Heat

So, no sewing to report on. Instead I've been spending way too much time after work this week scouring Seattle for the perfect pair of heels - buying some, realizing they are wrong once I get home, returning them the next day, and repeating the process. My urgent need for new shoes is for this weekend - we are headed to Las Vegas to celebrate Tim's and my birthdays which are Saturday and Sunday, respectively, plus, two of the other people coming had birthdays earlier this week. There will be 8 of us altogether, so (despite the 105F temperature) it should be fun!

Speaking of heat, I have nearly finished Heat by Bill Buford, and if you are someone who likes to cook, or someone who likes to dine out , I highly recommend it. Bill Buford was an editor at the New Yorker for many years before he decided to to something a little bit crazy - he had recently met Mario Batali at a dinner party he was hosting (pressure!), and he asked Mario if he could work in his kitchen, thereby landing an (unpaid) gig at Babbo in NYC. The book is a mix of his trials & tribulations working in a busy restaurant kitchen, the behind-the-scenes goings on of the restaurant industry, and several very entertaining stories about Mario Batali.

There is also a bit about Mario's father, Armandino Batali, who runs the extremely popular Salumi just a few blocks away from my work office here in Seattle. If you ever visit this city (and you are not vegetarian), then you must make every effort to go there for lunch one day. I always order a sandwich (finnochiona with mozarella), but there are plenty of other dishes as well (antipasti, gnocchi, etc). Just be prepared to wait in line at least 30 minutes. And don't plan to do this on a weekend because they are only open Tuesday thru Friday. And shoot me an email, because I'd love to meet you there!