cigs

another thing i picked up in paris is an obsession with cigarettes. i've never smoked them, but i am suddenly interested in any art with cigarettes. i blame it on joseph szabo and "priscilla", who i fell in love with in a tiny art gallery in the marais. if it weren't for her price tag (and exchange rate, for that matter) she would be the centerpiece in my now cigarette obsessed art collection. but until i can have her, griffy will hold that position as my favorite.

{ priscilla, by joseph szabo }

{ griffy, by gowdy }

riz au lait

b made his famous rice pudding last night and i was so excited to use my la fermiere pots to store perfect individual sized portions. best thing we brought back from paris (well.. that and the salted butter)

plus humphrey and bogey play in the backyard

pizza

i just bought tickets to outstanding in the field in lompoc for this summer and i can't stop thinking about it. the chef from full of life flatbread, one of my favorite places to eat, is the guest chef. to satisfy my excitement, b has been cooking full of life flatbread inspired pizzas (they publish their weekly specials on fridays!). we even started buying dough from our local pizza place instead of trader joes dough and it has made such a difference!

{ b's full of life flatbread inspired pizza - recipe coming soon }

bates

one of my favorite new places in london is bates, a century old hat maker right on jermyn street. i can't count how many times i have been in the neighborhood (buckingham palace, fornum & mason, the ritz), but never happened upon bates. it is a charming little store with piles upon piles of their famous caps. and as if the hat boxes and chandeliers weren't enough, the shop cat from the 1920's is stuffed, sitting in a glass box, wearing a top hat and smoking a cig. his name is binks and he is fabulous.

melrose and morgan

melrose and morgan is one of my favorite places in london and it was first on the list when we arrived. it is on the sweetest street in primrose hill and just a short walk to the best view in london.

{ bacon and comte savoury tart }

{ sausage roll & winter salad }

{ apple and mincemeat crumble }

folk

on our first day in london b and i set out to find darkroom (which i swooned over here), only to discover that it was on the most amazing street just blocks from the apartments we lived in while abroad. lamb's conduit is perfectly charming and houses some of the coolest stores i've been to in london. among them my new favorite london store, folk. if only i earned in pounds, everything in that store would be mine...

{ lamb's conduit }

{ folk }

{ bananas }

paris

dearest blog,

i am so very sorry for neglecting you, but i have been very busy last minute planning a fabulous trip to paris and london. please don't be mad, i will take lots of beautiful pictures in paris for you.

xoxo,

b

{ paris with snow! }

{ the airbnb apartment i finally booked yesterday! }

{ don't you just love the floors and the windows }