May:Bookish Picks

I love books, is it not obvious? So May's picks are about books of all different kinds.


First, of course we must mention The Wild Things. Even with a twinge of sadness, it is magical.  There is a version read by the author on B&N Storytime. Good-bye, Maurice Sendak.

My other favorite is In The Night Kitchen.

Onto cookbooks. I've been pondering BabyCakes from Erin McKenna - cupcakes and cookies, gluten-free and mostly vegan. But more about that later this month.

Xanthan Gum has firmly established itself in my vocabulary

I am about half-way through E.F. Benson's Queen Lucia. Setting: Provincial English town between the two World Wars. Cast of characters includes a Guru/Curry Cook, an opera diva, and brash sisters Ursy and Hermy. It is hilarious, get your free e-copy from Gutenberg!

Lastly, I ran across DailyLit website that delivers books, mostly free, into your inbox or reader in itty-bitty chunks. Perhaps it is time to tackle Proust after all.


More of my book picks are here

Mad As March Hare: GCB to Queen V

It’s time for March round up. First, we continue to mourn the end of the Downton season. But one must cope, be it by reading Ms. Georgette Heyer or by turning to other television shows. And that is how I found GCB.

For starters if Kristin Chenoweth is in it, I will watch it. High brow it is not but one would be hard pressed to find a better show to watch with a glass of tempranillo on a Sunday evening after junior members of the household are asnooze in their cozy beds. GCB is great fun thanks to catty big-haired Neiman Marcus-clad cast of characters.

From Queen B to Queen Victoria. I started watching “Mrs. Brown” in my Netflix queue with Dame Judi Dench portraying the Queen. What about the mysterious Scotsman John Brown? I investigated. Turns out John Brown was indeed a great favorite with the Queen. Despite much speculation the exact nature of the Scottish servant and his Queen will never be known. How about them Victorians.

Lastly, my hip NYC friend Anne alerted me to the arrival of the West Coast’s Blue Bottle Coffee. Would you look at this beauty? This is not a coffee machine, it is a steampunk work of art from a mad scientist’s lab with coffee aroma percolating all around! (P.S. Anne assures me that the establishment’s coffee lives up to the hype).

Photo credit: Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times

A few recent posts:

• February: Pondering Taxidermy
• January: Downton to Heirlooms
• November: Sonia Delaunay to Sylvia Plath

February Assortment: Taxidermy to Fine French Wine

Here are a few recent topics of interest, perhaps more non sequitur than usual.

First taxidermy. The word conjures either meth lab or a Victorian parlor. Paxton Gate, a store on Valencia in San Francisco we recently visited, is more of the latter. The shop is chockfull of mounted butterflies, fossil samples, beakers, and, yes, stuffed animals. Sure, some things are a bit on the creepy side (say mice skeletons dressed in the doll sized period costumes), but overall it is like stepping into a cabinet of curiosities.





Framed butterflies, Paxton Gate's less morose offering.  Yes, one came home with me. Photo from Paxton Gate.



Paxton Gate runs a children’s outpost a few doors down, mostly thinking child’s toys and books. On the walls there were a few specimen of plush mounts. I have my eye on a certain monkey and a couple bears in the toy room.



I am thinking this will be just the right finishing touch for the playroom. Photo from Paxton Gate.



I do not write nearly often enough about wine. To restore justice behold this lovely chardonnay from Mâcon Villages. The villages, 43 of them, are in Mâconnais in Burgundy but that’s not important. What is important is that Burgundy’s whites are glorious, chardonnay grape at its best, unlike the trampy heavily oaked version passed off as chardonnay. So please get yourself a bottle to sample.



Photo from my kitchen, just before the bottle was polished off.



For years I've been planning to buy a proper trench coat. No ruffles or vampy spikes. Simple and clean. Not too short, not too long. Not sure why it took me so long, but now this one is on is way from the good people of J.Crew.  Once the package arrives in 3-5 business days, I will be set for spring.

Photo from J.Crew.

A few recent posts:

• January Assortment: Downton to Heirlooms
• November Medley: Sonia Delaunay to Sylvia Plath