happy weekend!

i think this movie will make your weekend, entirely. yes its that good. jacob now wants to live in paris, i already wanted to so no big news for me that its now on our list.

i'm also excited about preparing for a couple of photography shows this month. i sold my first photo this week and i'm working on getting some more prints prepared and framed. i can't wait to see how it goes, but i'm {trying} not to count my chickens before they hatch.

i read a great book this week, called motion of the ocean. its about a couple who get married and sail around the pacific. but its also about the ups and downs a couple goes through in love and marriage. its beautiful and funny. i love reflecting on and seeing how other people experience transitions. i don't feel i handle them well at all so its nice to get tips and know i'm not alone in my {over} emotions.

i hope you enjoy the beginning of summer. i can't wait for months of tomatoes and sunshine!

happy weekend!

this past week we celebrated our 1st anniversary, i'll be sharing pictures of chez panisse and us in our fancy get up next week, but i wanted to share my second favorite photo from the yashica roll this weekend. the golden gate bridge is always photogenic but i love how its set between the blue sky and turquoise water.

you must check out the blue hour, brian has just returned from italy and the photos are moving, delicious and beautiful.

we're working hard this weekend but i plan on resting on memorial day. that will probably entail curling up with a good book. i've been lax on sharing my favorite books so try and i'll catch up now: i've enjoyed MFK Fisher's serve it forth, elizabeth gilberts stern men, isabelle allende's daughter of fortune, and my most recent favorite the particular sadness of lemon cake. an exploration of the connection of taste to emotion and a girl's journey to adulthood.

i also hope to see bridesmaids. it looks hilarious!

i have some extra strawberries here so i'm going to try this recipe but i've also seen alot of rhubarb cake recipes lately and might branch out in that direction next.

jacob's been working on his new album lately and has posted a demo. this one delves into the themes of journeying on the high seas. listen and share it with your friends!

the elegance of the hedgehog

*

this book thrilled my heart. its set in a wealthy neighborhood in paris, and addresses social class, facades, poverty and the power of community. the story and characters are beautiful, redemptive, sweet, sarcastic, sad, intelligent and they all came together to form an engaging story that has made me think, alot. about life and art and why i live and how.

*this is the french cover which i've chosen because i was telling jacob that i didn't like the engligh cover and that i thought it should be a painting of a camellia (read the book to find out why) and when i googled the book this edition came up. maybe my calling is actually book art. hmmm.....

farm city

Jacob and i want goats and a garden and while we recently read that this was possible in urban areas we didn't really think it happened. until we read farm city. novella writes about her experiences as an urban farmer in oakland. she is very open about her struggles in an excellent show of humor. there are many highs and lows, even the title of urban farmer took her awhile to grow into but i think she earned it as she raised many types of fowl, rabbits, and heirloom vegetables while struggling with ethical and urban problems. she shares many tales of her delicious meals as well as the work it took to get them to her table. i was impressed and challenged while laughing my head off. thanks novella.

book list

tender to the bone- Ruth Reichl

this work details her life with her parents and her development as a cook and food lover. its a beautiful story of her finding courage and hope and her hilarious missteps along the way.

room with a view- e.m. forster

a telling work about a young woman falling in love and the mental struggles between what she wants and what is expected. its very similar to jane austen but with more inner dialogue. i really love her word play and descriptions. i haven't finished it yet but i'm really enjoying it so far.

the amazing adventures of kavalier and clay- micheal chabon

this one took me a while. its very long and detailed with many different stories and characters running through it. chabon ties it together beautifully with a strong trio of characters who you care about very strongly as they make their way through many struggles including pogroms, new york in the 30s, WWII, and the complacency of the 50s. they write and create beautiful comic books throughout. its brilliant.

any suggestions as i'm finishing up room with a view?

entertainment

i've read quite a few good books lately that i have not updated on.

1. mennonite in a little black dress was very enlightening, funny, sweet and sad. i love her continuing struggle between her family values and her educational values and how she brings them together through many dark days. its beautiful.

2. namesake this is also about a struggle to come to terms with a family that is at odds with the greater part of society. as the parents came from India and a the child is raised in America, the ties are stretched but never broken. the author writes beautiful short stories yet her talent really shines here.

