuuccccchhhh.

SF is kind of the opposite of NYC -- it never gets as hot as the surrounding less urbanized areas. The far outlying 'burbs were scorching a week ago (113!) but have dropped into the temperate 70s and 80s now.

Blackouts were surprisingly few, considering. Death toll from the heat of something like 130 down the Central Valley, though.

One of the reasons I LOVED living in Sausalito was the weather. It has it's own built-in AC. When I would get into the car in the summer (Aug. - Oct.)with the windows down and head north I could feel the temps. rise at least 10-15 degrees almost immediately and vice versa coming back into Sausalito.

Hi all,

I just brought home a nice comfy armchair last night, which was excitedly greeted by my (fairly young) cat with some energetic scratching. He stops when I tell him too, and he has a scratching post, but I just know that he's at home right now scratching away.
Any tried and true deterrents you've used and that appear to work while you're out of the house? All tips welcome.

-jc

We had a garage sale this past weekend - I had to put a sweater on in order to sit outside mid-morning. That's why I can never leave the bay area...

Ahh Jennifer, cats love that new furniture smell (and they love an expensive smell even better). Provide a scratching post with lots of fresh catnip to lure him away from the chair.

What is the Westfield San Francisco Centre ?

Westfield SF Centre is the mall on Market Street, across from the Powell cable-car turnaround, with the spiral escalators and the Nordstrom on top. At basement level, it connects directly to the Powell BART/Muni station. The mall stores are upscale retailer types, though not the usual Gap/Williams Sonoma empire (as those have larger stores over around Union Square).

(Westfield is the mall developer who has gone on a rampage of acquisition in northern California -- they specialize in big, bright malls with happy yuppie stores. I hate what they did to Valley Fair in Santa Clara/San Jose but have to admire their handling of the K Street mall in Sacramento.)

Thanks wende. Isn't there already a mall on Market with a Nordstrom's in it? There was when I lived there. Is this a different one or more of the same one?

I'm pretty sure this has to be the same one. They're expanding into the Emporium building next door, which is supposed to get a Bloomingdale's.

Westfield's sticking "Westfield" on the front of all their mall names breeds a certain confusion, since "Westfield" sounds like a mall name itself. Alas, they didn't buy Eastridge Mall in San Jose -- "Westfield Eastridge" would have been such a fab mall name.

I see on Westfield's website that a Border's will be opening in the mall. Is there going to be 2 Border's in Union Square? Seems repetitive and unnecessary, especially with the new Cody's downtown. I can't see the Border's on Powell closing, it's always packed inside.

wende, didn't Westfield also buy the Metreon?

My friends who live in San Jose call Valley Fair "Westfield Shoppingtown Valley Fair in Santa Clara." Then again, we all call the Pruneyard (in San Jose) the "fudgeyard." My friend from French Canada calls the Metreon "the Thingotron."

I know Sony's trying to reincentive the brand, but I fail to see why they would sell the Metreon - it's on prime real estate that should only accrue value over time; they do a brisk business daily; it's an excellent launching pad for further enchancement of the Sony premium.

Granted, AR, it can use some work - there's a lot of wasted space - but overall it's a sound investment. I for one would...um, not make it some gosh darn family friendly. Plus, the fourth floor needs a legitimate destitnation - and the arcade needs to be rethought.

Oh, and Westfield is up and down California, Wendee. They've bought up just about every mall that I've seen while traveling up and down the five.

Wende -- Excellent description of Westfield's ethos. Though where do we draw the line between yuppie and, well, fashion sense? The newly opened H&M practically screams yuppie as you walk by...

Also, I forget if it was City College or State, but one of them are getting a bonafide satellite campus on the top of that new shopping development.

And in a little if-land-could-talk twist, that spot is the original location of the University of San Francsico, before the Jesuits moved out to their present campus.

The SF Centre site doesn't say anything about a Borders, but who knows? There's a Victoria's Secret in SF Centre and another up on Union Square by the existing Borders, so I'm totally confused by what the area can support.

And yup, Westfield bought the Metreon! It was apparently losing money for Sony, and nothing was doing well except the movie theater. What they need to buy is Japantown now... Westfielding Japantown might bring back better shops.

I found the Borders info (and other retailers) here: http://westfield2.fasternetwork.com/

Only good news about development in J-town is that the Kabuki Cinema will stay more "independent" after Sundance bought it and will open the first Sundance Cinemas in the US.

i was really happy when i heard about sundance buying the kapuki theater - i'm excited to see what happens there.

there was an article about the "failure" of the metreon not long ago on sfgate, i think.

westfield is like the mall-equivalent of clearchannel. they have bought up malls all over - when i go back to visit my parents in ohio, all the malls have been "relabeled" with the westfield logo...even the crappy mall i used to hang out at in high school.

on a slightly more home and garden/buildings/architecture note, the emporium building was originally designed by SF architect albert pissis - he was very prominent in SF in the late 19th/early 20th c. and also designed the hibernia bank building in the t-loin.

Howdy everyone,

Just wondering what color combos you're salivating over these days. For me, it's pistachio green with mocha brown ...

Intense peony pink (bright, yellow-based, completely un-pepto) with black-and-white. Also lime.

I love the pistachio green with mocha brown, but then add a little of the peony pink to spice it up! I love that combination.

I was watching the news earlier and in a story on the #$%)&^*& heat they mentioned the "Westfield" Paramus Mall. So I guess this company is buying up malls all over the place.

Color combos - I really like seaglass green with a blueish gray

I was watching a rerun of House tonite, and they (as they usually do) end the show with House at home sitting on his couch. I like this couch. Does anybody out there happen to know the make and model of this? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I've see a lovely aqua and brown in a bedding by Apt. 9 that I think is pretty tasty.