I'm VERY excited that tonight marks the season premiere of The Newsroom! There are very few shows that I watch, so I tend to get a little more excited than most about them. Since I turned her onto this show, Bridget and I will be resuming our Sunday night ritual of watching a show and having a cocktail. Before we begin a new show, I'd like to share how we ended this past season of Mad Men.
I selected the French 75 as the evening's cocktail, but knew that the finale called for something a little more special, a little more festive. So, I referred to Bridget's Unofficial Mad Men Cookbookfor a little inspiration.
Since dinner wasn't an option, I decided a few appetizers would be perfect.
Not necessarily the prettiest set up, but everything was pretty damn yummy!
I wasn't going to make this myself, but what's outstanding is that I don't have to. Picking it up at the store is really the only way to go.
Whenever I think of h'orderves from this era, I automatically think of Betty Draper filling celery sticks with a goopy mayo concoction. I wanted to do something a little different and when I came across this, I knew it would be PERFECT to stuff the celery with! GENIUS!
Unfortunately, there was not nearly enough to nibble on to counteract the damage that the MANY French 75's that Bridget and I consumed inflicted. It's no surprise that this cocktail that was invented at the famous Harry's New York Bar in Paris and named after the French 75mm cannon from WWI. While this cocktail seems innocuous enough, it packs quite a whallop!!
I'm not going to go into the details of the Mad Men season finale because SO much happened, but I will just say that it was brilliant and set up a fabulous season!!!
One of the things that I am most looking forward to is the trajectory that Peggy and Ted's relationship is going to take. I can't imagine that they will be writing him off the show after everything that happened in the last episode. And the last interaction that they had was heartbreaking:
"I love you that deeply, I can't be around you. And I can't ruin all those lives... Someday you'll be glad I made this decision."
"Well, aren't you lucky. To have decisions." (because Ted took hers away!)
And then there's the disintegrating relationship between Don and Megan...
"I don't even know why we're fighting for this anymore. I don't know what it is. We don't have any kids. You want to be alone...with your liquor and your ex-wife and your screwed up kids...I used to feel pity for them but now I realize we're all in the same boat."
Last two scenes were perfect. Peggy in Don's chair and Don taking the kids to see the whore house. "Why are we stopping here? This is a bad neighborhood."
I'm not sure where things are going, but I AM sure that where ever it is, it will be fabulous!
I had never even heard of Bukowski before selecting his novel, Post Office, for the June Book Club. After I made that selection, I started seeing people quote him and his work right and left and most of it is brilliant!
"Find what you love and let it kill you."
"Style is the answer to everything.
A fresh way to approach a dull or dangerous thing
To do a dull thing with style is preferable to doing a dangerous thing without it
To do a dangerous thing with style is what I call art."
"You have my soul and I have your money."
In doing research for the June Book Club post, I found myself watching YouTube video after YouTube video and I'm still going. There is just something about this sad man that draws me in. He's gritty (a phrase I've used many times on the subject of Bukowski) and raw and drunk and full of pessimism. And magnetic.
I find him fascinating. The fact that he became one of the pivotal voices of Los Angeles during the '70's is especially interesting to me. "You live in a town all your life, and you get to know every street corner. You've got the layout of the whole land. You have a picture of where you are...Since I was raised in L.A., I've always had the geographical and spiritual feeling of being here. I've had time to learn this city. I can't see any other place than L.A." He didn't try to pretty things up - he was blunt and rude and honest and I think that spoke to many people. His honesty and lack of forced form drew people to poetry that would probably not have given it a second thought before. And he did it all while drunk (or maybe hungover). While most people would look at him and think he was not a serious writer, he was. It's mind boggling how prolific he was - he penned six novels, hundreds of short stories, and thousands of poems!
All these things can be cited when one selects him as one of the 'Greatest drunks of all time'. There are MANY YouTube videos about Bukowski, but I think this one is the best overview I've come across so far.
These clips show different sides of Bukowski and are all fascinating in their own right. Enjoy!
"Where the black pimps are, where the whores are, where the music is playing...where the jukeboxes are playing in bars, where the lights are on...that's where life is."
"I do not like the human race. I don't like their heads, I don't like their faces, I don't like their feet, I don't like their conversations, I don't like their hairdos, I don't like their automobiles, I don't like their dogs or their cats or their roses."
"He is devoted to the de-Disneyfication of all of us. Someone has to kick the Mickey Mouse out of our heads!"
"This three fingered son of a bitch that has no soul for christ sake...Mickey Mouse doesn't have a fucking soul!"
As soon as I have two hours, I'm going to watch this documentary.
Or if I only have 45 minutes, I'll give this one a go.
So that's where I'm at currently, in my little obsession with Charles Bukowski. Do any of you find him as fascinating as I do?
"She' mad but she' magic. There' no lie in her fire." This man is magic. XOXO
Have you ever been super impressed with yourself? It happens to me CONSTANTLY. And the fact that I planned ahead for the June Book Club meeting for Post Office was just one of those instances. Since there were three of us reading this novel and all three of us thoroughly enjoy Brunch, I thought it would be the perfect setting for this meeting. Shortly after I announced the June selection, I put an invite together for Brunch on Sunday, July 7, though I was not exactly sure where we would be going. After reading the novel, it was very apparent what type of venue would be appropriate.
