I have just spent the evening reading a copy of the “dummy book” (proof pages) of the first issue of NYC&G’s new sister publication, SFC&G (San Francisco Cottages & Gardens), debuting this month. The dummy, a compilation of oversize pages printed from our giant color copier and held together with a jumbo clip, is the last opportunity for us to pore over an issue before it is printed. After months of reviewing fabulous design projects and features as they came in one by one, we now have a chance to see them in all their C&G glory—both familiar and not so familiar, in this case, since they represent a new place on the other side of the country. The pages of this first issue have transported us to that new place.

A Russian Hill apartment designed by David Oldroyd of Orlando Diaz-Azcuy Design Associates boasts 270-degree views of four bridges, ten church spires, mountains, the ocean, and most of San Francisco’s architectural landmarks, while an Aidlin Darling–designed private yoga retreat in Sonoma emits a collective “om.” In Carmel, an 11-acre site transformed by landscape designer Bernard Trainor takes the eye on a sumptuous pastoral journey. And only in hilly San Francisco would our iconic “Deeds & Don’ts” column report on a home’s “walkability” score and how real estate agents use RunKeeper, an app that calculates changes in street grades. Most optimal, says Ira Serkes of Pacific Union/Christie’s, is “a walk score of 80 or more and an elevation gain of no more than a couple hundred feet.”

I kid you not. Read the issue, and you will swear you are there!