A Roman Wrap Up

Big news. I have finished all design matter for the stationary show. Cards, Note Pads (oh yes there are going to be very pretty note pads coming your way... I'm such a list maker), Calendars, Prints, Order Forms, Postcards, Business Cards, Line Sheets = in the bag. Now I just wait for Eric from UPS to drop it all off. Now I also need to bribe friends over here to help me stuff hundreds and hundreds of buyer kits... any takers? I'll supply Champagne I swear.
It's nice to see 5 months of Stationary Show planning come to an end... though now I need to start planning something else, a wedding. Which has been anything but fun up to this point, except the dress part. That has been fun :)
So I had bought this funny little book which is a guide to all the gelato in Italy. It was hard to get my hands on cause it was out of print, but it really does have quite a lot of info about Gelato in it and is written in a very cute way. I was going to do a whole list of the top places to get Gelato in Rome but... I'm too burnt out. I am, however, launching a new pattern and part of the new line on the website tomorrow. Loire Valley - she is very pretty. I leave you with a glimpse at my display and Mr. Man The Buyer here.
PS. How good was Gossip Girl last night? Sooooooooooo good.

Mmmmm.... Gelato!

Since this month's pattern is about the gelato of Rome, I thought that was the perfect excuse to do a little taste testing of the gelato of the River St. Whole Foods. Of course I used my favorite gelato (see previous post) Ciao Bella for the tasting. I was so pleased to see that WF had 5 kinds of CB gelato and 4 of their equally great Sorbettos. I picked 4, got sasso at work and we headed home to indulge.
I threw my acupuncturist's rule of "no dairy" to the wind and decided to just eat straight from the container. It was just me and Sasso and there was no need for the pleasantries of bowls.
So here is what we ate:
Pistachio: Hands down my favorite. Each little nut is like a little crunchy surprise swathed in creamy goodness. I remember my great Aunt Glady ate pistachio ice cream when I was little and it was BRIGHT green, I'm happy to say that CB's pistachio gelato is not.
Cholocate Hazelnut: Mmmmmm. I'm not a huge hazelnut fan (probably from od-ing on Nutella in college) but the hazelnut in this is nice and subtle. I thought it was delicious.
Vanilla: The vanilla gelato was so soft it was like eating marshmallows. I loved it, it has that great vanilla bean taste. For years my favorite ice cream was vanilla with chocolate sprinkles, i just realized that I have chocolate sprinkles in the pantry. Now I can relive my childhood while watching American Idol tonight.
Espresso: I almost didn't get this one because a few weeks ago Sasso gave up coffee because his addiction had taken over and he couldn't sleep. I didn't want to have to relive those few days again (it wasn't as bad as when he gave up bread for a bit, but it was close) and thought maybe I shouldn't tempt him. But then I said "screw it" and bought it anyways. I don't drink coffee either and I blame this ice cream for keeping me up til 1am. But that is what a no-caffeine-girl gets for eating (quite a bit) espresso gelato at 10:30pm. You know what, it was totally worth it and I'm sure I'll do it again this week.
All in all Pistachio was my favorite. Besides the gelato tasting like heaven Ciao Bella has the best packaging ever. Being a designer I will buy just about anything that is in good packaging, it just sucks me in. Luckily this product happens to be killer as opposed to some other good-package-crappy-product things I've bought.

On another note today I'm sending all the new cards to print. Yesterday all the 2009 calendars went to print. Yeah that is right, I'm going to have a closet full of 2009 calendars in about a week. If that sounds crazy try this, I'm working on patterns for 2010 now. Today I got the delivery of the brand new Cheers! card from the printer. I can't wait to photograph them and put them online. They are sooooooooooooo pretty. I just couldn't hand silkscreen the cards anymore... Also we've bought all the Ikea furniture we need for our booth, the line sheets and order forms are almost ready to print and the schematic for my wall of our booth is done so I am allllllllmost there.

So... what's this gelato stuff?