A bar.
Since I have had The Misfit on my list of places to visit for a few months now and I knew that they served Brunch, I thought it was the absolute perfect opportunity to go!
Unfortunately, one of the fabulous Book Club members was unable to attend at the last minute, so that left Bridget and myself to enjoy a most FAB Brunch. This is my new favorite spot. And you're about to see why!
Per usual, we ordered a French Press full of fabulous coffee and got right to perusing the Brunch cocktails.
We both decided on the Bijou. And it was heaven!! Mine even came with a halo.
While the description on the menu sounded quite tasty yet somewhat plain, what was put in front of us was a fizzy glass of infused vodka, grapefruit juice, and bubbly poured over a cube of raw sugar. So much better than we had expected! Really, how often does that happen??
The lovely East Coast Bridget. Wearing a suit for Brunch and totally classing up the place.
I have always felt strongly that the best food choices are made with a drink in hand, and that's exactly how we made our selections.
While the Brunch menu (in the box) is quite limited, they were some very yummy looking options.
I chose the Wild Mushroom Omelet
This French-style Omelet was light and fluffy and full of Gruyere and herbs. It was lovely.
Bridget ordered the Shakshuka which was so spicy her "brow started dewing", but she requested a second order of bread to sop up all the yumminess that was set in front of her. Draw your own conclusions.
Before we get to all the grittiness of the novel (yes, we had to remind ourselves of the fact that the main purpose of Brunch was to discuss Post Office), I'd like to show you around The Misfit a bit. If you don't understand why I need to live in this place, we should really part ways now...
The only fault I could really find with The Misfit was the fact that the mirrors seem to have been neglected...
LOVED the recessed ceiling detailing!
"I love you to the point of madness." I am enamored with this phrase...leave it to the French!
We will definitely be coming back for Happy Hour (though our Brunch cocktails fell into this category)!
As if the whole experience wasn't fabulous enough, after Brunch we received a complementary chocolate chip cookie with sea salt. Probably the best chocolate chip cookie I've ever eaten. Seriously.
I think it's pretty clear that we only did a very minimal amount of actual Book Club business, so we got to that after we left The Misfit. Discussing this particular novel was something that could be done rather quickly as it was very short and a rather easy read. Bridget and I both agreed that while this novel was short, it was exactly as long as it needed to be in order to still keep our interest. I didn't particularly like Henry, our protagonist, but I didn't particularly dislike him either. Bridget likened him to the anti-heroes that virtually every '90's sitcom was built around, though I disagree. Those characters tended to have some incredibly likable attributes. This one didn't.
There weren't many redeeming qualities that Henry himself had but he was real and the writing style was gritty, entertaining, and at times it was very funny - though I would not say it was 'one of the funniest books ever written' as is claimed on the cover. While in no way was this book terribly literary in its use of foreshadowing or symbolism or any other classic elements, there was a charm about this work...it felt less like a novel and more like storytelling, a man telling HIS story. In this case, the storyteller was a dirty old man with whiskey on his breath, swaying from side to side in his ratty old chair. Bridget put it best when she said that she felt hungover after reading Post Office. Hence the bar for Brunch.
Bukowski modeled Henry Chinaski after himself and did not sugarcoat his love of drink.
I do love a man with a cat.
I knew I was about to read something unlike anything I'd read before with the (anti)dedication...
"This is presented as a work of fiction and dedicated to nobody."
While this is more of a rambling story than anything else, there are some rather amusing passages and situations. They are honest and many times, not particularly pretty, but it's refreshing since you rarely see them in most works since many take them themselves far too seriously. "But I couldn't help thinking, god, all these mailmen do is drop in their letters and get laid. This is the job for me, oh yes yes yes." Sometimes there was humor and other times there was self deprecation and humor laced with deep sadness. "I was lost in the dark and the rain. Was I some kind of idiot, actually? Did I make things happen to myself? It was possible. It was possible that I was subnormal, that I was lucky just to be alive."
There isn't much about this novel to summarize as the plot is far less important than the experience of reading it. And while I first thought that I wouldn't be reading any of his other works, I'm not so sure about that anymore because, aside from some vulgarity that was even a little much for me, I really liked the experience of reading Post Office. So much so that I did it in just one sitting. There's this authenticity in the picture that Bukowski paints of the experience working in the Post Office since the story is autobiographical - he seems to have only changed a few names along the way. The novel was published very shortly after he left the post office after working there for nearly 12 years and in a letter written to a friend of his, he explains, "I have one of two choices - stay in the post office and go crazy...or stay out here and play at writer and starve. I have decided to starve." Another very authentic aspect of the novel is his depiction of Los Angeles - a depiction which can only come from someone who has spent their entire life here. Southern California natives do not feel the need to only show the glitz that most people associate with L.A. The seedy underbelly, the grit, the fact that it is the birthplace of the Noir genre is such a large part of this city's history and Bukowski had seen and felt it all. His family moved to South Central Los Angeles when he was just 10 years old and he never really left - spending the rest of his life living in various places in L.A., in mostly rough areas which greatly influenced his writing. In 1986, Time called Bukowski a "laureate of American lowlife". If you want an idea of Bukowski's voice, you can take a short tour of L.A. with him. It's especially fun because he seems to have had a few drinks before (and possibly during) this little tour from 1985!
