Lovely Girls

I like old things. Over the years I have developed a LOT of restraint when going to danger zones like flea markets and antique fairs (minus the Craigslist End Table Relapse of 2009. We do not talk about that). My kryptonite though lies in old photos showing interesting period clothing or weird situations. The clothing is easy enough to explain - I studied costume design in college and would troll the internet for photos that showed what kind of hat was appropriate for a morning visit in Victorian England or proper attire for an asylum inmate in the early 19th century (in case you are wondering, the answer is scant and covered with dirt). It's a good thing I didn't have access to Etsy at the time or I would not have had money for food.

So now I have a bit of a collection and I'd like to start sharing them here so they can perhaps inspire others. I unearthed these two interesting girls at an antique store in Chicago and am particularly enamored with them. The top girl especially is so interesting - I'm fascinated by her hairstyle (very modern) and the buttons on her jacket. I have no idea when these were taken but by the cloche hat on the girl below, I'm guessing sometime in the twenties. The photos have the slightest bit of hand tinting on them but don't appear to have been taken in a very formal studio setting - evidence given by the blurriness and half smile in the bottom photo. I love the style of these women and wish I knew the context in which these photos were taken.

Globus Design

Globus is the delectable food mecca located a ten minute walk from our apartment. Waaaay to close for responsible decision making.

We've come up with a strategy: save some money from the food budget each week so that at the end of the month we can go to Globus and splurge on irresponsibly delicious food items. This plan also keeps us from accidentally wandering in midweek (disaster) and allows us to have a pretty spectacular feast once a month.

The thing that makes Globus even harder to resist is the package design for their store-brand products. It's simple and lovely and makes their stuff really stand out on the shelf (and shout things like "take me home! Love me! I will make your spice rack look like a whimsical fairyland!). I particularly love the illustrations.

That apricot yogurt is not messing around. I wish I was eating it right now. Alas, there is much of May to go...

Abundantly mountainous

Chronologically, this post belongs right after Gruyère, but I realized that I had totally missed posting about the Vevey funicular so I had to set that up before we got to this post. Because this post involves both a funicular AND a cable car. Up a bigger mountain. That is steeper. 

We left Gruyère equal parts confused and enamored with the touristy bizarreness of it (and with 50% of us seriously craving cheese).

 On the way home, we drove in and out of several little ski resort towns until the above wires caught our eyes. Before I had time to protest about being suspended hundreds of feet above a snowy, rocky death, Anthony had pulled into the parking lot and bought tickets to the top. The funicular ride was actually very beautiful, but when we switched to the cable car my knees started shaking a bit. It was less the height and more the swaying that occurred oh so very far from the ground.

As with our previous experience, the view at the top completely made the harrowing journey worth it.

We only had about fifteen minutes to run around and act like super tourists (No, but look at THAT mountain! It's the pointiest mountain ever! Look at the snow! It's as pure and white as baby angel dandruff!) before the cable car took its last descent for the evening.

The ride back was filled with kids. And they weren't scared, so I decided that maybe I needed to get over myself already. Or maybe those kids were just distracted by the delicious looking snacks their mom kept handing out. Did I mention that hunger was severely impacting my ability to behave in a normal manner at this time?

All in all a pretty adventurous spur-of-the-moment trip. Very worth it. 

Climbing a mountain, lazy style

I was pretty sure funiculars only existed in fanciful Victorian children's books; along with other mythical words such as 'zither' and 'perambulate.' But now I stand corrected. Funiculars are real, and in Switzerland the are a for-real way to get from the bottom of a hill to the top.

A few weekends ago, we decided to investigate this strange sounding contraption. There are two funiculars very close to us; one in Montreaux that is of the fancy Golden Pass variety and the other, a much more humble model in Vevey. After realizing that the Montreaux specimen was over a hundred francs (outrage) we chose the latter.

Introduction to method of travel: A funicular is like the world's slowest roller coaster only without the safety harnesses. See that cable in the above photo? That and the promise that the other funicular is still attached and balancing the weight are all that stands between you and quite literally plummeting to your death.*

Moment of truth, if you do not see the car coming up the other side, it's time to start reflecting on your life. Because it's over.

Once we arrived at our destination however, I promptly shut my mouth and took in the view. Since it was lunchtime and there happened to be a restaurant right there, we decided to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and have some traditional post-funicular fare.

Which, in case you are wondering, includes such waistline-friendly items as Assorted Meats and Pot o' Melted Cheese. And bread. And wooden menus that looked like shutters (not food, but still cool).

Switzerland, home of the whomping willows. 

On the way back, we hopped off the train a few stops early and decided to walk home.

There are a number of winding pedestrian paths through the vineyards. During this trek, one must come to terms with one's level of athletic ability. Are you an over-achieving sporty type that prefers to run gazelle-like through the grapes? Or are you a sloth-ier human who must bumble along quietly recounting your delicious lunch of melted cheese and bread?

I am the latter.

There are a number of itty-bitty vineyard towns scattered throughout this area. I get the feeling that these will be great places to visit during grape harvesting time. I plan on bringing a thermos and filling it up with wine for the walk home. Filing this now under Greatest Idea Ever. Will report back in the fall.

There was a progressive dinner going on in the Lizard community. Lots of these little guys hanging out, getting some sun and trading stuffed mushroom recipes. I tried to make small talk with the individual in the above photo and he, honestly, was not that impressed. It was like middle school all over again.

* Not an engineer. This assessment of the mechanics of funiculars is brought to you by nothing other than my own personal brand of neurosis. I will say though that if there is one think on this earth that I do believe in, it is Swiss engineering.

Happy Trees (a decoy post)

Still working on some big photo-posts that I absolutely planned to have done by like, a week ago. But that didn't happen and here's why:

Debra Messing

Anjelica Huston

That Chick Who Was On American Idol

Together In:

MUSICALZ!

Sooooo, yeah. I discovered

SMASH

and pretty much everything else has diminished in importance until I have watched and can sing along to all the episodes.

Consider this a brief intermission while I search for my productivity. I feel as though it is somewhere in the depths of my couch cushions. Along with my French homework. And laundry.