music monday - live

in the summer of 1991 i heard pain lies on the riverside for the first time on my car radio and was immediately hooked. over the next 4 years, i saw the band live perform half a dozen times - my love for their amazing shows always culminating with this song below, which contains my favorite henry miller line.

future architects at play

my nephew loves to build pillow forts. he (with the help of his little sister) piles the couch cushions up around the coffee table and couch, throws a sheet over the whole structure and crawls inside the cave with a flashlight and waits for the dinosaurs to stomp by.
after reading this fantastic new york times article, i'm thinking that we will step things up a notch next time and add windows and an outdoor shower to his awesome dino cave.
have a playful and structurally sound weekend.

*photo via the nytimes

100 years of iranian film posters

i came across this fantastic book yesterday at one of my favorite stores in the city and although i didn't have a chance to look through it for more than a few minutes, the a) iranian, b) film fan and c) book lover in me wants nothing more than to take it home with me someday soon and spend hours looking through it's 500 gorgeous pages. 

women are a foreign policy issue

the latest issue of foreign policy magazine is all about sex - the trials, tribulations and roadblocks of the female sex (mostly in the middle east) and it's brilliant cover story is a piece by mona eltahawy about the war on middle eastern women. 
there are also great articles written by joshua keating about the new politics of sex from iran to india and karim sadjadpour about the outlandish political goings on beneath the bed sheets in iran.
put a naked girl on your cover - and the issue flies off the shelves. 

st. benoit yogurt

i stumbled upon the st. benoit yogurt stand at the farmers market a couple of weeks ago - a small, organic, artisan creamery based in sonoma, california. the flavors sounded amazing (plum, blood orange, chocolate, blueberry) and when a customer standing next to me (buying 2 large quarts) told me it's the best yogurt he has ever had, i knew i had to try. i bought a small meyer lemon, which came in a cute little ceramic pot that you can bring back for credit.  
the yogurt is thick, creamy and delicious, which only means i will be making more trips to my sunday farmers market from now on.

*photo courtesy of google images

music monday - ost & kjex

a 6 minute monday morning pick me up, via norway... 

anchovy arrival

i used to hate anchovies. they were slimy, smelly little bony fish that only appeared on pizzas and caesar salads. they sat in cans in my mother's kitchen, though for what delicious purpose, i had no idea (i secretly wished she was feeding the neighborhood cats and not planning on using the can's contents to feed her family). 
in recent years however, i've had a seafood awakening of sorts (a lifelong oyster hater i am now an oyster fanatic - an addict really). so i can completely relate to both the apprehension and now the love for anchovies written about in this past week's mouthwatering new york times article. 
have a deliciously fresh and fishy (in a good delicious omakase way) weekend.

*photo via the nytimes

bent basket

say goodbye to your plastic pink basket and the bungee cords that hold down your stuff, there is nothing tacky or girly about this cool take on the bike basket designed by san francisco based designer faris elmasu. the water proof wood basket (more like a curved tray) uses 4 thick nylon straps to hold down anything from your books to farmers market goodies. simple design at brilliant work - now all we need is a new take on our rusted bike bell.

*photo via bentbasket.

t+l food issue

the new issue of travel + leisure is all about food. late night food and gin in madrid, a blooming culinary scene in tasmania, pho in new orleans, and a food revolution in hawaii are just a few of the mouthwatering articles in my favorite annual issue. oh, and there is a little piece about finding the best croissant in paris, as if you needed another selling point to cinch the deal.

maje

we discovered a gorgeous new clothing line this past weekend. maje is a french fashion label which has been slowly expanding stateside, first with stand alone retail stores in new york city and now exclusively available in most bloomingdales locations. the clothes are beautifully simple with clean lines, gorgeous materials and super flattering style. i'm already daydreaming about these items below. don't get me started on the lovely leather bags we couldn't stop drooling over...they are worthy of their own posting!

