Fabulous Girls eat at Chez Panisse

Yes... it finally happened! Matt and I went to dinner at Chez Panisse -- the downstairs! We went last week, on Friday the 21st. I called to make reservations the month before - started calling at 9am and the phone lines were already busy. But it was SO WORTH IT!

We started off with an aperatif - melon liquer mixed with prosecco - served in a little shot glass with a single ice cube floating in it. (Matt speculated that the ice cube was frozen prosecco, so as not to dilute the mixture.) It was served with freshly roasted almonds. That was followed by shrimp and lobster with a horseradish cream sauce on a bed of sliced heirloom tomatoes, accompanied by teeny piles of various vegetables - radishes, beets, etc. We had a half-glass each of a white wine recommended by the sommalier with this course, as our 1997 Brunello di Montalcino (which I'd bought in Montalcino during the Florence trip 2 years ago) was decanted and breathing in the back. They brought that out with our corn and squash blossom bisque served with fried green tomatoes. The wine was velvety and rich, and the bisque was bright and flavorful. The fried green tomatoes were amazing - tart and savory... yum. Then we had the main course - delicately sliced grass-fed rib-eye steak (medium rare, natch) with tiny chanterelle mushrooms, mashed potatoes, and green beans with black eyed peas. So good! Then came dessert - a strawberry ice cream "bombe", a layered dessert with a kirch-soaked sponge cake topped with organic strawberry ice cream topped with a layer of creme fraiche ice cream (sliced). With that I had a glass of Beames de Venice and Matt had a 5-whatever Tokaji. Then of course we opted for the cheese course. That was the only thing that was good but not excellent, considering the Cheeseboard is just down the road...

Everything was of the highest quality ingredients and cooked to perfection. The service was great, and we had the best table (I thought) - right up front, by the windows. It was quite an experience.... sigh!... yum.

fabulous girls

I've been feeling a bit blah lately... probably, some would say, a combination of summer laziness and post-exams brain fry. Aside from wedding planning I really haven't been doing much (er, as is obvious from my last posts, I guess). I mean, I've found places to live in Rome and Boston by scouring craigslist and sabbaticalhomes.com (yes... who knew??), and I've done everything to advance to candidacy (even wrote that incomplete paper from last year). But I really have nothing to differentiate my time - probably why I'm not doing much work for the dissertation. And probably why I'm starting to fantasize about being an acquisitions editor for Simon and Schuster. So last night I randomly pulled out an old book (well, not old - not like Chaucer old) The Fabulous Girl's Guide to Decorum. And I've realized - it's not that I hate grad school (necessarily) or want to get a real job (necessarily) - it's that I need to reinject some fabulousness back into my life.

(Some of you might think that just becauase one is trotting off to get married in Rome and gets basically a year off of school to go "research" around the globe would automatically make one fabulous... that is a misconception... one only needs to measure the "fabulousness" of one's professors to realize that the academic lifestyle does not fabulous make...) (And anyway, how much can I really talk to you about my wedding before you puke - er, tire of it?? Anna excluded. :)

So. The rest of the summer will be devoted to rediscovering my inner fabulousness. Which, naturally, will come to have a positive effect on my productivity, and thus be good for my dissertation research. I started this morning by buying a new bag to replace my manhattan portage bag. Yes, the manhattan portage bag that I've had for over 7 years, which used to be black and has faded to a reddish-orange-brown. I think Marisa has it right - she carries huge shoulder bags instead of a backpack to classes. It's hard to be fabulous with a backpack. (A mantra for everyone!) Anyway, Matt found anthropologie bags for sale on ebay, so I got a brown leather travel bag which I'm *very* excited about. (Unfortunately, fabulosity can have high start up costs. But seriously, it's like when you open your drawer and you realize that you still have old wal-mart cotton underwear from high school. Time to upgrade.)

But fabulosity is not just about new shiny expensive things. (Though it's totally about those, too.) It's about caring for yourself and your living space. It's about being polite, tipping well, and walking with head held high. It's about being good to others, exercizing, and eating well (not necessarily eating "right"... but that too). Anyway, I'll stop before I sound too much like a kaiser permanente commercial. But I'm off to be fabulous. I'm going to start by cleaning the kitchen.

er, more dissertation research...

Finished Return of the King on Monday. Er, ahem. Very important for dissertation.

Closest I've come to working was dropping off (and picking up!) two books to be photocopied. Don't worry - they're old. Now I have Gerald of Wales of my very own!

Yes, it's truly exciting being me.

dissertation research - day X

Have found great looking pair of shoes online for dress - but will I be able to walk down aisle all right in 3 3/4 inch heels? May have also found housing for fall in Boston. Designed save-the-date cards, emailed old out-of-touch friends, bitched to colleagues about doing research. Had Chris over for dinner, made polenta. Baked a blueberry pie with woven lattice crust for the 4th. Going up to bear valley this weekend. Last weekened dragged Matt into city to Ann Taylor to check out bridesmaids dresses - returned celadon dresses yesterday and am going with "sage." Today, began reading (rereading) the Hobbit.

Research is hard!