No matter how many hip new restaurants pop up in New York between our visits, I always try to save one meal for a visit to Trattoria Dell’Arte. This trip, we found ourselves there three times! It was only two blocks from our hotel and it was still as wonderful as I remembered. On our last night we popped in late and sat at the antipasti bar.  It’s so much fun to pick and choose from the sumptuous platters of seafood, vegetables and cured meats.  Our official trip favorites were the fried cauliflower, broccoli rabe, and the tomatoes and mozzerrella.  If you find yourself there after the theatre, the pizzas are perfect … light, delicate and crispy. (Looking like the tourist that I was, I took these pictures with my phone!)

For me, there is another added sparkle, which is the fact that Trattoria Dell’Arte was designed by Milton Glaser, from whom I took a class at School of Visual Arts when I was a young illustrator.  I am still inspired today by some of the lessons I learned in his amazing and intense class.

When you enter the restaurant,  the space opens into a large, beautifully lit room – the kind that makes you glow even if you feel tired and pale.  The classic space is filled with art and sculpture … all odes to the body.  Monumental body parts, with a special affinity toward noses, surround midtown diners.  Sometimes, my girls will say, “Can we go to the restaurant with the noses?” and we know exactly which restaurant they are requesting.  I’m sure this is not what Milton had in mind when he created this space, but then again, perhaps he did, because, in a way, it’s just another form of branding.  Apple = Macintosh, Nose = Trattoria Dell’Arte.

There are many other examples of anatomy throughout the restaurant … from lips to feet to bottos.  In fact, I also have a picture of a pure white, 3-foot-tall bas-relief bosom hanging above one diner’s table, however I didn’t think I should necessarily feature it here on our family-rated blog.  But, it was impressive!

Left:  Cathy and Ellen discussing the busy day at Surtex and enjoying chicken paillard while sitting under a very large drawing of this splendid nose.  Can you guess which famous Italian belongs to this nose?  Well, I guess you will just have to go to Trattoria dell’Arte and take a look at your napkin ring.

I LOVE to walk everywhere in New York City.  With every step there is new inspiration. Around every corner there is a seed for a new idea.  Here are some visuals from a lazy walk back to our hotel: Fat ceramic chickens, jewel-toned glass pitchers, yet another cupcake shoppe, and a Mother’s Day cake oozing with flowers.

I had forgotten about that great cake we saw.  I’m glad you took a picture!  The pattern on the surface of those balloon-like chickens reminded me of the skin on a ceramic antelope we saw at Donna Seager Gallery yesterday when we went to their Art of the Book exhibition.  So here’s one more square of sidewalk stimulation – but from sunny San Rafael…

If you find yourself walking home through Chelsea in New York City after a long day of work, (like we did after our first day of Surtex) and you are certain that you deserve a little reward, (like we did) I would like to recommend Cocoa V on Ninth Avenue.  The only issue might be the length of time it could take to choose just one little something chocolate.  Neat and tidy rows of beautiful chocolates are displayed like jewelry, so making a decision seems a little bit like choosing between the diamond ring on the right and the sapphire bracelet to the left.

Some of the delicacies are so pretty that one might be hesitant to actually eat them, so we chose the Pretzel Clusters … not that they were ugly, they just weren’t quite as intricately decorated.  (Due to their deliciousness they are not pictured above.)  They were excellent–the perfect blend of sweet and salty.
Not only are the chocolates lovely, the staff is lovelier.  And if you need an excuse to appease your guilt for eating sweets too close to dinnertime, you can be content knowing that Cocoa V is the first 100% vegan, organic and fair trade chocolate shoppe in the city!  And, if reading this little post is making your mouth water for chocolate, you can also buy these gorgeous confectioneries from their online shoppe here.
Here I am below in my chocolate coat choosing a chocolate snack. Bon Chocolat!

The season for tapping birch sap is very short, but we were in Lithuania when it happened.

I don’t think I had ever seen the sap of a tree before – not in its watery-state, at least.  In California, we have eucalyptus trees that ooze crystals of red amber and make the sidewalk sticky, so I suppose I imagined that all trees have a thick-bodied circulatory system – that maple trees are filled with syrup – but apparently this is not the case!

Birch sap, I have learned, tastes (to me) like a very green version of those new flavored-water energy drinks with no calories that come in hi-tech bottles.  Here is some real information about it.  So, even if you are a city slicker like I am, if you happen to have a birch tree in your back yard, it might be a fun project for early spring…

Here is my husband inspecting the sap bucket, and a quick watercolor of the glass mason jar after it had been filled.  Happy memories.

Have a great week!

The California office is now back from Lithuania and enjoying the flower-perfumed air of Berkeley.  It was still chilly over the Easter weekend up there, but it was fun to be able to see the countryside in its pre-verdant state.  Lots of puddles!  I will post more about the trip in the coming weeks, but first, here’s a glimpse from the beginning of the holiday of the neighbor’s tidy snow rows:

and another after the rains began:

In the Lithuanian language, they make it very easy to say, “It is raining” – lyja.  But all those April showers are sure to make it a gorgeous summer!

We recently discovered a paint-your-own-pottery studio here in Berkeley’s “Potter’s Ghetto.”  Brushstrokes is a great place to go on a rainy day – or in our case, a Monday evening, when it’s pretty quiet and they waive the studio fee if you bring contributions to the Alameda County Food Bank.  The delayed gratification of painting a piece in dusty un-revealed colors, waiting a week, and then meeting your new now-shiny creation makes the whole experience very satisfying.

