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Post at SmartyGirlLeadership for Home Improvement Tips: Creating a Home as a Leader

July 29, 2012 by smartygirl Leave a Comment

Photo Credit: Renee Marchol Dining Table Before Home Improvement Design
Photo Credit: Renee Marchol Dining Table After Home Improvement Design

Check out today’s blog post 7 Home Improvement Design Tips from a SmartyGirl from the Sacramento area!

Fashionable Survival: 5 Tips for Working in San Francisco Cold Weather

July 28, 2012 by smartygirl Leave a Comment

You are right to laugh at me. If you are SmartyGirlHome Readers from regions with below zero cold weather, this may seem like a silly tutorial.

Photo Credit: Renee Marchol San Francisco Art at 555 Mission Street. 

I admit it. I’ve been spoiled by Los Angeles. I shiver when the San Francisco work week is in the 60s. Disclosure: Please consult a health professional for medical advice. I am not a physician and I am only sharing my experience.

Here are 5 Tips that I’d like to share for “cold weather” for any Socal transplant like me in Norcal:

Photo Credit: Renee Marchol Striped Canvas Flats Shoes for Work
Photo Credit: Buckle.com Daytrip Cardigan Sweater

1. Pay attention to shoes for work. Cold can do a nasty number on your feet. The dress code in my current SF office is: skinny designer jeans with blazer. SF business casual funky. The Daytrip Sweater, on the right, captures the office dress code well.

Keep your feet in good condition for cold weather running after your 9 to 5 by treating them right. This week I recalled my interview with a physical therapist about shoes. She didn’t recommend wearing unfashionable orthopedic shoes. No way! At the time of the interview I was an English Horseback Rider (i.e. keep your heels down) and a ballroom dancer (i.e. keep your frame up). The challenge? Competitive ballroom shoes shortened your muscles in one way. The posture for riding and the type of shoes stiffened leg muscles in another.

Photo Credit: Renee Marchol Anne Klein Brown iFlex Heels Shoes for Work

So the physical therapist said to vary the type and heel of your shoes daily so that muscles did not atrophy or shorten. In other words, flats have one disadvantage. Riding boots have another. Heels also do something weird to the muscles. According to the physical therapist, even overuse of running shoes or cross trainers change your gait.

Photo Credit: Renee Marchol Beige Steve Madden Flats Shoes for Work

For instance, what kept me in shape for cold weather running at the Lafayette Reservoir, mall walking at the SunValley Striders and morning swimming at Clarke Memorial Pool was to rotate my three pairs of work shoes plus give myself a break by walking barefoot once I arrived home.

2. Eat higher protein foods. If you are vegan, amp up your tofu consumption. Yes, even for breakfast. Honey, low sodium soy sauce and toasted sesame seeds over skillet tofu is a quick and easy power breakfast.

Photo Credit: Renee Marchol Three Hand Burger from San Francisco’s Le Truc

I brought my lunch of nut butter, fruit and plain tortilla most days. I drank soy milk with a tablespoon office coffee as a treat. However, I succumbed to the delicious protein solution of Three Hand burgers twice this week at Le Truc.

In 60 degree weather, I need a hot lunch rather than the hummus and salad that would get me through the work day in Hollywood.

Another bonus? Le Truc sides are lo-calorie! Pickled carrot sticks as opposed to fries.

Also the texture of the patties are dreamy because the patties seem like fresh, organically-raised, ground sirloin. Nice uneven pieces of ground beef as recommended on Food Network.

It seemed possible to fuel up on   a single bowl of plain oatmeal when I worked in Santa Monica or Beverly Hills. But such a low protein meal fades when working in San Francisco. By 10 A.M. I felt hungry again.

3. Buy 2 more layering pieces. If you had two BKE brand, long sleeve burn-out shirts from Buckle buy two more. Why? Because the chilly breeze will try to get under your blazer. Also you’ll need to peel your jacket and sweater because the BART can alternate between stifling hot and cold. You will sweat soak your layers and that’s not good for cold weather.

