Hark, it's summer

The smell of fresh cut grass

Kites

Morning walks

Blueberries

Sundresses

Books, books, books

Frisbee

Beach towels

Watermelon

Picnics

Ice cubes

Cheesy movies

Baseball

Ospreys

Rooftops

The freedom of walking barefoot

Flower gardens

Zucchini blossoms

Fireflies

Ladderball

Soft serve

Naps

Elm and oak trees

Sunhats

Sundaes

Cold soup

Shady oases

Sand between your toes

Front porches

Midnight strolls

The windows, rolled down

Sunsets

Firecrackers

Green, everywhere

Gentle waves

Gin and tonics

Herbs

Underwater handstands

The coolness of movie theaters

Kayaks

Rosé

SPF 50

Bicycling

Eating breakfast outside

Salty air

Lobster rolls

Drifting

What do you love about summer?

A million dollar question

Take a look. Do you know where this mural is?

How about this one?

One is in Paris. The other is in New York. Do you know the connection??

My Vegan Mondays

After the weekend (grilled pizza, homemade cherry ice cream, hazelnut cake, apple dumplings, a turkey reuben, cheeses galore, fresh figs, berries and watermelon, grilled chicken and squash, orzo salad, goat cheese fritata, four-layer strawberry cake, marcona almonds, rosé, rosé, rosé, a soft serve cone, macerated strawberries and... more), Vegan Monday was a smart start to the week.

Morning
Coffee with soy milk
Granola with almond milk


Afternoon
Cali sandwich: a pita with avocado, tomatoes, lettuce and carrots
Trail mix
A clementine

Evening
Veggie lentil soup
Three dried pineapple rings

(Already looking forward to my next weekend of ice cream and seafood in Connecticut...)

What a weekend

Everywhere I turned this weekend in the Catskills...

Ridiculous beauty.

From morning...

 ...to night...

... it was gorgeous, enchanting, fun, delicious and relaxing. Filled with great friends...

... and amazing food.

We played tennis and took walks. Lounged and laughed. Went to the farmers market in Kingston...

... and admired the magnitude of the Ashokan Reservoir.

In short, it was the kind of peaceful, inspiring, fulfilling weekends that leaves you wondering...

...why do we have to go back to work on Mondays?

Let the good times roll

Sunny days are always ahead, mes amis.

On any old Saturday in June

How lucky to live in New York City. To wake up and stroll through the Union Square Farmers Market.

To grab a Ceci-Cela almond croissant and eat it in on a bench in Washington Square Park.

To see your very own book in one of your favorite bookstores in the city (Three Lives!).

To have brunch at Locande Verde in Tribeca, walk across the Brooklyn Bridge with all the tourists under the bright summer sky, and then discover a whole new slice of Brooklyn.

To meet a dear friend of over 25 years for Wes Anderson’s latest movie, have a fresh fish dinner, and then train back over the Manhattan Bridge with its sparkling city views.

How lucky to have a life filled with such inspiration, security, happiness and fulfillment.

Sweets reduction

Last Wednesday, I ate two cookies. And a pound of Twizzlers. This was on the heels of a night of downing red wine, which washed down two slices of cake and copious amounts of gummies.

Needless to say, not sustainable. 

So while not a perfect record, it's with not a little pride that I say in this past week, all I've had on the sugar front is:

• A few bites of apple crumble

• Half a blueberry muffin

• Half a bran muffin

• Half a dish of pistachio ice cream

• 2 malt balls

• 3 swedish fish

• and 4 pieces of vegan cookie from the free sample tray at Life Thyme

Is it bad that I feel even a little proud??

Petulant weather

If there's one thing Paris is not...

it's subtle.