We're out of escrow! We just got the keys to the little house. The books are all packed and we're ready to go. I'm taking the camera over today to get pictures for you. I need lots of advice on how to turn this very plain (but cute) house into a really lovely cottage...
More later!
(Illustration by Mellanie C.)
The April issue of Matchbook Magazine is out and I've been poring over every page. There's a wonderful story about Minnie Mortimer (her family is considered New York royalty.) She's married to Oscar winning writer/director Stephen Gaghan, who did Syriana and Traffic.
Their Los Angeles home is amazing, but their library is beyond wonderful. It's stylish, but in the way true bibliophiles' collections are stylish--an arrangement that evokes both care for the books and their frequent use. Stacking is the tip-off!
(Photo from Matchbook Magazine.)
...can't quit...
Last night I had made a decision to close down this blog. But the truth is, I just can't. It's too important to me for reasons
I know all of you understand. I'm sorry about the drama.
Come what may, I'm here to stay.
If I'm Dooced, oh well. I've been unemployed before.
Thank you for reading.
(Photo by Parpadeo.)
Now comes the hard part: Packing all the books...
Maybe I should have opted for a Kindle after all!
(Photo by Liis Klammer.)
After a year of apartment living, we put in a bid on a little cottage in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. The house is tiny but the yard is huge -- and I'm really looking forward to starting a new garden.
We're hoping to find out today or tomorrow if we have the house.
Please keep your fingers crossed it works out this time!
(Collage by Little Gold Poppy.)
For me, it's still "A Moveable Feast," maybe because I read it every time I go to Paris.
What about you?
(Photo by Sabino Aguad.)
This is why I could go broke buying Penguin books...
Beautiful illustrations by Coralie Bickford-Smith.
The Great Food Series on pre-order here.
Hello! I have made a few changes here this morning on the English Muse. I have a new header, by
the very talented artist, Lori Langille.
One of the joys of life is redecorating (blogs in included!)
What are you doing this weekend? It's like summer here and I'm going to the flea market to treasure hunt!! Will bring back pictures!
PS: I'm still tinkering with the background. I'll probably change it 20 more times. Do you do this sort of thing too?
Maybe I'm looking at my blog too much. :)
(Illustration, above, also by Lori.)
I love this little bookshelf. It seems perfect for bedside reading. My nightstand is stacked with so many books and magazines at the moment, there's barely room for the lamp...
Photo, above, from here. Bookshelf, by David Design, for sale here.
Hope you're having a lovely week!
I just read the most extraordinary story about Paris by writer Amy M. Thomas in the New York Times. Her prose is so beautiful, it made me want to pack my bags and go! Thomas spent two years living in Paris and currently is at work (in New York) on a book about her time there. She did the NYT story as a little prelude.
A snippet:
"I made my home in the center of the Right Bank, off the Rue Montorgueil. On an amazing market street filled with patisseries, fromageries and boucheries, nothing made me happier, or feel more Parisienne, than meandering up and down the pedestrian blocks, inhaling the irresistible smells of roasting chickens, stinky cheeses and warm, yeasty baguettes.
"On more occasions than warranted, I’d treat myself to a crème-filled pain aux raisins from Stohrer, one of the oldest bakeries in Paris. Not too far away in the Marais, at a bread stand inside the Marché des Enfants Rouges, the Cornet Vegetarien — a sandwich of fresh greens, grated carrots and fennel, marinated onions and thinly sliced avocado, dressed with olive oil and honey and dusted with chives and lime zest — was like nothing I’d ever eaten. And the man who prepared it, Alain, a barrel-chested maestro who was given to bursts of song and dance, always made my day."
This story made my day.
(How much is the NYT Internet subscription? Sign me up!)
UPDATE: I just discovered that Amy Thomas, the writer of the NYT story, has a blog, called God I Love Paris!
Photo, above, by Imke Klee
