As Summer approaches, Coudal will soon ( the week of June 6th) offer us their Field-Tested Books. It is not just any reading list. Each reviewer picked a book read in a certain city and relates how the surroundings (atmosphere, atmosphere) colored their reading experience. One of the reviewers is Amy Krouse Rosenthal whose Encyclopedia of Ordinary Life I still have to read.

The people of Aesthetic Apparatus are designing a limited edition poster to celebrate Field-Tested Books, check the work in progress before you pre-order it.

I was trying to remember a novel from a Catalan writer taking place in Barcelona and nearby back in the 50's in the local theater world which I could take along when I visit the town.

Unfortunately this week has been quite hectic for me and I will not have the chance or should I say time to contribute to Wine Blogging Wednesday #21. Breaking all the rules, this month it takes place on a Friday and is brought to you by Alberto of Is My Blog Burning and Lenn of Lenndevours under the 'Fabulous Favorites' banner. The theme this month is cook a dish and pick a wine from your cellar that matches it or if you are really ambitious design a whole food and wine pairing dinner.
Had I taken part, I would have offered a dish I used to make quite often when I lived in France. It was Roast Beef with Pruneaux d'Agen and Carrots with a red wine sauce. I would have paired it with a Cote Rotie (Rhone) wine.
My advice is keep an eye next week on either Is My Blog Burning or LennDevours for the wrap up.

While checking another site, I noticed Grocery Lists which caught my eye since as a concierge I happen to do food shopping for some of my clients. I find it more time consuming when I have to find my way around a new (to me at least) store. I am not aware of GPS software or Google Maps or Mapquest to show me the way around these unknown emporiums so you are not lost in the supermarket. Maybe it does exist. I do know for a fact (having worked in a supermarket many years ago) that we purchase items we did not intend to get as we negotiate various aisles. The store is set up to make us shop more. It is true also that we often write our lists aphazardly so reorganizing them in sections saves us time in the end. 'Grocery Lists' offers a collection of more than a 1000 shopping lists. Dig through it.

In PingMag, Heather Lorusso describes and illustrates how handcrafted clay pottery occupies a special place for Japanese. Not just on shelves as collections on display but in people's homes, in cafes, restaurants for everyday use. She gives us some historical background on pottery Japan and offers a number of galleries, shops and producers worth visiting in and around Tokyo. I especially liked the part on Cafe Ocharaka where you can actually purchase the same pottery you just used in an adjacent shop.

The photo used here is of the teaset used by Heather.

To me handcrafted clay pottery shows a labour of love, patience and warmth.

Often we wonder what the purpose of what we are doing is, does it make sense? In 'Are you ready to succeed', Srikumar Rao, professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Business explores ways to put ourselves in a better place. He looks at it through business and spiritual lenses, offering exercices, reading and other tools that can open our eyes and help us live a more meaningful life, one where we are glad to get up in the morning and look forward to what is ahead of us.
His approach reminds me of the Thanks God it's Monday approach offered by Francois Basili.
To learn more about Srikumar Rao and his book listen to his podcast interview by Todd of 800 CEO READ on May 5th or read the review on Yoga Journal.

Thanks to the In Bubble Wrap guy for bringing this book to my attention.

With the warm weather upon us (except today, rainy and gray here in New Jersey), we entertain, throw garden parties, barbecues and the like. Love Made Visible offers us ideas for Cards, Invitations, Gift Wrap and Tableware, all that in spare, elegant fashion, one photo and a short outline at a time. In a different way, Design Sponge written by Grace Bonney (based in Brooklyn, New York) offers more furniture items especially garden items.

To illustrate this piece I chose these creative wine bottle wraps by Heidi

I discovered both through the ever curious Rachel Cunliffe, a far away neighbor from New Zealand

While browsing at a local Borders , I found a number of postcards by Graphique de France. What caught my eye I guess was their old fashioned look and the choice of black and white. There is a touch of nostalgia to them like the one I purchased: a french couple back in the 50's or early 60's having a picnic by the side of the road, near their Renault 4CV, a classic french car from the post world war 2 era. They named this card 'Anniversary' and they got a Louie Award for it in 2000.
Many of their cards are 'a slice of life' as it happened, this is what appealed to me.
I am sure they have some Mother's Day cards as well.

Trends come and go and things get in and out of fashion. According to my friend, pastry chef Glenn Schwabik, cupcakes are back in vogue right now.
Rachel, Alizinha and Nichelle, the triumvirate behind Cupcakes take the Cake illustrate this. Their motto is 'All Cupcakes, all the Time'. I especially liked their Chocolate, Cream and Raspberry cupcakes showcased in the picture.
I also discovered on their site Cupcake Royale opening a store in Seattle where many new trends started. Their old fashioned branding suits well these little delicacies.
Maybe this gives you some ideas as to what to do for Mother's Day. Even bake your own.
If you do, feel free to send us your recipe and a photo to illustrate it.

As many cases of 'plagiarism' have emerged recently, New York based online journal The Morning News invites its readers to participate in a plagiarism contest tomorrow Friday. The idea is to have people create an 'original' work from pieces of others. Their literary version of 'mashups'. As Roxy Music back in the early 70's said 'remake remodel' as illustrated in this video found on You Tube.

I found out about this on Coudal.

Going from the 'Four Day Work Week' topic yesterday to how to integrate Yoga in our daily routine by practicing a few steps when we have a moment here and there felt like a natural.
While checking the site of 'iYoga Life' last week, the fact that they gave tips on how to practice some movements whenever we have a moment appealed to me. They call it 'Pose of the week'. I did take classes at my YMCA but have a hard time fitting it in my schedule.
It reminded me of the inclusion of yoga exercices in the book 'Creativity in Business'.
I spend a sizeable amount of time on my feet so I could use more stretching (and drinking more water). Even if these are baby steps, better than none.