music monday - bright eyes

this is a pretty old tune, dating back to 2005 (okay, not that old) and when i heard it on the radio yesterday, driving back from a sunny breezy early afternoon by the beach, i knew i would be linking to it this morning. 
full of simple romantic optimism - just what a girl needs on a blurry monday morning.

lyon

i have long-lost family scattered all over the planet (well mostly in the states, europe and the middle east). i always imagine there will be a happy occasion to one day bring us all to the same city (wedding, pulitzer acceptance dinner, presidential inauguration), but until then i think i will set my sites on someday soon visiting cousins who now live in paris and lyon, france. i've heard lovely, delicious tales about lyon, and this weeks new york times article, 36 hours in lyon may just be the push to get my wheels rolling. 
have a tres magnifique weekend!

 

*photos courtesy of the nytimes.

hillary-ous

the texts from hillary clinton tumblr (created by adam smith and stacy lambe) has hit super sonic viral speed on the social network interworld. i think the tongue-in-cheek texts are hilarious and, as maureen dowd writes in her latest nytimes op-ed column, is helping cement her new cool factor image and setting off new political buzz about her future in washington. 

eat your (baked parmesan) veggies

the veggie love continued last night - creamy baked parmesan leeks (i have lately been addicted to all things leek) with broccoli and peas. saute the veggies (first leeks, then broccoli, then peas) until tender, add a little vegetable broth, cook on medium high for 5 minutes and pour into a casserole dish, top with parmesan and fresh cream and bake at 450 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes (you could also add toasted bread crumbs to the top before baking, because really, crunchy crumbs make all savory baked dishes that much better)!

serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon and pepper and do your best not to eat the entire pan. 

fruits and veggies come knocking

now that i'm pretty much deleting non-organic beef and chicken (see just one good reason why here) from my diet, i've decided to sign up for organic, farmers market quality local produce to be delivered to my door by farm fresh to you. h & m signed up a few months ago and have been raving about their home deliveries of yummy, fresh and organic local veggies and fruits. you can choose how often and how large your delivery boxes are and the price is less than the produce you find at whole foods. i can't wait to sign up and get my first delivery in a few weeks, just in time for my favorite summer fruits!

photo via seedstock

music monday - ane brun

beautiful song for a beautiful sunny monday (though i wouldn't classify the video as beautiful, but rather haunting)...

1 out of 7 billion

random, somewhat pointless fact - when i was born, i was the 3,735,533,954th person alive on earth and the 77,895,507,106th person to have lived since someone started keeping count.
click here for an interactive bbc graphic to calculate your place in the 7+ billion. remind me to play those numbers next time the half a billion dollar lottery rolls around!
have a one in a billion, beautiful weekend.

mcsweeny's

mcsweeny's is a san francisco based publishing company with numerous literary and print design awards under it's belt. they were the first to publish dave eggers' writing and continue to collect awards and accolades for their books as well as their quarterly literary journals. they accept submissions from everyone, published or not, represented or not, brilliant or not, which brings me to the prospect of sending in some short stories for review and consideration. 
will keep you posted on the results of said review and consideration...

pretty kitchen things

herriott grace is a small canadian father and daughter company that makes and sells beautiful hand carved wood pieces for kitchen and home. each piece is a one of a kind labor of love and most items sell out within hours of being put up for sale.  join the mailing list and await your chance to own a lovely hand carved kitchen beauty. 

*photos via herriott grace

spring has sprung

chirping birds woke me up this morning, the daffodils i bought last night are in full bloom and warm sunshine is in the forecast for the week - hello and welcome spring (and soon summer)!

'i want to do with you what spring does with the cherry trees'. p.neruda

graffiti photo courtesy of flickr.

music monday - birdy

okay, i didn't win the mega jackpot friday, but i did come across some new music; birdy's self-titled debut album, a worthy consolation prize. her amazing voice belts out gorgeous covers from some of my recent favorite bands (songs by the xx, the national, bon iver, fleet foxes, phoenix) with a couple of her own original tunes thrown in. 
i can't stop listening...