A Loss and Then A Find

Friday I broke my lovely white McCoy bowl. I accidentally dropped it while cleaning and much profanity followed. And I'm still a little distraught. I am incredibly particular about the McCoy that I buy and I have a small, yet very considered collection.

Now, I gotta look for a NEW old white McCoy bowl.

I should tell you at this point that the only real souvenirs I collect when travelling are business cards from shops and restaurants that I enjoy and want to remember. The cards themselves are just as beautiful as they can be, they don't cost anything and they are easy to pack. I come home and put my very favorites into my former beautiful bowl.

The bowl in the above picture is just a "stand in" from Crate and Barrel that I had around the house. If you love it, you can go grab one for not very much.

But back to my story - and this is harder to write coherently than I thought it would be... when I broke the bowl on Friday my business cards scattered all over the floor. And when I bent to pick them up, I had the lovely experience of remembering all of the places from whence they had come. And I was happy that this small joy had arisen from my tragic accident.

Since I enjoyed my little trip down memory lane, I decided that I would share some with ya'll.

First, we have Savoy where I ate the last time I was in New York. We took a cab down to Soho from our midtown hotel and felt very hip, slick and cool. Then we drank (and I spilled) copious amounts of red wine, flirted with the locals and ate in the upstairs dining room. It was a tiny, close restaurant and although I cannot remember what I ate, I remember that they had olives at the bar and that I had a perfectly smashing time. Shout out to Ronna for footing the (considerable) bill. Yay Pseudo-Mom!


Next we have Cafe Marchesa where I recently dined in Key West. I loved Cafe Marchesa and particularly approved of their decor and their French Martinis. The other thing I am still madly in love with is their martini glasses which I strongly felt were incredibly expensive and beyond my reach. Imagine my excitement to have come home and found them for sale at Ikea for $1.99 per stem. I believe they will soon be mine.

City Issue, in Atlanta, was found after a particularly lovely and extremely confusing drive all over, under, around and through Buckhead. We finally found it, quite by accident, I think. It was worth the trip. And the trip was worth the trip. They had some amazing Mid-Century modern pieces and I hope to find it again one day.

We ate at Coco Pazzo in Chicago LONG before Jennifer Aniston decided to frequent it while filming The Breakup. She just won't stop trying to steal our glory. It is tiny and intimate and we were happy to have reservations. I had the best service EVER while dining there and my risotto was to die for. And, you know, the wine...well it goes without saying. After dinner we walked back up Michigan Avenue to our hotel. What a great city and a fun trip.

Sorza is a little restaurant on the Ile St. Louis in Paris. I love it there. Paris in general and Ile St. Louis in particular. If you ever have just one day in Paris, go there. You won't be disappointed. We ate at Sorza on our last trip and this card just reminds me of that beautiful day, in Paris, and being happy.