I have this friend who is married to this guy who has a blog. (called secret forts, which is well worth checking out, by the way) And while visiting this blog I read about a show of Mikael Kennedy‘s polaroid photographs currently on view at the Chelsea Hotel (suite 524) in NYC. And instead of my usual ‘oh this looks cool too bad I can’t make it’ reaction, I packed up my kid and went to the west side to check it out.

I’ve never heard of Kennedy before, but after spending a bit of time with his images, I feel like I’ve found a kindred spirit. Not so much in the actual subject matter, but in the fact that this guy, much like me, has been carrying his SX-70 around with him everywhere shooting whatever he finds interesting at the moment. And the result is a series of beautiful compelling mysterious images that tell the story of a life, a voyage, of objects lost and and places that may have been forgotten were it not for their presence in this archive.

The show is simply hung, with the polaroids in plastic sleeves on the off-white walls of an otherwise empty and appropriately worn hotel suite. There is a table with an arrangement of exposed polaroids that didn’t quite come out, most likely a result of Kennedy’s tendency to buy outdated film, and an SX-70 camera, which one imagines was responsible for much of the imagry in the room. The presentation is slapdash and precious at the same time, a combination that very much fits the medium. And by the time we left, we felt like we had wandered through a secret and magical world.

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Here’s a view of the installation (lifted from the secret forts entry, thank you so much, because I still fkeep forgetting to shoot the things that I want to blog about!)

The show is well worth checking out if you are around and about before it closes on May 2. If not, the images are all on view at the gallery site, so you can always enjoy them from the comfort of your own desktop…

This weekend I took a trip up to the happy valley in what is known as western Massachusetts (though it’s actually more like the middle of the state if you look at a map) and was lucky enough to catch the first Saturday of the Amherst Farmer’s Market. It’s still a bit early for the produce to be super varied, but spirits were high and people were out in force celebrating Earth Day 2010. There were booths about composting and rainwater collection, as well as the first bounty from this season’s harvest.

It actually inspired me to enter the above photo in CafePress and  iVillage’s “Why I want to save the Earth” photo contest. Not that I think this picture is all that, but this is a conversation that I very much want to be a part of. Those hippies up in that neck of the woods really have their fingers on the pulse of something that even my cynical urban self has to admit is vital to our survival on this planet. And now that I am a mother, I am even more invested in the future of our planet. The contest goes through the end of the month, so there is still time if any of you are inspired. Click here to learn more.

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We also went to a farm and saw two week old baby goats learning to walk, made garlands out of dandelions, ate tofu (yep, that’s right) and went to the Botanic Garden at Smith College, something you all muct check out if you are ever in that area. It makes me want to entirely rethink our own garden… look at how great it looks, even in the rain. Maybe in my next life…

A beautiful weekend was had by all. I can even understasnd why my friends left the city to live up here. Not that I’m following them, but…

Who needs Baby Einstein when there are products that you can buy for your little ones that actually help their brains develop and have fun at the same time? Every once in a while the stars come together and a new toy comes into my sphere that is educational, fun, durable and nice to look at. This memory game from kidO represents one of these spectacular moments, making all of the searching through horrible blue plastic madness worthwhile.

Four double sided cards fit into a beautifully made wooden board. Hide all of the images (animals, letters and colors) with the red pegs and then find matching shapes and colors by uncovering them one by one. Even my very particular design-centric husband is on board with this one.

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It’s for kids ages 3 and up, but my two year old is having a blast with it, as am I. There is also a more advanced version for older kids (5+) with 36 pegs… Check it out here.

And then go buy one for yourself (oh no wait, I mean for your kid…)

Now there are plenty of things that could qualify for this particular title, and I am sure that I will be using similar headers for more than this particular post, but when I opened up this page on the Haus Interior website, I actually said those words out loud to myself. So there you have it.

Here they are, what you have always wanted. If you are like me, anyway. An old fashioned calling card that you can just pass over to that incredibly annoying person who has the nerve not only to answer his phone at the theater (I’m talking live theater here, too, not just the movies) but to blithely conduct an entire conversation as if he were watching a Barbie DVD at home with his kids (those “movies,” by the way, are so horrible I wouldn’t blame anyone for seeking interruption/relief from them)

One should never leave the house without at least one of these cards in one’s pocket. Because more often than many people care to admit, silence is golden.            

