the new and improved sheesergirl

things i love about london

borough market was crazy at the weekend, but i did enjoy taking a look around. i'd definitely go with a huge shopping basket if i lived there.

the vegetables were gorgeous, if a bit pricey

everyone talks about how london's dining scene has really improved. with a few exceptions, though, they're still best at doing the traditional things like pies, bangers+mash, and smoked fish. i also had some very good cheese on this trip. (below: la fromagerie in marylebone)

scones with clotted cream and jam are my favorite. and what's better than traditional afternoon tea service at claridge's? well, how about waking up to the smell of butter and discovering that your friend has just taken some scones out of the oven, just in time for breakfast?

the new saatchi gallery

The latest show at the Saatchi Gallery (The Empire Strikes Back -- Indian Art Today) was awesomely curated. My favorites were Subodh Gupta's U.F.O. using Indian brass water pots (above) and Huma Mulji's Arabian Delight (bottom), a taxidermy camel that's meant to be a humorous comment on perceptions of Pakistan.

hackney, london

after marrakech, it was london. my mind was still clinging to the bright colors of marrakech... which might be why my camera was so drawn to this gentleman's scarf.

at jardin majorelle

smelling marrakech

one of the things i'll remember most about marrakech is the variety of scents. it was orange blossom season, so it seemed like the whole city was wearing a soft, honey-citrus fragrance. the spice market was filled with rich, sweet scents of cumin, rose petals, sandalwood, anise... until you turned the corner into the leather slippers-and-handbags gallery and you're suddenly hit with the heady smell of raw hide. it made sense that this is where serge lutens gets his inspirations.

now you see her...

now you don't...

moroccan women don't like being photographed. i even had women far out of the range of my shots yell at me: "no photo!" sometimes i took photos of them from far away, with their backs toward me.

essaouira

now this...

this is what i'd been dreaming of

marrakech

i don't know why i love donkeys so much

tiramisu

one of my favorite teachers in high school was my italian instructor, signora maria longo, whose energetic and animated style was the perfect introduction to the country i'd later fall in love with and revisit many times. she gave the quirkiest assignments. one week she ordered us to "think and speak italian in the shower for a week, using all the words you know." she'd often give us italian recipes as homework, asking us to come in the following week with a critique from a family member. some of the recipes were quite challenging, like ossobuco with rice. and then there was the tiramisu, which was a legendary hit in my family... well, i only made it once, but that's the secret to making legends!

whenever i order tiramisu in a restaurant i think of signora longo waving her hands and proclaiming,"YOU ARE GONNA LOVE it! it means PICK ME UP! the coffee and alcohol are gonna PICK YOU UP!"

tiramisu at saraghina in bed-stuy, brooklyn

ain't that the truth

heaven can wait

i love charlotte gainsbourg, don't you?

Charlotte Gainsbourg - Heaven Can Wait from Charlotte Gainsbourg on Vimeo.

kell on earth

i don't usually like the term "guilty pleasure" but how else can i describe the new bravo show, kell on earth? kelly cutrone is tough as nails and the show does a great job of showing the grittier side of the fashion industry. but what i really enjoy is watching her put people - inept interns, obnoxious clients, etc. - in their place. it may be the same kind of sick pleasure i get out of watching gordon ramsay yell at bumbling contestants on his cooking show.

is there something wrong with me? part of me thinks it's because i enjoy work and therefore appreciate shows about work and people who take it seriously. or maybe i'm just plain mean? yeah, i thought so too. but seriously... "if you have to cry, go outside."

selene wines

another thing that's been keeping my spirit going these very cold weeks: a few bottles of Selene Sauvignon Blanc in my fridge!

i fell in love with the wine at the french laundry in napa late last year. if i could relive a few minutes of my trip, i might choose those moments between my first sip of the Selene and my last bite of the famous oyster+pearls.

when i got back to new york, i picked up a bottle at sherry-lehmann just to make sure i hadn't just been fooled by the food and atmosphere. thankfully, it still tasted fabulous, even in my rinky dink apartment in astoria. so i had a few bottles shipped from the winery.

they use sauvignon blanc musque, which is highly aromatic and much more intense than the grassy or herbaceous kind. the wine reminds me a bit of a lovely quincy i had along with some oysters in paris many, many years ago with my good friend hidemi. it reminds me of why i love wine.

fast-forward

will it ever get warmer? i can't wait for winter to be gone, taking all the coldness and my tiredness along with it. can we please fast-forward to spring? ok, here are a few things that keep me hopeful in the meantime:

-a vintage turquoise woven-leather bag by bottega veneta from the brooklyn flea market.

-a youtube video of a few girls galloping on the beach of sidi kaouki in morocco... i'm obsessed with this video and have watched it about 30 times. could that be me in a few months? stay tuned!

pheromones and beautiful, violent things

i loved E.O. Wilson's fiction piece in the most recent issue of The New Yorker.

it reminded me of my childhood fascination with ants and ant colonies. i could sit for hours observing their primordial movement and organization, so beautiful... in fact, i could still do that today.

a live but weak bee overwhelmed by a group of ants at pedlar cafe, brooklyn. with the aroma of stumptown coffee disguising the sense of violence in progress