So sorry for my lack of gelato posting. I've been el swampo putting together schematics for the stationary show. Not to mention working my *ss off to pay for the samples I need to print. Oh boy... I'm trying to keep my Amex from catching on fire from all the swiping. But it is all coming together and looking very nice so it's all good.
So above you'll see April's gelato print (I've got a few wall calendars left and they are on sale here for $18.00 btw) which was inspired by Leees's gelato picture (also above). I mean have you ever seen anything more fun and delicious looking? Look at all the sparkles and umbrellas and fruit pieces. I guess I'm just a sucker for brightly colored sweet things stuck full with sparkly accoutrements.
So what is Gelato? Accoring to Wiki it is "Italian ice cream made from milk and sugar, combined with other flavorings. The gelato ingredients (after an optional pasteurization) are frozen while stirring to break up ice crystals as they form. Like high-end ice cream, gelato generally has less than 35% air, resulting in a dense and extremely flavourful product". All true I'm sure, but I just prefer a simpler definition: delicious.
Funny thing: I went to Italy on a back-packing tour in college and I remember in Venice my friend Sarah was obsessed with gelato and would get it at every chance. I was all "what's the big deal, it is just ice cream..." and I DIDN'T HAVE ANY! I went to Italy and didn't eat gelato. Stupid, I know. Regrets....
I didn't really get into gelato until I was out in San Francisco visiting JBatt + Picy. We went to Ciao Bella at the market building. I've always been a huge huge fan of their packaging and their gelato was just as wonderful. Especially their Champagne Apricot. MMmmmm. We went there twice. Luckily I can buy this deliciousness at my local Whole Foods. Which is exactly what I plan to do tonight so we can test it and give a little report to you.

Speaking of Magazines....

A few months ago I was interviewed by Blythe Copeland of Boston Magazine for the Spring Issue of Boston's New England Travel magazine, which just came out yesterday. The girl who does Places I Have Never Been needed to pick a favorite New England travel destination, (see, people don't think I actually go anywhere - but I do). I spoke to Blythe right after Sasso and I can back from a trip to the Berkshires, a favorite area of ours. It was so nice to see all the details I mentioned to her in the article, I'd forgotten most of them - like how much I liked the mushrooms at Mezze (they were very good). I talked about what we do when we travel - and that is eat great food, be it a hot dog or a 4 course meal.
The article also made me realize why people have headshots taken. Here I've got Sasso's glasses on... we are on the beach in Cabo... the sun is setting... a great memory - but not the most flattering picture. I'm just not all that photogenic - and I'm ok with that. My ladies Jsutt and Leeees take some very nice pictures, I might need to take some lessons from them. Next thing you know Sasso will come home and I will be playing ANTM in my studio.
Oh, you can read the full article online here.

Chowing down in Cabo

When we first arrived Sasso, J.J. and John made a trip to Mexican Costco (Sasso loves Costco and always has his card on him) and stocked up on water/drinks and breakfast/lunch foods for everyone. So the few times I tore myself away from the pool was for dinner.


#1 The Giggling Marlin: We ate here the first night after everyone had spent hours traveling. I think I would have enjoyed this place about 10 years ago and with a few tequila shots under my belt. I'll eat just about anything but I didn't eat my meal here, the chicken scared me. There were grown men in their tiddey-whities on the dance floor. They also hang people by their ankles while they are doing shots. Their motto is "If our food, drinks and service are not up to your standards please lower your standards." (above photos from withoutta crown and mudsugar via flickr)

#2 Amarone: Well this was our second choice. Our first choice was some seafood restaurant and when we got there we were in line behind none other than John Mayer (dressed in the usual black zip up hoodie - the same thing I was wearing - he looked much more rested then he usually does on PerezHilton.com). I admit I was a bit starstruck and had to bite my tongue to not tell him how i think his blog is pretty funny. When we went to get a table we were told Mr. Mayer had taken the last one. C'est la Vie. So we ate at this nice Italian place instead. I don't remember too much of my meal cause I was busy having a panic attack (something I'm a bit prone too) brought on by too much sun and not enough water. I do remember finishing off some nice red wine though. Well, I remember when Sasso spilled the last bit on the table. We made him go think about what he had done under the sparkling palm trees.


#3 Mi Casa: Oh how I loved this place. The food reminded me of one of my favorites, Ole in Cambridge. The restaurant was open air, had a crazy Mexican clown who made balloon animals, a dancing lady, Day of the Dead dolls, a band and amazing atmosphere. I had some mole, Sasso had some great ceviche and I think J.J. just had a big bowl of melted cheese.


#4 Sunset da Mona Lisa: This is where we ate our New Year's Eve dinner. It was a lovely setting, right at Lover's Rock at the tip of Cabo. All 10 of us sat down at sunset for a four course meal and wine. We were there for hours.... (above photos on right by the photog boggey)
My only Cabo regret is that I didn't venture into the non-gringo area for some authentic cuisine. Next time...

