List38

Love: I have always been a sucker for "La Vie En Rose." Yesterday on 4th Street in Berkeley, when the rain took a break, the talented and adorable Laura Weinberg of Foxtails Brigade performed a beautiful, delicate rendition that made my day. You can listen to it here:

http://foxtailsbrigade.bandcamp.com/album/la-nuit

Like: Chicken Under a Brick. Last night we made this version which appeared in Bon Appetit a year ago. What's not to like?

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2009/09/chicken_al_mattone

Discovery: We have a pretty extensive collection of old LPs - and a broken turntable. I saw this portable Crosley USB Record Player at Urban Outfitters and placed an order. It will be nice to use by the fireplace in the rainy months to come, or out on the patio come summer.

Obsession: The current geek out is Star Wars: The Clone Wars (now in its third season on Cartoon Network.) We're in the midst of season two on DVD. And by we I mean me and my Padawan Stella. It's really fun, but the show is also making what goes down in Episode 3 of the film series all that more tragic.

Complaint: I had a delicious pre-holiday lunch at Cotogna and hoped to take my parents there when they come to town in late February. Alas, a non-5:45, non-9:30 weekend reservation has become all but impossible, even when planning a month in advance. Merde.

List 37

Love: Geography in general, and maps and globes in particular. Perhaps this originated with the many long family car trips we took, driving from Wisconsin to Florida or Colorado or Washington D.C., with my father challenging us to name all 50 states and their capitols, and letting us track our route, inked in red pen, on a AAA map. Or maybe the globe bank I had was the spark. But however it started, by high school I confess to being overjoyed in social studies whenever the teacher would place an un-labled map in front of us and see if we could identify each country in Europe or Asia. Two of my favorite things now are this old globe lamp we bought years ago at the bi-annual San Francisco Art Deco show, and a vintage globe I bought for Stella for Christmas. I love how they look and I love to look at the way the world used to be - countries of different shapes, with names like Siam, French Indo China, and Belgian Congo.

Like: This wood map puzzle magnet from Etsy.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/PipeDreams2010?ref=seller_info

Discovery: My friend Lisa came across pica pica's etsy store (which is currently shuttered while they move) and I quickly snapped up one of their map bowls.

Obsession: I am deeply envious of the "map rooms" that two friends of mine scored in their 1920something homes.

(You can see more of Jackie's place here: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/inspiration/inspiration-avocado-papayas-map-room-083793)

Complaint: More a concern than a complaint at this stage, but it would be sad if between Google maps and GPS, everyone loses that physical connection to geography and if having a dogeared, marked-up map or road atlas in your glovebox becomes as outdated as a globe with the U.S.S.R.

List 36

Love: Soup - in general, but especially in the winter when I'm under the weather, as I have been for weeks now. This recipe from Epicurious, with cheese tortellini, kielbasa, kale and cannellini beans, is one we make often, and the bit of heat from the red pepper flakes helps clear out the sinuses. When we first made it years ago we forgot to buy a fennel bulb and liked how the recipe turned out anyway, so I've always omitted that bit.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cheese-Tortellini-Soup-with-Cannellini-Kielbasa-and-Kale-106143

Like: Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games trilogy. This is not great literature by any means, but these books made for a fun roller coaster ride-type read and helped pass the time home sick from work. I seem to have a thing for bleak, futuristic fiction with strong women characters. (See The Passage in List 1).

Discovery: Modern 50 in Virginia is, according to them, "a multi-disciplinary art and design collective which strives to create an ever-evolving nonlinear consumer lifestyles collection." What it is in more straight-forward language is a huge warehouse of really cool vintage and industrial stuff - hundreds of tables, lamps, storage units, chairs and assorted oddities. Perusing the site is the kind of time suck that works well when you're lounging in bed sick.

Obsession: It's a couple years old, but Amy Winehouse's slowed down version of "Valerie," from her B-Sides album, has been just what the doctor ordered lately. Warning, this is one of those homemade videos with pictures cut to the album track.

Complaint: Like Woody Allen's Mickey in Hannah & Her Sisters, I have a really bad habit of diagnosing any symptoms I have as cancer. I need Web MD and the Mayo Clinic's website to be blocked on my computer.

