Faces

I've been pouring all of my productivity into my day job these days, and I'm actually quite lucky with the project I've been working on. Me and my partner have been taking pictures of every. single. employee. This is no small task, since it involves actual thousands of people. But what has fascinated me about it is how, when people submit themselves for a brief head shot, you get so much information from their faces; what they're wearing, whether they smile, if they look straight into the camera. It's a fleeting moment, but I've noticed how varied and beautiful the human race is. As many of these people are relative strangers, you begin to wonder how well they slept last night, if they listen to jazz, classical, or indie music, whether they have some serious chocolate addiction. It's endlessly fascinating. I can't share them with you, of course, because they are not my pictures. But I recommend you take pictures of strangers and learn something for yourself.

Putting the Garden to Bed

Getting the back yard ready for winter is a bittersweet moment for me. I like it looking neat and tidy, but I have difficulty letting go of a whole, wonderful season.

When the cold winds come in, it's sort of like driving through Kansas. When you can only see flat plains for miles and miles, you can't imagine there existing mountains or cityscapes anywhere in the world. It's the same with the approach of Winter. Covered in layers, as you rake the red, gold and burgundy leaves, if you stop for a moment and close your eyes, you'll recall the feel of the sun on your face and bare arms. And it's glorious. I think I can even hear the voices and laughter of friends.

A Few Days in Chicago

I was in Chicago on business the past few days and thought I'd share just a few things I spotted. Enjoy!

Don't you just love the hand-shaped candle holder at Jonathan Adler?

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Polaroid is Back!

I've been scanning the thrift shops lately in hopes of finding a Polaroid camera. You may know that they've been in and out of business, and I've hoped to scoop up all the Polaroid film I could get my hands on before they're gone for good. You may have noticed in Blogland that Polaroid has a fierce and devoted following. The effects achieved with their instant film is magical; the colors are saturated and the absence of perfect focus gives the picture a dreamy quality.

But today, Polaroid announced that they are here to stay - for the time being at least.
*Thank you Sharon for the news!

Wilma at the Chef-O-Nette

Next week, I’m going to get my teeth cleaned. I go to the same office where my husband has been getting his teeth cleaned since he was three. Once in a while, if I’m lucky, my dentist has brought in his black lab for the day and I get a big hello from him.

When my husband was little, after getting his teeth cleaned, his mother would take him to a place on the corner called Chef-O-Nette. Built in the 1950’s, it has always been standard diner fare, but one didn’t go there for extraordinary cuisine. You wanted to have Wilma as your waitress. If you were little, Wilma would come to your table with a handful of crayons. She would flip your paper place mat over and slap the crayons down, asking you to draw a picture for her. When you were done, she would look it over, nod, and take it behind the counter to tape it up on the wall.

Wilma had her hair done just as it was in the 1940’s, when she was young. She lost her son in the Vietnam War, and she lost her husband to cancer. But you never heard about any of these things. She just brought hot coffee and asked children to draw for her.

After my appointment next week, I think I’ll stop in at Chef-O-Nette and have a cup of coffee. And maybe ask the waitress if anyone remembers Wilma.

Happy Weekend, Friends!

This weekend is brought to you by the shades of Autumn.








And a little ballad from Ingrid Michaelson.

Coco Before Chanel

Georgia O'Keefe had it; Frank Lloyd Wright had it; Earnest Hemingway had it. A vision, a way of distilling an idea down to its most sublime reality. And Coco Chanel had it too, which is why she is an icon, often copied but never with her unerring eye and panache. Born in the days of corsets and crinolines, she revolutionized the way women dressed. Then and forever. I can’t wait to see this movie.

Dressing to Please

"Yes, Miss Kilman stood on the landing, and wore a mackintosh; but she had her reasons. First, it was cheap; second, she was over forty; and did not, after all, dress to please."

I was reading these lines from Mrs. Dalloway the other night and this sort of chill went up my spine. I had difficulty with it for a few reasons; are we to dress cheap and dowdy after the age of forty? And, while I don't follow the latest trends slavishly, and I'm not interested in 'dressing to please' in the way Virginia Woolf implies, I do try to dress to please myself. But above all, I should like to avoid becoming Miss Kilman.

I'll admit, I've been a little lazy lately, putting on whatever comes to hand, being a little too 'matchy', with the result of spending the entire day vaguely dissatisfied and uninspired. But those words haunted me, so I turned a blind eye to my spending hiatus, scanned the pages of the latest j. crew catalog, grabbed my bag and went to the store. Armed with fancy ideas about colors, and layers, and textures, I found a few things that give me a fresher outlook on the day. Luckily for me, the current fashions aren't particularly 'matchy' these days. And now, to go back to the closet to send away those things that bore me to distraction ...

Tomato Bisque

I've been cooking a lot lately. Perhaps it's the change of seasons; I've been craving warm comfort foods. I also had a bit too much wine at last night's event, so a tomato-based soup really hit the spot.

1 large onion, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
6 large ripe tomatoes, chopped finely
1 handful fresh basil, chopped finely
1/2 pint cream or half & half
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in the pan. Add the garlic and onions and cook until they wilt. Add the tomatoes and basil and let them cook on medium heat until the excess liquid boils out, about 45 minutes. At this point I use an electric hand mixer to refine the texture; you can use a food processor too. Add the cream.

You should end up with a thickly textured bisque that can chase away gray clouds in your head. I freeze the left-overs to save for the week.



Do you have a favorite comfort food? What is it?