Mai-Tai's at Lunchtime

"Oh the life is sweet when you work for yourself" you must be thinking. Mai-Tai's at lunchtime. Well to be honest, I don't have a Mai-Tai on my desk but I sure wish I did. I've been waiting about 15 mins for my good ol' powerbook to apply the gajillion brush strokes on the Marrakech pattern and I'm getting antsy.
So the Mai-Tai... what does it have to do with Tahiti you ask. Well, as it turns out - very little. This little island drink was created in Oakland at Trader Vics by Don Bergeron in 1944. But to add a little drama, Don the Beachcomber says the HE invented the Mai-Tai in 1933 at his west coast bar. So how does Tahiti work itself in here? Trader Vic created the drink one afternoon for some friends who were visiting from Tahiti. One of them tasted it and exclaimed: "Maita'i roa!" Which means "Very Good!" so that is how this little drink got its Tahitian name.
The last time I had one of these was at the Kowloon on Route 1. I wanted to make a Mai-Tai this afternoon but there are about as many ingredients as there are brush strokes on the Marrakech pattern so I passed, (I felt like using a mix was cheating). But here is a recipe via epicurious.com (via Gourmet, May 2003) if you'd like to give it a go:

Ingredients
• 1 oz (2 tablespoons) dark rum
• 1 oz (2 tablespoons) amber rum
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1/2 oz (1 tablespoon) Cointreau or triple sec
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon orgeat syrup* or 1 drop pure almond extract
• 1 teaspoon superfine granulated sugar
• Dash of grenadine
• Garnish: an orange slice

Preparation:
Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with 1 cup ice cubes, then strain into a glass filled with ice cubes.

Mmmmmmm....

What's so cool about Tahiti?

It's snowing here. When I was walking the basset hound this morning, there were just s few little flakes but now it is a real snow flurry. It's really beautiful with the trees all orange and the green grass poking through the snow...time to dig out all that warm winter wear.
Let's talk about some cool things from somewhere that you don't need to turn the heat on - Tahiti.
Breadboxes: In Tahiti houses are equipped with a long mailbox, but forget the junk mail. They are filled daily with French bread. How great is that? I wish our mailbox was full of fresh bread instead of sale fliers from Stop 'n Shop.
Tahitian Tattoos: When I was in high school i got myself a small tattoo on my back. My mom said something about me turning into Madonna, or was it Roseanne Barr... I can't remember now, but she was NOT happy. If only back then I could have searched flickr and shown her a picture of this guy to prove that is could be worse...
Les Roulottes: Restaurant's on Wheels - this is Tahitian street food. Once the sun goes down these little places open up serving everything from Italian to Chinese. I want to try the local specialty, "Poisson Cru." A salad made from coconut, cucumber, citrus and fresh tuna. I imagine it to be a bit like ceviche which I love.
Brando's Island: Tetiaroa is the private island of deceased actor Marlon Brando. Mostly undeveloped this area is great for a day of sunning and bird watching. Better yet, it has a very dramatic history, read about it here.
Over water Bungalows: I've always dreamed at staying in on of these thatched roofed hotel room, but they seem to elude my travel budget. Some have glass floors so that you can watch the fish and coral from above. I just imagine falling asleep to the lapping of the waves...
Hawaikinui Va'a: "The Super Bowl of outrigger canoe races". Occurring in early November, each crew of 6 races 72 miles from Huahine to Raiatea to Tahaa and ends up in Bora Bora. This looks so fun, like the Tahitian equivilant to standing on Boylston St to watch the Boston Marathon. But you are in the crystal blue water and it is sunny, so I think this race wins. See the video below.

Above photos clockwise from top Bread Box by ThePreismans.com (check out there site here for some GREAT photos), Tattoo Man via flickr by thelastminute, les roulettes via flickr by zug poof, Tahiti via flicr by Matt Mihaly, Brando's island. Video via YouTube by zanawear.

