A feast for the senses

My daughter and I recently had the perfect girls' night out indulging two of our passions - jewelry and food. The evening started with a take-your-breath-away exhibit of Art Nouveau brooches and pendants that reminded Elise of some of her grandmother's pieces. The small exhibit room was full of intricately and delicately crafted dragonflies, swallows, and butterflies that, according to Elise, you could look at "for hours and still not see everything that goes into them." We were hoping a few dragonflies would fly out of their cases and land on us, but no such luck. It was hard to pick our favorites, but Elise eventually chose a branch-shaped René Lalique brooch with cherry blossoms made of gold, diamonds, and glass. I couldn't make up my mind.

In Cambridge, everything reminded us of jewelry - the top of Sanders Theatre, the twinkling light fixtures in the UpStairs on the Square dining room where we shared a yummy fruit cobbler and butterscotch pudding. But I had no trouble choosing my favorite this time - both of them. [June Wulff]