A bookstore café + Udi's

This great café was designed by Front Studio for McNally Jackson Books in Manhattan. I love all the details they added - the book papered walls, the tables look like books when folded up. And those book chandeliers are just the coolest!! I just finished up Half Broke Horses for the Slow Readers Book Club a few weeks late (I'm sorry). I think I would have got it done much faster sitting in this café.

Speaking of Half Broke Horses, it's not my usual type of book so it took me a bit to get into it (oh, and I got a bit distracted by the Olympics...hehe) but once I got going it turned out the be really good. Janette Walls tells the story of her grandmother, Lily Casey Smith, in this "novel". Lily was a talker and this book was based on her stories. The book starts in the early 1900's and details Lily's life and adventures until the mid-century. She was a "mustang-breaking, poker-playing, horse-race winning schoolmarm..." and a force to be reckoned with. She wasn't afraid to be different or try anything. There was always something interesting going around her and her life makes for a great book. A nice light, easy read. I highly recommend it.

How were your weekends? Good I hope. It has been raining since Friday so it was a good weekend to stay in. I did get to a new health food store on Friday. I found this wonderful gluten-free bread by a company named Udi's. It is unlike any other gluten-free bread. It doesn't need to be frozen or toasted. For those that have never eaten gluten-free bread this is a major plus. Gluten-free breads are made with bean flours, rice flours, tapioca flours, and others. These flours are not striped of there nutrients like all-purpose flours are. Therefore they spoil much faster and need to be stored frozen. When thawed out for use they are often powdery and gummy and can only be made edible (as far as I'm concerned) by toasting. Udi's recipe is much different, if I had to guess it would have something to do with the addition of cider vinegar and ascorbic acid (but I'm not a baker so don't quote me on that). The bread was puffy and soft like normal bread. It even smells like normal bread. If you are on a gluten-free diet, check out Udi's. I know you are going to love it!

P.S. 52 Weeks is up and looking springy. Check it out here.

Images from Front Studio website. Found via A Cup of Jo.