IT WAS ONE OF THOSE sipping rosé in the sun kind of weekends, hazy and hot and filled with the quiet languidness and melancholy that comes with the knowledge that these days must be savoured before they fade away. The city is empty save for tourists busily bicycling through the streets and parks; ordering glasses of sangria, folded maps and guide books and cameras strewn across tables and wicker café furniture. While things seem to have settled down for most in these last days of summer, for us, it has been the craziest, busiest, most stressful time yet, with the all the new projects we’ve taken on and the expansion of The Shop, so we’ve been taking a little extra time on weekends for summery things. Perhaps in September we’ll be able to get away for a little while, while the world goes back to school and work …
This week’s links include the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris and a recipe for Breakfast Buckwheat Florentines; a perfectly pretty pink overdyed rug much, much more.
IT IS A MILLION DEGREES lately, and we’ve been eating watermelon for breakfast and gazpacho for lunch in an attempt to cool down, in addition to the many sunlit dates on terraces, the only civilized way to endure the heat. The city is emptying out as it does every August, and the evenings have already begun to get quiet.
THIS WEEKEND, P HAD THE perfect idea for a picnic at the beach. It is wonderfully fortunate to live in a city that sits on the coast, with the sea just three miles from our place.
ON SUNDAY we packed a wicker basket filled with baguettes, cheeses, jamón ibérico, pâté and something fizzy to drink and went to the gardens to lounge away a beautiful day in the sun. We found a perfect spot nestled amongst trees grouped in circular pattens, forming small open spaces in their midst that beckoned the laying down of a blanket and the kicking off of one's shoes to feel soft grass on bare feet. Since most of our picnics occur at the seaside, this one was a lovely change, the rustling of the leaves and the sound of cicadas intermingling in the late-afternoon air heavy with the scent of blossoms and dreams. It was a perfect way to spend a summer's day.
ON FRIDAY NIGHT, by the golden glow of hazy street lamps, we followed the strains of jazz to a clearing in the park to discover couples swing dancing. It was unexpected and utterly perfect for a midsummer’s night, and really rather romantic. On Saturday night, again in the park, we happened upon a full jazz concert, white garden chairs set around an outdoor stage in front of the water fountain filled with late-night revelers, some with children in tow, late-arriving tourists on bicycles and circles of friends on blankets on the grass, sharing a bottle of rosé. Summertime here is the very essence of joie de vivre and we’re lucky to be a part of it. This week’s links include Living with Pink and London’s 30 Most Instagrammed Restaurants, a blue & white beach house and much, much more …
IT WAS A PAELLA ON THE BACK TERRACE kind of weekend; and cheese trays and Serrano and baguettes with paté on Sunday, after spending a leisurely afternoon in the shade of a giant Moreton Bay fig tree while a fluttery wind rustled the leaves and we sipped our summery drinks and talked about life. Things can be such a whirlwind on weekdays–but weekends, weekends were made late mornings and cava nights …
This week’s links include ballet and little white dresses paired with espadrilles; photographer Jacques Henri Lartigue, the new Ned Hotel and much, much more …
IT WAS A DRINKS on terraces kind of weekend, for all the tall, tall lilac trees in our favourite neighbourhoods have become full and lush, leaving filtered sun rays and pretty dappled patterns on asphalt and car roofs and parked scooters awaiting trips to the market or the beach. We sat on wicker chairs and talked as places filled up at the tables nearby and waiters ambled along clearing empty glasses and crumpled napkins. We also stopped by a favourite café on Saturday for late-afternoon paella and talked about the breakneck passing of days into months and of making the most of this wild and wonderful life. This week’s links include 3 Greek Island Homes with Incredible Views; rhinestone shorts and espadrilles, a hotel in Brazil and much, much more …
WE HAVE BEEN eating walnut, brie and pear grilled cheese sandwiches all week with a side salad of arugula drizzled in a light dressing and more walnuts. It has been sunny everyday, so we spent the weekend on various sun-drenched terraces around the city, sipping on cava while watching the world go by: tourists in shorts, white sneakers and overloaded backpacks; beautiful old ladies in jackets and heels on the arms of their husbands, perhaps on the way to dinner reservations nearby; and fluffy dogs excitedly pulling on leashes past ornate fountains amongst the orange groves. This week’s links include a wine bar in the newly chic place of Kingston, NY; a lovely hotel in London; our brand new and wonderful Antiques & Collectibles selection at The Shop, and much, much more …
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way
than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.