List 35

Love: Gilda is one of my all-time favorite movies. Set in Buenos Aires, it tells the story of a love-hate triangle between Rita Hayworth, her former lover Glen Ford, and her current husband (and Ford's boss), played by George Macready. The snappy dialogue is innuendo laden to the hilt, Hayworth is amazing (as are her dresses), and the tension between the men is fascinating - there's a subtle homoerotic undercurrent that's perhaps surprising for a 1946 film. A pivotal scene takes place at a New Year's Eve party at Macready's casino, making it a good choice for anyone who wants to ring in 2011 with some celluloid.

Like: Gougeres, the classic cheesy French pastry puffs. They're easy to make (I like the Silver Palate version)and are a good addition to a New Year's Eve cocktail spread as they go nicely with champagne.

Discovery: When I first saw that a restaurant had opened in Berkeley called Gather, I rolled my eyes. That name! So the irritating side of NPR! But after reading and hearing many good things, we finally tried it. Gather prepares a daily "Vegan Charcuterie" that's a revelation. The contents of the board change all the time, but each is close-your-eyes-and-sigh delectable (this, coming from an avowed non-vegetarian.) If you have a New Year's resolution to follow Michael Pollan's edict of "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants," Gather's vegetables make it a pleasure to keep it.

Obsession: Flutes may be better for the bubbles, but after watching Boardwalk Empire, I've fancied champagne coupes or saucers instead. They just look more glamorous and have that vintage thing going on. (Gilda toasts with them too.) Some co-workers and I had a Yankee Swap holiday dinner and I was able to snag some, but I'm now also checking out eBay regularly for a larger set.

Complaints: I'm a pretty good cook, but this past week had a major dump-everything-down-the-disposal disaster attempting Dorie Greenspan's seemingly simple chocolate mousse recipe. So in addition to eating healthy, exercising and all that good stuff, one of my New Year's resolutions is to nail this dessert.

List 34

Love: Landmark, the Best Bar in America. Built 80 years ago, it has three bars, pool tables, darts, an arcade room and a bowling alley. Erich and I had our first date here, and anytime we're in Milwaukee visiting the parents, a night at Landmark is required.

Like: The weather flame on the old Wisconsin Gas Company building.

When the flame is red, it's warm weather ahead.

When the flame is gold, watch out for cold.

When the flame is blue, there's no change in view.

When there's a flickering flame, expect snow or rain.

Discovery: The East Side of Milwaukee, on the edge of Lake Michigan, is really lovely - miles upon miles of gorgeous single-family homes on tree-lined streets with wide lawns, snow-covered this time of year, but manicured grass edged with hostas in other seasons.

Obsession: My diorama obsession appeared in List 3, but I feel the need to repeat my deep love for the Milwaukee Public Museum here. In addition to the amazing animal dioramas (like the lion one below), they have The Streets of Old Milwaukee, an India street scene, and an igloo in Alaska, among many other human dioramas. The museum feels a bit like it was encased in amber in the late 1960s.

Complaint: We have great food in the Bay Area, but in the 18 years I've lived there, I haven't found places that scratch the itch for pizza and Mexican in quite the same way that Milwaukee's Zaffiro's, with its perfect cracker-like crust, and Conejito's, with its greasy paper-plate messes, do.

List 33

Love: My white Hideo Wakamatsu suitcase. It's pretty banged up and more dirty white now, but it's been all over the world with me, can stand up to my over-packing, and rolls like a dream through the airport.

Like: White Russians. I personally only drink a couple a year, at Christmastime. But the Dude is right to drink them year round, since they provide calcium and Vitamin D along with your alcohol.

Discovery: Public Bikes. Founded by the man who started Design Within Reach, Public Bikes are European-style street bikes that are really affordable and stylish, with lots of cute basket and bag accessories. I'm into this white one with white wheels.

Obsession: Subway tile. I love it here (our kitchen and bathroom) and there (restaurants like Schiller's Liquor Bar) and everywhere.

Complaint: That I'm ending 2010 still stuck with AT&T. My old iPhone is near death but I'm desperately holding out for the rumored January launch of the Verizon iPhone. As soon as I'm able, I'll get a white one, and then step 2 will be to skin the back of it with Short Sleeve Alliance's Polaroid Land Camera sticker.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/shortsleevealliance?section_id=7377316