List 85

Love: The version of gazpacho created by Verjus, a lovely 3-story restaurant tucked away behind the Palais Royale, run by two ex-pat Americans: Green garden tomato and chili foam, with chunks of heirloom tomatoes and a masa cake.  It was maybe the culinary highlight of our recent Paris trip.

Like: The beautiful children's clothes at the equally beautiful Bonpoint store on Rue de Seine. I only wish they made adult sizes of some of their pieces.

Stella in her Bonpoint shirt

Discovery: The simple, casual pleasure of a warm summer evening picnic along the banks of the Canal St Martin - a bottle of rosé from Le Verre Volé and pizza from Pink Flamingo, who give you a balloon when you order and use it to find you along the canal to deliver your pizza.)

Obsession: The Galerie de Paleontologie et d'Anatomine Comparée and the Galerie d'Evolution in the Jardin des Plantes. Dead animal heaven for those of us into taxidermy and bones.

Complaint:  That my normal, everyday life doesn't involve stopping at Bon Marche's Grand Epicerie de Paris for groceries for dinner, then a quick Metro ride to an apartment in the 6th, complete with big windows and herringbone wood floors. Oh, and Sundays spent in the Luxembourg Gardens watching Stella play.

List 60

Love: Scopa, which after last Sunday's dinner moved from being our friends' obsession to my love. I would be happy as a clam if I could have their burrata with grilled bread, followed by the grilled calamari, for dinner at least one night a week in perpetuity.

Like: Trajarinho Vinho Verde from Portugal, which some friends brought over. It's mineral-y, crisp and super refreshing on a warm summer day. Plus they nailed the label.

Discovery: Tales of the City. I watched the PBS mini-series when it came out in the 1990s, not too long after we moved to the Bay Area. For some reason, I was inspired to pick up the book last week and found it to be a perfect light and breezy pool-side read, with an enjoyable glimpse into San Francisco life in the swinging 1970s.

Obsession: Ruschmeyer's, a new hotel on Montauk. It looks amazing, and has created a yearning for a late summer trip East.

Complaint: Larry David has a million complaints. And I'm so glad he'll be back Sunday for Season 8 of Curb Your Enthusiasm, which Alessandra Stanley of the New York Times describes perfectly as "a series centered on the petty irritations that blister an idle, privileged life."

List 53

Love: Jazz on a Summer's Day, the 1960 documentary about the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival. Killer performances abound, Anita O'Day could not look any cooler, and there are wonderful atmospheric shots of the crowd.

Like: Skirt steak on the grill, paired with Robert Sinsky's Vin Gris.

Discovery: "Cape Dory" by Tennis. The single came out last year and sounds like summer to me. If you close your eyes and listen, it's easy to imagine you're on the deck of a boat somewhere, watching the sun set. Or rise.

Obsession: Finding the right weather-resistant fabric for our 1960s iron patio dining set. I was very excited to read about Link Design Solution's outdoor fabric collection, which aims to marry modern and vintage and evoke "the golden age of the American pool scene."

Complaint: That it's not really summer yet - nor will it really consistently be summer for us in the Bay Area until August.

List 52

Love: BillyKirk. (Actually, William Kirkland and Chris Bray). Based in Pennsylvania, they work with Amish leathermakers to create what are, in my opinion, the perfect work and weekend bags.

Like: Patricia Wells. Her version of a Cobb salad will be going into heavy rotation in our house. She uses a super simple and healthy dressing, consisting of plain low-fat yogurt, fresh lemon juice, and a homemade lemon salt made from combining lemon zest and sea salt and letting them steep together for a bit.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Patricia-Wellss-Cobb-Salad-Iceberg-Tomato-Avocado-Bacon-and-Blue-Cheese-364872

Discovery: Sean Thackery. He's an off-the-beaten-path winemaker (based in Bolinas) whose Pleiades wines never disappoint. I love Wendy MacNaughton's illustrated profile of Thackery, which was done for Pop Up Magazine as part of SFMOMA's "How Wine Became Modern" exhibit, and published on The Rumpus.

http://therumpus.net/2011/03/meanwhile-the-bolinas-winemaker/

Obsession: Deborah Bowness. She designs and handprints trompe l'oeil wallpaper. We have a strip of her bookcase wallpaper mounted as a piece of art in our bedroom.

Complaint: Peter Dinklage. And not so much a current complaint but rather a complaint that's been taken off the table, at last. Dinklage is a brilliant actor and ever since I saw him in The Station Agent I've wanted to see more of his work. He finally has a big, juicy, ongoing role suitable for his talents: Tyrion Lannister on HBO's Game of Thrones. I'm halfway through the book series the show is based on and know what lies ahead for his character and cannot wait to watch Dinklage do his thing.