At the Movies: Going It Alone

Too often in our American society, we view being alone as something unfortunate or melancholic, a result of circumstance not of personal choice.   But even for the most social butterfly, a regular bit of alone time affords some great little pleasures and an opportunity for introspection.

A testament to my introversion, one of my very favorite activities is going to the movies solo.  So, about once a month, I choose a film and set out to enjoy my movie "me time."  I adore browsing fandango to see what chick flicks or art films are playing at the local theater.  I carefully check out the reviews and labor over my choice, not wanting to waste my two hours on a cinematic dud or downer. 

Words to Live by

New York State of Mind: Part 3-The Sights

Whether you live in Southern California like I do or in the Big Apple, locals often whine about the annoyance of tourists.  They wander confusedly through the subway or clog up scenic routes with their rental cars.  They look through the viewfinder of their cameras rather than looking at the pedestrians they're about to collide with.  They eat at the overpriced, under-tasty joints advertised on billboards and brochures.

New York State of Mind: Part 2-The Art

Detail of Mark Rothko at MOMA

Alabaster vase in the Egyptian wing at the Metropolitan Museum

Henri Matisse in the Met

New York State of Mind: Part 1- The Food

Well, darlings: I'm back!  I've just returned from a lovely long getaway to New York City, followed by a trip to Bermuda.  Rather than trying to condense my visit into one post, I am going to stretch out the highlights of my vacation.  

With my mascarpone-cherry rice pudding at Rice to Riches

Because my family makes plans for lunch whilst eating breakfast and plans for breakfast whilst eating dinner, I shall start with the most important aspect of any vacation: food, glorious, food.


In Manhattan, attempting to choose a restaurant is like telling Carrie Bradshaw to choose only one pair of Manolos: a virtual impossibility.  When the family and I were faced with this daunting task, we turned to New Yorker friends and guidebooks and Zagat searches.  

I was determined to chart every breakfast, lunch, cupcake snack and dinner according to our itinerary for the day.  But, as those of you who travel frequently know, wandering off course sometimes leads to the most delicious discoveries.  

An Afternoon at the Museum

It takes a truly stunning exhibition to captivate me.  Art history is my job.  And as with all jobs, we often become calloused by our day-to-day activities, no matter how much we adore them.  So on Saturday, I was unexpectedly spellbound by the Jean-Louis Gerôme exhibition at the Getty Center.

Newsworthy

One of my favorite lazy weekend pastimes is reading The Wall Street Journal. You may not immediately think of the Journal as a source for aesthetic inspiration of gustatory delights, but inside its pages are often elegantly written articles on wine and travel and art.  

Weekend Wishes

May your weekend be filled with enchantment and wonder.  Surround yourself with color and life and love.  Indulge in some sweets. Frolic. Laugh. Forget subtlety: go big.

 

Restoration, Relaxation and Reevaluation

Over the course of the next weeks, my blog posts are going to become spartan, if not nonexistent.  Partly due to travel plans to Bermuda and partly out of a need to reevaluate this little blog project, I need some time off.  At the moment, I feel I've lost my creative zest.  These days I feel more like Taupe Czechie or Gray Ruskie---my joie de vivre is not exactly emanating from my spirit lately. 

Words to Live by

It seems I swing pendulously from reading quite voraciously to reading nothing but blogs and magazines.  I am either in a complete literary dry spell or conversely I am thinking about ways to carve out extra seconds from my day to read my latest novel.  

At the moment, I am entangled in the later phase---all I want to do is sit in my favorite comfy chair and read...and read...and read. 

Maddening Nostalgia

On occasion, I question if I were born in the wrong era.  I like casseroles and gimlets and circle skirts a little too much to be a 2010 girl---the 1960s seem to be more my pace.  Sleek mid-century modern furniture or Hollywood Regency designs suit me so much more than the behemoth leather sectionals of today's homes. I'll take a tidy and elegant French twist in my hair over a boho braid or bump-it any day. I am relatively certain that I own more sweater sets than any twenty-eight year old I know.  

Restaurant Reverie

In a 2009 episode of No Reservations, Tony Bourdain considered a vanishing breed of New York restaurants: restaurants that were unchanged since the first day they opened their doors. He visited Jewish delicatessens and Italian pasta shops, but his stop at the anachronistic Le Veau d'Or is what delighted my Francophilia the most.  

