Celebrating Our Wedding Anniversary

Yesterday was my wedding anniversary. Gman and I celebrated three years of wedded bliss by re-creating our first date. Seven years ago we went on a picnic and had gouda and tomato paninis with little fruit tarts for dessert. We got a 4 euro bottle of wine from a bodega and sat in the grass behind Les Invalids on a beautiful summer day in Paris. We sat there for hours and hours getting to know each other for the first time. Later, Gman proposed to me in the same spot. Amazing how a little patch of grass (pictured above) can be filled with so much meaning.

So last night we made a picnic on the living room floor. We lit candles and laid out a picnic blanket, then made gouda and tomato paninis. For the wine, we opened a bottle we purchased when we were in Bordeaux a few years ago, a 2005 St Emilion (I'll give full notes another time). The taste of the wine brought us right back to France and our memories flooded back. We sat on the floor for hours reminiscing until finally the wine was gone and it was time for bed.

I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate then remembering all of the wonderful moments we've shared so far and I can't wait for what the future holds.

PS - last year's wedding post.

Exploring Wine: A Rosé Story

This Exploring Wine post won't be a review but in honor of the warming weather, a little story about that pink wine.

During the hot summer days in Georgia my grandmother used to drink sweet rosé wine over ice. She loved it almost as much as sweet tea and sprite, her go-tos. She isn't a big alcohol drinker and her taste in wine was whatever was sweet and cheap. As a young adult I remember looking down on her choice as less than sophisticated. I always associated rosé with tacky old-fashioned furniture and matching shorts outfits that older ladies in Florida just love to wear. As I became a wine drinker, I teased her behind her back about her beloved  rosé with ice.

Then I moved to Paris in the summer of  2006 to study abroad. I became a francophile and fell in love with all things Parisian. It was hot, I mean real hot, and there was little air conditioning to be had. We even bought hand fans to cool ourselves and spent little time in our apartments or classrooms. Parisians congregated in the street cafes in hopes of a breeze and at least some interesting people watching. My girlfriends and I followed suit. I looked around to see what everyone was ordering and was horrified to see chic French men and women drinking  rosé with ice. Just one ice cube floating there in the middle of the pink liquid. Then I did the unthinkable and ordered one (let's be honest, I ordered a bottle). The first sip was smooth, light, slightly sweet, and coolly refreshing.

Grandma, in fact, knew what she was doing. She knew what would take the edge off of summer heat. I gained a new respect for her that summer. Now she's no longer able to enjoy her  rosé with ice. So each year when spring finally gives in to the heat of summer, I buy a bottle in her honor and toast to the miserable heat to come.

Art and Art History; A New Blog Series

detail Claude Monet, Waterlilies, at the Metropolitian Museum of Art

When was the last time you went to an art museum? Is it something you regularly do? For most people going to an art museum is a box they tick when going on vacation to a big city. They drag their partner and/or children to the MOMA and walk around for hours browsing multi-million dollar works of art and say to themselves “my child could paint that”.

When I was in undergraduate school studying art history, one of my professors said that the average person spends 5 seconds looking at a painting. It was unbelievable to me until one day I realized that I, myself, was doing it. I spent hours of walking around the Louvre, then got burned out looking at painting after painting and after a while I did not see what I was looking at, I just rushed through the galleries so I could say I was there (cardinal sin for an art historian, I know).

It’s easy to appreciate an ancient Greek sculpture, like the Venus de Milo, as even by today’s measures a significant amount of skill was required to carve it just so; not to mention its 2,000 years old. That is impressive to most people. But what about Contemporary Art? What about abstract painting? What about that mammoth piece of steel winding through the city park? What about everything in between? How can you possibly expect to understand it if you only take 5 seconds to look?

3 above, ancient Greek sculptures at the Metropolitian Museum of Art

If you want to dig deeper and really know a culture, a history, a time, a place, a person, a people, than you need to firstly look at a work of art for more than 5 seconds. The process of looking at art and then interpreting it isn’t a lofty academic activity only for the special few. It is something that everyone can understand and relate to.

