We hopped up to NYC for the day sans bebes to see my in-laws in Broadway’s Pippin, as previously posted. Fun side note: my brother in law, Terry was just nominated for a Tony for his performance- yay! While C was working, I hopped around town before the show.
The highlight of the day: my delicious lunch for 1 at Cafe Cluny. I just love the old New York vintage living room feel of the place and the waiters’ Frenchie striped tees. And how cute is that wallpaper? They just used pages from a book of botanical prints, glued them to the wall with wallpaper adhesive and applied a clear varnish on top. Brilliant. I had a lip smackingly good Anjou Blanc with my salmon galettes. It was just a tiny bit sweet and would go beautifully with seared scallops. I’m pretty much always happy with a good chenin blanc from the Loire. This one was very good. Cin Cin!
I thought this was kind of fun. A rendering of some chic shelf styling by artist, Bella Foster. I saw her illustration and then found this shelf styled by Emily Henderson. They resemble each other and I love the idea of Foster’s illustration- a still life for the styling set. You can buy the print here. Here are 22 shelf styling ideas from Real Simple.
I took this photo at an amazing vintage and antique shop in Isle-Sur-La-Sorgue last summer in Provence. These amazing objects were just sitting on the shelf perfectly styled like so. Thrown together, they’re perfect. You couldn’t style anything to look this cool, I love the horse head in the vase. If you are headed to Provence, you absolutely cannot miss the Sunday market in Isle-Sur-La-Sorgue, 3rd only to Portobello Road and Paris’ Les Puces de Saint-Ouen Market, this is not your everyday flea market. It is a tastemaker’s paradise. Design folks come from all over the world to peruse, find inspiration and buy at this market. The shops that line the South end of town near the train station are kind of mind blowing. Oversized vintage metal desks and clocks, petite club chairs with just the right worn in patina- it’s the kind of stuff that you see Restoration Hardware and ABC Home try to knock off, sometimes successfully, but there’s no substitute for the real artifacts. I pretty much drooled my way through town.
If you spend the day in Isle-Sur-La-Sorgue, make sure you make a reservation for a long, blissful lunch at Daniel Hebet’s Le Jardin du Quai. Maybe one of the best lunches I’ve ever had- honestly. Dine outside on stone tables while partaking in some seriously divine French food and wash it all down with a local rosé. I love their wine glasses so much, I tried to buy them but alas, no sale. I settled for these instead- pretty cute.
Jane Birkin in the kitchen with her kids. I love this.
Happy Weekend to you all! We’ll be Amtraking it back from NYC to hang with the grandparents CiCi (aka my mom), Papa Jacques (aka my father-in-law) and the bebes. We’ve got lots of fun plans- brunch at DC’s Tabard Inn, (this place eludes me, got a rezzie a month in advance) another wine class at Grape + Bean (love these guys: this time Brunellos and Super Tuscans including Casanova di Neri- y.u.m.) and a day trip to Annapolis to visit my niece who is studying at St. John’s and partake in some Maryland crabs at Cantler’s Riverside Inn. It is action packed- just the way I like it.
A Little Link Love:
This Brooklyn hotel looks amazing, love the signage.
Talk about a conversation piece. This DIY runner makes for some good table talk.
Sign me up for this wine tasting weekend in Bordeaux!
Suffering from insomnia or just can’t get back to sleep after your little one wakes you? Apartment Therapy names this the most relaxing song ever.
This photo of this darling bambina inspires me to become a better photographer.
This new Sundance Channel show created by Ray McKinnon of Deadwood and from the producers of Breaking Bad sounds interesting.
The stock market gets spooked by social media, this is a little scary.
A mango and strawberry paleta in Tulum- yum. If you’re not headed to Mexico anytime soon, make your own. The Pineapple-Chile paleta sounds fab.
Make your own sparkling herbal water or infuse your still water with Jaime Oliver’s quick and easy recipes.
I’m so DIY’ing this updated take on Julia Child’s pots and pans pegboard in my next kitchen. Love the grey paint with the bright white shadows.
And ok, I just had to include this. This is the most insanely ridiculous thing I have ever read and now heard. Read by Michael Shannon, this is the letter that the University of Maryland sorority present actually emailed to her sisters. What. Is. Happening. This chick needs a hobby. WARNING: big time profanity.
Cin Cin and Happy Weekend! What are you all up to?
My May issue of Sunset Magazine arrived yesterday in the mail (yes, I still subscribe the old fashioned way) and I opened it to find my dream backyard- although the Ten/Houston family garden seen here is actually their front yard. A classic movie lover’s retreat- modern, efficient, comfortable, beautiful and so fun. Perfect for a Tuesday night viewing of North by Northwest on a summer’s eve (mom- you’ll have to be in town for that one!) or great as a backdrop for a blowout bash.
I had visions of scenes from our favorite films projected on the outside of the hacienda wall at our wedding in Taos. A torrential downpour interrupted that dream although we did manage to project those scenes inside, which was actually pretty cool. One of our all time favorite movie moments, that great subtitled scene from Annie Hall, below and my maid of honor Molly perfectly lit in the archway. I love this picture.
Back to the movie-lover’s yard at hand. I love how these guys made such great use of their space creating a comfy outdoor living room with clever storage and beautiful accents. The kids play their PlayStation on the outdoor screen as well. Hey, at least they’re playing outside. The family’s Friday night movie nights have made them lots of new friends in the neighborhood.
For those of us not ready to break ground on our movie gardens (let’s face it, I’m still an urban apartment dweller with no backyard to speak of), we can rent projectors, speakers and all the goods necessary to set up shop indoors or outdoors. If you’ve got a large wall and a dvd player you’re good to go, you can rent the rest at funflicks.com. Read the full story on Sunset Mag here.
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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