Friday, March 12, 2010

J'adore...

David Lebovitz's take on French napkins. Disposable? Jamais. He also offers Tips for Vegetarian Dining in Paris.

...the Ultimate Money Blog's column, Frugal French habits You can Try at Home. I'm a big advocate walking, paying with cash and not credit, and many other things mentioned, so I'm off to a French and frugal start.

...stumbling across little French-themed books at the C.A.T.S. Resale Shop for my nightstand. "Je fais un somme, donc je suis." I nap, therefore I am.


...stealing away a few moments for myself at my favorite French cafe, Macaron, with a soy coffee, $2.25 and flipping through their collection of French magazines like Elle and Paris Match. I don't understand most of what's in them still, but I'm having fun trying...

...how much better tap water tastes out of a cheerful pitcher. Instead of lemon, add slices of orange for a refreshing change, like they did at Macaron. In my opinion, how 'good' water tastes is often psychological.

...rainy evenings. Perfect excuse to get under a blanket, put on the comfy clothes, and watch dvd's from the library. I cannot wait to watch Food Beware, The French Organic Food Revolution.


...the feeling I have after sitting down to savor delicious, wholesome food (versus mindless eating). When walking down a New York City sidewalk with my friend, I pondered, is it possible to be in love with food? In Babette's Feast, one of my favorite films (non-vegetarian feast aside), a character talked about a chef who "Had the ability to transform dinner into a kind of love affair. A love affair that made no distinction between bodily appetite and spiritual appetite." Food fuels the body, but what you eat, and how you eat it, nourishes the soul. When I have a good meal, I'm tempted to do a happy dance just like my family's rescue dog does after he's eaten his.

...remembering sunny, warmer days: sunflowers from Old Hook Farm in the summertime.

Bon week-end tout le monde!

3 comments:

Ted Teodoro said...

George Simenon's novellas are great for reading French. His prose is not overly complicated and technical. I don't know if Barnes and Noble carries his novellas, but certainly a French bookstore would.

Cate said...

Love David Lebovitz!

I agree with you on the water thing. I discovered that half of the reason I used to dislike drinking tap water was the temperature, so we refrigerate it in a Brita pitcher (the filtering may have something to do with it, too) and I love it. One of my favorite restaurants puts cucumber slices in their water--delicious!

Catherine said...

Chessbuff, merci bien! I checked the BCCLS (http://www.bccls.org/) and it looks like they own a copy. I should investigate the library more for French-language texts. I've seen dual-text French-English books in Borders New York City.

I picked up The Little Prince when I was in Paris, so I can read the French version side by side with the English.

Even though I'm not very advanced with the language, it's still great fun embracing the cultural aspects.

Cate, I was served cucumber slices one time and it was so refreshing but I aways forget about it. Thanks for the reminder. I have a Brita pitcher at home too.