Coastal reset
Half Moon Bay, Piedmont listings, MISHKA Dog Boutique, ATYS Design, Alila Napa Valley, MORE
WORK • Friday Routine
Let them eat cake
OLIA ROSENBLATT • founder + head chef • MISHKA Dog Boutique
Neighborhood you live in: Marin County
It’s Wednesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
At our San Rafael production kitchen, our team is prepping luxury dog cakes, candies, and treats, while our retail boutiques in Cow Hollow and the Ferry Building are getting their daily deliveries. Between answering texts from loyal clients and double-checking each cake detail (no turning them upside down, please!), I’m also juggling baby snuggles with my nine-month-old.
What’s on the agenda for today?
We’re swimming in Labubu cakes. They’ve become wildly popular, and we can barely keep up! We’re also launching a collaboration with GPS pet collar company Fi. Right now, customers who spend $100 at MISHKA get a free Fi collar.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
Dinner at Zuni Café is always a treat. But for everyday cravings, I’m loyal to Picante in San Rafael. It’s the best Mexican food I’ve ever had.
How about a little leisure or culture?
A walk in Sausalito or Golden Gate Park with my baby and our two Brussels Griffons is my version of balance.
Any weekend getaways?
Half Moon Bay is our reset spot. It’s close enough for a spontaneous escape but always feels like a true break. A walk along the coast, lunch at Pasta Moon, and life feels a little softer.
What was your last great vacation?
We went to Hawaii with family and friends and stayed on the Big Island at the stunning Kona Village Resort. I usually prefer active getaways, but this one was all about slowing down. For the first time in a long time, I let myself fully relax: sunshine, slow mornings, and my daughter’s first swim in the ocean.
What store or service do you always recommend?
ATYS Design. They’ve got such a clean, creative eye for home and gifting.
Where are you donating your time or money locally?
Giving back to the dog community is a big part of our mission, and we regularly support local shelters by offering cakes and treats for rescue events. Two shelters are especially close to my heart. Muttville in San Francisco, which supports senior dogs, is doing such important work. Their mission is deeply moving, and the team behind it is full of heart. I also love Jelly’s Place in the East Bay — they’re grassroots, dedicated, and endlessly compassionate. I have so much admiration for people who work in animal rescue.
WORK LINKS: How founding engineers became Silicon Valley’s biggest catch • SF’s RTO rate rivals LA’s • Remote work could save CA $225M/yr. • Gen X’s career complaints • What to do when your work coffee shop bans work • Taking the human out of human resources.
REAL ESTATE • First Mover
Foothill
Nestled in the middle of Oakland, the Piedmont neighborhood became its own city in 1907, and by the 1920s, it was known as “the city of millionaires” due to its concentration of wealthy residents. Many mansions from that time still stand, and current-day zoning is largely restricted to single-family homes. In the last year, the median sales price for those abodes was $2.512M, Compass reports. Here, three listings for those seeking the small town life within the big city:
→ 1071 Harvard Rd (Piedmont) • 4BR/2.1BA, 2077 SF house • Ask: $1.995M • expanded 1920 bungalow with large deck • Days on market: 2 • Agent: Jane Strauch, GRUBB.
→ 236 Bonita Ave (Piedmont, above) • 4BR/2.1BA, 2491 SF house • Ask: $2.488M • 1914 build w/ original details, upgraded kitchen and bathrooms • Days on market: 2 • Agent: Jane Strauch, GRUBB.
→ 25 Crocker Ave (Piedmont) • 8BR/7.2BA, 10,265 SF house • Ask: $7.75M • 1906 build w/ 20-ft ceilings and elevator • Days on market: 40 • Agent: Ann Cane, Sotheby’s.
REAL ESTATE LINKS: New 20-story apartment tower planned for 360 5th St • Mint Plaza sleeping pod operation doneski • SF office vacancies dropping fast • Developer buys former USGS Menlo Park campus for $137M.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Hot In Here
Nelly • w/ Ja Rule, Eve, guests • Concord Pavilion (Concord) • Fri @ 730p • 104, row L $158 per
Bay FC vs. Spirit • Oracle Park (Embarcadero) • Sat @ 1p • 109, row C, $69 per
Hannibal Thompson • Cobb’s Comedy Club (FiDi) • Sun @ 7p • preferred, $35 per
CULTURE & LEISURE LINKS: Castro Halloween to return • Superyachts are back in the Bay • Outside food at the movies, y/n?
GETAWAYS • St. Helena
Farm fresh
Down the road from Beringer Vineyard Estate and just beyond downtown St. Helena, Alila Napa Valley is only a 10- to 15-minute walk to tasting rooms and restaurants. You might opt to cover the ground on the resort’s bikes or by shuttle, but the landscape also includes that wine country rarity — a sidewalk! — which makes for a pleasant stroll.
A walk in the country is also aligned with the property’s 2021 rebranding under the Hyatt-owned wellness and sustainability label (it used to be Las Alcobas, a Marriott Luxury Collection resort). So are the accommodations’ most notable features, the serene bathrooms with soaking tubs, rainfall showers, delightful tilework, marble vanities and dramatic mood lighting. Most of the rooms, which are otherwise perfectly pleasant, include patios and balconies with views of the vineyards leading to the Mayacamas Mountains. A chic pool is generous enough for morning laps.
Inside the main 1907 Georgian-style house, the excellent dining options include Cal-Italian Violetto and Salvia, an adjacent bar. The latter is best known for its atypical margarita with lemon and salt foam (a holdover from Acacia House, the previous occupant of the space). –Trevor Felch
→ Alila Napa Valley (St. Helena) • 1915 Main St • Rooms from $895/night/Oct weekend.
GETAWAYS LINKS: The scene at Thomas Keller’s pop-up Burgers & Half Bottles in Yountville • Napa County hotel rooms are most expensive in Bay Area — by a lot • Explaining Vice Versa’s $250 Napa wine tasting • Alaska Airlines adding Starlink service next year • A wild corner of Ireland, through the eyes of Dylan Thomas • Nobu arrives in Egypt.