Contact me if you know of moisture- wicking fashionable office wear. I haven’t found such a thing yet. I’m preventing colds by layering as mentioned and adding a thin sweater underneath my outer wear (i.e. leather or other natural material blazer). I notice the upper management women in San Francisco wear cashmere sweaters and other easy layering pieces that are lightweight and look like slim, fashionable office wear. Silk and cashmere blends provide more warmth than wool or cotton. Don’t be crazy though. Be smart and buy these higher quality items when on sale.

I confess, I’m still resisting the San Francisco signature scarf. Socal culture is different from Norcal culture and I’m not ready to wear scarves other than the Santa Monica way. Visit again for a future blog post on “accessory wars” by region!

Photo Credit: Imdb.com 2009 Zombieland

4. Add more cardio. Remember Rule#1: “Cardio” from the movie Zombieland? This how it relates to my job in San Francisco:

With cold weather, your legs can become stiff. Stiffness can lead to clumsiness. Clumsiness is not good if you are in a pedestrian commute on the BART. Stretch and get your heart rate up by climbing the stairs rather than riding the escalator.

Be kind to your knees, though! Read injury prevention tips on Runner’s World.

Photo Credit: Renee Marchol Mud and Adventure Dirty Girl 

For instance I take stairs 50% of the time so I usually choose taking the stairs on the commute to work rather than from because the sense of urgency motivates me to exercise my heart. Also training for the Dirty Girl Mud Run on October 27th in San Jose motivates me too!

The song by Missing Persons, Walking in L.A., is untrue. My cool girlfriends relied on the bus and walked while they were in Los Angeles. Also I walked most everywhere when I lived in Westwood. I walked for groceries. I walked to the museum. I walked to the bar. I walked to the mall. However, the distance that SmartyGirls in SF have to walk is much longer. At least half a mile more. So more cardio as a cold weather safety tip.

Photo Credit: Renee Marchol Lafayette Kitchen Nook

5. Add 2 more servings of vegetables. For some reason, serving myself an extra portion of fresh corn on the cob (no butter) for dinner, eating swiss chard and potatoes as part of breakfast during the work week, and reaching for carrots and avocados has been a great productivity booster for me in San Francisco. I feel warmer and more energized.

Maybe this combats the “winter light” feel of San Francisco’s July. The tall building cast shadows so that it seems like winter daylight savings time. Dark. Cold. Adding veggies seem to give me the feeling of Socal sunshine.

Speaking of veggies and growing one’s own food:

Photo Credit: Renee Marchol Apartment Garden

I’ve been reading about the urban farming and gardening in nearby Oakland. While on the BART, I’ve been able to see the backyard urban chicken farms in West Oakland so I plan to interview such a neighbor in an upcoming SmartyGirlHome and Garden report.

It might be my imagination but Kaiser Permanente’s Thrive Campaign encourages healthy pretending like this for measurable improvements in fitness.

Comment below for tips you’d like to share with other SmartyGirls about fashionable fitness or keeping warm and well shod.

3 Tips for Cleaning House: Swimming Fitness and Nutrition

July 26, 2012 by smartygirl Leave a Comment

Photo Credit: Renee Marchol Cleaning House

What do fitness and nutrition have to do with cleaning house?

I’ve noticed two things, during my first week of contract work in San Francisco: my knees hurt from wearing dress shoes and soy lattes don’t give me the energy I need to clean house after a 9-hour work day. Does this happen to you?

What are some solutions for improving fitness and nutrition during the work week so you can “rule and subdue” your home? Is your compost bin smirking at you? Is your kitchen recyling spilling one or two plastic containers onto your floor? If your kitchen sink is full of dirty dishes like mine, by Thursday morning, it may be time for a change.