The minute he set foot in the tiny Upper East Side gem, I sensed I HAVE to eat there and soon, before the place becomes culinary history.  Le Veau d'Or was established in 1937, and the cozy red banquettes, menu of frog legs and escargot, and eighty-five year old maître d' Robert continue ooze Parisian charm and timeless sophistication. 

Flowers for Friday

"The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks." Tennessee Williams

Almost every Friday, as many of my faithful readers know by now, I indulge in a bunch of whichever flowers are freshest.  For a mere eight or ten dollars, I enjoy at least a week of delightful blooms.  Today I discovered petite lavender calla lilies and freesia at Trader Joe's. As they sit in a trio of my favorite little vases, I am taking in the sweet floral aroma of this simple weekly pleasure. 

Words to Live by

Banana Bread, Take 2

As I've mentioned many times over, most of my baking inevitably involves mushy bananas---not because I especially love them, but because they are always sitting on my kitchen counter.  I feel some sort of Depression-era guilt for throwing away produce that can be re-purposed.  I simply can't bid adieu to ye ole' bananas.

Last night, with four overly ripe nanners awaiting my experimentation, I set out to make yet another boring banana bread.  On this particular evening, however, I wanted evolved banana bread, banana bread with an attitude.

Tasty Trends: Whoopie Pies

Whoopie pies are the fad-du-jour in the baking world according to Saveur magazine.  They are the nouveau cupcake, if you will. 

For those of you who haven't been inculcated into the cult of Whoopie (poor you), my prediction is that you will soon be seeing these cakey confections in bakery windows from Brooklyn to Boulder. 

Whoopie pies, according to food anthropologists, were invented by the Pennsylvania Amish and later made wildly popular throughout New England.  When the Amish ladies would bake these treats and include them in their husband's lunchboxes, the hungry hubbies would remark,"whoopie!" at the joyous sight of the black and white cakes in their lunch pails.

Dinner Time: Mediterranean Grilled Feast

To see the Summer Sky

Is Poetry, though never in a Book it lie -

True Poems flee.

~Emily Dickinson

 

It was a warm, clear, quintessentially summer evening here in SoCal.  We decided to spend as much time outside as possible today.  

At the Movies: Inception

Any attempt to summarize the plot of Chris Nolan's new film Inception ends up sounding like an unconvincing lecture on Jungian principles of psychotherapy or quantum physics. The plot dives in and out of France and Japan, past and present, the conscious mind and the dreaming mind.  Viewing this film requires complete attention: this is not the film for bathroom breaks or popcorn runs or glowing Blackberries.  

Soundtrack de ma vie

Sometimes I think about the movie of my life.  Who would play me?  What moments would feature prominently in the plot? Which tunes would play in the background as my story unfolds on screen?

On occasion, I hear a song and am immediately transported, like Marty McFly in his DeLorean, back to the past. Yesterday afternoon, casually working to the sound of Pandora radio, Dave Matthew's Band song "Crash" streamed across the internet.  In an instant, it was 1998---I was back in high school: acne, awkwardness and all.

Kitchen Reverie

In a recent e-mail blast from the ever-lovely blog ApartmentTherapy, Sara Moulton, t.v. chef and cookbook author, took us on a tour of her recently renovated and teensy Manhattan kitchen.  

As I imagined chopping carrots alongside Sara, I started to think about my own dream kitchen.  What practical and pretty dreams to I have for my one-day kitchen?

And I ran

I have never been an especially athletic person.   I tried volleyball.  Rather than passing and hitting the ball, Gabby Reece-style, I preferred the duck and cover method.  I was far too worried about the ball smacking me in the face to succeed as a blocker.  

Time and Punishment

Why are we so hard on ourselves when we do something that is perceived as wasted time?  Reading this blog, flipping through a design magazine, spending extra time perusing junky jewelry at Target or painting your toes purple---these are all activities we women often view as time wasted.  

Dinner for a Summer Night

In the middle of a hot summer evening, the last thing I want to do is fire up my oven or hover over my stove.  Often when the temperatures soar, I opt for a dinner of chilled salads and other nibbly bites.

Pink and Green All Over

I am feeling super preppy McPrepster these days.

I'm talking collar-popping, Lilly Pulitzer-lovin, Polo-wearing preppy.  

Words to Live by

I have enjoyed two fun weeks with my four nieces and nephew who came out from Texas for a little SoCal vacation.  As you may have noticed by my absence in blogland, instead of blogging, I've been roasting marshmallows by the beach and splashing in the pool and reading lots and lots of kiddo books.  

Suffice it to say, I have Seuss on the brain.