I’m currently sipping a lip-smacking Pinot Gris from:
Their Pinot Gris is a great summertime wine, honestly it’s good year round as it has a tangy effervescence that gives it a little kick and a soft floral quality that rounds it out quite nicely. It’s acidity and .4% residual sugar make it an awesome food wine. This Northwest wine craves spice and would be great with some Vietnamese food doctored with a generous amount of Sriracha sauce. Salt and crunch do right by this wine too, I had it with fried oysters- heaven. At around $12, it’s double heaven. Thank you Washington State.
This is amazing. If I could time travel, my first stop might have to be straight to a Soul Train episode. These guys are killing it. I love the women’s suits, the men’s bow ties are out of control and I can’t even count how many dudes are rocking the under-the-knee clap. My favorite is this guy- talk about smooth:
Watch this Soul Train/Daft Punk Get Lucky video here, it will seriously make your day.
Hanks takes on Disney in the untold tale of the story behind Mary Poppins. It seems that Ms. Mary came to the Banks household not for the children but for Mr. Banks. Now it gets interesting. This is the story of the story behind Mary Poppins as well as the story behind Walt Disney convincing P.L. Travers to sell him the rights to her beloved tale.
I know the Disney blogosphere is blowing up right now over this- everyone’s got a point of view about what really happened. Who knows if this is really the accurate story, but it sure looks interesting and the cast is great- anytime Paul Giamatti shows up, I’m in. We’ll have to wait for Christmas to see it but you can watch the trailer here:
How fabulous are these bathers from LIFE magazine circa 1948. Tres gorge. I hope you’re off to a fun filled weekend. We’ll take in some fireworks here in Old Town Alexandria. Not about to be outdone by the nearby nation’s capital, this town celebrates its very own birthday on July 13th. This year Alexandria turns 264. Wow, that’s pretty old for America. What are you all up to?
Here are a few of my favorite things from this week and a little link love:
1. I love these illustrated posters for the kiddos- animals of the world by artist, Andy Ward.
2. Unplugging at Camp for Grown Ups. I always wanted to go to camp as a kid and now these grown-up camps are everywhere- although I don’t know if I can really classify the people in their Moonrise Kingdom‘d-out photo above, grown-ups. In any case, it’s never too late even if you do look a little ridiculous.
3. Looking to remodel, upgrade or update? Here’s a handy tool to price out costs in your area. Fun to look at- more fun if you live in Des Moines than if you live in Palo Alto.
4. The Newsroom is back baby. Yahoo. I love these characters, that Sorkin speak and the little lift you get from watching his shows- cue the anthemic West Wing-like theme- bring on season 2. P.S.: Jeff Daniels is totally a bad ass in this show. When have you ever seen Daniels as a bad ass. It’s kind of hot and a long way from Dumb and Dumber.
8. I love this floor tile- a collaboration between Carocin and Petit Pan. Blue and pink heaven.
9. Imogen and Asher edge out Charlotte and Finn as this year’s most popular baby names (as in: most viewed on nameberry). Really? Imogen? The only Imogen I know is the divine Ms. Coca and she’s an Imogene. Ok, there’s also Imogen Heap- she’s got to be the draw. I can’t imagine many young parents naming their little ones after Aunt Edna- although she was pretty fantastic.
P.S.: Blurred Lines as The Cosby Show opener- it kind of works. And speaking of the Cos, he’s launched a Cosby Sweater Tournament- how could we possibly pick the best Cosby sweater.
P.P.S.: This is funny- 24 hunky actors that will make you wish time travel was for real.
P.P.P.S.: I know this has gone viral and everyone’s probably already seen it, but it’s interesting. Tootsie- one of the greatest movies ever made- and Dustin Hoffman’s reaction to playing a woman has got to be one of the reasons it is so good.
And- heads up New Yorkers, Manhattanhenge touches down on the grid tonight and tomorrow.
Ok, one more: this is pretty crazy town. An impala dives into a tourist’s SUV as he flees a chasing cheetah. Whoa. When’s the last time you’ve seen this happen? Never.
C and I recently popped open a bottle of bubbly that we had been saving for a special occasion. It wasn’t exactly a momentous day but we did made a big decision- to sell our beloved NYC apartment. Who knows where we’ll end up but with our growing family, we know we’ve (cue The Animals song) gotta get out of this place as evidenced by my 13 month old twins pacing back and forth and back and forth in our 800 square feet. We need a backyard… or a long hallway- something. But I digress, we popped this bottle to celebrate our ability to make this tough decision. We will miss our little piece of Manhattan but the story goes on.
In the meantime, we savored this sparkly goodness. I highly recommend this grower champagne to any and everyone that enjoys a complex glass of bubbly. Rodez apprenticed at Krug and it shows. His juice is truly the nectar of the Gods. It’s pricey for a Tuesday night, hence its (until recently) “cellared” status in our wine box that doubles as a side table- seriously, it’s a littles seagrass covered box and an end table (thank you Target) – but why not do it up on a Tuesday eve?
Pick up a bottle here- a wonderful gift for anyone that appreciates a very well made champagne.
