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Nov

The Cat Café: A Purrfect Paris Place to Pause

by Meredith Mullins on November 14, 2013

Boy in blue shirt patting cat: Living a Happier Life at the Cat Cafe in Paris (Photo © Meredith Mullins)

The Cat Café: A place to have a pet of your own for an afternoon (Meet Marguerite)

Living a Happier Life . . . with Furry Friends

If you build it, they will come.

If the “they” are cat lovers—and the “it” is a cozy place to hang out with 12 lovable cats—the truth is they will come . . . in droves.

Meet Le Café des Chats in Paris, the new hottest ticket in town. Yes, Paris is known for trendy gourmet destinations. But, here, in this furs-rate stone-walled restaurant, it’s not so much about the food. (Although the organic salads and homemade quiches and desserts are great.)

Here, it’s about the ambiance—Djenko, Khaleessi, Pattenrond, Rosa, Berlioz, Saha, Lovely, Pepite, Idylle, Oreo, Habby, and Marguerite—and the ability of visitors to feel at home in the company of these friendly felines (and vice versa).

Meredith Mullins 13 Comments

Clever Ideas/France (Paris)

Nov

Culture Smart: Sew Me a Story

by Sheron Long on November 10, 2013

Story quilt by Harriet Powers, showing African American artistic traditions and the influence of African heritage on quilts created by slaves

Story quilt created in 1898 by African American quilter Harriet Powers

The Quilt Designs of Harriet Powers

Harriet Powers (1837–1910) never learned to read or write, yet her story quilts left a significant record of life and events in the American south of the 19th Century.

Sheron Long Comments

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/Literary World/The World's Art & Design/USA

Nov

Aha Moment Maker: A Smashing Wedding Cake

by Your friends at OIC on November 9, 2013

LONDON, 1840—The royal wedding of Queen Victoria to Prince Albert featured an elaborate, multi-tiered wedding cake, measuring almost nine feet in circumference. The pure white sugar frosting, that became known as “royal icing,” was not only a symbol of purity, but of status as well, since refined sugar at that time was a luxury item.

The entire event set the style of the modern wedding. And wedding cake design has gone on from there to become an art form in itself.

However, wedding cakes weren’t always about decadent displays and a delicious treat for those celebrating the nuptials. In ancient Rome, the wedding cake played a very different role. The groom was required to smash a barley cake over the bride’s head as a symbol of good fortune. After the ceremony, guests gathered crumbs for good luck.

Of course, if you have ever tried a barley cake with no icing, you know that smashing it to bits might actually be preferable to eating it!

What’s the aha moment you see?

Your friends at OIC Comments

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