List 89

Love: Rookie Yearbook One, which gathers the best of crazy-talented, crazy-precocious Tavi Gevinson's teen girl site's content from September 2011-May 2012 into one well-designed package. I love Rookie's use of monthly themes("Secrets," "Girl Gang," "Transformation"), its writers' breathless discovery of, and quasi nostalgia for, things I actually did grow up with (the band Heart is "Literally, the best thing ever"), its exploration of the emotions and angst of teen girldom ("How to Approach the Person You Like Without Throwing Up," "How to Look Like You Weren't Just Crying in Less Than Five Minutes," "How to Survive a Small Town") and its mapping of the all-important little details ("Midnight Snacks: A Taxonomy," How to Clear Your Room In 10 Minutes.") Rookie Yearbook One is hands-down one of the most fun and vibrant things I've read through in ages.

Like: Portland's Olympic Provisions sausage. Double like that you can now buy it in certain Bay Area gourmet shops, like Oakland/Berkeley's Pasta Shops.

Discovery: Temescal Alley, or, as Erich brilliantly dubbed it, Hipster Deadwood.™ Tucked away behind Pizzaiolo, parallel with Telegraph Avenue, it features, among other things, a solid mid-century antiques store, a vintage clothing shop, a dry goods store, a horticulture shop (for your terrarium needs), and, yes, a barber shop.

Obsession: Horses.  Back when I was a kid, like most girls, I spent hundreds of hours playing with horse models, reading horse books like Misty of Chincoteague, and researching the feasability of turning our garage in Milwaukee into a stable (a no-go).  Stella is now playing with my old models, which had been carefully boxed in the attic all these years, and for her birthday was given a wonderful gift by some good friends, the next best thing to having her own horse: partial sponsorship of one at Sunrise Horse Rescue in Napa, outside St. Helena.  The horses they've saved have heartbreaking stories with happy endings.  This weekend we decided to contribute toward the upkeep of thoroughbreds Richie and Stryder, and plan to visit them every couple of months.

Complaint: After years and years of avoiding it, I'm going to have to suck it up and subscribe to Showtime because of Homeland.  We are rolling through Season 1 on DVD, it's gripping, the acting is bang on, and we just can't bear to wait a year with the promise of brand spanking new episodes starting this weekend.  This will likely push our monthly Xfinity Xtortion/bill past $275.

List 83

Love: Good salt. It just might be in my genes. My parents had a small cabinet in the kitchen of their old house that literally contained only salts. My mother had taped a note to the inside of the cupboard door that read "Try to cut back on salt." I always laughed whenever I was home and saw the note, as "don't have a salt cabinet" seemed an overlooked, easy step toward achieving that goal. But I digress. My new favorite is Jacobsen Salt from Oregon. It's - slight eyeroll - hand-harvested sea salt. But it's lovely sprinkled on just about anything - from a grilled New York strip steak to a scoop of vanilla ice cream with dark chocolate sauce - as a finishing touch.

Like: The Hour, a 6-part BBC mini-series from last year which I made my way through last week, and which returns later this month for a second season. At its heart is a triangle that includes a very un-McNultyish Dominic West, Ben Whishaw (quite possibly the skinniest man in Britain), and the smart and beautiful Romola Garai. Set in the Cold War London of 1956, I found myself agreeing with The New Yorkers' assessment: "With its casting, its look, its unfolding mystery, its attention to important historical events, its sexiness, 'The Hour' hits every pleasure center."

Discovery: Persian cucumbers - the small, sweet variety which is becoming easier to find in more stores. My friend Josh turned me onto them, and to David Chang's quick pickling method, found in the Momofuku cookbook. Slice a bunch of Persian cucumbers, toss with 1 T sugar and 1 t kosher salt, let stand for five minutes, and you've got perfectly seasoned crudites.  

Obsession: Stella McCartney's uniforms for the British Olympic Team.  I love how she used graphic elements from the Union Jack in a modern way, making the Brits the best-outfitted athletes in the games.

Complaint: I'm piling on: but when did Apple stop thinking differently? 

List 80

Love: The Joey Roth ceramic speakers Erich gave me/us, which sound as lovely as they look.

Like: On the Gwyneth scale, I count myself as an occasional eye-roller as opposed to a full-time hater, but it's hard to deny the utility of last week's Goop feature on how to arrange flowers by vase type.   
http://goop.com/newsletter

Discovery: Rodeo Beach, a beautiful spot tucked away on the coast next to Sausalito, at the old Fort Cronkhite, which we only just found out about, despite having lived here for nearly 20 years.  Now that a drive all the way up and over to Muir Beach or Stinson beach isn't required for a sand-and-Pacific day, it's likely to happen a whole lot more often.

Obsession: Spice Kit's Asian breakfast sandwich - a steamed bun with Hobb's applewood smoked bacon, spicy egg, ginger glaze and scallions - made by guys who used to don toques at places like The French Laundry and Per Se.  

Complaint: Camping. It's just never been my thing, what with all the roughing it and outdoorsy-ness. I was excited to read about a new pop-up lodging service called Shelter Co, who'll set up luxury camp sites - tents with beds, fire pits complete with a s'mores kit, even an outdoor movie theater option - at the location of your choice. Many may no longer count this as camping, but for some of us it makes a night outdoors appealing. For once.

Their site:

http://shelter-co.com/index.html

Their gorgeous tumblr with imagery to get you in the mood:

http://shelter-co.tumblr.com/

List 79

Love: Vanity Fair's look back at The Sopranos, with the cast and creator David Chase, which makes me want to dive into the series all over again, from start to finish. The oral history has lots of interesting behind-the-scenes detail, not the least of which is the seemingly intense feelings James Gandolfini and Edie Falco had (have?) for each other.

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2012/04/sopranos-oral-history

Like: Lounge-height cat's cradle bases for Eames chairs. I'd sure like to get a pair for the living room, in part to add a dash of color (red? green? yellow?) to our otherwise stark and dark palette.

(Late) Discovery: It took me WAY too long to make it to Mission Chinese Food, but it lived up to the hype.  Salt Cod Fried Rice was indeed worthy of 7 X 7's Big Eat list, and it's hard to find fault with Thrice-Cooked Bacon.

Obsession: Pouring through the banquet of stunning images that is the Lyla & Blu blog.
http://www.lylaandblu.com/archive

Complaint: Why is there so much television goodness on Sunday nights, and not enough on the other nights? I know one can DVR everything, but it's hard to avoid spoilers if you can't get through it all on Sunday night. Right now, it's a choice of what to watch first: Mad Men, where the glamour of the earlier 1960s has all but vaporized; Game of Thrones, with the great Tyrion as the King's Hand and a dozen other balls in the air; and, starting next Sunday, the promising-looking Girls. Sunday, don't be so greedy. Can't we spread the good shows around a bit more?