I would like to introduce you to art and art history in a way that is digestible and stimulating. My worst nightmare is someone going into an art museum and saying that it is boring, then disregard it. There is a lot more to it than a 5 second glance. Wouldn’t you like to know what you are looking at? Wouldn’t it be nice to connect with the art next time you are walking through a gallery? What if it tells you something about the history of the city and its cultural identity? As a high heeled traveler with a wanderlusty soul, don’t you want to become part of the social thread of your destination? This is possible through art. It is emotionally and mentally and sometimes physically possible to connect with the historical thread of humanity through art.

I hope this series enables you to gain a bit of context and insight into the history of art in order to better understand any work of art you stand in front of. I am especially talking about Contemporary Art which is baffling sometimes to even the academics. We will take baby steps. Each post will feature a new work of art and a brief discussion on how to look at it and what to take away from the gallery. In addition, I will talk about the art market and the roles of museum, dealer, and auction house. Perhaps the next time you are on vacation and tick off that art museum box you will be able to say that you appreciate what insight it offers to humanity and it will enrich your travels.

Henri Toulouse Lautrec, Metropolitian Museum of Art

At Storm King Art Center

Wardrobe: The White Maje Dress

Some of you asked me about the white dress from my rainy tryst in Paris. Not only do I wear it on a regular basis (and did on Saturday) but as Katie and I walked around the West Village we saw that Maje is opening an American location there! Let's just say I'll be visiting again in the Fall...



Wardrobe: Paris in July

Dress, Bra, Briefs, Bag, Wedges, Bangles, Sunglasses, Belt

Inspired by my romantic evening in the white Maje dress, I'm loving this long sheer white button up. It's completely modern and on trend without being trendy and there's nothing more Parisian than that! Have the confidence to wear bright, sporty lingerie for a bit of indirect allure. A skinny leopard print belt and juicy red leather tote are a must in any wardrobe. The glittery wedges point to the sparkling Eiffel Tower and you can't have a modern Parisian ensemble without a touch of YSL (sunglasses).

Now go practice your French shopping vocabulary!

Destination: Paris, France

 

This is an excerpt from my journal when I went to Paris for the first time in 2006. Paris ignited my heart and opened my mind. It was the first time in my life I was truly honest with myself. I learned what it meant to live in the moment. That to have passion in every moment is not exhausting nor does it mean you have to act like a sappy ass who is perfect and happy 100% of the time. Being passionate means you might step on someone's toes once in a while. You might lay on the floor crying because you burned dinner or dropped a wine glass after a stressful day at the office. You might take longer to enjoy each moment too as you sit and absorb your senses and surroundings. Take a deep breath, taste the air. Pay attention to the details.

I'm also in love with Paris because it is where I started a passionate romance with Gman.

 

19 Juillet

I just shared a fantastic night with Gman. We went for a walk down the Champs Elysee. When we started walking, we thought that it looked as if it might rain, but decided to take a chance as it was so lovely outside. I was wearing a white cotton dress that I purchased (in French!) at my favorite Parisian shop, Maje. Gman said that men and women were turning their heads to look at me. I felt confident and sexy as we walked along sharing stories and ice cream cones, arms around each other as if we could not walk close enough.

As we approached the bridge leading to Les Invalides the sky finally opened up. It started pouring rain and our brisk walk turned into a jog, hand in hand. Normally I would have been upset because my hair and dress were wet but we were laughing too hard for me to notice.

As we ran along lightening cracked the sky and lit up the gardens and  stone walls we passed. Car lights and street lights lead our way back to his apartment. As we ran past Les Invalides, we paused to see the Eiffel Tower sparkling as it does at the top of each hour. It was a good excuse to steal a kiss in the rain. As a resistant hopeless romantic (I'm an art historian, duh!) it was only a moment for my dreams, a scene out of a movie or painting that I thought would never happen in real life.

When we finally arrived at the apartment, we changed out of our soaking wet clothes and shared some treats and wine with his roommate. The laughter and lightheartedness continued late into the night.

I asked Gman later how he can live so passionately as I had not yet discovered how to. He said, if I don't live passionately then what's the point?