Las Vegas : Part Uno : Eat

Ahhh... nothing like waking up in a cold apartment without a bunch of fluffy pillows to make you realize that you are no longer on vacation. Especially waking up late and missing an appointment because between daylight savings time and jet lag you really have no idea what time it is.
We had a lot of fun in Vegas. In the last 2 years I've been to Vegas 3 times, which is kind of crazy. The first was a whim to keep a friend company while she was at a conference and the second was for Sasso's 30th bday with a bunch of friends. This was the third time and we ate a ton of good food, went hiking, drove around and explored Off-The-Strip-Vegas.
So first, about the food. I suggest that you all entice a family member to become a food writer, and then have her accompany you on all your trips. Hopefully she will be as lovely as JBatt, therefore great to hang out with and also know the good restaurants, the good wines and be able to answer all your "what is that" menu questions. I credit her for our good eating (though let off the hook for Augustus's Cafe - choices at midnight are limited even in Vegas).
Bouchon : The Venetian Sasso and I had been here for dinner on our last Vegas trip so I was quite excited to try brunch there. This place is just lovely, from the decor to the service to the food. Fav Dishes: The Lemon Currant Scone and the glass of Gruet (image from viewaskew via travelpost)
Enoteca San Marco: The Venetian We were able to escape the "sidewalk of St Mark's Square" for the cozy comfort of the small dining room in the restaurant's wine cellar. One of my favorite things about the meal was listening to our waiter describe dishes on the menu, "a hanger steak rubbed in brown sugar and aged 24 hours", he made it all sound so good. It was good, though salty and I drank about 5 gallons of water because of it. Fav Dish: The Cauliflower with olives.
In n Out: Somewhere in Las Vegas Yeah that is right, fast food. Seeing In n Out on our when we were lost on our way to Red Rock Canyon was like a mirage in the desert. I love love love their burgers. Would someone please build on in New England? Fav dish: The Burger
Vons: Somewhere in Las Vegas We stopped here before we discovered the mother land of In n Out. We were trying to get food, but the store's deli was empty and their was only one rack of produce, but they sure did find enough Gatorade to fill up the produce area. Seriously it was the weirdest grocery store I've ever been to, yet so great.
Lotus of Siam: 953 E Sahara Ave Another repeat visit for us. This top rated Thai restaurant is the best Thai place I have eve been too. Things can be super spicy, some of which are too hot for me, but I learned that lesson on my last visit. Fav Dishes: Spicy Prawn Salad and House Fried Rice (The image above is From Delicious One, read her review here)
Border Cafe: Mandalay Bay So once our food connoisseur left us we decided to hit up a place we knew. I love Mexican. I could eat black beans and rice everyday so I am always up for it. If we weren't so tired maybe we could have also taken advantage of the huge tequila menu . Fav Dish: Grilled Skirt Steak with Corn Relish. Mmmmmmm...
Cafe Lago: Caesar's Palace How can one go to Vegas and not eat at a Buffet? Impossible (especially when traveling with Sasso). Fav Dish: Roasted Vegetables

I Heart Super 88

Ahh... yesterday turned out to be a good day. The Red Sox blew out the Rockies in game one of the World Series. I narrowly escaped what could have been a catastrophic car accident on 93S. I got to spend a good half hour browsing and buying at Super 88. I love walking around this local Asian market chain looking at packaging and imagining what everything is. I KNOW that all those labels do say things, they just say nothing to me - cause I can't read a single Asian language.
See above a few of my Shodoshima inspired purchases including 2 types of soy sauce and a package of somen noodles. It would have been great to find soy sauce and tenobe somen made in Shodoshima, but the labels just say "Product of Japan" so who knows.
"But how does it all taste?" you ask. Mmmmmmmm.....
So I read you should buy soy sauce like you buy wine. To me that means don't cheap out and go with the prettiest label - so that is exactly what I did. The smallest bottle is light and sweet, is made with "yuzu orange juice" and is labeled Higeta Ponzu Shoyu. The middle bottle is labeled "MARUKIN Yuki Marudaizu Nama Shoyu", is a strong, but very delicious, dark soy sauce. The tallest bottle is actually from Thailand and I think it is the mushroom sauce that Xander was speaking of. This Mushroom Flavored Soy Sauce by Healthy Boy quite delicious, like an earthy soy sauce. I better put these bottles back in the pantry before I just start drinking them straight... forget the sushi!!!
"Look, she even cooked a delicious soup with her somen noodles" you say. No, Zenna on Beacon did. I'm under piles of work without time to cook a lovely lunch, but trying to read all those noodle labels yesterday got me craving some noodle soup, so I went and grabbed some. I'll have to try my package of somens later.
Besides those treats I got some Pocky, (basically breadsticks dipped in chocolate) and a yummy jar of kimchi. I just realized that I forgot to look for Japanese Olives... but that is just an excuse for another trip to Super 88! Or better yet, maybe I should wait to get to Shodoshima to try some.

