Left: Bob Staake’s brilliant cover illustration on this week’s The New Yorker “After Escher: Gulf Sky and Water
Right: Let’s not forget: Barry Blitt’s “Five Weeks Later” 
Archive for June, 2010
B.P. Escher
June 30, 2010the vicky
June 30, 2010For our first trip to Austin, we couldn’t resist the lure of Hotel San Jose, but this vacation we went a different route and chose a b&b in a quiet neighborhood a few blocks off South Congress. I loved the peacefulness of the Park Lane Guest House, especially with the 40,000 motorcycles roaring into town for the ROT Rally. My parents settled into largest accommodations, The Garden Cottage. It is spacious with a kitchen, living room, separate bedroom, and lovely little patio.
We opted for more adventure with The Vicky. This tiny Texas house required negotiating a ladder to access the sleeping loft every night. For a handful of evenings up in the air, The Vicky has its charm… but it’s probably better suited for 2 kids than 2 adults! 
The Vicky is made of reclaimed building materials. Your host at Park Lane whips up a lovely breakfast AND is a master carpenter!
Here’s the exterior of our tiny Texas house!
If you decide to stay at Park Lane: breakfast is included, there’s a beautiful pool out back and trust me, snag the Garden Cottage and you’ll have plenty of room to spread out!
repent at leisure
June 28, 2010“MAN is born free but is everywhere in debt.” So begins The Economist’s special report on debt from last week.
I mean this read this magazine more, but it’s my husband’s weekly and I’m barely treading water trying to keep up with The New Yorker. I’m never that taken with the visuals in The Economist, but for the first time the illustrations in this special report caught my attention. They are by Marie-Helene Jeeves and I hope the magazine will feature more artwork like this to balance all the standard stock photos that seem to accompany the rest of their articles. 
cat hunt: austin, texas
June 25, 2010We chose to spend a few nights in the South Congress area of Austin again. This time in small cottages at the Park Lane Guest House. In the early mornings we set out for quick walks around the neighborhood before the heat joined forces with humidity and mosquitoes. I kept a firm grip on my sweating Belgium Bomber (half iced turbo and half cold brewed, unsweetened iced coffee) from Jo’s and was able to fire off a few shots on my point & shoot. These cats all live on on the same block between South Congress and South 1st.
I always like looking for cats when we take walks at home, but I don’t seem to have much luck. Connecticut cats seem to be more elusive. New England felines should thank their lucky stars to live without that opressive humidity clinging to their fur coats all summer long.
wilton outdoor sports center
June 24, 2010A few months after D tried stand up paddleboarding in Hawaii, he announced he wanted to buy a board. Little did I know we would have one this summer! He is now the proud owners of this seriously stunning Ali’i board, designed by Donald Takayama. 
He decided to special order the paddleboard through the Outdoor Sports Center. Last weekend was our first visit and we were super impressed at the sheer size and inventory of the shop! I work near an EMS and D is used to shopping at TrailBlazer, but both of these pale in comparison to this 50+ year old business on Route 7 in Wilton, CT. In many of these photos you’ll see their employee Mark, who embodies the very reason you patronize a shop like this. His knowledge and enthusiasm were undeniable. Mark is meticulous in matters of transport and he also made sure we got the board home safely. He’s a great resource to anyone looking to make a purchase in the paddling department.
The board looks like a heavy traditional longboard, but it’s really just covered in a very thin wood veneer. I think this makes the beautiful finishwork all the more amazing! It’s much lighter than a kayak, and much easier to transport on top of our car. I’m sure it was an unusual sight on the Merritt Parkway as we drove home. Despite its light weight, the board is still over 11 feet long! 
