It's A Polar Bear!

I first fell in love with the screen printing work of Jay Ryan about 3 or 4 years ago. This print is one of the first that I bought for our new place, and to be completely honest, I'd sort of love to have an entire wall in my house dedicated solely to his work.

Excessive? Perhaps.

Awhile back, I saw this series for the blue planet live tour, and immediately feel in love with the polar bear print. Apparently a bunch of other people did as well because his run of 300 ran out pretty fast.

But that's where the wonder of ebay comes in, where I managed to snag a mint condition print for the same price that they were being sold on Jay Ryan's website. Score!

The print makes me exceedingly happy, and I'm working on talking Herman into at least getting the whale and the penquin ones to round out the collection. Stay tuned.

Happy Friday!

Paulette Macarons

This might just be my undoing...there is now a Paulette Macarons in San Francisco.

The colors...the packaging...the salted caramel macaron.

le sigh.

the best in the burgh

edinburgh coffee lovers info sheet, for when you're on the road

this is a large jpg file so you can zoom in and still get good resolution on your iphone or print it at reasonable resolution.

what is good?

click on the image to open and
a print/iphone-friendly jpg
for when you're travelling in
edinburgh  and don't have easy
access to the  internet
(3.5MB so you can zoom in)
number one on the list of evaluation criteria for any cup of coffee is the passion with which it is made.

not all of us have the best equipment, produce or knowhow, but if you love coffee and are always looking to improve the cups you make for your friends or customers, then you're already well on your way.

but that'll only get you so far, you've then got to come up with goods on the following fronts:
  • use fresh, ethically sourced coffee, ground to perfection for the specific machine that is wielded expertly by the barista.
  • aroma, followed closely by flavour and then intermingling. layers of smells and flavours like you taste in wine or food. nuttiness, caramel, smokieness, chocolate nuances, complexity of fabulous coffee smells and flavours.
  • milk texture. this is a big one for us. the milk needs to stand up for itself, in its own right regardless of the actual coffee flavour. it needs to feel soft and round in your mouth and have a nice tightly structured creaminess.
  • temperature. this is tied in very closely with the texture. it can't be too hot. it needs to be cool enough to drink quickly if you wanted to without getting burnt. apart from avoiding sheer pain, you can just pick up a lot more flavour if its not too hot. too hot is a showstopper
  • cup size. it is true that if we had the perfect coffee but it was served in a large mug we could just drink half of it and be satisfied. and perhaps if this ever happened we would but...it would seem that the size of the coffee is often inversely proportional to how good it is. the mediocre coffee chain's insistence of giving you a choice of too big, enormous or gargantuan cup size choices is tiresome, wasteful and fasto-making. we definitely believe that the perfect coffee has the perfect proportions and they can't be up-sized, let alone super-sized.

Flea Market Finds!

On Sunday I (finally) made it up to the Alameda Flea Market with my super fun treasure hunting buddy (thanks Wendy!). It was a perfect day and I found a few things that I'm really excited about:

1. These old Junior Edition novels. I'd found the first 6 at a local used book store (for 50 cents a piece!) and loved them and their pretty colors and beautiful illustrations. I'd seen them at various places online, always for about $10 - 15 each, so considered it good luck and a good deal to find 3 for 15. Hopefully I can find more. So pretty!

2. A copy of the Little Prince! I think it might even be a first edition of the English Translation? I'm not sure, but the copyright is 1943...

3. Some old wood type to add to my growing collection. I picked up the A and the 3 on Sunday.

4. The Beatles "Yellow Submarine" Album (so happy!). Yes, I have an old record player...and yes, I use it. Love!

the pursuit

one perfect cup of coffee a day is all i ask but it is not an easy thing to find in edinburgh.

in saying "perfect" i'm not saying i want the same cup of excellent coffee each day. quite the opposite, i'd love to have choices of different flavours, textures and aromas in my cup each day made with care and by someone with a genuine love of coffee.

but the challenge is great.

edinburgh is bursting with coffee shops of all shapes and sizes, well-frequented by locals chatting, reading, interwebbing and generally hanging about with cups of brown in their hands.

but i fear this city that has spent much of its life at the forefront of discovery and expression has been duped and inadvertently fallen into the hands of mediocrity. it seems comfortable brown couches and anonymous cosiness have drawn edinburghers in out of the cold after which spectacularly consistent, mediocre, coffee-flavoured rubbish has been served up for long enough for it to be considered normal.

but i'm determined to find the good coffee in edinburgh and share the news as I and my trusty partner unearth the good stuff.



A Small Taste of Paris


One of our most favorite desserts while we were in Paris was the "Ispahan" from the amazing Pierre Hermé. It's a giant French macaron that combines the flavors of rose and raspberry and lychee to delicious perfection (seriously. It's amazing).

Herman was in Las Vegas yesterday for work and found the Jean Phillipe Patisserie in the Bellagio, and they happen to have a similar version of the famous Ispahan (minus the lychee, but still incredibly yummy) which he brought home for me.

I love how my husband continues to feed my ridiculous obsession with the French macaron. What a guy.

Oh, and Wendy...this is definitely going on your Paris list! You cannot miss this one!
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