I hope you enjoyed the June Book Club Selection. If you didn't read it last month and you need a short, interesting read, you might consider picking up Post Office. Also, if you haven't made up your mind about joining the Book Club for July, I have the feeling that while The Misfit is my new favorite Brunch spot, the outing for July's Book Club Meeting is going to be far more fabulous than this one! It's going to be quite the field trip!!
I hope to see you all at the next Book Club meeting! Happy reading lovelies!! XOXO
There are few things that I love more than a day of wine tasting. Since I'm fortunate to have nothing but fabulous people in my life, I have never found myself wine tasting with less than desirable company. A few weeks ago, I went up to Santa Barbara County with my sister, my mother, my mother's cousin and his wife who were visiting from Germany, and Oma's second cousin's son (I'm not quite sure about that one).
While the weather couldn't really make up its mind as to what it wanted to do on our drive up, as soon as we got into Santa Ynez, the clouds cleared up and it was a beautiful, clear warm day. And at the first sight of vines, there was no doubt that it was a good day for a Weinprobe (German for wine tasting - my blog is totally educational!)
My mother is a member of a Gainey, a fantastic winery in Santa Ynez, so our motley crew (no umlauts) started our day there.
Gainey is a fantastic place with fantastic glasses!
The tasting is held is one of their barrel rooms which is pretty rare and makes for such a wonderful experience! The stand outs here were the Syrah and the Merlot - simply delicious!
And right outside the barrel room is an absolutely lovely room which is lined floor to ceiling with bottles - the best kind of rooms in my opinon.
If you find yourself in Santa Ynez, definitely check this place out. Such a great winery with a great philosophy (and a fabulous gift shop to boot)!
Their outdoor area is really lovely and we sat outside with our last tastes and enjoyed the scenery for a bit.
I love this candid little moment between my sister and my mom. I'm sure Sylvi was relaying something good!
While a great time was had by all at Gainey, it was time to head to the next winery. CURTIS!!! Curtis is my favorite winery in Santa Barbara County. Not that the others don't have fantastic things to offer, but my heart lies with Curtis. When I visited for the first time in March, I fell instantly in love.
So, Curtis...there are not enough good things that I can say about this place. But I'm going to try.
While the grounds are beautiful (this area is chalked full of these fantastically large trees), and the tasting room is small while remaining airy, bright, and incredibly inviting, one of my favorite things about visiting here is my best friend, Jason. He and I have sort of a thing going - it's alright to be jealous.
I'd only been here once before and he not only recognized me, but took incredibly good care of our entire party of 6, imparting very important wine knowledge to the group. For example, did you know that Viognier is French for 'Melinda'? Now you do.
Whenever we found ourselves getting sad because our wine glasses were empty (which for the record RARELY happened - this was a totally staged photo), Jason came to our rescue!
What a beautiful man.
Yes, the wine and Jason are the highlights of Curtis' tasting room, but there are some other gems that you can find here.
And what takes this place over the top is the fact that I've only ever come here with my sister and I feel like it's one of our special places...perhaps the high alcohol content of their wines have helped formed that opinion?
Our signature pose - which is easy since Sylvi's a head taller than I am.
Curtis really is FANTASTIC! It just seems to make everyone happy. Especially me!!!!
As if it hadn't already been a fantastic day, we hit our last winery - Firestone.
I'm not the biggest fan of this winery, but I definitely wouldn't pass this one up if someone suggested we visit.
There was a wedding being set up which explained all the flowers that we passed in the barrel room on the way to the members tasting area. They were just beautiful.
While I mentioned them before, here are my mother's cousin and his wife who were visiting from Germany. Manfred and Petra are such wonderful people!
Then after our tasting, we headed south into Santa Barbara proper to have dinner at the Enterprise Fish Company. This is becoming tradition as my sister and I ate there after we went wine tasting last time.
This is such a popular spot that, despite having reservations, we had to wait a few minutes - we are not the only ones that know how phenomenal this place is. Instead of those tacky squares that light up when your table is ready, they have fantastic little lobsters. Fun for the whole family!!
The food is also fabulous. DO NOT pass this place up if you are passing through Santa Barbara!
Though some items were in need of additional pepper.
Also, if you visit, be aware that it's normal to feel like you're being watched...
After a fabulous dinner, we were back on our way. After a brief photo-op next to some beautiful flowers.
After a very long day, it was nice to have some remembrances of the fabulous time that was had.
Like I've said before, if you are not familiar with this wine region, I highly suggest you remedy that as soon as possible, preferably with an international group!