OH MY GOD IT’S TRUE.

Polaroid film is making a comeback. Not that I don’t love Fuji for stepping in with the Instax film and cameras, which I have used with reckless abandon (see here) but my first love will always be the SX-70 and I can now blow the dust off and start shooting with it again.

Thanks to the Impossible Project, a web based collective out of Vienna that specializes in all things Polaroid. They sell vintage prints, cameras and, most exciting of all, film that they have produced using old materials from the great Polaroid factories themselves. This film does not come cheap (a box of 8 images for $24.50), and I have no idea if it’s all they say it is, but I have ordered a bunch and suggest you do too, as the quantities are limited, and who knows when this little window of happiness will close again.

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They have also just released a black and white film for the SX-70 called PX First Flush in both 100 and 600 ASA speeds. From what I can tell, this is their first completely from-scratch product, which means that they will be able to mass produce it, as demand determines. (I can’t seem to download their press materials, which would probably give us all the info we need, and I’m too impatient to post this to wait till that little bug is fixed) But as soon as I finish this post, I’ll be buying up a bunch of this film too. When I get the goods and start shooting, I’ll let you know how it all works.

Man am I excited. I’ve also heard that a full color version is coming to us by year’s end…

A friend e mailed me to ask for some suggestions of great places to eat in Paris as her parents are headed there for a celebratory vacation. Now I haven’t been to Paris for any length of time since the 90′s, but I asked my friend Susannah, who has just moved back from there, if she had any suggestions. Her e mail describing various places to eat in Paris is so spot on that I felt I had to share it.

If any of you are lucky enough to be heading over to Paris any time soon, here’s some solid advice on how to keep your taste buds happy.

My favorite perfect lunch: Bar de La Croix Rouge at intersection of Rue de Grenelle (v good shopping) and Rue de Sevre in the 6th arr. The thing to order is the Saint Germain (grilled Poilane bread with most divine thinly sliced roast beef and delish salad) plus best tarte tatin in Paris (also v good chocolate fondant). U must have a glass of wine.

For macaroons, Laduree of course, also Pierre Hermes.

Have a Berthillon sorbet on Ile st Louis. (They sell is several places on rue Louis Phillipe or whatever…)

Have oysters anywhere. Am serious. If u want serious fish/oyster fancy place for dinner, the Dome is wonderful, Avenue Montparnasse.

Cafe Flor for a total chic Parisian scene (sit on covered outside and if eating lunch, somebody has to get the classic French baguette sandwich Jambon beurre, ham and butter, or saucisson sec)
For pleasant outdoor lunch on fabulous Place des Vosges, Ma Bourgogne. Get warm leek salad (poireaux)

For a fabulous relaxed dinner, L’Ami Jean.
Fancy chic crowd dinner: Voltaire on the Quai Voltaire
Way fancy/haute cuisine: Joel Robuchon (there’s the Atelier where you sit at bar but probably better for her parents is his lovely restaurant in the 16th arr.) For lunch, no reservations but they should always aim for 12:30 or 12:45. The French all eat at 1pm on the dot, so all tables suddenly full.

In food-related dept., if they are there on a Sunday, they must go to the beautiful famous organic market on Boulevard Raspail between the rue de Sevre and Rue de Rennes. (9-1pm). It is ravishing.

As is this spectacular advice. May it lead many of you through a tasty Parisian adventure.

So I’m finally opening about two weeks worth of old e mail, and I come upon a daily candy post about a tea cozy that is really cute. So I go to the site and lo, I discover perhaps the most beautiful collection of ordinary objects that I have ever seen. All for sale. And at reasonable prices.

Appropriately called ancient industries, even their homepage (see above) is beautiful. The site is streamlined and perfectly designed, with an emphasis on the objects, rather than a bunch of flashy web trickery. And oh, the objects that can be yours with a click of the mouse.

