Monday, December 28, 2015

NOLA highlight

When you think of fancy, delicate many-layered doberge cake, you don't think of small local bars, but Twelve Mile Limit is making it happen. You might have to be buzzed in, or knock--it's very under the radar. They are an incredible little bar that serves up doberge cake made by the master at Debbie does Doberge. They had red velvet and rainbow almond paste--they were to die for and irreplaceable. Going out to Twelve Mile Limit and getting their classic take-home cup is a really unique, great experience that is unmissable. I will go back next time I am down in NOLA.

At 500 Telemachus St, usually 5pm-2am, or 10am-12am on weekends [check first, call in and see what flavors of doberge they have--they are very kind and helpful, even to the annoying people like me!]; get off the Canal St tram at S. Clark St and go left four streets and up two


Sunday, December 27, 2015

Vintage in NOLA

When traveling, you need to be prepared--be sure to read travel guides to NYC, Paris, NOLA, etc, before you go, make a list of places you want to go [with addresses & times], print out a basic map and circle them. When you touchdown in your new locale, you'll be ready to rush off and go try a million different things. All that possibility, just waiting for your shoes to start walking.

For vintage clothes, try:
-If you are going to New Orleans' Cecilia's or Satsuma for a breakfast or brunch, the nearby Swap Boutique is great, a little store full of interesting items.
At 7716 Maple St, get of St Charles Ave streetcar by Cecilia's, usually open 10am-6

-Be sure to go to Century Girl while in the French Quarter
At 818 Royal St, usually open 11am-6

-And of course, GLUE clothing exchange, for really interesting finds
At 8206 Oak St, open 11am-6


Stationary

Stationary and sending cards is one of the great refined pleasures of age--you get to express how much people mean to you in carefully beautiful handwriting, choose unique and lovely cards, and give someone you love a great surprise in the mail. There are two components of this for the writing set: the cards and the seal [or stickers/stamps].

You need both great stationary and interesting decoration:
Get unique cards at places like: The Grove Street Press online, and the very famous Ana's Papeterie

Get wax seals at: U.K.'s British ebay site: very unique! I have often pored over each antique piece. On Etsy, the two people to get them from are ReminiscencePapers [for particular, different fonts letters] and TheSupplyGuy [for tiny incredible images]. Love the zodiac signs set of wax seals and the gingerbread man.

New Orleans b

More must-do's while in NOLA:

French Quarter
-Arnauds, the famous bar and restaurant, get a light and very famous WWI French 75 cocktail, it is a mixed champagne base drink
At 813 Rue Bienville, go early at night, it opens usually 5:30pm-11:30

-The Pelican Bar, ask them to make the now off menu blackberry rum cocktail, it's a classic
At 312 Exchange Plaza almost at the corner of Bienville St and Chartres St., it's on a hidden open road in the middle of that block on Bienville, open 5:30pm-9:30

-If you love classic, old world perfumes, go to Bourbon French Parfums and get the best one: the cherry blossom, or get it online here in any size.
At 805 Royal St, open 10am-5

-Cecilia's or Satsuma's are very interesting, try walking out from classic, old world American diner Cecilia's to modern, fresh Satsuma for fun exotic mixed [fresh] fruit juices [and for the vintage shops nearby] and get the meaty gumbo at Cecilia's and their pecan waffles, and a chocolate milkshake
At 626 S Carrollton Ave is Cecilia's, ride the St Charles streetcar over, which stops right next to it; Satsuma is at 7901 Maple St, a few streets over from the other cafe

-Go to the opera or ballet, the Louis A. theater is directly north of the French Quarter, so it's easy to get to

-Go to the famous, gorgeous Latin mass at the classic and ornate St Patrick's Church at 9:30am Sunday, set back from the street so be sure to look carefully; their service schedule is here
At 724 Camp St, in the CBD

The picture below is from the Garden District--the stained glass was lovely:


New Orleans a

The best of the best in New Orleans, for a perfect, luxurious trip--remember to call ahead to most places to ensure they have what you want and are even open, NOLA has more of a European take on time and many places are closed Monday or have different weekend hours:

-Reserve a $2 'Free tours by foot' guided tour online to St. Louis Cemetery no. 1 [you cannot get in without a tour like this to protect this famous cemetery]
At Basin St and St. Louis St

