{Paris? Photos by Amy}
I read a great number of blogs and the number just keeps growing (in fact, time doesn’t allow for the number of blogs I try to follow). One of my first design favorites was M-Dashing which is all about design, decor, photography, artisan shops, travel, local online shops and, of course, food! Its creator and curator is Amy Feezor, the Copy Director for Real Simple magazine (no wonder she has such good taste!) and a contributing editor to Herman Miller’s Lifework blog. Amy loves Paris but lives in what might be considered its twin sister city – Brooklyn.
Lots of things remind me of Paris. The empty, baby-green tea container from Ladurée in my cupboard that I just can’t throw away. “I Heart Macarons” stacked among my other favorite cookbooks. Black-and-white photos from a romantic weekend long ago. A small piece of art sitting on my shelf. And lately, my very own neck of the woods.
I live in Brooklyn in an area that’s sandwiched between the neighborhoods of Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, and Boerum Hill. There’s lots of things I like about it – easy access to transportation, tons of grocery stores nearby, a recently opened Barney’s – but most of all, I like that it’s totally gorgeous.
I’ve been writing a lot about Brooklyn over at M-Dashing for over a year now, and most of the time, that means that I have my camera stashed in my bag in case something blog-worthy pops up while I’m out and about in the borough. I’ll sometimes just steal a few pictures here and there while walking to the subway or taking the long way to run errands. And as my photo collection grows, I’ve started noticing something interesting: if you look in the right way, in the right spots, at the right time, this place resembles the City of Lights.
There’s the café that wraps around the corner of the block. The bikes with baskets. The cheese shop. The bread baking. Old iron streetlights. Good coffee in thick, white coffee cups. A few decent wine stores. Colorful chairs and tables spilling out onto the sidewalk in the summertime. In some cases, it’s really uncanny.
Don’t get me wrong, though- it’s not an exact replica. From the regal brownstones and the great places to get a slice, to the nearby Flea and the occasional hipster, there’s still the parts that are very, very Brooklyn.
But I’m just saying. If this was a movie and we needed someone to play Paris’ stunt-double, Brooklyn would just fit the bill. (Except for our lack of a Ladurée. Could we maybe borrow that sometime?)
I think that should be arranged, don’t you? That is, if you give us real NY bagels! Thanks Amy!