Mmmmm... Tenobe Somen

As previously mentioned Shodoshima has a lot to offer in terms of food. Soy sauce, Japanese olives, Tsukudani and tenobe somen noodles. The tenobe somen industry got its start in here in the late 16th century. These long, fine noodles are made from wheat flour, sesame oil and salt. The wheat flour dough is coated with sesame oil and then stretched as far as it can be by hand (see all those handing noodles up there...). Because the fine noodles can only be stretched during the dry months of winter, tenobe somen has become one of the symbols of the winter season.
It is things like this that I love to incorporate into the patterns. In the background of the Shodoshima pattern you will see (see close up above) the thin stripes representing the tenobe somen noodles. It is things like this that spurned me to start this blog. There are all these little secrets in each pattern that one would not assume were anything more than a mere design element without being told. I can tell you here.
I'm unsure if I've ever had tenobe somen, perhaps at sometime I have, I do eat a good deal of Japanese food. I didn't make it to Super 88 on Friday as hoped. But today on my quick jaunt down to the land of returns at Ikea, I will pass right by it. I'm hoping to stop by and pick up some somen, a few kinds of soy sauce, the mushroom sauce that Xander mentioned and some Japanese olives. Then tonight have a soy sauce tasting party accompanied by sushi, the red sox and some good friends (the kind that indulge me on my little weird research tastings like this) and then report back on the food of Shodoshima!

The dogs (and a cat) I met and the food I ate

We didn't know that the fresh and tasty food at a Costa Rican restaurant comes with a side of super-cute-puppy. That's right, just about every restaurant we ate at from Playa Negra to Nosara had an adorable little mutt who acted as the restaurant's ambassador. When asked, "Who's dog is this?", we were met with shrugs. That led to many a dinner conversation on how the four of us could smuggle our favorite Costa Rican puppies back to the US. Was it illegal to stash Stubbs in your carry-on?
1. This is Michael Jackson (see we named each one too), cause he's only got one white glove. I can't remember what restaurant this was at so I'm going to tell you about a different one. The Mono Congo Lodge in Playa Negra had a killer gourmet brunch. Not something you'd expect at the end of a dirt road (well, they were all dirt roads). It included curried sea bass, stuffed tomatoes, omlettes, french toast with banana sauce, watermelon salad with cilantro... I actually over-ate and made myself sick. The lodge looks like a big open air treehouse with rooms and hamocks for sleeping. The owner at the time was named Justin and he took us down by the river to see the baby crocodiles and the tarantula holes. I do remember being a bit concerned because I was wearing a mini cargo skirt and high espadrilles, not your average croc hunting attire. I could see the headlines... "Boston native falls into croc infested swamp. Heels too high." www.monogongolodge.com
2. This is Spanky and I think he was my favorite, I mean look at those ears. His casa was the lovely La Luna restaurant at the Hotel Nosara in Nosara. You sit literally just a few feet away from the crashing waves. It was beautiful, romantic and had great food and a great bar. There was lobster tails, mangos and seafood salad. Mmmmm.... If I had a destination wedding it would be here. www.nosarabeachhotel.com
3. Lil' Abner stayed at Dona Olgas where he was just waiting for, (and I'm sure I indulged him with), a bite of my hearts of palm salad, black beans and fish casado. Playa Nosara
4. Stubbs was very low to the ground, and even though I remember him to be very itchy - I would have thrown him in my backpack all the same. I believe he spent his days at a surfer bar in Junquillal where we had a few Imperials and some fries.
5. Miss Baxter (how cute is she) patrolled a very good pizza place. In fact in my sketchbook I've noted that it is "killer pepperoni pizza", but that's all I remember.
6. This guy does not have a name. Why? Well, he wouldn't talk to us. In fact he chased us out of the small village of Sámara after we had stuffed ourselves full of the MOST amazing empanadas ($1 each!) and papa fritas from a little place called Cevichera.
7. Costa Rican Mischief (my mischief's long lost brother) kept watch at the amazing Italian restaurant Puesto Del Sol in Junquillal, right down the street from Stubb's surfer bar. The food was fresh, delicious and the owners made lovely conversation. It was alfresco dinning and I could have stayed there all night. We would have fully enjoyed it if we weren't sweating the fact that we didn't bring enough cash to cover all the food and wine we ordered, (no credit cards!). After Sasso and Picy sold themselves and we forwent desert, all was fine in the end.
All in all the best thing about the food in Costa Rica was how fresh and local it was. Fish that was caught that day, fresh vegetables and my favorite - black beans and rice. Also they have great beer, Imperial. The worst thing? I still to this day can not eat huevos revueltos. Or as I like to call them, huevos revolting. I ate them EVERY morning at one of our hotels, (and I love scrambled eggs.. but not these) and would have killed for any other type of egg but was too afraid to ask. The last day there, the obnoxious Texans next to us were served poached eggs.