Garden District
-Go to the incredible, gothic Lafayette Cemetery in the Garden District, usually open 7:30-2:30, so get there way before 2pm just to be sure
At Washington Ave streetcar stop get off from a green St Charles line car that you board in CBD [central business district]  or French Quarter area--after getting off, walk past Prytania St right into the cemetery, it's free

-Next to Lafayette Cemetery is the famous turquoise restaurant Commander's Palace -- get a reservation and lunch: the pasta with wild boar sauce, and get some famous 25¢ cocktails
At 1403 Washington Ave, open 11:30am-1:30 & 6:30pm-9:30 (504) 899-8221

-In the garden district, walk around to see all the famous, enormous old fancy houses, and go see Anne Rice's old house at 1239 First St

-District Donuts, Sliders Brews has amazing, unique donuts that will blow your mind; walk down from the garden district big house area to rest here and get an iced tea
At 2209 Magazine St, open 7am-9pm

CBD
-Get a locally famous muffuletta Italian meat/olive sandwich at Cochon Butcher, and a Jamaican mule [ie a dark 'n stormy] at the bar [the mixer is a lovely, great man], and try a bunch of pies and cake slices, they're incredible
At 930 Tchoupitoulas St, usually open 10am-10pm

-Perfume lovers should call ahead to Avery Fine Perfumery and be sure they're open, they have a huge and unique selection of rare bottles, spray some blotters and experience the artistry
At 527 St Joseph St, open 11-6pm, call (504) 522-7102

-Famous local handmade artistic card/stationary shop The Grove Street Press is next door to the perfume gallery above, you can buy their unique, old fashioned cards etc here online
At 521 St Joseph St, open 11-7pm but call to ensure they are truly open: (504) 281-4575

Canal St
-Blue Dot Donuts, this tiny gem has giant donut bow ties you'd kill for and bear claws, it's irreplacable
At 4201 Canal St, open 6am until the afternoon but get there before 9am to make sure you get a real selection, they will sell out

Angelo Broccato, take the Canal streetcar up and get raspberry pastries, gelato, almond greek caps, and French fruit tarts, fresh cannolis; very old school classic
214 N Carrollton Ave, open 10am-10

Farther out
Plum St Snoballs, 1300 Burdette St but only during summer, so call or check online


Saturday, December 26, 2015

Things to read: J style

One great blog is TheJapans, about a Westerner living in 日本 or Nihon, as we say. She has great posts, including some on Japanese breakfast, which is always interesting to hear about--they are so different in every culture!

TheSartorialist, that old standby, had a few ensembles that were interesting--like in NYC here or here, but lately there's a shift towards other street style blogs, like:

- TIRU, the excellent Japanese style blog, they have an amazing sense of aesthetics
- FY FRUiTS, an engaging look at the infamous J-style fashion magazine, very fresh/modern
- FY DropTokyo is extremely modern/minimalist and interesting.
- the more classically beautiful YesAsianStreet and the HarajukuStyle.


Gifts for oneself

In terms of after Christmas, I think everyone wants a little something for themselves--whether it's just something new or an item they wanted but didn't get in time for the holiday. One such thing is vintage Victorian calling cards--like here or here at another shop. They are simply gorgeous!

Another thing is vintage issues of Victoria magazine on Ebay/Etsy. It's for the Anne of Green Gables [Canadian, 1908, written by Lucy M.] and Victorian culture loving set, and it definitely does not disappoint.

Another thing that's fun to get during the holidays is a new wax seal--there are many on Ebay, especially the U.K.'s British ebay site. They are lovely, antique and very unique! I have often contemplated buying quite a few. On Etsy, the two people to get them from are ReminiscencePapers and TheSupplyGuy.


Sunday, December 20, 2015

Ancient

The French Symbolist painter Gustave Moreau [1826–1898] is one of the most interesting painters, especially because of his two Salomé paintings [see two below, the one on the left often referred to as 'The Apparition' and check out the more explicit and mystical one 'Salomé dansant devant Hérode' here], and for his 'Song of Songs' and 'Hesiod and the Muse'--the more Impressionistic 'The Toilette' is also very unique as is 'The Sacred Elephant'--look here for more of his work. His most infamous painting is of course the 'Oedipus and the Sphinx' [1864].

      

French

The French Louis Marie de Schryver [1862-1942] has an excellent piece in 'A young man's fancy', and the French Gustave Claude Étienne Courtois's [1852-1923] 'Portrait of Anne-Marie Dagnan' [1880] is exquisite for the collar and unique dress.

