Pantone 14-0848 TCX

You don't have to be a designer to have heard of Pantone, THE leading authority on printing inks and predictor of color trends. Earlier this month, Pantone did a press release announcing the 2009 Color of the Year; Pantone 14-0849 TCX, also known as "Mimosa." According to Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, "the color yellow exemplifies the warmth and nurturing quality of the sun, properties we as humans are naturally drawn to for reassurance." I've always considered yellow defiantly cheerful, laughing in the face of anger and all things ugly and mean. Yes, and it's the color of mimosas.

In case you're interested in Pantone's Fashion Color Report for Spring, they've written that too!

Window Shopping

One of my favorite things about the holidays is that shop windows put on their best finery.

Collier West has a stylized nature theme this year.







































On Paper is a lovely shop that sells designer papers from around the world, and can create personalized stationery for you.







































I even like the frosty tree at Dr. Mojoe.

Santa Baby

While I don't think many people will get a sable, duplex or yacht this year because of the slumping economy, a girl can dream. In my opinion, the original Eartha Kitt version is far better than Marilyn Monroe's or Madonna's. But what is Boy George doing as one of her back-up singers?

Giving Thanks

I think it's important to live in state of gratitude throughout the year, but this is a good opportunity to remember some of the things I'm grateful for.

1. A warm shower every morning.
2. Generous and loving friends and family.
3. Music and the people who make it.
4. An education where I learned how to read instead of constantly worrying about my safety.
5. Living in a free world where I have a voice.
6. Having a hungry mind.
7. All the artists who came before me, and teach me humility.
8. Hot, dark coffee.
9. A roof over my head and all the things I care for.
10. Having more than enough.

What are you thankful for?

For the Person Who Has Everything

We all have people on our Christmas lists that already have everything, and buying something they already have in a different color or pattern doesn’t seem like a good idea. I’ve compiled a list of gifts for such people. If you have some of your own ideas, please share.

1. Bulbs to force inside. I gave one to my mother a few years ago, and every Christmas when I visit, I get to see her amaryllis in full bloom.
2. Jeni’s Ice Cream. You can order nine pints of her top flavors and have them delivered on dry ice. • Salty Caramel • Gravel Road • Dark Cocoa Gelato • Pistachio & Ashland County Honey • Black Coffee • Thai Chili • Lemon Yogurt • Queen City Cayenne (my all-time favorite) • Fresh Sorbet of the Day
3. Paul Robinett Candles. When my husband and I bought our house, the previous owners gave us one of Paul’s candles as a housewarming gift and we’ve been hooked ever since. With scents such as basil, leather, and firewood, there’s a scent for everyone. Made by hand in the store in ‘aromatherapy strength,’ there are no other candles like them. My husband’s favorite is cedar, while mine is tomato leaf.
4. Solar Dynamo Radio light from LL Bean. It works on batteries and has a hand crank.
5. For the gourmet chef on your list, these salt and pepper grinders will look elegant in any kitchen.
6. Terrarium. For those of on your list who mark the days until they can go back into the garden, a terrarium is a small reminder that summer can be enjoyed year round. I like this one from Smith and Hawken.
7. For the antique collector, these vintage soda bottles look great in the kitchen or sitting on the bar.
8. A farm animal for a needy family. Choose a meaningful gift to give a loved one and help children and families around the world receive training and animal gifts that help them become self-reliant.

What will you be buying for the person who has everything?

Ten Books, Part II

When I posted the other day about ten books that will change your life, I never imagined that it would stir so much off-line chatter (thank you Chris and Tony for your thoughtful exchanges on what makes a book meaningful to you).

It has caused me to revisit the topic. I was asked, “How? How have these books changed your life?” and I realized that every one has different criteria for a life-changing book. My answer is not deliberately elusive. What do I look for a great book? The same things I look for in life. I look for poetry and beauty. I look for stories that enlarge my world and give me a greater sense of what it means to be alive on this tiny little planet spinning in space. I look to literature to “say the unsayable,” to quote Richard Ford. I look for the gaps, between errands and projects and duties, that we call life. I do not look for answers; I look for questions.

There is a newspaper clipping about twenty years old on my refrigerator – an article summarizing a speech given by Cleanth Brooks, professor emeritus of rhetoric at Yale. To quote Brooks, “One role of literature,” he said, “is that it focuses attention on mankind’s purposes, wise or unwise, and upon the values for which men and women have died.”

Years ago, when my niece Grace was born, I wrote a poem for her. In it, I told her to “describe everything around the one thing that holds you in rapture.” This is what I look for in literature.

I might also mention that keeping my list to ten was nearly painful, so I will add two more.