Cin Cin!
P.S.: That book that is doubling as a coaster on my windowsill is Amazing. Our friends gave it to the bebes as their little one loved it- thank you Maeve- and it’s one of our (and their) favorite books. The illustrations are fabulous and I find something new every time I read it. ABC by Alison Jay.
I just love a good European movie poster or book cover. They really make me happy. I get why Hollywood can’t go all artsy on us, they need to show sweaty action shots of our superstars to bring in the Benjamins, but aren’t these just so much cooler.
I just spied this Spanish book cover of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, apparently picked up in a Barcelona flea market- I wish I had picked it up. And I’ve always LOVED this Polish poster of Shane by Wojciek Wenzel (1959), I would love to have him in my house.
And how pretty is this- so dreamy in a little girl’s bedroom, it’s a little Chagall-like don’t you think?
Sleeping Beauty circa 1962 by artist Hanna Bodnar
That’s all. Any artsy posters that you love? Do tell.
Here’s a gal who is not afraid of color. I love that she makes such a bold statement with her palette- and in a rental, no less. You may have seen the Lonny spread back in April of interior designer Angie Hranowsky’s 1850s Charleston home. I drool over her personal design site and have not been able to get the images of her own home out of my brain, so I thought I would share.
Wow! That palette is so bold and pretty. A few details from her living room:
Those painterly Roman shades are killing it. They are pinned and ready to go for my next windows.
How cute is this eat-in kitchen? The purple in this room should really be a bit much, but somehow it’s not. I love it and I love how she uses her children’s art. This area is like a little nook of magic.
This bedroom is dreamy- feminine but her use of mixed metals in the room gives it an edge, and I love that bed!
How darling is this kids’ room- brass, wood, fur, bold color and there are those shades again.
Here are a few great tips from this talented designer on how to spruce up your rental space.
I make stuff all the time, but usually it doesn’t quite work out the way I thought it would. Let’s face it, I’m not the world’s greatest cook and I’ve been known to get a tad frazzled in the kitchen. I am inspired though and when armed with a great recipe and ingredients, I can kick ass.
This one is worth the public recommendation- C and I were both big fans of the results. If you like scallops and are a fan of fennel, you will dig this. Easy, if not a bit time consuming just due to the tedious chopping and dicing, but honestly not too bad. My prep took me about 25 minutes and the cooking about the same. If you find yourself with enough energy to muster up something special at the end of the day (which happens about once a month for me), this one is worth that precious hour.
Here’s the recipe from Sunset Magazine.
I dropped one clove of garlic (I can’t handle the taste of garlic in my mouth for days after a dish, so I only used one), and left out the onion (only because I didn’t have one) and cumin (not the biggest fan)- it was perfect to my taste.
My ingredients:
I picked a Jura Chard to pair with this dish- a ’10 Tissot “En Barberon” Jura- absolutely perfect. Weighty enough to match the sear of the scallop and meatiness of the tomatoes and mineral and acidic enough to match the fennel. Heaven. I love a Jura Chard, it’s hard to go wrong with a good one. Get it here.
If this isn’t one of the greatest photos ever, I don’t know what is. It just doesn’t get better than these guys. Clooney and Pitt may be a close modern second to Redford and Newman but there’s just something about these two guys. I was so fortunate to meet Paul during the last year in his life, even in his old age he was as twinkly eyed as ever. He told me the story of how he met Joanne and how she taught him to dance backstage in the Broadway theater where they were doing Picnic. I wonder if he knew he made my year?
It’s been a big week over here. The bebes turned 13 months and my little man is waving and say night-night and bye-bye. He also loves to say Tiger. I love that so much. My little lassie is walking all over the joint- it’s amazing how so much can change in one week. I hope you’re off to an inspired weekend. No big plans for the 4th weekend over here, we’ll see what unfolds. It’s real hot, that’s for sure. I’m loving all this rain though- makes me nostalgic for my childhood summers in Florida.
A little link love and some things that inspire:
Parisians are given an etiquette manual to encourage friendliness. Interesting.
Fäviken: I gotta get here- somehow… someday. Apparently one of the best meals on the planet in the remote woods of Sweden. And- the chef’s name is Magnus, I mean come on.
My newest obsession, I would wear these things out.
I just saw this documentary- so inspiring. It really made me see our public defenders in a completely new light. I have so much admiration for the people that do this important work.
Also: It was so fun to read about my fab in-laws’ long lasting Showmance in this NY Times article.
How cute is this printable Bingo card? We don’t have any big plans for the 4th, it looks like we may get rained out over here. If it’s clear out we’ll head out to some local festivities and maybe some pool time but a little Bingo & BBQ sounds like some plain old American fun- print your Bingo card out here. I might have to tune in to see what Usher has cooked up in his debut curatorial effort with the Macy’s Fireworks Show too.
Former showgirl, forever travel junkie, sometime sommelier, and mom to twin bebes. This little blog is a mixed bag of tasting notes, travels, tales of motherhood, and current musings. Thank you for stopping by. Cin Cin! (photo by Amy Dickerson for Anthology Magazine)
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