bits of bubbly

Happened upon an envelope of vintage beverage labels during a recent afternoon of bookstore browsing here. Such lovely bits of bubbly, and the perfect anecdote for a rainy afternoon. Now I want to start a collection...

Omnivore Books was cozy and well-stocked, but still, nothing rivals the great Bonnie Slotnick.

to market

Yesterday I awoke before the sun and boarded a bus towards the San Francisco Bay, to explore the city's infamous bay-front Ferry Building and Saturday morning Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market. After an impeccable coffee, cupcake, and macaroon breakfast from Miette, I headed outside in the crisp sunshine and began my journey through tangled rows of local artisans selling their edible wares. I cannot describe what a joy it was to be immersed in a community of growers, bakers, and makers eager to offer samples with a smile, and discuss their love of food culture in a city famous for its roots in the Slow Food movement. I left with a regained sense of comfort and invigoration, along with a full stomach and a bag brimming with delicious eats. This sometimes solitary and still-new city suddenly felt a little bit more like home.

"In even simpler terms, community is built upon conversations. People like to eat, and they like to talk about it. Ask a stranger anywhere in the world what or where he likes to eat, and chances are he’ll open up..."

Want to continue the conversation? Check out Civil Eats, The Vegetable Express, and my new favorite cooking blog.

alice détective

Last weekend, while at a nearby yard sale, I happened upon a box full of French children's literature. Upon sorting through the titles I soon discovered to my surprise (quelle surprise!) my much beloved Nancy Drew (aka Alice Détective) amongst the well-worn spines. Turns out the entire Nancy Drew series, by the mysterious Carolyn Keene (Caroline Quine, en France) was published in French in the mid-1900s, shortly after the 1st editions of the series were published in the U.S. Given my love of this female super sleuth, I was positively tickled! Comment magnifique!

I also picked up several other French children's titles, part of collections published by Hachette Books beginning in the early 1900s–Bibliotheque Rose and Bibliotheque Verte. These collections, or systems of classification, were designed to promote reading in children and adolescents throughout France, with Bibliotheque Rose meant for school-age children, and Bibliotheque Verte for pre-teens. I am quite enamored by the simple graphics of this system–check out those beautiful rose-colored spines! Très beau!

P.S. Listen here for more about the beloved books of our youth, and the mysteries of childhood...

seasons

I've been simply smitten with this recent edition to my book collection: Seasons, by the magical French illustrator Blexbolex, published in English by Enchanted Lion Books. I'd love to get my hands on more of his illustration work, especially this, and this!

"Blexbolex got lost for awhile in the pages of his books. He needs two summers, an autumn, a winter, a spring, several storms and a lot of sunshine to rediscover the seasons for himself."

-Seasons, Blexbolex

the objects

Selected objects from my desks at work & home, collected glass bottles at the OMCA, the beauty of brunch, and Alex Maldonado's Cathedral Crown.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon with Mark Dion & Lawrence Weschler at the awe-inspiring Oakland Museum, as a part of Mr. Dion's new exhibition The Marvelous Museum*. The two dove deep into discussion on the role of the museum in today's digitally-driven society, and the (mis)conception of a museum as a very static, passive entity, stemming partially from an audience's inability to truly connect and be active with the objects in the collection. I was particularly struck by Mr Dion's explanation of his "artist as curator" role within the exhibition; his desire to get people to re-connect with the soulfulness of these objects, to rediscover the joy of drawing their own conclusions based on a newfound sense of discovery. Afterwards, I walked through the bustling galleries, and was absolutely captivated. This was a community that still marveled at the museum...

Yesterday I paused underneath a giant knobby tree, forgetting for a moment my errand as the end result. I reached out my hands, and allowed myself to be completely entranced by the object before me. I couldn't remember the last time I had actually experienced a tree. With today's proliferation of digital imagery and information, I sometimes struggle with the ability to truly engage in the present & concrete. We live in a world of constant movement, and distraction. Are we losing the ability to experience actuality, to appreciate the simplicity of the sensory? I find hope in the beauty of the bits that surround me, loyal characters in my own curated life.

"The objects are characters that live with us in time and place and scale."

-Mark Dion

*read more about The Marvelous Museum, (and the accompanying Chronicle Book!) here.

red

KA's enchanting ceiling, Mr. McGee at the Oakland Museum, an ever-growing collection of freshly-fallen mystery fruits (anyone?), Ms. Rojas at the MOCFA, and fantastic foggy morning vines.

"For this is what is means to get back what she once had, the deep-seeing use of her eyes and the instant revelations of her tongue..."

-Runaway, Alice Munro

girls and their hair

Special thanks to miss SK for the recent lifting-up: a hand-crafted leaflet sent through the post is a sure way to remind a girl to hold her head high.

"A girl with long hair is never alone/she always has something to play with."

figgy fun

Locally grown fresh figs are in abundance this time of year out here in (sorta) sunny San Francisco, and I can't get enough of these sweet little treats. Simply delightful served over thick yogurt with honey, they also serve as the perfect impetus to an afternoon of crafty play!

Eat more produce–locally! The Mobile Food Collective has it right. See more about this idea in (brilliant) action here and here.

worlds beyond

"If we have no connection whatosever with the worlds beyond the ones we take for granted, than we too run the risk of drying up inside..."

Lately, more than usual, I've been buried in books, in many more ways than one. Elif Shafek reminds me of the power of storytelling, of imagining the vast potentials of our hearts, and the beyond. Please enjoy if you have the moment!

taking hold

Miles of man-made hills surround me in this city, yet I tread the same few most of my days. The concrete below my feet often vanishes in a rhythm of routine, but then I remember to look! And when I do, I find: a wrinkled masterpiece blowing amongst discarded plastic bags, and a leaf with a brilliant identity crisis.

In an ongoing quest for hope and love and authenticity, I hold these things dear, pressed between the pages of a bedside book, rare treasures mined from the mundane...

"A collection is usually an attempt to somehow take hold of the world around us, to control at least a few of its parts..."

-Paul Elliman, The World As Printing Surface