Friday, August 28, 2009

trouvée: wildflowers

Simply inscribed (along the bottom edge): "Stewie / me." Picking wildflowers just seemed like a nice way to end a hectic week.

Some beautiful things:

* the poultry suite
* Sarah Meadows (via The Blue Hour)
* and Paris Fashions-1945

Cheers ~ and a happy weekend to you all! I am dashing off on another quick trip....

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

a midwest market


Wherever I go ~ I can't resist a market! This one in Ann Arbor (after lunch at Zingerman's of course!). The light there was insanely gorgeous.

Some food-related items:

* Gourmet ~ from A to Z! (eeeee...that quince on the cover!)
* a county-fair-award-winning banana cake

Still to come: more food and more houses. Happy wednesday!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

blue ribbon day


A few details from the Pabst Mansion in Milwaukee (more here). Built 1890-1892 for the beer baron Frederick Pabst, the Flemish Renaissance Revival mansion is festooned with with stone garlands of hops. It is one of the city's last remaining grand houses, a classic example of Gilded Age architecture. And each Saturday in August, one's tour is concluded with a tasting of Milwaukee's best beers ~ now, how can you pass up an opportunity like that!?

Monday, August 24, 2009

time away


9 days, 1 great lake, 4 historic houses, 5 museums, 2 farmers' markets, 1 fabulous afternoon spent in the company of some Queen Annes, several Gothics, and a pair of Greeks. Add to that some good food, good wine, a few special people, and it all makes for a pretty fabulous week. I am slowly getting caught up, but obviously...there is lots and lots to share!

(top: in Michigan; bottom: in Wisconsin)

Friday, August 14, 2009

trouvée: in the park

Inscribed: "Bixby Park - / Long Beach, Cal. - 1914." Dining al fresco. I think this is such a beautiful image, with the trees and mottled sun light. I would have like to have joined them.

Just two things today (it feels like the end of a season):

* a Gathering / Sound of Summer Running
* and this portrait

I am off on an adventure ~ heading west. Before I go, I will leave you with a little controversy.

Type to you in a week. Cheers!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

southern views

Thumbing through an old stack of postcards I found this image of Marie Adrien Persac’s painting of Shadows-on-the-Teche, 1861. The French-born Presac (1823–1873) is not particularly well known outside of Louisiana, but his legacy is significant. He was a true renaissance man, a civil engineer who worked as an architect, cartographer, photographer and artist. Persac’s renderings of Louisiana plantation scenes are invaluable records of mid-nineteenth-century life along the Mississippi and the bayous. Although I was familiar with the plantation scenes, I was delighted to discover that while employed by the New Orleans Notarial Archives he produced an amazing series of architectural drawings and paintings of the city. He also created a group of charming watercolors for sale posters of properties intended for public auction (see below, and here).

Persac worked primarily in watercolor and gouache on paper, achieving an amazing degree of precision. It is interesting to note that while he clearly was an excellent architectural draughtsman, he clipped his figures from various printed sources, and affixed them by collage. For more, see Marie Adrien Persac: Louisiana Artist.

(top image: Shadows-on-the-Teche (Front View), 1861, collection of Shadows-on-the-Teche, New Iberia, Louisiana, National Trust for Historic Preservation; and below: Eugène Surgi and Marie Adrien Persec, sale plan, 25 February 1860, New Orleans Notarial Archives)

Monday, August 10, 2009

boeuf bourguignon & other things


I have been obsessed with food ever since I saw Julie & Julia this weekend. Seriously, no one does onions like Meryl Streep. No one. She was extraordinary.

Anne ~ here is Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon recipe. Get to cookin' girl! Or perhaps I should say: "bon appétit" !!

Mmmmm...peppers from the market, and pizza from here.

Friday, August 7, 2009

trouvée: a curiosity

Found recently on eBay. Uninscribed, undated. I'll let you write your own story on this one...because you know it has to be a good one.

Some other friday curiosities:

* a marquetry table (for JTL)
* an amazing piece of history
* the unknown sitter project
* Wijnanda Deroo
* a few points of view
* and something rare and beautiful

Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

read, eat, drink

I should have had this image last week when I posted the apple-blackberry crisp recipe, no? Ah, well, apples only just made an appearance at the market on sunday.

It is hot out there people! So, let's have a little fun:

* read: Dancing to the Precipice
* eat: Summer Fest 2009
* drink: an Albariño (my latest obsession)

Cheers! Happy Wednesday.

Monday, August 3, 2009

sometimes...


...summer is just an embarrasment of riches. Okay, I need to get cooking. Hope you all had a good weekend.