Things are looking up.

As I am so vertically challenged, I am more likely to be looking up your nose than staring at the top of your head. Hence, I have been in the habit of looking skyward more often than not. This has given me a unique perspective on life, both proverbially and literally. Along the more literal lines, I have often found the most unique architectural nuances in ceilings. "CEILINGS?" you say? "She's blogging about ceilings?" Yep. Come walk a mile in my shoes, as I show you my fascination with all the stuff you'd miss if you kept your eyes on the ground.

The first is a picture of the atrium in the Palace Hotel in downtown San Francisco. They serve high tea in the afternoon under this ornate skylight. Little girls wear tiaras and little boys wear crowns as they practice their best table manners and munch on cucumber sandwiches without the crusts. *They also serve truffle fries in the restaurant on the same floor: a surprisingly decadent treat that takes potatoes to a whole new level.


This is the inside of the V.C. Morris store, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. You can find it tucked away on Maiden Lane, just across from Union Square. Opera can often be heard echoing against the buildings lining Maiden Lane, as the acoustics are so superb that many world renowned singers will burst out in song in the small alley just for fun. Another Frank Lloyd Wright creation: This is the view I have partaken of every finals week for the past three years. The civic center library is my favorite study site, and this is what you see as you head there from the main elevator. What is this fascination with Frank Lloyd Wright? He was the architect that designed my Grandma's house in San Anselmo. There is actually a display on the second floor of the civic center with the story of how "The Berger House" came to be.

This was the chandelier inside the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles, where many of the dental wives spent a Wicked weekend. Everything about this theater screamed old Hollywood, with its ornate art deco style.
More art deco in the form of mirrored tiles on the ceiling of the Empire State Building. Though I was already 86 floors above street level, it didn't hurt to keep looking heavenward.Okay, so this is not really a ceiling, but a view that I would have missed, had I been overly concerned with the shuffle of my shoes. Everything in New York City pointed skyward. I'm sure anybody looking at me as I walked the streets of Manhattan would be able to pick me out as a tourist by the constant craning of my neck to see all of the skyscrapers.
Also not a ceiling, but this was my favorite shot of the Golden Gate while Hayden and I took a stroll a couple of weeks ago. Look at the color of the sky juxtaposed against the bridge. So cool! So these are the things I see when I'm not looking up somebody's nose. I hope you enjoyed the view down here.