Off to Paris

Let's say (hypothetically speaking) that someone was going to move to Paris. She had two potential apartments, both in great locations. One location is more central, but the other is a better price and still an excellent location--it would just require a longer bike ride to school (or, she could use the savings from rent to buy a transportation pass).

Keep in mind that school at the Sorbonne starts in February. The average temperature (low-high) in early February in Paris is 38-46 degrees Fahrenheit (and it snows on average 4-6 times in the month); by mid March it's from 44-57 degrees.

Apt 1 - Great Location, 400 Euros/month, much farther away from school

Hello, the Arc de Triomphe would be a block away!!
Apt 2 - Great location, 500 Euros/month, only 3-5 blocks from school




This one is about two blocks from Notre Dame and has a bakery right out the front door.
Both will have a bunch of tourists around in the summer because they are close to big Paris sights. Both have a washing machine in the apartment, a well-lit bedroom with a desk, and a sanitary-looking, albeit tiny, bathroom. Each will also have one other tenant who is not the owner living there.
I already know which one I'm going to take. But I'm curious... which one would you take?
Oh, yeah. Obviously the "hypothetical" is... not. I'm moving to Paris in mid-January. Hooray!
Photos are screen shots of the Google Maps Street View of each location.

20x200

20x200 is a GREAT website that offers two different pieces of artwork each week. One photograph and one "work on paper" as they call it.

They run three different editions of each piece at three different price points:

200 small prints @ $20.00 each
20 medium prints @ $200.00 each
2 large prints @ $2,000.00 each

They are pretty varied as far as the style and subject matter; I always enjoy looking at the different pieces that are being featured that week. I haven't purchased anything yet, mostly because I am always too late to get the ones I really like (plus the fact that I am selling my house, so it's not like I would even have anywhere to hang them).

I like their website and concept, regardless. Go check it out.

James Judge - Contemporary Painter

I would buy these two paintings if I had money and a house big enough to have an art gallery.

James Judge seems to create abstract landscapes for the most part, which I'm not a huge fan of. Landscape paintings very seldom appeal to me. But the two shown below, 'Echo' and 'Watermark' respectively, are just un-landscape-ish enough for me to love the mixing, blending, splashing and bleeding of the colors.

I would really love to be able to paint like this. Maybe some day.

Click on the paintings to see a larger version via the Adam Gallery website.

Friday Faves - Recipe Edition

Today's friday faves are brought to you by my recipe box.

I love to cook. I'm not necessarily a great cook, just a willing one. :) Cooking good food makes me feel productive and collected.

Most of my favorite recipes were discovered at family functions or at the homes of my friends during high school. If you want any of the actual recipes typed out, leave a comment and I can come back and add them. What is given below is a general description of the dish and the process (VERY general in some cases).
Note: All Recipe Names are based on what I call them and may or may not be actual names of recipes.

1. Tabouleh (non-traditional) - a tangy and delectable mixture of cooked and cooled bulgur wheat, tomatoes, cucumbers, mint, parsley, with a lovely dressing of tomato sauce, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic powder. Recipe source: Nancy Peterson, my cooking kindred spirit.

2. Best Ever Creamy Tomato Soup - 'nuff said. Well, almost enough. You got that it's tomato soup, and that it's creamy, but just from the title alone you wouldn't be able to tell that it's really quite easy to make and has just the right amount of diced/stewed tomato to make it more robust than a canned counterpart, but not chunky enough that it resembles a stew more than a soup. Oh, yummy. It's cold outside, and I want some... Recipe source: Aunt Denise.

3. Niçoise chicken - discovered in my high school French class. I volunteered to make it for some kind of party we had in class, and I am officially hooked for life. A deliciously sweet and savory one-pot wonder made of cooked chicken, quartered tomatoes, onions, tomatoes and halved garlic cloves simmered in white wine (okay, apple cider or apple juice for me--that's where the awesome sweetness comes in). Incredibly tender and delicous. Garnish with olives if desired (i don't desire, even though I love olives). Recipe source: the Amazing Charlotte Touati.

4. Frito casserole - my family's comfort food and a budget-friendly one-dish flavor extravaganza. Combines elbow macaroni (I go for the high-fiber kind), stewed diced tomatoes, corn, chili pepper, cayenne, cumin, tomato sauce, garlic, cheddar cheese, and (of course) Fritos. The recipe actually says to bake it (thus the 'Casserole'-ness), but I prefer to just mix it all (except the chips) together in a large pot like goulash, and then use Fritos Scoops to eat every last morsel. I'm pretty sure Amy lived off of this one recipe for the larger part of her college life. Everyone loves this. Recipe source: Sister Williams from our ward in West Valley.

5. Caprese salad - Okay, this wasn't really discovered through my family, but it is a favorite of mine, so here it is. Sliced tomatoes, sliced fresh mozzarella, fresh basil leaves. Layer one tomato, one basil leaf, and one slice mozarella. Alternate until the salad is a satisfactory size. Drizzle with your favorite olive oil, basalmic vinegar, and sprinkle on a smidgen of sea salt. Alternately, you can simply slice the fresh basil into thin strips and sprinkle it on top of the tomato/mozzarella combo. This one dish convinces me--every time--that I should have been born in Italy. (Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure it was Denise who originally introduced me to this, just in another version as described here by Josh).

What are your family's go-to recipes? How did you discover them?

The Center for Fine Art Photography...

has a great website highlighting their current and past exhibitions. You can also subscribe to receive e-mail notifications about calls for entry. I'm not quite good enough to do that, but I think there are some people in our family who are.

Check out their website. There are some really gorgeous photos there.

Red Coats

I love red. I love coats. I really love red coats.

The one I've had for years is pretty much worn out. So I think I might replace it with this one. But I'm still looking, 'cause I don't really dig the buttons.

Hayleigh's Blessing - Ode to Heather (but not in a creepy way)

We all know that Heather should contract out for event planning somewhere or start her own children's birthday party planning business. (See here, here and here for examples.)

So, it won't come as a shock to anyone to find that Hayleigh's blessing was perfectly planned and executed, right down to the last detail - even with a last-minute venue change because of the crazy fall weather. Here are some of the details for those who couldn't make it.

I don't have the party planning skills, so I'm perfectly content with hiring Heather to plan all of my future kids' parties. What's your going rate now, Heather?