List 49

Love: Portland's Little Bird and Seattle's Book Bindery - the restaurant highlights from my trip to Portland and Seattle. Little Bird is a gorgeous jewel box of a bistro, with great details (I love the antlers over the kitchen, and the unexpected blue wall color) and even better classics like marrow bones and coq au vin.

The Book Bindery is former Per Se sous chef Shaun McCrain's showcase. An old friend of mine, Jill Kinney (Shaun's partner), runs the front of the house. I really liked the space that co-owner Patric Gabre-Kidan created - it's unconventionally elegant: peacock wallpaper, books, candles, a model ship, oil paintings, a rustic wood ceiling. And the food? Sublime. To start, Heirloom Potatoes with House Smoked Sturgen, Horseradish Panna Cotta and Meyer Lemon. In the middle, Shaun sent us his Hand Made Smoked Cavatelli with Foraged Mushrooms, Pickled Onions and Foie Gras Emulsion. It was an effort not to lick the traces of the emulsion from the bowl. And then my main course was Caramelized Sea Scallops accompanied by warm citrus and sunchokes. The desserts lived up the rest - especially the Frozen Butterscotch Parfait which was so enticing we forgot to take a picture.

Like: The way that Hitchcock, a jewelry store in the Seattle neighborhood of Madrona, changes its windows and entire interior design every few months. It might be horse models, or a Preppy Handbook tennis club, or a 1960s space theme - anything goes. Whenever I visit my sister, I always look forward to seeing what Hitchock is up to.

Discovery: Taking the Amtrak Cascades from Portland to Seattle, instead of driving as we'd always done before. It was slower, to be sure, but relaxing and super scenic.

Obsession: Seattle is Geek Central right now, with a Star Wars exhibit at the Pacifc Science Center and a Battlestar Galactica exhibit at the Experience Music Project.

Complaint: "Jeld Wen Field", the Portland Timbers' new stadium's name. We went to the Timbers' opening match Thursday night. The stadium itself is beautiful, and the Portland supporters (the Timbers Army) are hardcore. I just wish another local company had stepped up for naming rights. Specifically, I fantasize about the idea of "Pendleton Field". Pendleton Woolen Mills could have created a special Timbers plaid and then sold scarves and blankets for the game. #missedopportunity

List 48

Love: Swedish girl group Those Dancing Days' infectious song "I'll be Yours." They recently opened for Belle & Sebastian on some European Tour Dates. That's a double bill I'd love to see.

Like: A lunchtime getaway to Hog Island Oyster Co. Most days I only have time to quickly eat something uninspired at my desk while continuing to work, but twice in the past few weeks I've had the chance to walk down California Street to the Ferry Building. It's always worth the trip, and the hike back up the hill helps to work off the clam chowder.

Discovery: Stella can do tricks.

Obsession: Acme Pain au Levain is the monkey on my back. Especially when paired with a dish of McElvoy olive oil sprinkled with sea salt.

Complaint: That I don't have my own copy of Ken Burns' The Civil War. Today is the 150th Anniversary of the firing upon Fort Sumter and I'd love to acknowledge that by re-watching parts of this great documentary. Years before there was a "Ken Burns Effect" in iPhoto, his ways of bringing still photography - not to mention our history - to life were pretty revolutionary. And that Sullivan Ballou letter? It never ceases to amaze. (The embed doesn't appear to be working. You can watch that scene at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=693065493279283445#.)

List 47

Love: Having good friends with a place in Sonoma. R and D are generous and wonderful hosts and we are very lucky to be invited up - most recently this past weekend. Even a quick 36 hours up there can feel like a week away. Our proximity to the wine country is one of the things that makes it hard to ever imagine leaving the Bay Area.

Like: 14 Ft in Healdsburg. It's one of the stores I most look forward to stopping by anytime we're in the 707, and it's full of mid-century finds. Last Memorial Day we scored a set of Saarenin dining chairs and a teal baby Bertoia chair for Stella (and sometimes our cat Clara).

Discovery: Medlock Ames, the sexiest tasting room in the valley. We used to stop at the old Alexander Valley Store to pick up basics like milk. Now the store has been replaced by Medlock Ames and it's unrecognizable. The interior design hits all the right notes. I might rip off some ideas for the backyard studio we are building.