And Belgian Charles Hermans' [1839-1924] 'Bal Masqué' is very unique and Poe or Phantom of the Opera-esque:

Arturo Ricci

Arturo Ricci [1854-1919] is an incredible early Italian painter--the clothing in his work is extremely interesting, see his paintings at this great art blog or here--'Interieur mit feiner Gesellschaft' is a great one:

Xmas

The holidays prompt people to list the latest and most interesting things they've seen, read or bought--the famous David Lebovitz has recently put out his list. Here are some ideas:

For music, Wolfgang Voight's 1999 ambient music Gas album Königsforst is incredible, and his 'Zauberberg' [1997] is even better. For art, I love looking at Cargo Collective--it has everything! The new Macbeth movie appears to be an artistic triumph; try Interstellar for ambient atmosphere as well. Netflix's Jessica Jones is the best thing on tv for years.

For fashion, I think everyone reads Bill Cunningham religiously. Who can resist looking at Net-a-porter, though I usually prefer to get unique little things from designers who are just starting out.

Sites like Of a Kind and NeedSuppy is a great site [I love Jesse Kamm, here's one spot for her & here too; I constantly search for an opportunity to buy this one design of hers I saw years ago. I scour ebay! I love these almost medieval, interesting earrings by Fortune Favors the Brave. I love the site YBD [Young British Designers] as well.

Blogwise, the top of the top is usually Farmette in Ireland and the famous Mimi Thorisson in Médoc, France.

For old fashioned fun, the 80s and 90s have some great things to revisit: Victoria magazine for the Anne of Green Gables life aspirers, early The X Files seasons for their fresh take on atmospheric tv, the Toronto based Forever Knight for a classic Greek love style supernatural vampire tv show, and the classic manga comic books about a tough, hidebound German NATO Major and an Robert Plant-like, wild international art thief: From Eroica with Love [Japan's  エロイカより愛をこめて].

Ambient music

Ambient music is a gorgeous, incredible thing. It can be moving, eerie, beautiful, or just interesting 'white' type noise. This list of the top ambient albums is great as is this list of the top 10 ambient cds. The Gas album 'Zauberberg' [1997] is amazing.

Be sure to try the beautiful 'The X-Files Theme Song 800% Slower', which sounds really interesting and not like the actual theme and the natural sounding bells & river 'Tibetan Music Therapy with Spiritual Music Sounds for Zen Meditation'. The best ambient music always sounds somehow natural and intangible, like the spirit of a place or object is coming to life.

Another great one is the Tolkien Lord of the Rings 'Enya -Council Of Elrond (MAT3O's Lord of the Rings Elvian Spirit Mix)'.

Balls

French painter Joseph-Désiré Court [1797-1865] has a great painting 'La Sortie du Bal' and try his 'Une Glaneuse' [a female gleaner [of wheat etc], which is excellent and his beautiful 'The mask' of a partygoer:

20's

German Leo Rauth [1884-1913] created incredible 1920's style art:

Fashion

The sometimes French resident and Swiss born Charles-Alexandre Giron's [1850-1914] painting 'The Parisienne' [1883, aka 'Woman wearing gloves'; La Femme aux gants] is an incredible piece--read more about it here:

Painters

Other great painters are the French Théodore Levigne [1848-1912], his 'The romantic suitor' is beautiful, the British Henry Midwood William [1833-1888] and Anatole Vély [see his "La Meditation' [1875] or his 'The Puppet Show' or his 'Le Coeur S'Éveille'/'Awakening of the heart'.

If you want to scroll quickly through some gorgeous closeups, try Gesto from pinterest. As always, the WGA [Web Gallery of Art] is another excellent and fun resource. Be sure to read the interesting notes that accompany some of the art--there's always more to learn!

This page on the game of chess in art is a great, huge collection of paintings.

Also try Eduardo Leon Garrido's 'Die Tanzvorführung'/'The dance performance' [see many of his paintings here. French painter Charles Desire Hue's [1825-1883] painting 'The Favorite Bird' is a gorgeous one:

Tito Conti

Tito Conti is an incredible Italian painter [1842-1924], well known for his beautiful historical paintings. His 1878 'Der Brief' painting is one of the best. Here's another example below, beside the former:


Sunday, December 6, 2015

Winter

One great source interesting winter-time reading is UofA's Dr. Albrect Classen's 2005 reading webpage on medieval and ancient thought and poetry on winter.