… when you and your spouse are trying to remember the name of an obscure place in New York, but can’t, so you give up. And hours later, one of you remembers the name, calls out just one word across the house, and the other answers, “right!”
Here’s another brilliant, unique gift. Looks like a wooden chalice, or perhaps some sort of stair newel or decorative table leg, right?
Look again.
Look to the left of the shadow. (I’ll wait.)
Is that the coolest silhouette portrait you’ve ever seen?
The folks at Turn Your Head have figured out how to, from a photo of a profile, use a lathe to cut it into the wooden forms and come up with these beautiful “pirolettes.” They can be done of a baby, or of a grownup.
They’ve even figured out how to do two on one (for a wedding, or perhaps for twins):
We’ve had one done of our son, and now are going to get our own. , When all three are next to each other on our mantle, they’ll be a discreet family portrait for those who can see it, and just be three beautiful chalices for those who can’t.
Pirolettes cost $150. Wouldn’t it be amazing to have one per year while your child’s growing up? Or to give as mementos to grandparents, or for a baby shower or wedding gift?
I’m besotted with these, as you can tell.
While living in the UK in the 90s, my husband and I became fans of Belgian Art Nouveau architect Victor Horta. Behold this stairwell in the home he designed for Emile Tassel, regarded by many as the first Art Nouveau building:
Happily Horta’s own Brussels home, now the Horta Museum, is in superb condition and we were able to take a tour during one visit to the city. (If there’s a lovelier radiator anywhere in the world than in Horta’s house, I’d like to see it. I can’t find a photo of it online, but I’m perfectly serious. But I digress.)
A few years ago, on a trip to London, we were ambling through a small gallery off Kensington Square, and I stopped short in front of a gorgeous miniature reproduction of what I instantly recognized as the facade to Horta’s home:
It turns out to be a bookend, one of a stunning series of architectural minatures by the British artist Timothy Richards. From his website:
“Tim has been making models of architecture in plaster for 19 years. All of the sculptures are made by hand by Tim and his small, dedicated team. The work is believed to be unique in the world today. Central to the theme is that of architectural truth. Tim aims to use his love of architecture and model making skills to tell the story of architecture over the centuries. Some of the models are designed to be used as bookends. Others as stand alone collectors pieces. Of course it’s entirely up to you how you use them (though not as a door stop please!).”
Needless to say, Horta – or at least his small facade - came home with us. We’ve since acquired a miniature Big Ben (we do like visual puns). I hope to add a few others to my collection going forward, including the V&A:
And perhaps Oscar Wilde’s house:
And maybe even Jane Austen’s door:
In any case, do have a wander through Richards’ site. The single-door bookends are reasonably priced (the models, double-bookend sets and more complex designs are accordingly priced) and make spectacular and unique gifts (particularly for oneself).
Everyone has his or her own policy about following people on Twitter. Here’s mine: I follow accounts that speak to my personal and/or professional interests. They can be news feeds; fellow entertainment and media types; punsters; those who share my hobbies and passions; public figures I admire; friends of friends. But there’s always a specific reason and intent that I follow. I don’t automatically follow back everyone who follows me, for a number of reasons:
Interests are asynchronous. Just because I’m interested in what you have to tweet doesn’t mean you’re interested in what I tweet. The reverse holds true. We’re all grownups (or should be). I do generally reply to people who @ me even if I’m not following them. The reverse often holds true. It’s not a matter of hurting feelings. It’s just life.
Many of the accounts that (attempt to) follow me are spammers or bots. It’s easy enough to determine this; on the email notification about the follow, they have few to no followers, few to no tweets, and are following hundreds of people. Not only don’t they get a follow back, they get an automatic block.
The best tools in the world won’t help you sip from a fire hose. Unless you’re spending all day on Twitter (and I know some do), it’s just not possible to follow the tweets of several thousand – or tens of thousands – of people. You could decide to pay attention only to the ones who mention you, of course, but you can do that without following them. You can separate them into groups in a 3rd-party app like TweetDeck- but you could do the same thing by creating a list and checking it periodically. And you don’t need to be following someone to add them to a list.
Indiscriminate following leads to spams and auto-DMs. Most of the people I see complaining about spams and DMs are people who follow everyone who follows them, or who follow accounts without regard to the “quality” of the account.
Privacy. Anyone you follow can send you a DM. My preference is to limit that channel of communication to the extent possible.
Should everyone practice this philosophy? Not necessarily. Anyone using Twitter as a customer service tool shouldn’t, for example. Many customers prefer to communicate via direct message – and many companies would prefer that grievances be aired through private channels.
However, this is the way I currently manage my twitter feed with respect to follows. What’s yours?
