Belle de Jour

It's been gloomy and cold in San Francisco the past few days, perhaps a prelude to summer. Sunday, I took advantage of the grey skies and watched Belle de Jour, the 1967 French drama staring Catherine Denevue, a housewife who is compelled to work as a prostitute in a famous brothel in Paris. It was an interesting film, a little racier than I imagined for a film in the late '60s, but Catherine Denevue was such a vision, as always. Does anyone have any recommendations for old french films?

Tomales Point Trail

One of my most favorite things about living in San Francisco is the close proximity to a plethora of adventures. As I've mentioned too many times to count, Pt. Reyes National Seashore is one of my favorite destinations.

I discovered one of my new favorite hikes with my family over the Easter holiday. For Easter, we rented a home on the National Seashore and filled our weekend with hiking, reading, cooking (heavy oyster consumption of course), spontaneous dance parties and exploring. The Tomales Point Trail in Pt. Reyes is just spectacular. While we didn't complete the entire 9 mi loop, we drank in breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean, and Tomales Bay, and stopped in our tracks when we saw a huge herd of wild tule elk just feet away from our trail. The landscape was so majestic, peaceful and untouched, it was almost surreal. I've done some pretty exhilarating hikes in the Bay Area, however this particular one takes the crown. After earning our appetite, we stopped at Perry's Deli in Inverness to provision for lunch. A day for the books!

C&C Sabbatical

For the first time, I took a sabbatical from posting and I must say, I truly missed the engagement and inspiration that naturally comes with the research and writing. The past few weeks have been stressful for me between being quite ill, managing the workload from business school and a full-time job. I needed to press pause and focus on the things that needed my immediate attention. We all get to these crossroads and it's important to re-prioritize short-term. What was re-confirmed however, is just how much of a priority C&C is for me and truly, how much value the experience has added to my life. I hope it's made an impact on yours in some way as well. I'm looking forward to getting back into the groove with C&C. xx Caitlin

The Woman In Gold

I had a chance to see the film on Easter Sunday with my sister and really enjoyed the film. Based on the true story of the late Maria Altmann, an elderly Jewish refugee, she, along with her lawyer (played by Ryan Reynolds), fought the government of Austria for almost a decade to reclaim Gustav Klimt's infamous painting of her aunt, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (above). The painting was tragically confiscated from her relatives by the Nazis in Vienna, just prior to World War II. The battle was fought in the Supreme Court of the United States, which ruled remarkably in her favor in Republic of Austria v. Altmann (2004). Watch the trailer, here.