Keren Danon: Fashion Blogger and Expat

Spotted: in Hayes Valley, San Francisco

What where you doing in that awesome store?

I was looking for a gift for my soon-to-be sister in law. We're flying back to Israel (if the missiles that just started again would allow us) for my husband's brothers wedding and I wanted to buy something more personal for the bride, aside from the traditional gift in Israel - a check!

What do you do?

I'm a Firmware Engineer currently looking for a local job - just got my EAD!. And on my spare time, a fashion blogger at fashionloca-l.blogspot.com.

Tell me more!

I opened my blog 5 years ago and I've changed its focus a few times since I started writing it. Originally I opened it in order to focus on showcasing outfits for the typical, not a size zero girl who doesn't want to spend her entire income on clothes and shoes, but still wants to look great. In time, it became a mini life journal with everyday life experiences, restaurants recommendations, tour guides for different places I've visited, and a little bit of what I originally started with - fashion.

What brings you to San Francisco?

I relocated here 4 months ago from Tel Aviv, Israel. We had the chance to move here via my husband's workplace and we've decided to go for it. We've always wanted to experiment with living in a different country and this was a good chance.

How do you like it?

So far it's amazing! San Francisco doesn't make you feel alienated, mainly because almost everybody are not originally from the city (that's my guess). The everyday life is significantly calmer than in Israel. We both used to work 11 hours a day, constantly responding to emails and phone calls, and here everything stops at 5 pm. It seems like every weekend there's a different festival to attend and for some reason the weekend feels longer around here, maybe because you can run your errands during the entire weekend - in Israel everything closes at around 2 pm on Friday, including public transportation, and opens back at 8 pm

on Saturday, duo to religious rules.

What's hard to get used to?

We're still getting used to the size of the portions around here and to the fact that everything here is either too sweet/too salty/too greasy for us and really hope we would gain too much weight. But the fresh berries are amazing! Sounds silly, but we don't have them in Israel...

How do you feel about what's going on there currently? 

It's been hard having to go through the last war in Israel, being 8000 miles away.

You're glad you don't have to run for shelter from missiles shooting at you, but you're worried about your friends and family. I really do hope this would end soon, for the sake of both sides. I hope we'll be lucky enough to have strong and brave leaders to politically solve this, because we've been killing each other for a while now, and that got us nowhere.

On a happier note – you're so stylish! What are you wearing?

I'm wearing an H&M t-shirt and skirt, shoes from Target, Marc by Marc Jacobs bag and a Zara jean jacket I've had since high school. Putting the bag aside the entire outfit is worth about 50$, including the shoes and jacket.

Where's the better shopping – Tel Aviv or San Francisco?

It's a tie for me. I really enjoy the variety here, and the fact that you can find great bargains at chain stores like Nordstrom Rack, Marshall's and even Ross. I'm starting to get to know the local San Franciscan designers and Hayes Valley is a great place to find that special item -Fillmore street, too. But I'm still loyal to a few Israeli designers I can't wait to shop at when I get home, such as Medusa for accessories and Leibling for my next pair of beautiful shoes.

 

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