Obsession: Ad Hoc's Brunch. We've never been but are desperate to try it.

Complaint: I always look forward to some lazy hours spent reading when we head North. But this past weekend I didn't make much of a dent in my new book, The Tiger's Wife. Young Tea Obreht's debut novel has gotten ridiculously great reviews. Hopefully next week's vacation will mean time to see if it lives up to the hype.

List 46

Love: Miette's Rose Geranium Macaroons. My friend John Q insisted I try one and it was lovely. I instantly wanted to buy a dozen to serve as the finale to a Spring dinner party. Maybe proceeded by this recipe for Asparagus, Leek and Morel Lasagna, baked in individual dishes.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Lasagna-with-Asparagus-Leeks-and-Morels-358231

Like: Bar Agricole's Long Rhum Buck with ginger and lime, which tastes as bright as Spring.

Discovery: "I Wish You Love" is an equal parts pretty and sad song about letting someone go. Its lyrics span the seasons, beginning with "I wish you bluebirds in the Spring to give your heart a song to sing..." Keely Smith recorded the original in 1957, but it's been done by loads of people, from Sinatra to Dusty Springfield and a hundred vocalists in between. Rachel Yamagata's 2005 version is a modern take on the standard.

Obsession: Flowering tree branches. I love seeing all the tall metal buckets at flower stands filled with branches dotted with pink, yellow and white flowers this time of year. If it didn't cost an arm and a leg to fill up a vase, I'd want to have a massive branch arrangement in our house every week during Spring.

Complaint: Most Falls I pledge to plant flower bulbs in Winter so come Spring I'll have my own garden from which to cut flowers for the house. And most Springs arrive with my having never gotten around to it. This year, again, my garden is sans tulips.

List 45

Love: Plum, Daniel Patterson's newish spot in Oakland. It's a study in approachable artfulness. The interior is warm and inviting, and the food is delicious - high end, yet never stuffy (and organized into categories like snacks, starters, vegetables, animals and desserts). Go with four people so you can sample the whole menu.

Like: Pillows from Jonathan Adler - especially his modern take on old grandma needlepoint pillows. I particularly like his British Flag pillow and his one for Flint, Michigan (which is where my Mom grew up).

Discovery: Pickle-brined chicken. I tried this recipe last year for the first time and loved the super simple brine idea, which imparted an interesting, but not overpowering, flavor to the chicken.

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/pickle-brined-chicken

Obsession: Painting walls and floors black. This hasn't made the jump from thought into action yet, but I'm considering trying one wall in our bedroom (which is similar to the walls in the first room below). And perhaps the floor in the backyard guest studio will be an old salvaged wood floor painted black instead of a new grey hardwood floor, as originally planned.

Complaint: The Permit process at the City of Berkeley has pushed back the start of our backyard construction project by 8 months. But we're finally starting in a week. This is a before shot of our all-but-falling-down garage. By mid-summer, it should be replaced by studio with French doors to the garden.

List 44

Love: Listening to my old records on our new record player. It brings back a lot of memories of a time when pretty much 90% of the music I loved was from the U.K.

Like: Never Let Me Go. Last week I read the book, by Kazuo Ishiguro, and then watched the film. I guess the story would be characterized as literary science fiction, although it's very much a quietly observed character piece. It's set in the recent past (the 1970s-early 90s), and takes place in England. And while the film adaptation trimmed some of the book's details, both versions are ultimately haunting and touch upon fundamental questions of humanity. One reviewer of the book summed up its affect nicely: "Only after closing the book do you absorb the magnitude of what his characters endure."

Discovery: We recently had the good fortune, courtesy of our friends Gareth and Clare, to experience a proper English Sunday lunch. (Or linner? Drunch? Not sure what to call it when you eat at 4pm.) Apparently, lard is the key to brilliant roasted potatoes. Not pictured but definitely present: the requisite yorkshire puddings.

Obsession: Mr. Darcy. Sigh. Pride & Prejudice is such the boringly obvious girl thing to love, but I cannot help it. The book is an annual read, and both the 1995 BBC series and the more recent film bring the story (and the man) to life in very satisfying ways.

Complaint: My impatience for my Mini Countryman to arrive. It's currently on a boat crossing the Atlantic. Three more weeks to go. Bollocks.