嘆息橋 I Will Cross That Bridge when I Come to It

八月是生日月, 忙忙碌碌又過ㄧ年長ㄧ歲.  不是沒停下腳步思考人生意義, 而是往往來不及感嘆便讓生活排山倒海而來的考驗淹沒… 口頭禪:  船到橋頭自然直, 直不了便橫著過吧?  賭氣得來理直氣壯, 十足草根韌性兼升斗小民, 雖然內心深處亦有舊時浪漫… 等孩子大些放下俗務再修個學位:  Crossing  the Bridge of Sighs in Cambridge - 那是徐志摩再別康橋的情懷, 十年前的我揮揮衣袖間滿滿自戀, 如今, 嗯... 但覺肉麻難耐 :P

The long mild summer winding down with the birthday dinner at Ame in St. Regis San Francisco

- I am a big fan of the husband and wife team, Chef Hiro and Lissa.

月初孩子仍於臺北過暑假, 偽單身日子愜意.  晨起好整以暇烘麵包煎蛋餅, 大餐當早餐.  那天享用著名糕餅工坊以兩種蘋果烤製的甜塔, 青蘋果微酸, 紅蘋果熟醺… 頓覺現下年紀挺好, 嚐過歲月苦頭懂得珍惜, 也還夠年輕仍具勇氣和好奇心.

Growing older can be daunting yet becoming wiser is definitely a blessing.  The other day when I was savoring a perfectly baked pastry of two kinds of apple, I suddenly realized I am loving where I am in life - old enough to have cultivated a palate for refinement yet still young to take risks.

趁孩子不在多試幾道菜收為口袋食譜, 依照The Family Meal畫葫蘆的椰絲球簡單美味gluten free, 異想天開的青檸酥炸沙丁魚佐西瓜沙拉淡香襲人, 低溫慢煮的羊腿上桌前蒜泥爆炙濃郁的難以招架!

Taking advantage of my summer freedom, I experimented with recipes from the maestros and also created my own.  The coconut macaroon from The Family Meal was effortlessly delightful.  My lightly air-fried sardine in avocado oil on watermelon salad was utterly heavenly and sous vide goat osso buco was… ah, debauchery :P

LK先生出差新加坡, 捎回格友Silvia精心挑選的葉形白瓷小盒, 存放平日配戴的耳環剛剛好.  此次與Silvia緣慳ㄧ面, 恭喜她年紀輕輕福慧雙修, 不僅升格當媽媽, 也錄取名校MBA, 來年將於美麗楓丹白露圓夢.  右邊長手長腳的布娃娃前陣子托才華洋溢的娃友Terri客製, 俐落的短髪, Dior的紅領巾, 拎著Laduree的紙袋… 絕對是LK的理想自我.  Terri心細如髪, 知我是赫本迷, 附上禮物黑色小洋裝與蒂芬妮藍袋 :)

Tokens of friendship from afar put a smile on my face.  My blogger friend Silvia's baby boy decided to come to this world earlier than his due date so she and I had to cancel our July get together in Singapore but she sent me this exquisite porcelain leaf shaped trinket box designed locally.  The incredibly intelligent Silvia not only was blessed with a healthy son, she also got accepted into the competitive INSEAD MBA - you go, girl!  I have been an admirer of Terri's art dolls and commissioned her a while ago for my alter ego - a lithe stylish lady with red Dior scarf and Marc Jacob dress gone macaron shopping at the Laduree.  Knowing I love Audrey Hepburn, the amazingly talented Terri included a LBD and the little Tiffany blue bag.  You're too sweet!   

今年LK先生孝妻生日禮我早早指定愛馬仕… Philippe Dumas複刻畫冊! 金錢價質遠遜凱莉包柏金包, 然文化傳承亦是名牌的真諦.

This from Hermés has my name written all over… nah nah nah Birkin or Kelly, it's the collection of Philippe Dumas' watercolor sketchbooks!  Yes, we walked out Hermés San Francisco with the lowest spending ever in the landmark store's history :P

我的生活形態用不著華衣美鞋昂貴手提袋, 總是扛ㄧ只包山包海帆布工具袋, 其實內裝百分之七十皆非必需, 只是杞人憂天的保險.  近日有所領悟, 復古學院風的袖珍皮書包頓成新歡, Cambridge Satchel品牌創業史小資立大功也是鼓勵.

Although I am far from a handbag aficionado, I fall in love with the Cambridge Mini Satchel instantly perhaps the design reminds me of Hogwarts. 

放縱口慾的狂歡於年度例檢劃下句點, 哭喪臉向Dr. N抱怨醫院磅秤ㄧ定是壞了!!!  卻心知肚明該開始新生活運動.  加入距工作室只有幾步之遙的健身房, 精華地段俱樂部會費自然不貸, 然沒什麼比投資自己健康更划算, 瑜迦課著重調整呼吸放空冥想, 倒是緊湊工作天後紓緩心情的有效練習 :)

The best present I am giving myself for birthday this year:

1.  Start a healthier routine.  Yoga, Bollywood dancing, elliptical training… I am determined to have a balanced life and stop being a workaholic.

2.  Do more volunteering!  Here's the awesome team work at the Compass Children Center for the Back To School make over :)

持續當義工自助助人, 與團隊赴舊金山田德隆區的托兒中心進行改造計劃, 替小朋友遊戲室手繪壁畫時不禁莞爾… 我從小便愛天馬行空塗鴨, 長大後選擇了設計為志業, 現在以童年原始的夢想小小回餽社會, ㄧ秉初衷人生無憾 :)