Hot Chocolate + Hot Air Balloons

In much of what I've read about the Balloon Fiesta there is the ubiquitous mention of a warm cuppa hot chocolate warming up those pre-dawn hours. As a true lover of hot chocolate, that is exactly what I would drink there. Last year I gave up eating dairy, (well mass consumption at least), and sidelining my daily hot chocolate was one of the saddest things. Now, it is a special treat and my allergies and waistline are thankful for that.
After seeing hot chocolate mentioned so many times I thought I'd share a few of my favorites.
1. L.A. Burdicks Now I don't know if this is just a New England thing, but if it is you better all come here for this. My lovely French friend Marie brought me to this cafe "that has the real European hot chocolate, the kind your spoon can stand in!" in 2001. You can eat pastries and indulged in their HC at their Cambridge cafe or visit their AMAZING restaurant in Walpole, NH, not too far from where I grew up. One of my favorite things to get is the iced hot chocolate, then when you can't finish it all, put it in the freezer and you've got a hot chocolate pop. If you can't make it here, you can pick up their HC mix online at www.burdickchocolate.com.
2. Starbucks Now I know there are a lot of haters out there... but being a "barista" at Starbucks helped me buy art supplies in school and kept me from getting a nose ring that I'd probably regret today, (thanks corporate dress code). They also make their hot chocolate with a yummy syrup and top it with delicious whipped cream. Since there is one on every corner, (at least in Boston), you are never at a loss for an HC fix. www.starbucks.com
3. Marie Belle I bought this because of the packaging. I entered the Marie Belle store in NYC and could have died because they have the most amazing branding ever. If I could get more than one client to stay that focused with their branding I'd be a very happy designer. Anyways, after the can of Aztec Hot Chocolate sat on my desk for months I broke into it. Mmmmmmm. I very much want to try, (and collect), their Maya HC too.
4. Chocolate en Poudre What is better than having a food writer as your boyfriend's sister, especially one that knows you adore HC and finds you the very best? Not much. In fact it is time for me to re-buy some Chocolate en Poudre. There is vanilla and little sugar crystals in here. It is devine and that is why it is my favorite. You can order it from Boston's gourmet food shop Formaggio Kitchen at www.formaggiokitchen.com
5. The Hot Chocolate Pot I do not own this and the $170 price tag is going to keep me from owning it, but isn't it beautiful? There is something so decadent about having a pot for hot chocolate sitting on your stove instead of a pot for tea. From Williams-Sonoma www.williams-sonoma.com
6. Zingerman's Traditional Mexican Hot Chocolate If you are not familar with the food store Zingermans go peruse their site and pick up their Guide to Good Eating.
I haven't had a Mexican Hot Chocolate that i remember, but this mix sounds very enticing. Smokey, cinnamon-ey with little exploding sugar crystals... mmmm. www.zingermans.com
The Balloon Fiesta will be wrapping up this weekend and this concludes the posts on the inspirations for the Albuquerque print. So sad, there was a balloon accident over the weekend and I send thoughts out to the family of those injured and killed in the crash. So sad. I wish the rest of the participants safe flight. Though scary, it still seems so magical to me. I can just imagine the roar of their little engines as I sip my hot chocolate...

Sweet Mint Tea

The Marrakech Pattern is based on the colorful glasses used for drinking mint tea throughout Morocco. Drinking mint tea with friends and family is one of the important rituals of the day. As with many rituals, the hardware used should be functional but also beautiful. Moroccan tea pots have long, curved pouring spouts which allows the tea to be poured evenly into tiny glasses from far above. The tiny glasses are about 3.25" tall and hold about 3 ounces of tea. They are painted with brilliant colors, often rimmed in gold. The tea is served piping hot and super sweet. When asking Adi how she liked the mint tea in Morocco her lips puckered as she said, "Oh! So sweet!". If you are interested in making your own, check out a recipe here.

As a surprise, when Adi came back from Spain this year she brought Sasso + me a pair of little tea glasses. Aren't they sweet? There are some more beauties at here at justmorocco.com. I'm not a big tea drinker, but i could build a collection of these glasses quite easily!

What's so cool about Savannah?

