perfection.

here's a recipe for a perfectly lovely summer evening:

• picnicking in the lovely palm garden of the huntington library and gardens 
• antipasto followed by stuffed grape leaves
• an amazing salad of arugula, delicious heirloom tomatoes, full cream mozzarella cheese all drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper
• munching on brownie, tart tatin, and fruit tart
• music filtering through the trees
• children dancing to the music 
• sampling original recipe, made-with-cane-sugar dr. pepper---slightly fruitier and less carbonated than the typical stuff
• wonderful conversation with doctor dean and doctor doctor
• visiting the american art collection to see paintings by my favorite portraitist 

that, my friends, is just about the most perfect evening possible.

comfort.

tonight i needed comfort food.  it's been a busy week dogsitting.  then last night there was some unpleasantness, which i helped cause but which i did not seek.  and that unpleasantness disrupted my sleep, so i'm operating on three hours or so.  and my life is a bit of a mess.  and i don't know what i want to be when i grow up but i'm already grown up, so that's a bit of a problem.  and i have a massive headache that won't go away.

so i needed comfort food.  which is why i ended up at thai nakorn.  because thai nakorn is like a second home, where everyone says hello and i'm greeted with a hug and the air is full of rich delicious aromas and the food is always divine.  and it's the site of many wonderful conversations amongst friends.  so tonight when i needed a spot of peace and a bit of a haven, it was the first place that popped into mind.  and now, though my head still aches a bit, i feel better.

pilgrimage.

yesterday, george and i made a pilgrimage to pasadena, which has become my southern california art mecca.  we went to visit ganesha at the pacific asia museum.  we started, appropriately, by enjoying delicious indian food for lunch.  the pacific asia museum is small and lovely, full of interesting asian artifacts.  the ganesha exhibit was primarily photographs of modern ganesha festivals and a video explaining the traditions surrounding ganesha.  the video was the highlight of the exhibit, as it captured the sheer energy and vibrancy of the festival.

after finishing up at the pacific asia museum, we moved on to the norton simon , which i think has one of the best permanent collections in southern california.  when we walked in, we each named the pieces we wanted to visit.  george wanted to pay homage to the norton simon's ganesha, since it was what first captured her interest in him, so we made a stop downstairs where the norton simon has a fantastic collection of asian art.

before heading downstairs, we stopped at my choices.  first up was an absolutely gorgeous 16th century adam and eve .  then a stop at my favorite matisse and my favorite picasso.  i've been wanting this picasso for my wall for ages, so i finally caved and bought the print, which hopefully i can have framed as a birthday present.

it was a lovely day spent with incredible works of art.  unfortunately we didn't leave early enough to make a stop at the huntington for a visit to their amazing art collection.  maybe next time.