a little f. scott in paris

have you all gone to see midnight in paris yet? i was finally able to see it over the weekend and i'm pining to go see it again. it so reminded me of my time in paris 5 years ago. there really is something magical about that city, don't you think?

the scene with f. scott fitzgerald and zelda brought back such memories for me. you see, i was traveling through paris alone, on my way to visit a friend in brittany. someone had suggested i stay at the hotel st. andre des artes. so i got a room at this quaint little hotel in st. germain. the hotel is rumored to once have been a stable that the three muscateers had used as a hiding place. i don't know about the whole three muscateers thing but the hotel did resemble a stable, complete with exposed cross-beams in many of the rooms.

my room in the hotel was butter yellow and had two long french windows that opened up and looked out over rue st. andre des artes. across the hotel was a cute little alleyway that had been turned into shops all facing the cobblestone alley that was closed off to vehicles. after a long day of travel, i just wanted to relax in my hotel and get some rest. i headed over to monoprix and picked up some bread, wine and cheese and my favorite shampoo, le petit marsellaise.

when i was passing through nice, i stopped in a bookshop where they sold books in english and picked up a few for the latter part of my trip. one of the books was the great gatsby. believe it or not, i had never read it before!

i returned to my hotel and after dining on my wine and cheese, i opened up my window and sat looking out over st. germain reading the great gatsby. i guess, subconsciously, i was saving such a great book to read in a special setting. i almost read it cover to cover that night before dozing off...only to wake up in paris. no, this was not a dream.

i remember this time like it was yesterday. sometimes i can't believe i really took this trip by myself. and while paris is best to be shared with one you love, i'm happy that i took my first trip there all alone to discover it for myself. now i can go there with the one i love and show him all of the places that i visited and fell in love with. oh to be in paris...

design your life

at my desk, i have written a quote that i must have found somewhere on a design blog. it goes like this, "your life is your biggest design project. get off the couch and start designing your life exactly how you want it."

sometimes i sit here and ponder this quote. most of the time, i have a pretty clear idea as to how i want my life to be but from time to time, my mind wanders and i think what if it could be so completely different than it is now?

today i'm thinking about things like this.


lorenzo and i would somewhat resemble margot and richie tanenbaum and coordinate our outfits accordingly.


except that i would look more french like diane birch here. not to mention looking fab in a big floppy hat like this one, i just can't carry off a hat like this!


we'd live in a beautiful falling down old brownstone, a la holly golightly.


and drive a great big black vintage mercedes station wagon.


we'd have wonderful friends like harold and maude.


i'd spend my afternoons watching french films like the 400 blows with the crushy jean pierre leaud.


in the evenings i'd sit with coffee and cigarettes and ponder.


and late into the evening i'd write dark novels like the bell jar, making a terrific salary in which i could support this lifestyle.

what would your life be like if you could do whatever you want? let's start designing it that way.

gazpacho libre

all day today i was craving some gazpacho, probably because it was so hot outside.

when i lived in albuquerque, there was this great bbq place across the street from my house that made the best chunky gazpacho, i think the restaurant was called geezamboni's. they served it in a big bowl topped with home made tortilla chips, yum!

well of course, i can't even think about gazpacho without paying homage to pedro almodovar and those crazy women on the verge for introducing me to the traditional spanish sope to begin with. mmm gazpacho...

i've never made gazpacho myself but today i found an easy recipe on epicurious that i tweaked a little to my own taste and it turned out to be a fast and easy recipe for dinner but i know it will taste even better for lunch tomorrow after marinating over night. lorenzo made some home made crunchy garlic bread that was a perfect complement to the soup as well as having a nice glass of white wine to go with it. i thought the haagen daz dulce de leche ice cream would make the perfect easy dessert.

here's my simple recipe:
1/2 white onion diced
2 large garlic cloves
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
2 pounds of cored, peeled and diced tomatoes
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/3 cup chopped, fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
3 big dashes of hot sauce (i used frontera)

puree first four ingredients in a food processor, then combine the tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, cilantro and tomato paste and blend leaving it somewhat chunky. season to taste with salt and pepper and hot sauce. transfer to large bowl and refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

as a garnish, i topped it off with a little more olive oil and fresh cracked pepper. it was delicious!

pin it forward

today is my day to participate in sf girl by bay's pin it forward event. i'm so excited to have some new people over to my blog, rouge blanc noir, which is basically a place for me to share some of the things that inspire me most (which happen to be somewhat frenchie). a big thank you to victoria of sf girl and pinster for inviting me to participate.

this is a perfect post to work on today as yesterday i moved out of my city girl apartment of 8 years and in with my guy and his daughter. let me tell you, merging two households is a pretty daunting task and i'm just trying to figure out what home means to me in my new country place.

well here are a few things to begin with, then i'll just have to figure them out as i go along!


now home means to me family and seeing that we all are taken care of and happy. i'm so lucky to have found such amazing people who share their lives with me.


home means coming home to my little girl lucie, who has brought me much happiness and entertainment.


home means to me cooking big sunday night dinners for my friends and family and preferably dining al fresco if weather permits here in the northwest.


and a happy sunny kitchen to prepare these meals in.


after a long day of work, nothing makes me happier at home than settling in with a glass of wine to watch a french film.


home means being surrounded with books, which remind me of my childhood and make for lazy afternoons of reading and relaxing.

there are so many things that mean home to me, these are just a few that i wanted to share with you today. thank you for joining me here at rouge blanc noir. be sure to check out yesterdays's post over at the hidden list and tomorrow's over at hey lucy.

and be sure to check out my dear friend, brooke's post over at pretty and yummy. we have been figuring out this blogging thing together which has been a lot of fun and a great way to stay in touch with one another. thank's brooke for telling me about the pin it forward event.

and a great big shout out to my friend alissa for setting me up with a brand new banner for the event today.

i hope to see you all again soon!

i'm distracted today and all i can think about is...

cafe paris

the cold grey day we are having in portland has me dreaming of sitting outside of parisian cafes.








what are you dreaming of today?

credits
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joy luck

while on our recent roadtrip to the southwest, i wanted to take my family to one of my favorite restaurants in jerome, arizona called the house of joy. the house of joy is a defunct brothel dating back to the 1920s and for many years, housed a very good restaurant. i was disappointed to find out that the restaurant is no longer open. the owner had a terrible bicycle accident and running the restaurant was too difficult. i was happy, though, that it is now a little shop they have labelled as a "brothel boutique" with a very eclectic mix of wares. the shop was closed the day we were there but i look forward to checking it out next time i'm down south. if you ever make it to jerome (which i suggest you do because it's a very cute town), check out the house of joy and live your fantasy of yelling down the stairs "next!"


the cutest red brick facade. couldn't you just live here?


the same sign has adorned the house of joy for many years. check out those red lights.


stop, don't come any closer.


yard art a la the house of joy.

the house of joy is at 416 hull ave jerome, arizona 928.634.5339

soundtrack: love will tear us apart joy division