A Sequence in Time

Source: Bon Appetit

Last weekend I took a day-trip to visit the Russian River Brewing Company with two friends. I'm not by any means a craft beer aficionado, but it was fun to explore an area outside San Francisco, and I did get a sip of the holy grail: Pliny the Elder. I typically steer away from hop-laden beers, so this was a walk on the wildside, but I nonetheless had fun.

The best part of the day was going to one of my friend's childhood home in Marin for a 'because it's summer and we can' barbecue and dinner party. His parents' house is a beautiful bungalow with lots of California Mission-style sculpture and icons displayed throughout.

My favorite discovery was a small wrought-iron garden table with a tiled surface. I adore decorative tilework and ceramics like this...I could stare at them all day, sinking into the colors and retracing the lines with my eyes. Some people find such abstract motifs cold and disconnected from reality, but I adore how each tile unites color and movement with a Euclidean sense of order and rationality.

Of the figurative tiles, my favorite was one that showed an archer on horseback (below). Even though the horse is partly missing, the blue frame and upward thrust of figures make the scene feel very immediate. If we had arrived one moment later, would they have moved out of frame?

At dinner I thought more about how perfectly the tile captures a specific sequence in time. You can tell what has just happened and what is about to happen, but it's a short-lived perspective, with the broader plot going untold. Who is the rider and what is he or she charging toward? What do they see that we can't see?

These days, I'm anticipating my departure from California and so am more interested in the future than usual. Astrology aside, however, I can't tell what will come next. I can hope and imagine, but I'm also a little scared. I move through each day as though it has its own blue tile frame...each day is an enclosed experience, unlike the prior and unlike the following. Somehow it makes moving forward seem possible. 

Fancy Rolling Pins

Source: Etsy

Isn't this the most delightful thing you've ever seen?! I normally hate ads on Facebook, but I guess they're on to my neurotic patronage of cutesy home stuff, and so this little number popped up in my feed today.

Source: Valek Rolling Pins

It's such a simple concept, but has limitless possibilities and so much whimsy! The rolling pins brighten up not just cookies, but also fondant and even pasta (though the latter would be a little weird for my taste). Somehow 'cute' goes better with sweet than savory, no?

Whatever your fancy, there are tons of ingenious concepts to choose from. In addition to traditional wooden pins, there are acrylic and plastic options, but the wooden ones are easily the prettiest. The majority retail for around $40. I plan on adding them to my wishlist. :)

Sources: Etsy

David Lebovitz's Paris

"We'll always have Paris."

Who hasn't heard or felt that sentiment at one point? Our family went to Paris when I was 10, where we stayed in a teacup-sized hotel off the Champs Elysees. I knew very little about Paris itself, but I found I was tired...tired of eating french fries in a baguette (vegetarian options being non-existent), tired of 3+ hours in the Louvre, tired of the summer heat. In years to come I did a fully 180 and became a die-hard Francophile, but the first impression was bleak. :)

One realization I've had, by virtue of visiting Paris multiple times and having known both locals and expats is that I don't actually want to live there full-time. Yes, it's truly beautiful and cosmopolitan, and I want to buy everything I see, but it's also incredibly bureaucratic and challenging, notwithstanding infinite patience and connections. This is why you'll find a spate of books that lampoon the traditional "I ♥ Paris" ideology, whilst still attesting to the city's charms. It's similar to New York...people tolerate its shortcomings because they have moments of awe and emotion that are inextricably bound up with the city itself--feelings that couldn't be evoked elsewhere. 

Source: davidlebovitz.com

David Lebovitz, of food-writer fame, is that elusive creature: an American who moved to and actually integrated into Paris. His book, The Sweet Life in Paris, is a mocking but loving tribute to Paris and its quirks. What gives him an edge over the rest of us is that he is by trade a chef and a writer--pursuits that are still valorized by the French (unlike the rest of the Western world, apparently!).

Food is the ultimate language of communication in Lebovitz's Paris, where his appetite for madeleines and Muscadet triumph over his bewilderment at the near-constant strikes, shoving from strangers, and undrinkable coffee. He has a witty, conversational tone that is easy to digest, if a little heavy on the Frenchisms--why "qualité exceptionnelle" can't be written as "exceptional quality" is beyond me. But what I really appreciate is that he details a lot of good Parisian merchants for buying hard-to-find food and kitchen wares. What a resource! This was easily my favorite part of the book, and what I'd really love is to put all of his recommended vendors on my itinerary the next time I go a-visiting... 

To conclude at my end, I've pulled out a few places of particular interest to share with you. Everyone has cafe recommendations, so these are foodie or kitchen goods stores, which are harder to discover. 

Source: proparis.fr

BHV 
Note: this one is a given -- it's the great department store of Paris. Sort of like Bloomingdale's, but it has an amazing hardware section to which I can personally attest. It's also very central. 
www.bhv.fr

Source: Le Petit Paris Tours

E. Dehillerin
Note: specializes in copper cookware. "Hang onto your credit card!"
www.e-dehillerin.fr

Source: Foursquare

G. Detou
Note: "Chocolate, nuts, pearl sugar, and tons of other products for professionals and serious cooks, with a special emphasis on baking ingredients."

Source: Maison Rigau

Huilerie J. Leblanc
Note: Specialist in cooking oils and mustards. "Ask for a sniff of each; the aromas will knock your socks off."
www.huile-leblanc.com

Source: Fleur du Poirier

MORA
Note: All kinds of pastry molds and supplies. 
www.mora.fr

For more recommendations, check out David Lebovitz's site. And in the meantime, let me know when you want to join me in jaunting off to Paris to explore these stores!!