Friday I'm in Love

It's Friday, and you know what that means! I'm metaphorically gazing at my Robert Smith posters of days of yore and listing my three favorite things from the week:

Julie & Julia

I enjoyed the book immensely, but I just loved the movie... I'm quite sure the casting gods were present when Meryl Streep was cast as Julia Child and Stanley Tucci as her adoring husband Paul. The Childs' story is one that not enough people know - and how amazing is it, really, to celebrate a pairing on screen that is as supportive, committed, and hot as theirs was? That's right, folks - in case you weren't aware, Julia and Paul knew a thing or two about keeping the bedroom fires burning. I was grinning ear to ear in every scene where their mutual adoration and sizzle was celebrated. What pleases me so much about this film is the notion that our paths toward finding what we love are never clearly marked, much less paved, but we can get there if we keep meandering. Julia was a woman who invented her own destiny, and she did so after the age of 40. And Julie Powell, feeling wasted in a life she's not quite sure is truly hers, sets out to try something, anything, to recapture that spark... a feeling I can identify with 1,000 times over. I'm not sure that you have to love to cook to love this movie. I'm not sure that you have to have a tendency to swear and be generally unladylike, or to sometimes sit on the kitchen floor and ask what the hell everything means, or to know that conventional answers are not enough for you, or to believe that your path toward enlightenment is no one's but your own, so who cares how long it takes you to journey it... But these are my reasons for feeling connected to this story. Julia Child was a remarkable woman, and watching her come to life was a complete treat. And finally - finally! - I have "My Life in France" waiting for me on the bedside table. I cannot wait.

International Flava

I had fun in my kitchen this week, from falafel one night (oh how I loooove falafel) to making my first-ever tortilla espanola another. The tortilla espanola, or tortilla de patatas, was such a snap to make, and is such a favorite tapas dish of ours, that I was shocked I haven't been making it for years. I also got to break in my supremely gorgeous Le Creuset cast-iron frying pan while doing so, which made magic of the potatoes and eggs. I used this recipe because we had yummy chorizo on hand, but the chorizo definitely isn't required. Accompanied by a homemade garlic/paprika aioli and a fresh salad, and oh my goodness... heaven in your mouth. I'm looking forward to digging into more traditional recipes soon and crafting my own "best of."

Our Song


Cheese alert: it's dorky but true. Every single time I hear our wedding song, no matter where I am or what I'm doing, I burst into the most enormous grin possible. I might even play it several times in a row just to sustain the feeling that no matter what else is going on or what's up in the air and to be determined, I'm incredibly lucky and really, everything will be fine. Wonderful, even. This song is my magic drug for whatever ails me.