First off, for all of my fellow mothers out there that cringe at the various baby bottle related products one has to keep handy, HOW GREAT IS THIS BOTTLE CLEANER? I am ordering one the minute I finish this post. Old school in the best way possible. And when you are using a beautiful functional object, the task of cleaning out those bottles (glass, I hope!) becomes far less odious.

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Also, just the way they’ve written the words “bottle cleaner” and then the short and perfectly sweet description add to the pleasure of plunking down $7 for this thing.

And check out this detaill from the main shopping page. I ask you, what’s not to love about a site that has hot water bottles right next to the coolest cotton socks around? Nothing!

I know, I know. It’s pretty much March. Winter is over. The stores are filled with cotton sheaths and sandals, and people are starting to think about summer beach rentals. But I’m looking out my window at a snow covered tundra (20.9 inches fell in Central Park this week!) and I felt it would be doing the world a disservice if I did not give a shout out to my Steger Mukluks, which I have been sporting for 7 years now and are still going strong as the warmest, most perfect amazing snowboots I have ever seen.

Made in Minnesota in the Northern Cree Indian style, these lightweight moosehide boots come with thick felt insoles and lining that basically keep your feet from ever knowing that it’s cold outside. They come in a number of styles and colors, so even the picky NYC fashionista in us all can find something that works.

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To be honest, I don’t understand why everybody doesn’t have a pair of these, but secretly I’m happy not to be wearing something that is totally ubiquitous. (Uggs, anyone?)

Although the end of the mukluk’s underground status may be near. I was wearing mine when I stopped by a freind’s apartment yesterday, and she has already ordered herself up a pair. She’s Canadian and knows a good snow boot when she sees one!

Rye is a truly welcome addition to the dining scene in Williamsburg. The food is good enough for grownups to love, while the atmosphere is cool enough to keep you from feeling stodgy. Just what the doctor ordered.

In the interest of full disclosure, I did not take this picture. I just lifted it from their website for the purpose of illustrating this post. When I showed up at the restaurant the other night, exhausted and slightly miffed at the tardiness of my overworked husband, it was all I could do to manage to act like a somewhat civilized human being, mush less take photos. It’s been a hectic couple of weeks, and to say that we were desperate need of a date night is an understatement. I’d heard this place was good and figured we should try something new to shake it up again.

The concept of a romantic date night was ruined as soon as we saw  our old neighborhood buddy Vihn Nguyen, the chef of the dearly departed  Silent H (sob!) waving at us from across the room. But we joined him and another chef friend at their table and began an eating orgy that far exceeded my expectations for the evening.

I think we tasted about half of the menu. The beet salad and the artichoke stew were delicious and took spectacular advantage of the natural flavors of their main ingredients. The meatloaf sandwich was killer, and is beyond worth it’s weight in gold.

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I was so full by the time my cassoulet arrived that I thought I’d barely touch it. Wrong. Scarfed that down too. It was just too good. The only problem came in the form of a cold hanger steak which, when we sent it back, came back warmed up, but overcooked as a result. Just lazy service. Not worth getting bent out of shape about, but it did put a splash of cold water on our otherwise flushed faces.

Whatever. It was all still so delicious. And so close to home. I’ll be back for sure. And next time I’ll take my own pictures, I promise.

I am finally going through and getting rid of all of the piles in my office. And their name is legion, for they are many. One of the benefits of this massive undertaking is that I am actually taking a second look at all of the pages that I have ripped out of magazines for god knows what reason over the past few (or 7) years. And I am finding some pretty cool stuff. Which may not be brand new, but that doesn’t make it any less worthy of sharing.

Like this play stove and washing machine made out of cardboard by the design collective Nume. Each can be yours for $38 here, should you be so inclined. The price cannot be beat, the design is cool and all of that blank white space really encourages your kids to get creative with the crayons.

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Plus the entire thing can be folded flat and recycled when all is said (and cooked and washed) and done. Which makes it as friendly to the earth as it is to the wallet.

Stay tuned for more goodies from the piles as I unearth them. At least now I feel like there was a point in saving all of that stuff… or am I just desperately trying to justify my packrat-ness?