be back soon... and friday links

Kara Rosenlund's "Sea," via Cup of Jo

We are headed to the south of France and Berlin for two weeks, so the old blog will be neglected for a bit while we are away. I am excited to get away with family, and visit with dear friends we haven't seen in awhile, but I'm totally dreading the flights and traveling with a newly-walking toddler. When do vacations with kids become relaxing?

See you in a few weeks!

Pan-roasted chicken with harissa chickpeas.

My friends Melissa on SFGirlByBay!

Remember Sarah? Her site, Speed4Sarah, just launched. Consider donating to help find a cure for ALS.

One of Stella's favorite activities? Taking photos.

I'm not grossed out by armpit hair on women, are you? Truthfully, I often grow mine out, and I find it quite sexy on other women.

How Powerful Is Your Passport?

This pretty much sums up my daily uniform.

How a woman's plan to kill herself helped her family grieve.

Josey Baker Builds a Bakery. 

(Happy Birthday to my Dad!!)

happy friday links

Sheeps by Meagan Donegan

I can't wait to read the new Donna Tartt.

Cookies! Shayna texted me about these yesterday and Stella and I promptly set to work making them.  We put in half the curry recommended but added cardamom and chocolate chips as we didn't have shredded coconut. They're so good!

On the topic of cookies... How Oreos Work Like Cocaine.

Ads use Real Google Searches to Show the Scope of Sexism Worldwide.

Are you watching the new season of Homeland? I'm continually impressed by how the creators of this show make each character's point of view so very believable. And the acting! 

Abandoned: Mark Twain Branch Detroit Public Library.

Hurray for a new Wes Anderson film.

Ace Hotel now in Shoreditch.

Banksy NYC.

reykjavík

This morning I'm living vicariously through these gorgeous photos of Reykjavík by Mr. & Mrs. Globetrot. So austere and beautiful, right? Iceland is on my list...

[All images © Julia & Yuriy Manchik]

a few friday links

Beatrice Valenzuela, maker of lovely handmade moccasins and sandals, is just too cool. I enjoyed this interview and slideshow.

I brought up this important post in conversation with my friend Shayna today. The idea (a common one, I believe) that it's a woman's salary (in heterosexual parental situations) that pays for childcare is a troubling one on so many levels. I've been thinking about the post for a few months without realizing it until bringing it up today. Shayna and I have had so many YES! moments recently in talks about parenting and books and life and Anne of Green Gables. I am thankful for her.

These summer sandals have been calling my name for awhile and Ashley's post back in April back reminded me about them. I'm still on the fence as I have too many sandals already. BUT these can go in the water! And they're so cute.

Brined pork chops with grilled stone fruit is on the menu for Father's Day on Sunday.

As someone who has issues with people who are so attached to their electronic devices that one-on-one interactions suffer, I liked Mary's post about being mindful of cell phones at the dinner table (a serious pet peeve).

Joanna Goddard posted about this movie today and it piqued my interest. There's something about Case Affleck in that movie still that reminds me of Jordan. Also, I can't tell if this movie is going to be fun or horrible because, you know, *magic.*

I'm still loving chambray.

Yes to picnics.

Yes to strawberry coconut chia seed banana bread.

(photograph by Nicole Franzen)

charles fréger's wild men

Charles Fréger "Wild Men" of Europe are beautiful and fascinating.

CZECH REUPUBLIC: In the village of Nedašov, devils join the retinue of St. Nicholas to frighten children into being good.

POLAND: Macidulas on New Year’s Day

FRANCE: Bear at the Festival of the Bears

ROMANIA: Stag on New Year’s Day

ITALY: Schnappviecher (snapping beast) on Shrove Tuesday

AUSTRIA: Every five years the men of Telfs collect lichen to create Wilder Mann, or Wild Man, costumes for the town’s Carnival festival. Tradition dictates that they nibble on a piece of this lichen before the festivities.

Portugal: During Carnival in Lazarim characters called “caretos” parade through the village in hand-carved masks to a bonfire where effigies known as the comadre and compadre are burned.

From David Rosenberg's article on Slate:

If you thought Santa’s naughty list was intimidating, chances are you never encountered a Krampus.

A beastlike creature that is part of the pagan folklore of Alpine countries including Austria, Hungary, and Slovenia, the Krampus was to play “bad cop” so Santa could spend time focusing on the better behaved children.

The Krampus is also the first beast Charles Fréger  encountered during his two-year journey through 19 European countries documenting pagan festivals. The resulting series, “Wilder Mann” is on view at Yossi Milo Gallery in New York through May 18 and is also available as a monograph titled Wilder Mann: The Image of the Savage published by Dewi Lewis Publishing.

All photographs by Charles Fréger. See more of Fréger's Wild Men over on National Geographic.

jen's bourbon balls

Remember Jen's Chocolate Chip Cookies?