3. garlic and sapphires is another female memoir, this one more professional. Ruth becomes the New York Times food critic and must disguise her identity to adequately do her job, she flounders as she is overcome by the praise, the critiscism, the difficulty of always eating out and coming face to face with who she is as she embodies other characters. she keeps her dignity, humor and grace throughout and records her experiences beautifully.

we've also seen a few movies i wanted to recommend. Never Let Me Go, the Illusionist and the King's Speech. I can't wait to see how everything goes down with the Oscars.

we saw the Illusionist at the Clay theater on Fillmore and took a couple of pictures. Jacob aced the first one and i loved the ornateness of the interior.

comitted

this year has been full of thoughts and discussions about marriage naturally since i got married in may. why do we do it? why are there so many rules around it? what does a good marriage look like? how do i make sure mine works? i finally read this book and feel much more sane about my qualms about yet need to be married. she sheds a historical, philosophical and of course humorous light on our practice of marriage and its place in our life.

julie and julia

i read this book in approximately two days last week. it was amazing. i love female memoirs and she is hilarious and honest and of course a good eater. i am now slightly obsessed with julia child as well. i have a few videos of her cooking and learned how to cut an onion finally. what julie seemed to learn and what i took away is julia's joy for life and desire to share that with others through food.

A General Theory of Love

i loved this book. it explained the biology behind love and how emotions are developed. the way the brain developed and reacts now is so intriguing. her argument for love rang true and while it feels sad that the author must explain that love needs time and is essential to human life. its also important sometimes to hear the simple truths and i believe its insights will inform my future interactions.

the big book sale

one more reason why i love my job at reader's cafe is that it made me aware of the big book sale. this is the 46th annual big book sale and its in the festival pavilion at fort mason center. so its huge, the largest on the west coast apparently. old books, new books, in between books, on every subject imaginable. its incredible and its only this weekend so you should hit it up, especially since all the proceeds go to benefit the san francisco public library. and if you bring a receipt from the sale into readers cafe you get 10% off your purchase. coffee and books, the best combination

cloud atlas

elissa recommended this one to me. its intersecting and interlocking stories was beautifully done but what i loved most was the ending with its emphasis on the world being what you make it. while the book doesn't seem to hold much hope for people actually making a world worth living in, i think there is the possibility and that's what makes life worthwhile.

the help

this book was recommended to me several times and i read about it on book reviews and lists. it came into the book bay, the book store next to readers cafe, and i snatched it up. i loved it for many reasons. as someone who helps out other people for a living its an interesting read. obviously different circumstances but i feel a connection with them because of it. i also enjoyed the authors use of voice which captured the characters and made them very believable. the south is a subject that is dear to my heart because of my time in college and i appreciated her careful, loving and imaginative capturing of a very complex group of people. while it was heart rending at times, overall it was a beautiful testament to relationship and a woman's path to independence. 

zen

i've been working on this book for quite some time. months actually. its an intriguing concept, a travel diary, philosophy text and memoir all in one. i can't get the ideas out of my head. his description of quality and search for the roots of our beliefs about our world is life changing. i liked that though its lofty it pertains to how we live our lives everyday. its made me appreciate the details. thanks marshall and jacob for making me press on, it was worth it.

Way with Words

I've been reading as much as possible lately. With more time on my hands than normal I've been reading books like they were my job,

I wish.

Some of the most notable recent works are Lydia Davis' Break It Down and Sailing Alone Around the Room.

Both authors take the ordinary and bring it to the light of day in a new, extraordinary way.

I loved Davis' excerpts and felt that she really shined in her shortest pieces, that summed up a feeling perfectly. Collins' poetry also accomplished the task of capturing feeling. I liked that he did not need to be bogged down in despair to talk about the feelings of sadness or loneliness and he has an exceptional sense of humor that carries itself throughout.

murakami

i enjoy his books immensely. in college, my senior year, my english major friends read his works and raved but i never had time to read them. the day has come and i am better for it. i read after dark, one of his newer works first and then finally got my hands on Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. Murakami journeys into the subconscious and plays with ideas in ways that are believeable and thought provoking. He also presents characters that are important and relateable. i think this story will be stuck in my head for awhile.

little bee

i loved and hated this book at the same. it was very depressing but uplifting about a young nigerian refugee. her perspective is beautiful. and the connections the author makes are amazing but the reality of what happens when people ignore others or the developing world is nightmarish.

so don't read it unless you have time to take action or are atleast prepared to look at the world differently.

don miller

i recently read his new book, a million miles in a thousand years and i am enamored. his thoughts on stories were enlightening. i can't stop thinking about the story i am telling and why.

tight rope walker

i have been doing alot of reading so far this summer which i'm really enjoying. i just finished let the great world spin. its a deep book about the struggles of life and the beauty that can be found there.

city planning

city planning:

i want to be this woman. if i look like her when i am old i'll be happy. her first chapter has already changed how i view the city. its so enlightening

the future

*i was inspired to blog about this subject by my dear friend swiemo.

anticipation is something that i engage in willingly. obviously since i am in a long distance relationship i've had my share.

yet in anticipating the unknowns of marriage and life after school i am at a loss as to what to expect.

this book has eased those fears. 

it is a hilarious memoir about a couple's engagement period and the things they learn, enjoy and fight about with each other. mostly revolving around food. 

it is so sweet and insightful.