Good Autumn Night

Wish I could write more, but have to work a bit at this hour. Sad news: Email today from Grace, owner of Terra Cafe at Montclair Public Library, announcing that the cafe will close by the end of the month. Boo! I love that place, as a work space and a little shop that sells organic/fair trade coffees, chocolate, teas, etc.

Good night.

TCOY

1. Reached out for support via email.
2. Weeded a little.
3. Made healthy supper: corn on cob, fresh spinach salad, fish.
4. Bought fresh figs [nod to Kim].

Blog Break: Thai Iced Coffee & a Terra Bar

My view from Terra at the Montclair Public Library.
The sculpture is African Bronze, modern art of Burkina Faso [price: $200]. 

Keeping a close time log for my work on Anthony's book. Signed out for a bit now to call Moey, Sis and the horse stables [for Punch lessons] and to quickly blog.

I love it here at Terra in the Montclair Public Library. It's a cozy, family-run cafe and a shop, too. So charming. In fact, below is a photo I took of Punchy here at Terra soon after she came to live with us in August 2013.

Time to sign back in to work! Have a good day!

TCOY

1. Boot camp in the dome.
2. Chose pickle as my side, not chips, with panini here at Terra.
3. Taking care of business.
4. Good skin care.

London Calling

Macaron black tea. The container is so lovely, I plan to put it in my office when I've used the tea.

H. got back safely from London this afternoon and brought us beautiful gifts from Selfridges*, the store where he appeared Saturday on his UK book tour.

Punch got a blue Cath Kidston sweater and ballerina music box, Figgy a heavenly persimmon-scented candle in a pretty porcelain container. My taxicab-yellow Selfridges shopping bag contained a tea party, courtesy of Mariage Frères**, a brand I don't know. H. chose the pink and silver tin above; two glamorous black bags of tea; a pack of 30 filter envelopes for infusing tea [making our own sachets with all of this loose tea]; four pretty rock-candy sugar stirrers; and a bar of Bitter Dark Chocolate 80%. It is really a lovely gift--I would have loved to go to tea in London.

Regrettably, he also brought back a short fuse when putting Punch to bed, probably partly because it was 2 A.M. London time. But that's hard for me, and Punch. She missed him and wanted him to do bedtime.

Good night.

TCOY

1. Soaked up lots of sleep before Punchy came back from her Mimi's.
2. Tonight, I went for maybe an hour to Elly's, where Anne and another friend were. We had roast chicken and salad and it was really nice to talk by the crackling fire.
3. I've been catching up on the HBO series "Girls." Fascinating and entertaining. Lena is so funny.

I love the UK book cover for H.'s book.

And I love this U.S. cover, too.

*Per Wikipedia: Selfridges, also known as Selfridge & Co., is a chain of high-end department stores in the United Kingdom. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge. The flagship store on London's Oxford Street is the second largest shop in the UK (after Harrods) and opened 15 March 1909. [I feel like I belong there.]

**Mariage Frères (French, Mariage Brothers) is a French gourmet tea company, based in Paris. It was founded on 1 June 1854 by brothers Henri and Edouard Mariage. [Wow, since I want to go to Paris, too, this is a great gift.]

High Tea with My Sister

Bergdorf Goodman, playground of the rich and stylish.

Sis took me to Bergdorf's gorgeous seventh floor restaurant to clink cups for my 50th birthday! [It was in January, and she toasted it then, too.]

It was so nice to sit with her in a serene spot and be waited on. It's been a rough year, and not so long ago, we were side by side talking to a funeral director. Today we had a flute each of fine Champagne [the tiny bubbles looked sparkly and festive, rushing up in a stream, as if to say, Light, happy times ahead!], nice teas, crustless sandwiches, treats and sweets. We settled into big, beautiful blue chairs and drank in a view of Central Park South.

Then, since Sis was captive in my favorite store, I led her by the elbow and made her look at the carefully edited candy alcove [Vosges, MarieBelle, lovely little sugar cubes and more] and the Tory Burch and Milly departments [and sale racks]. She kept trying to slink off to the elevator! Then we went down to the Beauty Level, where we met a nice salesman named Robert, who sprayed and spritzed until Sis settled on a Jo Malone fragrance I will give her for her birthday, this coming Tuesday. [She loves Jo Malone scents, and chose one mysteriously called 154.] On my wish list: Scent Surround, a gentle, heavenly fragrance to lightly douse your pillow and sheets at night. Hadn't heard of it till Robert showed us. Sweet dreams for sure.

Have I ever told you how generous my sister is? [Have I ever told you that her real name is quite elegant? It's MaryAnne.] She's been generous ever since I was a girl. She treated me to my first plane trip; got me a sterling silver charm holder necklace when they were the rage; bought me a skirt and blouse when I got my first magazine job. But more important than that, she read me nursery rhymes, left me notes on my pillow when she had to go baby-sit at night, and sewed me things, like a cheery red felt Christmas stocking, which "Santa" magically left to replace the little ratty red and white striped one I put out every year. I soon found out it was Sis who did the Christmas Eve swap. And it was doubly good because it was bigger, so it held more loot.