Well friend Jen is over on Design*Sponge again with another amazing looking recipe, this time for Gold-dusted Orange-scented Boubon Balls. YUM! And, as always, her photographs make me want to climb into the computer and nosh. Luckily, Stella and I are heading to Jen's house this afternoon for a cookie-making party so I won't have to wait too long for one of Jen's sweet treats. Yay for foodie friends!

[photo: Jen Martine]

weekend pics

"Unstoppable" at Boot and Shoe Service on Saturday night.

My parents took Stella for a ride on the carousel at Tilden Park. I love her smile in this picture. Half excited, half terrified.

A morning cup of Ritual coffee in one of my favorite Marimekko mugs.

I made a delicious country apple galette with apples from my mom's tree.

I embarked on a new sewing project: a pillow case and duvet cover for Stella's new toddler bed. Here's the adorable fabric I'm using for the pillow case. Sweet, right?

reckless unbound

Wow. Christy Rogers makes gorgeous photos.

[via Kottke]

that crazy kid

the stories we tell

Sometimes the stories we like telling about our travels are the horrible and/or difficult ones. Like the one when our rental car was broken into while we were on a beach in North Spain or when we were rear-ended in Barcelona by a German tourist and I had to be taken to the women's hospital in an ambulance because I was 6 months pregnant with Stella. Or the time when we were in Mexico a few years ago and ran out of money and were digging in the seats looking for loose change to pay the toll back to Mexico City. When we're in the moment and everything looks bleak Jordan usually says "this will make a great story!"

When we describe the quick weekend trip we just took down to Mexico City, no doubt the story we tell will the one about me getting food poisoning. I made the mistake of eating one bite of shrimp (after which Jordan said, "ohh I don't know that I would have eaten that." Thanks for the warning darlin'.) at the wedding party on Saturday night and I woke up Sunday not feeling quite right. By the time we got to the airport Sunday at noon I could barely walk I was so dizzy. I sat down on the ground in the airport and puked multiple times into a bag. I was shivering and so lightheaded that the airport doctor came to check me out. He told Jordan that my blood pressure was so dangerously low that unless we could get it to a normal place they wouldn't allow me on the plane. And that he was going to give me a shot of something to calm my stomach. He sent Jordan to the airport pharmacy to pick up some antibiotics and proceeded to wheel me through security and into his medical office. He hooked me up to the oxygen tank and gave me a shot in the side. My shivering subsided and I was able to stomach a whole bottle of Gatorade before walking down to the plane unassisted (which I had to do so they would let me on the flight). I took the antibiotics as soon as we sat down but started to feel nauseous again in minutes. As the plane taxied down the runway I puked two more times, much to the fascination of the two girls sitting across the aisle from us. Good times!

Thankfully, I am on the mend and off to bed early to snuggle with my girl and get some rest...

df

Us in Mexico City, 2010

I've written a little about our travels to Mexico City here and here. I love photographing Mexico City with all its colors. I love the tree-lined streets of La Condesa and the cafes and restaurants that spill out onto the sidewalks. I love the tacos and the tequila and the music. The city has such a big heart, it's no wonder we got engaged there. It's no wonder we return again and again.

Today we are headed to DF for friend's wedding. I'm up early, awake with the knowledge that we are embarking on a scary and exciting trip. We are leaving Stella for the first time in her life. She will be in the loving and amazing care of my parents (two of her biggest fans) so I am not worried about how she will do with the separation. I will miss her little wiggles and her new words and her cuddles and her squeals. I will relish sleeping through the night and sleeping-in two days in a row, and eating out without an arsenal of stickers and mid-meal walks. I will relish two days alone with my love. 

Wish us luck!

weekend

I hope you all had a lovely weekend. Ours was pretty great. I stopped by the big Erica Tanov sale on Saturday morning and scored a pair of gorgeous Chie Mihara heels (above) on super sale (I'll be wearing them to a wedding in Mexico City in a few weeks). We ate tacos at Tacubaya. Went to a bbq at my parents house in Orinda and went for a swim in the pool. Wandered around the Temescal farmers' market where we picked up some goodies for the week and ran into Celia and Stella's friend Cheech, and Jamie. As a prefect end to the weekend we had our new friends Devon and Simon and their son Ari over for an early dinner (grilled salmon with mango, peach, cucumber salsa + roasted veggies with a sour cream cilantro sauce + quinoa, spinach, feta, olive salad + an ah-mazing peach tarte with buttermilk ice cream by Devon) last night.

golden gate

 
I met up with a great new friend and her son at the Marin Discovery Museum today. The museum itself was amazing for our little explorers and this was the view. Gorgeous, right?

coney island in color

Aren't these old hand-painted postcards of Coney Island great?

From The New Yorker:

For the current issue, Lisa Kereszi photographed Luna Park, the new amusement park at Coney Island that opened over Memorial Day weekend. Luna Park takes its name from a historic Coney Island park that had opened in 1903 and was destroyed in an electrical fire in 1944. While working on this shoot, I became curious about the Luna Park and Coney Island of years past. I spent a little time looking at hand-painted postcards that seemed somehow to be imbued with both the weirdness and the splendor of Coney Island’s history.