June 24, 2018 (175/365) • Harbor House Milwaukee
"A Sunday well spent brings a week of content." ~ Proverb
Showing posts with label cocktails. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cocktails. Show all posts
June 22, 2018
French Friday: French 77 & Champagne Macarons
le 22 juin 2018 (173/365) • Le Rêve • Wauwatosa, WI
« Le Champagne aide à l'émerveillement. » ~ George Sand
French 77 Cocktail: 1 oz. St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur, 1/4 oz. Lemon Juice, Champagne, and a twist
Photos du déjeuner avec des amis au Rêve and a treat chez moi: le macaron du jour - Champagne!
May 25, 2018
French Friday: Hemingway's Paris
le 25 mai 2018 (145/365)
« Paris est une fête. » | "Paris is a moveable feast." ~ Ernest Hemingway
Much like Gil Pender in Midnight in Paris, I have often wandered the streets of Paris in search of my own literary idols. I have even perched upon the steps of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, dreaming that a classic Peugeot would pull up and whisk me away to the Paris of the 1920's.
"Hemingway slept here" has become a cliché, but it's true that Ernest lived on the third floor of 74 rue du Cardinal Lemoine with his bride, Hadley, from January 1922 through August 1923. Their time here became the inspiration for his Paris memoire, A Moveable Feast.
The Hemingways left Paris in anticipation of the birth of their son, "Bumby," (John Nicanor Hemingway), but returned in 1924 to an apartment on the rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs near the Luxembourg Gardens.
During this second sojourn in Paris, Ernest fell in love with Hadley's friend, Pauline Pfeiffer. When Hadley discovered the affair in 1927, the couple separated and divorced. Ernest and Pauline occupied to 6 rue Férou before moving to Florida. (Of course, as a true fan girl, I have also visited the Hemingway Home in Key West.)
While in Paris, Hemingway spent a lot of time at Sylvia Beach's bookstore, Shakespeare and Company. The original was on the rue de l'Odéon, but it was permanently closed during the Nazi occupation. The second iteration of Shakepeare and Company is still thriving on the rue de la Bûcherie, across the Seine from Notre Dame. Read more about this iconic bookshop here and here.
Since his earlier Paris apartments had neither plumbing nor heat, Hemingway spent much of his time writing at the Closerie des Lilas on the boulevard Montparnasse. Most of The Sun Also Rises was written here, as well as the journal entries and notes that would later become A Moveable Feast.
When he wasn't reading or writing, Hemingway was often found at the cafés in Montpartnasse and Saint-Germain.
Les Deux Magots and Café de Flore were two favorites.
Papa's presence can still be felt throughout Paris, yet nowhere is he more celebrated that at the Ritz. In 1944, Hemingway famously "liberated" the hotel and, of course, the bar of the remaining German soldiers by drinking 51 martinis.
"When I dream of afterlife in heaven, the action always takes place in the Paris Ritz," ~ Ernest Hemingway
When I'm Paris, I do a lot of "girly" things -- shopping, fashion shows, high tea, etc., but for the past two years, I have chosen to toast both my 50th birthday and my 50th "Gotcha Day" at the Bar Hemingway.
I'm not sure why I'm so fascinated by the very "macho" Ernest Hemingway, yet to balance out the testosterone, I sipped a Miss Bond, served by the incomparable barman, Colin Field. Cheers to Hemingway in Paris!
April 18, 2018
Aloha, y'all!
April 18, 2018 (108/365) • Hula Hut on Lake Austin
To paraphrase Dorothy, "Toto, I don't think we're in Texas anymore!"
February 23, 2018
French Friday: 50 ans (bis)
February 23, 2018 (054/365)
Last year, I celebrated my 50th birthday with a cocktail at the Bar Hemingway in the Paris Ritz. This year, I'm once again celebrating a milestone anniversary -- 50 years ago, my parents adopted me. This is my first "Gotcha Day" missing both Mom and Dad, but, as Ernest Hemingway once said, “No one you love is ever truly lost.”