Thank you to my dear sister. I am grateful for your presence. My life is so much richer because you are here, and I do not mean just luxury wise.

TCOY

1. Walked Sug around block twice, once in sunny morning with H., once in chilly dark, just me and my fluffball.
2. Raked and hauled leaves for 45 minutes. Making lots of progress! And I feel it in my arms.
3. Took a few minutes to care for teeth properly and smooth on a little self-tanner for a glow.
4. Walked 10 minutes in town on way to catch bus.
5. Walked 40ish minutes in NYC from Bergdorf's to Port Authority. [Slowly, wearing heels, too stubborn to change back into sneakers.]

Tea & Beauty

Here's where I'm angling to go for my next high-tea memory:
BG Restaurant at Bergdorf Goodman.

My throat hurts. Having a huge mug of English Breakfast with a spoonful of sugar, some milk and a splash of cream, since we have a carton in the fridge [H. bought it to make very good cream of mushroom soup.] For me, a little swirl of the richness takes all iced coffees and hot teas to a new level.

Measuring My Life in Teabags

• Don't put the kettle on. Never liked tea much growing up, though I should have, being half Irish. We only had Lipton teabags anyway, nothing too exotic. The most interesting thing about the very existence of tea was the image of the man on the yellow box. What was he, anyway--a steamboat captain?
• I'm a little teapot. Don't you love that children's rhyme/song?
• All the tea in China. As a child, you get a good intro to tea in Chinatown--my parents took us all there at least once. Who can forget the welcome, a waiter pouring steaming brew into little cups with no handles?
• Reading tea leaves. Moey's grandfather's second wife, a very nice lady, had a mother known as Grandma Bunny. Grandma Bunny, who was small, with jet-black hair, could read tea leaves, and often did on the deck at Moey's house during family parties when we were teens. Regrettably, I don't remember what she saw in my cup.
• High tea at the Palm Court. My friends/co-workers Marilynn and Margaret first invited me to join them at the Plaza Hotel one day after work [around 5ish, I think]. It was so lovely. Strawberries, scones with Devonshire cream, pastries served on a tiered tray, silver spoons. This was before marriage and motherhood for all of us. We just sat and talked, sipped and nibbled. After that, I went back with Sis several times, too, often with our friend, Edie. Sis was the one who gently reminded me to not put my spoon on the table, but rest it on the saucer instead. Big sisters! I think this was also where I learned that you cannot put milk and lemon into the same cup without curdling. 
• Christmas tea at the Plaza. Once Figgy was old enough, Sis and I started taking her to high tea for a holiday treat. She wore a pretty dress with a big sash in the back, cute black patent leather Mary Janes, a hairband and a smile. It was fun. That was before we switched to our annual Radio City tradition.
• Swanning around. Swanning is a new term I've adopted from Sis, for going to fancy places. She and I swanned around over the years, having high tea at Bloomingdale's Le Train Bleu once [we didn't like it as much as the Plaza] and Sis going to London with Don sometimes and having it there, and reporting back to me. She wants to do something special for my 50th birthday, take me somewhere. She has always been so generous to me. I told her today that I might just want her to take me to afternoon tea at BG Restaurant on the 7th floor at Bergdorf Goodman. The restaurant looks out over Central Park and has beautiful blue chairs. And the BG Tea Service Royale sounds promising. It's a steep $50 per person, but read on--it's not just tea, but a luxury pour, too:   

  Served Daily from 3-5pm The following assortment will be served with your choice of dammann frères teas. BG TEA SERVICE   $35 per person BG TEA SERVICE ROYALE   $50 per person accompanied by a glass of veuve clicquot yellow label brut nv

  Menu tea sandwiches freshly baked scones fruit preserves devonshire cream a variety of petite sweets

  Dammann Frères Tea Selection ANJI  white tea from the anji region exclusively harvested during one or two weeks a year BREAKFAST  a blend of sri lanka, darjeeling and assam tea GOÛT RUSSE  exclusive and unique blend of chinese tea and citrus fruits essential oils JARDIN BLEU  blend of teas from india and china, flavored with rhubarb, wild strawberry and cornflower petals EARL GREY  a subtle marriage of teas from keemun in the anhui province of china, delicate silver tips and calabria bergamot essential oil VANILLA DECAFFEINATED  sri lanka tea with vanilla aroma YELLOW LEMON  unique, original fusion of a china green sencha tea and lemongrass NUIT À VERSAILLES  green sencha basis, bergamot essential oil, kiwi, yellow peach, orange blossom, violet blossom CAMOMILE  tisane harvested june to september, notes of citron and light bitterness

• One evening in Maine. H.'s oldest brother, John, who often welcomes us to his home and lets us stay a few days, has a cabinet full of herbal teas. He likes morning and day coffee a lot, but switches to a mug or two of tea every night. When we visit there, I have a cup at night, too. I like it. John and his daughter, Leah, know how to live simply and smoothly.
• DIY tea treatments. Figgy likes homespun beauty-spa things--last week, she made hair lightener using camomile tea and had teabags over her eyes to soothe a scratched/dry cornea from her contacts. 

How about you? We can't share a cup right now, but tell me what you remember.

Good night.