We’re hoping for lots of calm days on the Long Island Sound this summer. Yesterday, D took the board out on its maiden voyage – I suspect to keep away from prying eyes. The camera and I were still stuck at the office.
the mighty vitamix
June 23, 2010Move over blender, there’s a new appliance in town. We’re now proud owners of the amazing Vitamix 5200 that tops off at speed of 240 mph. Seriously, this thing is so powerful that it was a bit frightening at first! We definitely read the directions before anything got plugged in. I’ve always relentlessly teased my mom about her expensive blender from Costco, but now she got me one… I’ve been converted. It does a great job with our smoothies and D found this recipe for a whole fruit margarita. It doesn an incredible job demolishing ice, so your frosty beverages will be some of the smoothest in around! 
Before and After
dripping springs, tx: hamilton pool
June 21, 2010Welcome summer! Let’s kick off the longest day of the year with a trip to a *stunning* Texas swimming hole about 25 miles outside of Austin. It was so hot and steamy, you can literally see my camera lens all fogged up in this first photo. I can’t even convey how humid it was that day, it felt like we were in a sauna! But for this stop, it was well-worth parting ways with our car’s A/C. 
if you are lucky to get one of the 75 parking spots at the Hamilton Pool Preserve, there’s a quick hike involved. Once you descend, a lush riverbed trail edges the creek and leads you left, to Pedernales River (closed during our visit) or right, to the main event: 
This pool and grotto were formed when the dome of an underground river collapsed long ago. 
There’s a small beach facing the far side of the grotto where a beautiful waterfall tumbles 45 feet to the pool below..
The day we visited the pool wasn’t open for swimming due to nesting birds, but this allowed us to visit this virtually deserted hideaway in solitude. If you’ve got your heart set on swimming, be sure to call ahead and get here early on the weekends. If there’s no parking left, cars are held at the entrance until a space opens up.
This was simply one of the most unexpectly stunning sights I’ve seen since visiting the Canadian Rockies. Who would expect to find a spot like this just outside Austin? If you are looking for another unusual outdoor Texas experience, I also recommend Enchanted Rock, not far from the Hill Country town of Fredericksburg. (the meager photos on my old blog simply do it no justice).
happy father’s day
June 20, 2010To all the dad’s out there - enjoy your day, you’ve earned it!
I’m busy editing through photos of Hamilton Pool and found a few new shots of my step-father in a rare moment when he wasn’t practicing his banzai toast for last weekend’s wedding. 
c’est magnifique
June 18, 2010Last night we kicked off our anniversary celebration with cocktails at the Dressing Room bar. Their dining room was buzzing before showtime at the Westport Playhouse. We saw some tantalizing dishes coming out, but had already decided to dine at Le Farm. We enjoyed a light meal, 4 appetizers, a salad and one wicked little chocolate pot-de-creme. It’s a splendid time of year for farm-to-table dining in Connecticut and I deeply wish Chef Taibe would adopt me so I could spend every day exploring the wonders of his kitchen! We’re talking about my favorite chef in Connecticut (we were crushed when Relish closed in South Norwalk) and I’d follow him anywhere, but I’m so thankful he’s serving up his amazing food at this low-key spot in Westport. I also want to give it up for our charming server Frank, who, with the true memory of an elephant, remembered us AND where we sat during our last visit in October of 2009!
Don’t you love the long days of June when there’s enough light to shoot without flash at 8pm? Below is our local lettuce salad with grapefruit, sunflower seeds and creme fraiche lime dressing. I’m not one to get excited about a salad, but it was so simple, yet so unexpectedly pleasing. Unfortunately the light disappeared before I could photograph the rest of dinner and sometimes, you have to put the camera down.
On our way home from dinner we listened to Ella’s Twelve Nights in Hollywood as she sang the Cole Porter classic, C’est Magnifique. So true, Ella.
inspired by iceland
June 18, 2010My dear friend Christine is just back from Iceland. I can’t wait to hear more about the long hours of daylight, the beautiful vistas and the wedding she attended. I know a lot of you are daydreaming about a trip to Iceland, myself included. If you missed them, Check back on Katherine and Nathan’s armchair travel posts and here’s a joyful tourism video from Inspired by Iceland via Prêt à Voyager.
Inspired by Iceland Video from Inspired By Iceland on Vimeo.