What am I going to do when I get to Savannah? Glad you asked, here are a few things from my list:
ShopSCAD: This is a unique gallery store that features only the work of faculty, staff, students and alumni of the Savannah College of Art + Design. What would I pick up? Well everything I could from Working Class Studio, (WCS is a product development venture of SCAD), including their melamine plates and note cards. Check out the ShopSCAD site for some great fine art finds too.
340 Bull Street view site here
Paris Market and Brocante: Their site's navigation, (boudoir, garden, powder room), is so intriguing, it makes you want to visit the actual store. They carry all things luxuriously European and they even have a patisserie on-site. The store looks amazing, like you could spend hours browsing all the treasures, check out their blog to see some more pictures and to find out what is going on in the shop. 36 West Broughton Street view site here
Mmmmmm....: After all that shopping I know I'd be famished, so I would take myself to lunch at Mrs. Wilkes. One of my favorite foods is fried chicken and I don’t remember having it since JBatt made it for me for my birthday 3 or so years ago. Well, Mrs. Wilkes has it on the menu every day along with collards, potatoes and more. Plus they change the menu daily (though that fried chicken stays!), only serve lunch and don’t take credit cards. Those places always great. 107 W. Jones St view site here
Something Old: I’d also need to get my historic fix by visiting Bonaventure Cemetery, the Mercer-Williams House, and the Telfair Art Museum. Maybe I’d go recite the girl scout promise, (which I still remember word for word), at Juliette Gordon Low’s birthplace too.
Well there are so many others places, I could ramble on for a while, but I'll wait until I get to Savannah to continue. ‘Til then check out Grace from Design*Sponges’s slide show of her trip to the historic area of Savannah and Holly from Decor8’s Savannah shopping guide.
Images from top left are: ShopSCAD window front, Mrs. Wilkes and her lovely spread, patisserie counter at the Paris Market and Brocante (how cute is that dress?), Bonaventure Cemetery from via CNN by Amanda Moulson.

What's so cool about Chicago?

Oh there seems to be a lot my friend. In fact, when I do get around to visiting, I think I will be quite the busy lady.
My first encounter with shopping in Chicago was back in the day when I was designing at Fresh and I needed to make cards for the new (at the time) North Halsted store. "It's in Lincoln Park," they said. "Isn't that a band?" I thought, "and kind of a crappy band?" Well that may be true, (for my taste at least), but there is a beautiful store called Jayson Home and Garden at 1885 N. Clybourn Ave in Lincoln Park. Beautiful home accessories, amazing vintage finds (see above nightstand) and flowers.
From there I would jump over to Bucktown to visit the lovely clutches at Lille, ( 1923 W North Ave). I know I wouldn't use it everyday.... but aren't the beautiful (see above)?
I would run over to Greer to satisfy my paper fix, (1657 North Wells Street). They carry lots of great paper designers, (having my own paper line, I'm sucker for lovely paper), including one of my favorites, Binth, which you can't find too much of around here in Boston.
Lastly I would love to meet Miss Emily from OrangeBeautiful, (check out her great cards here), for a bite at Vosges Haut Chocolat. They have a bar of chocolate made with bacon that sounds way too enticing to be missed!

Mmmmmm.... Hot Dogs.

Ok. Chicago Hot Dogs. I’m TOTALLY obsessed. There is something about having a giant pickle, lettuce and tomatoes with your hot dog that sounds really appetizing to me. Besides that I’m a big foodie who's very into regional foods. You know, chowder in Boston, lobster in Maine, cheesesteak in Philly, pizza in New York, shrimp in Florida and so on.
What is strange, however, is that my obsession has been showing up in other places. Like this article from July 2007's issue of T + L. It reviews the dog restaurants and explains what dragging your red hot through the garden means. The article will definitely serve as my hot dog guide when I get to Chi-Town (do others besides Kayne West call it that? It is sooo catchy). According to the article's author Francine Maroukian, here is what makes up the perfect Chicago Style Hot Dog:

• Poppy-seed bun from the old-world S. Rosen bakery
• All-natural all-beef hot dog from Vienna Beef
• Yellow mustard
• Chopped white onion
• Sweet green-pickle relish (dyed a glowing kryptonite green)
• Dill-pickle spear
• Sprinkle of celery salt
• Sport peppers (small jalapeños)
• Sliced tomatoes

So where will I eat? I think Superdawg will be at the top of the list, impart for the kitchy atmosphere and the car hop service. Also because I respect the owners decree that ketchup on a hot dog is an abomination (see video here, so great). Then there is Hot Doug's for those duck-fat fries... The above hot dog image is from hotdogchicagostyle.com where they have some great reviews and a list of ingredients to make your own Chi-Town dog. But for now I am going to take myself to my local (and lovely) Spike's to get a "junkyard dog" and pretend that I'm in the Windy City.

