Links I Love • June 2022

“Oh my luve's like a red, red white, white rose that's newly sprung in June” — Robert Burns, paraphrased

• 30 Bottles of Rosé to Try This Summer — A lofty goal!

• What Your Dog Wants - Piper is good at letting me know!

• Everything You Need to Know About the French Villa in Downton Abbey: A New Era

• Shaun Cassidy: The Hardly Idle Idol — So grateful to have seen Shaun in 1978 and again in 2022.

• What’s New in Paris in 2022

• The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Final Season

• Julie Andrews Spills the Tea on Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, and The Princess Diaries

A Very Nice Day

“I have nothing but gratitude to you for sharing that experience with me because it is a communion…You have this special connection with someone if you're their first record or their first concert or their first poster or whatever it is… A [grown] women will walk up to me and I see the little girl in her eyes.” — Shaun Cassidy

Sunday, June 19th could have been a sad day. Father’s Day makes me miss my dad even more and, this year, June 19th is the fifth anniversary of my mom’s passing. Instead of dwelling in sadness, we spent the day doing wonderful things. We started the day watching E boat races and enjoying lunch on the deck of the beautiful Lake Geneva Yacht Club.

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In the evening, we had a cocktail at the Gatsby Speakeasy of the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, Illinois before Shaun Cassidy’s Magic of a Midnight Sky concert. My mom first took me to see Shaun Cassidy in 1978 at Alpine Valley. I was eleven and completely starstruck. This time, the theatre was filled with women in their fifties and a few very supportive husbands (Thank you, Eric) who all thoroughly enjoyed the stories and the songs that Shaun performed. It was a lovely day. I think Mom and Dad (who called Shaun Cassidy “that whippersnapper”) would approve.

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Click here for my videos of Shaun Cassidy’s Magic of a Midnight Sky Tour on June 19, 2022 at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, Illinois.

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Always New: The Posters of Jules Chéret

“Designing posters is not only a commercial pursuit but also a philosophical endeavor.” ― Fang Chen

“Posters by the French artist Jules Chéret (1836–1932) caused a sensation in 19th-century Paris. Known as the father of the poster, Chéret was one of the first artists to bring colorful, large-scale advertisements to Paris streets, creating what critics called a “museum in the open air.” People strolling down the boulevards were captivated not only by Chéret’s vibrant images, but also by how frequently his new designs appeared. Chéret had developed new printing methods that allowed him to meet the fast pace that advertisers demanded to promote their latest entertainments and products. The ephemeral nature of these posters contributed to the popular idea that rapid change was central to modern life.

Always New: The Posters of Jules Chéret presents 109 posters, prints, and drawings by Chéret that reflect the French interest in novelty at the end of the 19th century. Drawn from James and Susee Wiechmanns’ gift to the Museum of more than 600 works by the artist, the exhibition is organized into five sections that highlight the various pleasures his posters publicized: performances, fashion, the press, real and imagined travel, and consumer products. Always New brings Chéret into focus as a master of his medium and demonstrates how these posters reflect larger societal issues in their depictions of everyday Parisian life” (mam.org).

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May 2022 in Pictures

"I think it annoys God if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it." — Alice Walker, The Color Purple

Currently • May 2022

“All things seem possible in May.” — Edwin Way Teale

READING:

• Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty — “New York Times author and journalist, Anderson Cooper, chronicles the rise and fall of a legendary American dynasty—his mother’s family, the Vanderbilts” (Goodreads).

• Sweet Paris: Seasonal Recipes from an American Baker in France by Frank Adrian Barron — “Inspired by the tradition of l'heure du goûter, a daily French tradition similar to British teatime, and autour de la table, the idea of gathering around the table with good friends and delicious food, Sweet Paris is a love letter to the sublime world of desserts and the City of Light” (Goodreads). I don’t even bake, but I really liked this book.

• Beautiful Little Fools — “Jillian Cantor revisits the glittering Jazz Age world of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, retelling this timeless American classic from the women’s perspective. It is a quintessential tale of money and power, marriage and friendship, love and desire, and ultimately the murder of a man tormented by the past and driven by a destructive longing that can never be fulfilled” (Goodreads).

WATCHING:

• My Next Guest Needs No Introduction (Netflix) — I’ve never been a big fan of David Letterman nor of many of this guests, but this show is really interesting and I have found a new respect for many of these people. And I still love George Clooney.

• Downton Abbey: A New Era — The costumes and the scenery were beautiful, especially the villa in the South of French.

FEELING: Tired and eager to be done. Enough said.

ENJOYING:

• Springtime in my garden

• A wonderful spring weekend in Door County, enjoying the cherry blossoms and wild flowers. We had coffee and cocktails and watched beautiful views and sunsets from our porch in Ephraim. We enjoyed beverages and delicious meals at The Inn at Cedar Crossing (walleye sandwich), SBYC, Clover & Zot (tempura artichoke hearts cilantro chutney and yogurt za’atar), Chives (brunch board, croque monsieur, macarons), Fika (cherry blossom latte and cardamom roll), and Barringers (prime truffle burger).

• Dressing the Abbey at the Charles Allis Museum

LOOKING FORWARD TO:

• The end of the school year — 8 more days for me

• A trip to Universal Studios with the Larsons in June

PLANNING:

• Spring Break in Paris — The dates are set and the airline tickets are purchased. I’m currently searching for places to stay and curating lists of new-to-me restaurants, shops, and attractions. It will be so wonderful to be back after 3.5 years away.

Door County - Spring 2022

"Spring is far more than just a changing of seasons; it's a rebirth of the spirit." — Toni Sorenson

Tiny, perfect forget-me-nots in Peninsula State Park

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Like walking in a fairy tale

Pure white trillium (harder to find after Friday afternoon’s storm)

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Iconic Door County cherry blossoms at Seaquist Orchards in Sister Bay

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Every variety of violet, Wisconsin’s state flower

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Elusive lady slipper orchids in Ellison Bay Bluff County Park

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Wild strawberry blossoms, wild columbine, white forget-me-nots, yellow bellflowers

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Ferns and funghi

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“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, resign yourself to the influence of the earth.” — Thoreau

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We had coffee and cocktails and watched beautiful views and sunsets from our porch in Ephraim. We enjoyed beverages and delicious meals at The Inn at Cedar Crossing (walleye sandwich), SBYC, Clover & Zot (tempura artichoke hearts with cilantro chutney and yogurt za’atar), Chives (brunch board, croque monsieur, macarons), Fika (cherry blossom latte and cardamom roll), and Barringers (truffle burger).