1. House of Mirth, Edith Wharton – Named after a line in Ecclesiastes (“Wise men dwell in the house of mourning, fools dwell in the house of mirth.”), this is a tragic story about a young Edwardian New York socialite who lets pride instead of kindness guide her life. All of Wharton’s books are written with stunning insights about humans. I don’t think she ever wrote a bad line.

2. Iliad, Homer – A life lived without reading this book is incomplete. Iliad serves as history’s golden mean for what literature is can do.

Ten Books That Will Change Your Life

The litmus test of a good book is that you find new joys in it upon a second reading. Shorter days and colder nights are a good excuse to turn to your bookshelves and pick up those books you've always wanted to read or the ones you want to revisit. Here is a list of books that have enriched my life in numerous ways. Some I've read more than once. Tell me about your list and just try to keep it to ten.


1. Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy. It is said that Tolstoy started this book with the intention of writing about a despicable woman, and fell in love with his creation.

2. Still Life – A.S. Byatt. The sequel to Byatt’s Babel Tower, but a far more poignant story of a family trying to find sanity and love in their disparate lives.

3. Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov. The quintessential American road book that started the genre – by a man whose native language is Russian, no less.

4. The Debt to Pleasure – John Lanchester. A cookbook wrapped in a travelogue wrapped in a murder mystery.

5. The Golden Bowl – Henry James. The only writer who could tell such a gripping story with so little action. Hint: the bowl has a fatal flaw.

6. Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy. The story of a brilliant young man who finds comfort neither in his native, bucolic countryside nor the august halls of academe where he so powerfully longs for acceptance.

7. The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway. Gertrude Stein refers to the men who fought in WWI as ‘the lost generation’ for a good reason. Warning: have good food and wine on hand before opening.

8. Orlando – Virginia Woolfe. A man – no, a woman – er, a person gallops through history finding wisdom through the ages.

9. I Praise My Destroyer – Diane Ackerman. A naturalist, poet and lover of life explores the pain and beauty of accepting mortality.

10. Howard’s End – E. M. Forster. A love story about a house and the people who live in it.

Haunted

No, this isn't a ghost story. This is about a song I've been listening to for years. A song that transcends time and space and speaks to the soul of anyone with ears. A song I thought I knew. But one Sunday evening, I was painting and listening to the Classical music station and a chamber orchestra started playing this piece, without vocals. It was from Corelli or Haydn; one of the Baroques. And if you've ever searched through the repertoires of any Baroque composers, you know they were all quite prolific. But I can't remember who and now have this irrisistable urge to have it. So please, close your eyes and listen ... do you know this piece?

Z Cucina

When confronted with a piece of fine art, you might first be drawn in by the subject matter. You might then ask yourself what you think of the textures, the palette the artist chose, or whether the composition holds together as a whole. If you’re lucky enough to be familiar with the artist’s repertoire, you might go over in your mind other paintings you’ve seen and compare them.

Much the same can be said about fine food.

My husband and I don’t have the opportunity to go out often because of our crazy schedules, but we had the honor of taking my mother- and father-in-law (gastronomes extraordinaire) out for dinner the other night to Z Cucina, a relatively new spot in Columbus.

Before ordering any food, we asked for a bottle of Super Tuscan, Guidalberto, Tenuta de Guido 2002; a plumy, earthy wine that asks to be chewed while you drink it.

To eat, we started with the Z Tavola Tasting plate (Calamari Fritti, Parmigiano Risotto Fritters, House-Made Mozzarella and 3 Chef Creations), which disappeared rather quickly. My favorite was the house-made mozzarella drizzled with balsamic vinegar which, I am sure, was made lovingly in Modena, Italy and stored for seventeen years until it blossomed to perfection.

For the entrée, I ordered the Goat Cheese Ravioli with Spiced Walnuts, Peppers, Onions and Salsa Rosa. I recall this dish with tears in my eyes. For a brief moment, I saw a bright light and the pearly gates opening. The silky pasta, the teasing flavor of goat cheese, the spicy walnuts and the lively flavors coating it all; this is how ravioli should always taste.

There were rumors around the table that the Grilled Trattoria Steak (Olive Oil Smashed Potato, Grilled Asparagus and Balsamic Vinaigrette), Spice-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin Agro-Dolce (Roasted New Potatoes, Wilted Spinach and Rhubarb Mostarda) and Olive Oil Braised Duck Legs (Creamy Gorgonzola Polenta, Roasted Moscato Grapes, Moscato d’Asti Reduction and Spring Greens) were equally good.

For dessert I had a scoop of Jeni’s salty caramel ice cream (nearly all to myself) and a cup of espresso. The birthday girl, my mother-in-law got a complimentary dessert.

The entire meal elicited the same response I have when I see one of Monet’s masterly water lily panels. “I wish I had said that.”