Adventures on the Wine Route

As previously noted I am quite the bookworm and reading is one of the main ways that I research the "Places I Have Never Been" collection. To learn about the Bordeaux region of France I picked up Kermit Lynch's "Adventures on the Wine Route: A Wine Buyer's Tour of France". There is a chapter per region, and though it was a bit over my head because of my lack of wine knowledge, (I know there is red and white and that white is generally chilled - or that is how I like it), I still very much enjoyed the book.
Lynch talks about Bordeaux being "a land of facades", the biggest one of all being the name chateau, because "many chateaux are nothing but dilapidated sheds in which wine is produced, (reminds me of how loosely the term "luxury condo" is thrown around here in Boston).
Lynch writes of "wine factories", the négociant (middle man) system of Bordeaux, and the lack of female wine makers except for the wonderful Madame de Lacaussade. Some of Amazon.com's reviewers panned the Bordeaux section of this book, saying that the rest of the book was much better. Once I get through it I will let you know.

mmmmm... Cannelés!

The text for the Bordeaux print states that I would eat a tower of cannelés if i was to travel there. Well, in full disclosure, I have an amazing bakery just a few blocks from my home, and they make some great cannelés and I could eat a tower of them there, (or maybe I already have...). Canto 6 is on the corner of Washington and Green in Jamaica Plain, MA and they specialize in "Rustic European Pastry". The cookies (the chocolate cherry), biscuits (ham, carmelized onion and blue cheese), scones (the strawberry), tarts (goat cheese and asparagus), quiches (potato and onion), sandwiches (the franklin park) are amazing. Thank god i have to walk up a big hill to get home. (check out their menu here).
Ok back the the cannelés. It is a small French pastry with a soft and tender custard center and a dark, caramelized crust. The pastry looks like a tiny bundt cake and is approximately two inches in height. This Bordeaux specialty is made from egg, milk and flour flavored with rum and vanilla, the custard batter is baked in a mold, giving the cannelé a caramelized crust and marrowy inside. They remind me a bit of French Toast, only a lot better. If you live in the area stop by Canto 6 (3 cannelés for $1, can't beat that), other wise give them a call... maybe they will ship some to you!
That little lady in the top picture is Agnes, my brother's 7 mth Old English Bulldog and we are dog sitting. She is scared of a lot of things around our house (this is her first trip to the big city) but she certainly isn't afraid of those cannelés!

Bordeaux, France

Well the real inspiration for this print was my dear friend Lisa and her never ending love for a little "Cab Sav" after work. She often mentions this in her blog, which is the funniest thing i have EVER read, (seriously everyone go over and read her blog www.yourgirlfriendisugly.com). We've been friends for a good six years, brought together by my former and her current employer "The Spoil", and have partaken in a good amount of red wine tasting together, (not the "this has notes of blackberry tasting", just the "mmmm... good wine!" tasting). Besides being inspired by my muse Lisa, I did a some reading on the Bordeaux region and tasted some local canelés (I actually plan to go get some more after posting this). I wanted to do a pattern that represented the different shades of red that appear when you swirl your glass of wine. Let me tell you, this pattern did not come easy and took months! I think i did close to 10 revisions, I'm sure Sasso got sick of critiquing them too. But in the end it all came together and you can check it out here.

I totally forgot this...

Somehow in all of my Wellfleet Oyster posting I forgot to mention the best thing: The Wellfleet Oyster Festival! This is too good to not pass on so forgive me that it is not in line with all the other Wellfleet posts, (if you remember my post on my sketchbooks you'll note I'm big on order, so you know this must be important if I'm throwing it in late in the game). While google-ing Wellfleet i stumbled upon the festival's website. “So heaven is a weekend in October in Wellfleet!” I thought. It can't be anything less than a great time. I imagine eating mounds and mounds of oysters, (last year over 100,000 oysters were devoured), and then retiring to a quaint Cape Cod inn to digest in front of a fireplace. There is a shucking contest – which I will watch but not enter, I would need to have better health insurance before I pried anything open with a knife - and even a 5k “shuck and run”, god bless those who are out there running while I will be toasting to the oyster.
The seventh annual Wellfleet OysterFest will take place the weekend after Columbus Day, Saturday and Sunday, October 13th and 14th, 2007 in Wellfleet, MA on Cape Cod. For more information visit www.wellfleetoysterfest.org. Sasso and I will totally be there.