One of my favorite cartoons, ever:
For the past five months, my husband and I have been eating a largely vegan diet. I know that saying “largely vegan” is akin to saying “somewhat pregnant,” so let’s just say that we severely limit the amount of animal product we eat, and save it for very special occasions. Let it be known: I will NEVER give up cheese entirely!
So, most of what we eat is comprised of fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains – you know, things that don’t have to have an ingredient list when you buy them. My friend Martha Stroud asked me to post links to some of my favorite healthful recipes and here they are.
Yellow peppers Stuffed with Quinoa, Corn and Feta Cheese
Quinoa Salad with Lime + Fresh Mint
Lemon-Roasted Green Beans with Marcona Almonds
Not available online is our favorite vegetarian chili recipe, which is in Anna Thomas’ book Love Soup.
Once upon a time, my husband and I published a wine newsletter called Swirl Wine News. (We plan to resurrect it as a blog someday… more on that another time.)
This afternoon on Twitter, a lively discussion broke out among several of us about corkage policies at restaurants. It brought to mind a piece we published in our July/August 2003 issue, reproduced below. (Keep in mind that the restaurants and prices cited are from seven years ago!) I’d love your thoughts about corkage (really); please add them in the comments.
Many restaurants will let customers bring their own wine with them to dinner, usually charging a “corkage” fee to offset the costs of the server opening and serving your wine, the use and cleaning of the stemware, etc. However, bringing your own is definitely not as simple as grabbing the closest bottle and heading out the door. Here’s how it should be done (and what you should definitely NOT do).
1. Bring your own wine for the right reason. Good reasons to BYO are:
2. Call ahead to find out the restaurant’s corkage policies and fees. Some simply don’t allow it. Among those that do, fees vary widely. Typical charges are $5-15 per bottle, but that’s not always the case. Some places set high corkage fees to discourage the pracrtice; Aureole, in Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Hotel, charges $35 per bottle. Calling ahead is respectful, and will prevent you from being embarrassed when you arrive or shocked when you leave.
3. Share. Offer a taste of your wine to the sommelier and/or your server. They’ll appreciate the gesture, particularly if your bottle is uncommon. Your generosity will help pave the way the next time you want to BYO.
4. Be a good customer. Regular customers are the lifeblood of restaurants, as they are for any business. If a restaurant knows you dine there often and introduce others to the place, they’ll ooften waive your corkage fee.
5. Tip fairly. Many servers depend on tips for their income, and most tips are based on a dinner bill that includes wine. When you bring you r own, the server has to do just as much work as if you were buying off the restaurant’s list. Take that into consideration when deciding how much of a tip to leave.
6. Be a good sport. If you’re drinking more than a bottle, buy the second one off the restaurant’s list. Some restaurants, like Rockenwagner in Santa Monica, will waive the corkage fee if you do so.
7. Go out of your own way. If you want to drink your wine chilled or have it decanted, ask the restaurant if you can bring it in ahead of time. They can arrange for the sommelier to serve your wine at the desired temperature, or decant your bottle the requisite 30 to 60 minutes before you expect to drink it. Again, remember to tip appropriately.
1. Never bring a wine on the restaurant’s list. As the front of the award winning list at Thee Bungalow in Ocean Beach, CA admonishes: “If it’s on our list, put it back in your car.” If you’re not sure, a simple phone call ahead of time (or a check of the restaurant’s web site, if they publish their list on it) can answer the question.
2. Think twice, if not thrice, about bringing your own wine to a restaurant renowned for its wine list. It can be an affront to the restaurauteur who’s spent six figures (or more!) assembling a stellar cellar if you bring your own bottle. Unless you’ve got a darned good reason (or wine), leave yours at home and take advantage of the restaurant’s bounty.
3. Corkage isn’t a way to avoid paying ‘restaurant prices.’ Bringing your own isn’t a license to whip out something cheap or readily available. A good rule is that the wine you bring with you should cost at least as much as the corkage fee.
4. Limit your BYO wine to a bottle or two. Some restaurants simply place a limit on the number of bottles you can bring. Others don’t, but a restaurateur we know recoiled with horror while recounting tales of one customer who lugged in a grocery bag full of bottles, and another who actually brought a full case. That’s simply abusing the privilege.
5. Don’t act entitled. Corkage isn’t a right; it’s a courtesy extended by those restaurateurs who choose to do so. In some places, local regulations forbid the practice altogether and impose stiff penalties on establishments that break the rules. If your favorite bistro doesn’t allow it, go with the flow and enjoy a glass or bottle off their list.
Whales have calves,
Cats have kittens,
Bears have cubs,
Bats have bittens,
Swans have cygnets,
Seals have puppies,
But guppies just have little guppies.
Amazon.com: The Best of Ogden Nash.
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Wzzy's World by Arlene Wszalek is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