If you have any hand-painted creations you’re proud of, we’d love to see some other favorite cereal bowls and coffee mugs out there!  Just send us pictures here – we’re looking forward to it!

Texans love bluebonnets and we love taking bluebonnet portraits.  The sturdy blue flowers grow in abundance along the highways in the early spring, thanks to the foresight of Lady Bird Johnson. For most of us, at some point in our lives, we have had to squat down in a sea of bluebonnets on the side of the road for our official bluebonnet picture … all the while hoping that a car would not run over us and the fire ants would not bite us.  But, after the event (if there had not been too much crying) we had a portrait de beauté. And, we were proud.

So, it was just natural that I felt that I needed to take a bluebonnet portrait of our one-year-old pup, Neville, amongst the state flowers.  However, when a friend caught us shooting Neville’s bluebonnet photo, I knew I was in trouble. “Really, you’re kidding, right?  Your’re not taking a bluebonnet picture of Neville … are you?”

At first, I tried to pretend that he was just sniffing for squirrels, but alas, he was all primped up and posing and it was just too obvious.  So I confessed. “Yes, as a Texan dog, he knows this just comes with the territory.”

And, when I was questioned as to whether I had portraits of my human children, I was relieved that I could say, “Yes I do.” So, here are a few pieces of proof that I treated my first three just as specially as our newest addition … if you can call forcing your children to dress up and sit near possible varmint holes special.

And speaking of bluebonnets, WHAT a season we are having … the prettiest in years.  See below for a great weekend tip for bluebonnet sightings if you are in the Austin area.  Some people are suggesting that this weekend may be the peak, while others are pointing to next weekend.  But either way, I hope everyone can take a bit of time off to just enjoy this little Texas miracle.

And, if you see someone on the side of the highway shooting bluebonnet pictures of her dog, she is not me.

Below are some pictures taken of our girls, friends and cousins, who, as card-toting Texans, were kindly posing for the required Texas Bluebonnet Portrait when they were little … proof positive that Neville was just partaking in family tradition.

A wonderful teacher from our school shared these great bluebonnet sighting tips if you are around the Austin area this weekend.

“In 45 years of driving the Central Texas hill country, I’ve never seen bluebonnets as lush as we saw this afternoon on Hwy. 71 between the end of metropolitan Austin and Llano (app. 60 miles).  In good years, this has been one of my favorite bluebonnet roads.  Difference this year?  For mile after mile after mile, they wrap right up to both sides of the highway and extend into the fields on both sides–in puffy blankets.  Every time you crest a little rolling hill and think you’ve seen the best, you get a view of a blue sea that runs for 3 more hills, and often well out into the fields on either side of the road.

If you’re from this area, you know that some years are great, some are meager, most are “average” (still beautiful), and the bluebonnet season is relatively short.  I’m sending this because this is the best I’ve ever seen, and there are probably one or two good weekends left.  Our drive took 4-5 hrs.

The other spectacular road we took was Hwy. 152 between Llano and Castell.  It wasn’t shabby south of Castell to Hwy. 87, which runs from Mason to Fredericksburg.  What’s different about Hwy. 152?  It’s a county road–smaller, less traveled, but very good surface.  More curves, more dips, more creek crossings (dry today).  More opportunities for one breathtaking view after another, even more luscious, pillow-like flights of bluebonnets, even more other wildflowers mixed-in, for yellows, golds, oranges, purples, other blues, and whites.”

Enjoy the bluebonnets, and don’t forget your cameras.

Over Spring Break, my sister, Jules, and I were trying to recreate one particularly fabulous day last year when the two of us roamed the city at 6am, drank hot chocolate by the bay, and sat watching the dynamics of sea lion society for over an hour at Pier 39.  This time, we took the waterfront walk from the Embarcadero to Fisherman’s Wharf and back, and then wandered up Market St. just in time to catch several gallery receptions at 49 Geary.  The sun was out and everything was in focus.  We ate paper-wrapped In-N-Out burgers that we just managed to order before a tour group of fifty French-speaking fifth-graders took over the restaurant, contemplated several knock-off purses and bags, and generally enjoyed the hours of sisterly QT that the 2.5 mile walk laid out for us.

Below, you can see Jules outside of the Thursday farmer’s market, and behind her, the line for those pork sandwiches, the deliciousness of which my mom has already described.

49 Geary is always a great place to stop if you are in the mood for a lot of art, fast.  I enjoyed going with Jules, who has been writing a lot of art criticism lately.  Our favorite show was in the smaller exhibition room of Stephen Wirtz Gallery, in which some of Castaneda and Reiman’s collaborative works on sheetrock were displayed.

It was a great day.  I hope we’ll get to try to recreate it again next year.

On 4th street, not far from some excellent and eclectic shopping, past a few pothole-ridden intersections and a warehouse or two, shines this little beauty of a storefront: Color and Loom.  A persistent ten-foot rainbow in the concrete jungle, this family-owned Berkeley find is fun to pass when driving through some dreary neighborhoods and has a lot to offer if you are interested in customizing your home textiles.

Inside, ladders line the walls with samples of hand woven and embroidered fabrics – designed by the couple who own the shop, Laura and Kiran Singh, and manufactured in India.  Both partners have backgrounds in textile design and weaving and the sample fabrics are pleasingly displayed.

Though there is not much to buy if you are not interested in getting new drapes or a duvet, it’s still fun to look around thinking, “If I had an amazingly cool house with which I could do anything, which of these…”