Happy Love Day

I may not have someone to share it with this year, but I sill believe. . .

Hug and kiss the ones you love!

Until tomorrow . . .

Argh. . . .

I have started 5 posts that I just can't seem to finish today. . . .

Time to shut down and come back tomorrow.

Going Back in Time

Sometimes I run across things on the internet that stop me in my tracks and take me back to a particular time in my life.  This article in The Paris Review was one of those things.

 A Star Turned, by Chris Wallace 

The author talks about his time working at Les Deux Cafes, a restaurant in Los Angeles that had more personality than I have ever experienced in a physical place.

I was lucky enough to have gone to Les Deux Cafes on a few occasion, once as part of a wonderful date with my then boyfriend and another for a birthday party with said boyfriend's mother.  The birthday party was where I truly experienced some of what the writer so vividly describes.  It was here that I was able to meet Michele Lamy, a truly unique woman.  She was very kind and welcomed me into her world with all of the guests, many of whom were regulars.  I cannot do a description of her justice, but the author has been able to put her essence into words:

"Her heavily hennaed hair was capped in a gangster-style do-rag, and little jets of kohl were purposefully drawn down over her face. Her fingers looked as if they’d been dipped in an inkwell. She broke off our conversation intermittently to answer the steadily ringing cordless house phone and write names in looping lettering in her leather-bound agenda. In French, her voice sounded hoarse and distant like a muezzin call. In her thickly accented English, it slowed to the consistency of granular mustard." -- Chris Wallace

The restaurant was unlike any that I had ever been to or have been to since.  It had an aura about it that can hardly be explained, though this article is able to pull some of it onto the page.  As I read it, my mind immediately took me back to those happy times.

Even if you have never heard of Les Deux Cafes, this article is a very good read.  Thank you Chris Wallace, for making me stop and think of wonderful times gone by.

Until Tomorrow . . .

Sunday Reading Review: The Forgotten Garden

While I'm not in a proper book club these days, I still really enjoy reading.  And with all of the public transportation here, it is very rare not to find me with a book in hand.

Recently, I read The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton and just couldn't put it down.  The story takes the reader through four generations of women across the seas from England to Australia and back.  This flowing narrative is told during three time periods, by many people, each trying to discover things about themselves and those around them.  It is a story of their lives, but the author has also woven a mystery throughout the novel that kept me wanting more.  There were definitely a few mornings at work when I realized that I probably stayed up a little too late the night before.

Kate Morton's Website

This was the second book I have read by Kate Morton and highly recommend her books.  The other, The House at Riverton, was another great story with twists and turns that kept me wanting more.

Have you read any of Kate Morton's books?  What did you think?

Until tomorrow . . .

100 Years of L.L. Bean

Happy 100 years L.L. Bean! 

In honor of their 100 year anniversary, L.L. Bean has pulled out all of the stops.  I really love how they have embraced their heritage and are celebrating the years of expertise that are built into all of their products.  

100th Anniversary

They have kicked off a celebration that includes {among other things}:

Limited edition products, the 100th Anniversary collection, that are "Inspired by the past, built for the future;"  

Collection

An anniversary book;

Books

A program donating up to $1 million to the National Park Foundation;

Million Moment

but my favorite by far is the Bootmobile!

Photo Credit

I've been aware of L.L. Bean for a very long time, having mostly used the great canvas tote bags.  But now, being on the East Coast where weather is a consideration in daily attire, I can't wait to get my first pair of Bean Boots! 

Until tomorrow . . .