Another Day, Another Latte 4

latte4, originally uploaded by isabelle gr.

Here's how you know it's summer in Brooklyn:

a. Everyone is sweating, from the old men setting up their domino table to
the tiny chihuahua and her cigarette smoking supermodel owner.

And it's only 8 o'clock in the morning.

b. The warm, sweet smell of garbage abandoned on the sidewalk
by exhausted, delirious garbagemen.

c. The warm, sweet smell of melted ice cream dripped on the sidewalk
by giddy, whinnying children.

d. Diggers, roofers, builders, all performing their showstopping song and dance number over all the dusty dug earth and cobbled black rooftops of the neighborhood.

e. An inexplicable plague of oversleeping grips the cool, dark bedrooms.

f. There is music everywhere.

tomato breakfast

tomato breakfast, originally uploaded by isabelle gr.

The ingredients for a perfect breakfast: avocado, the first tomato of the summer, and a pinch of salt.

I was overjoyed to find real tomatoes at the greenmarket this week. Finally! Nick and I celebrated with this simple, exquisite breakfast, accompanied by english muffins and coffee. The sunlight streamed in over us: summer.

Long Island

long island 3, originally uploaded by isabelle gr.

Technically we live on Long Island.
Camper hit the beach this weekend when we brought the inlaws to the Hamptons! Driving from Brooklyn east this time of year is a breeze, and it was really fun to share a different part of New York that is, how should I put this, a bit slower speed. How can you resist the sand, the surf, the burgers at Corner Bar in Sag Harbor?

We came across this amazing map in the hallway of a shop in Sag Harbor, right across the street from the windmill. Nick and I think it may have hung in a high school auditorium, or maybe a town hall. Who made it? Where is the rest of Long Island?

My favorite part of the day was the moment I set foot on the sand at Sagg Main Beach. It is so incredibly gorgeous, plus there were people riding horseback along the surf right in front of us as we arrived. Like in a movie. This beach is one of my favorite places on earth. It reminds me of my Grandma and a lot of different summer memories that have sloshed into one.

Nick's favorite part of the day was laying in the sand with his sweatshirt hood pulled up. We flew our Kitty Hawk kite, which also seemed to like the beach, too, because it took us about fifteen minutes to get it back down from the sky.

After the beach we went to our uncle and aunt's house for dinner. My young cousin A was busily "planting DVDs" when we arrived. I guess that that's all in a day's work when you are the most precocious kid in the universe. Driving home late that night, Nick and I had hair full of sand, stomachs full of good food, and two happy guests in the back seat.