January 15, 2018
Blue Monday
January 15, 2018 (015/365)
"Feeling a little blue in January is normal." ~ Marilu Henner
For the past few years, I have heard the third Monday of January referred to as "Blue Monday." Apparently, researches have devised a formula accounting for variables such as weather, post-holiday debt, time since Christmas, time since failing our New Year’s resolutions, low motivation levels, and feeling the need for change and action to determine that today is one of the hardest days of the year.
What would cheer you up on this Blue Monday? A vacation, good book, a walk in the freshly fallen snow? This evening, perhaps a boat drink would help -- this is juniper after all. Now all we need is tonic and lime!
July 30, 2017
Sunday Funday
July 30, 2017 (211/365)
Working in the garden, a long walk with Piper,
relaxing on the deck with a cocktail and a good book...
"Summer afternoon— to me those have always been
the two most beautiful words in the English language." ~ Henry James
July 21, 2017
French Friday: Bar Hemingway
July 21, 2017 (202/365)
“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris...then wherever you go for the rest of your life,
it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.” ~ Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast
During my birthday week in Paris, I did a lot of "girly" things, but I chose to toast the big day in the Bar Hemingway at the Ritz. The hotel boasts that "Cole Porter would spend up to 9 hours a day in the Hemingway Bar: he's said to have composed Begin the Beguine here. F. Scott Fitzgerald had his favorite seat; Ernest Hemingway and Gary Cooper made it the epicenter of their life in Paris." In fact, in 1944, Hemingway "liberated" the bar of German soldiers by drinking 51 martinis. I had only one very lovely, very expensive French 75 (to be fair, it did come with olives, almonds, and chips). I'm not sure why I'm so fascinated by the very "macho" Ernest Hemingway, but since high school he has been one of my literary idols. So it's fitting that today's French Friday post, on what would be "Papa's" 118th Birthday, features the Bar Hemingway. Cheers!
May 05, 2016
With a grain of salt...
el cinco de mayo 2016 (126/366)
"When life gives you limes, make margaritas!" ~ Jimmy Buffet
September 22, 2015
Potions
September 22, 2015 {265/365} Potions
September 10, 2015
The Library
September 10, 2015 {253/365} The Library
"A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life." ~ Henry Ward Beecher
When is the last time you visited the library? It has become so convenient to download books and periodicals onto my computer, tablet, and phone that I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't used my library card in years. I do love the culture of literacy that has been established in Pewaukee -- how wonderful that all language arts students (i.e. all students) are afforded luxury of time to read whatever inspires them. Yet, although I am fortunate enough to work among the great works of literature, poetry, biographies, historical and popular fiction, I rarely take avantage of the libraries here at school.
This week, I was invited to help students in various English classes set up blogs to showcase their writing. When I arrived at the start of the first class, I actually envied the students who were immersed in their chosen books. I miss taking time to read. Why have I allowed myself to be "too busy" to enjoy a good book? I also realized that as much as I love the convenience of technology and digital downloads, I miss holding a book, the feel and smell of paper as I turn each page in anticipation. So before the next class, I solicited book recommendation from other avid readers and took myself to the library. I chose The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, a book that I have been meaning to read for some time. So now, for the past two days, I have hurried to the five classes that invited me to savor those ten blissful minutes of reading. It feels great to rekindle my love of reading, of books, and of visits to the library.
Henry Ward Beecher may be correct that a library is a necessity, but the library in today's photo is also very luxurious. Wouldn't you love to curl up with a good book in this beautiful space? There are some great choices here, including the classics, art books, fiction and non-fiction. I remember buying that Edmund Fitzgerald book for my dad years ago.
Why not savor a cocktail along with your literature? Cocktails in the library? Now there's a novel idea (ahem)! This "library" is in Rittenhouse Hotel in Philadelphia. What a great space and a great idea!
[Photos taken in Philadelphia in June 2015]
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