Here’s my experiment:

1. Eat fresh fruit two days a week at home. This in addition to making use of the fresh summer peaches and white nectarines that come to my boss’s office twice per week. How did I do it? On the way back from my morning lap swim at Heather Farms Clarke Memorial Swim Center, I stopped by Safeway for three fresh fruit bargins: avocados, red grapes, and peaches. Right now it’s budget friendly for me at a $1/avocado and 99 cents per pound for the grapes and peaches.

2. Drinking 16 oz. of water per sitting is also a habit I’ve noticed helps my energy level better than Diet Mountain Dew, Diet Ginger Ale and Welch’s Grape Juice. Do you drink similar sodas and still feel thirsty? Tell me if you do and what you’ve done to change your nutrition. I gave those office drinks three days to see how I felt. I decided to give up the Dew and Grape Juice. The Diet Ginger Ale I’ll wean myself off of gradually because it’s my fave.

Photo Credit: Renee Marchol in Work Clothes and Dress Shoes

3. Soothe my feet. Why? If you wear dress shoes, low heels and dress flats Monday through Friday you may suffer from Charlie horse leg spasms at night. I noticed this happened when I missed swimming laps or doing Theraband exercises weekly. What works for you? Please comment. My plan is to massage my feet after a shower and before bed. I’ll give myself a home pedicure on weekends. And most importantly, treat myself to a morning swim at least one morning per work week before hopping onto the BART train.

Sitting, standing and powerwalking in non-cross training shoes makes my leg muscles feel strange. Since I’m training for a trail 5K, a mud run and an aquathlon it’s critical that I study my habits to avoid injury.

So I’ll report back in three weeks on how these 3 Lifestyle changes will increase my nutrition and fitness level so that my new Lafayette apartment will be as clean as it was when I lived in Los Angeles.

An Education in Beige Through Pinterest: An Interview with Interior Stylist Emma Blomfield of Nest Designs in Australia

July 24, 2012 by smartygirl Leave a Comment

Photo Credit: Less is More by Nest Designs Emma Blomfield

Besides finding tutorials for the cutest summer French braid hairdos, I often find inspiration for home decor. 


If you are super lucky, you stumble upon a professional interior stylist who is willing to share her best tips and tricks. I was drawn to a pin board with the loveliest home decorating pics of neutrals.


Here is Emma Blomfield who replied to my Q&A about her Pinterest Board and personal style.

Emma found an inspiring images for her Classic Beige board:
  •  French Dining Room through Tracery Interiors. 
  • Classic Beige Lounge Room from DecorPad. 
–SmartyGirlHome, Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol

Disclosure: I have not been paid to endorse any interior designer, brand, company, product or blogger. 

How did you select pins for your Pinterest board “Classic Beige”?


I’ve always had a thing for raw materials like stone and aged timber, and natural textures so I created a board on Pinterest where I could pin images that fit that category.

Readers can envision how neutrals can be tranquil and desirable for the bedroom or bath, but what would you suggest for a beige living room? 









How do you keep neutrals from being boring when you are setting up an area to entertain?


Photo Credit: Interior Stylist Emma Blomfield of Nest Designs

Yes! I love beige lounge rooms. I think it’s really important to layer different textures of the same tone together, that way you don’t get a boring beige room, you add interest and character to a room with different textures. 


When you’re setting up a room for entertaining that could be a knitted throw, a sisal or jute rug, woollen cushion and grasscloth wallpaper, they can all be the same tone but when they are different materials it becomes interesting.






It gives the room depth because there’s so much for the eye to look at and yet it’s soothing and calming.


How do you differ in styling philosophy from competitors who also use beige (i.e. The Elegant Abode of New York City featured in this month’s House Beautiful)?

I don’t know if I do! We all copy and adapt different bits and pieces and make them our own when decorating and styling so I’m sure there’s many things I’ve done that I’ve seen someone else do really well before and I’d adapted it to suit the space I’m styling. 


One thing I tend to do is recommend to clients that they buy the big ticket items (like sofas, armchairs etc) in neutral fabrics so they can layer colour on top of these and they won’t get sick of them as the trends come and go.























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