Of Hope

{Narcissus - a flower of hope, rebirth, and new beginnings}

So begins my reflections of 2009. If anything, this year was not the friendliest to my spirit. However, I found many cheery moments. If anything, this year showed me how lucky I am to have all the people I have found in my life and through this blog! You are all gifts!

So this year and decade draw to a close, and a new time throws back its crisp, fresh curtains to all that lies ahead. This is the part I have been waiting for. I hopeful that this time to come will be my brass ring.

In thinking about these past ten years, these past twelve months, I marvel at all the joys and trials, how they have changed us and how, in some cases, we have refused to change, refused to succumb to things that would cause more harm than good. I think about how I've changed since the start of this decade - in many ways, I started very closed and focused on a few straightforward goals of being a "good girl," studying hard to advance in life, and enjoying a simple, quiet life in the tranquil Maine woods. There were times when I clung to this lifestyle more tightly than I ought - there were times when I should have let go, but I didn't. These small chinks of opportunity were filled whole with my fear of change. I dreaded change as much as I wanted it.

But no more. In this new time, I hope to be more open to change. I will crave it and welcome it. This is a promise I make to myself. A simple resolution I carry in my pocket. I am hopeful! I wish you all, dear friends, hope and joy for your own lives in the coming time!

A Holiday At Home

My Christmas was simple, quiet, and full of family love. I just love being home. Even now I am sitting at dining room table, typing away while my mom makes a delicious stew from our leftover Christmas turkey. The winter sun is setting behind the trees, sending a soft light through the window pane. It feels just like it once was - when I was younger and this home was the only world I had ever known. This is what the holidays are meant to be - a coming home for a momentary visit to what was. It's like a hug from the universe, telling you that everything will be alright and refreshing your spirit to take on the coming year. It is wonderful.

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

There are many things I am grateful for this year. Most especially, I am so thankful for all the friends I have found through this blogging experience! It has meant more to me than words can truly express. I wish all you dear readers and blogging friends the merriest of Christmases and the very best of this holiday season!

May you experience the light, joy, and love celebrated during this time of year!

xoxo

Spare Greens

If you find you have extra greens lying around the house after trimming the trees, try sticking them in various places to add some simple evergreen cheer to your home. My mom laid some spare branches on the chandelier in our dining room and wove a bright red and gold ribbon through the branches. She rigged an antique silver Christmas bell to hang from the chandelier with some thin red ribbon to complete the look!
Some greens laid on a wooden hutch with some glass red ball ornaments and pine cones - a little outside inspiration and pop of color.

A Cooney Christmas

It's not Christmas until I snuggle into one of our squashy couches with a piping hot mug of tea to read The Year Of The Perfect Christmas Tree and The Story of Holly & Ivy, both with illustrations by Barbara Cooney (1917 -2000), a Maine illustrator and author of children's books. The stories celebrate the importance of family and love at Christmastime. Their emphasis is more on appreciating all that you have been given rather than materialistic wants. Cooney's delicate, quiet illustrations provide comfort and authenticity to these tales.

The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree is a tale of how little Ruthie, a feisty little Appalachian girl with coal-black curls, and her mother manage to procure the town Christmas tree despite her father being away fighting in Europe during World War I. The Story of Holly & Ivy takes place in England, where a little orphan girl, Ivy, on her way to stay with a family for Christmas, steps off the train a bit early at Appleton, a tiny village ,and encounters a new friend, Holly. Appleton is a charming town captured with all the magic of the Christmas season with Cooney's deft hand. Both stories are ones to cherish! I hope you can enjoy them and share them with those you love! Happy Christmas reading!

Image found here and here.

A Christmas Brunch

A pleasant dining room before the party...

A merry fire welcoming guests as they enter from the snowy outside world...

A yummy almond loaf made from a Czech recipe (my father's heritage) waiting to be devoured...

Trimming the tree the night before!
Happy Christmas week!

Lit Love: Karin's Christmas Walk

Christmas is a time to snuggle in with the ones you love and enjoy the magical stories you've read every year. One of my favorite books is Karin Christmas Walk (Dial Books, 1980) by Susan Pearson with illustrations by Trinka Hakes Noble. It's a story of a young girl in Minnesota who walks through her town to get groceries on Christmas Eve in anticipation of her Uncle Jerry arriving for the holidays. A basic plot line, but rich with illustrations and descriptions of her snowy walk. The mood set by the snowy day and her quaint interactions with various town people connote a sense of those simpler days of yore. My parents live in such a town, which makes the Christmas holiday all the more special for me when I visit from the big city.

I can walk from our house into town to purchase groceries at the local market, grab a yummy coffee, and skate on the town green, which is lit up with twinkling holiday lights. I grew up in a two hundred year-old farm house in the Maine woods, which was lovely and quiet, but it's nice to now have the experience of a quaint town during this magical time of the year!

Image found here.

Ignite

Friends, it's been quite a week. One where my mind traveled to other places besides my beloved Marginalian. This week - full of meetings, kind, smart people, life decisions, and a crescendo-ing of the holidays. Coming out on the other side, I find myself weary and feeling older in a good way. Older not just because of the busyness, but perhaps as a passage into a new part of my life. All good things come to an end. New things, new perspectives begin. I am trying to steer my life towards as many positives as possible, to embrace the gifts I am given daily. I want the next part of my life to ignited with an energy and a hope for better living. This is a promise to myself.

Sorry for the somewhat cryptic nature of this post. You'll know more soon! Until then, I wish you all, dear friends, many of whom I have never met but who, I feel, are kindred spirits, a peaceful and joyous weekend!

Meet Me In St. Louis

The costumes, the singing, the setting, the family, the holidays. Everything about Vincent Minnelli's 1944 film Meet Me In St. Louis is pure magic. This movie is easily in my Top Five Desert Island Movies, a treasure I have enjoyed since I was a little girl. Last evening, I watched it while writing Christmas cards and wrapping gifts. A perfect treat for a Monday. My family also watches it every Christmas Day (one of our many holiday movie traditions). Such a classically Christmas film that you must watch if you haven't already!

{The Smith family (Rose, Tootie, and Esther) makes snow people}

The Smith family represents quintessential America, or rather, America of yore. Large, noisy, dramatic, hilarious, each member is a star in her own right. As an only child, I love this movie all the more for its size and closeness. I think my favorite character has to be Grandpa for his tricks, general wisdom, and good cheer.

{Esther (Judy Garland) and John (Tom Drake) on Christmas Eve}

And of course, I cannot not fail to mention the dashing John Truett, or rather "the boy next door," on whom I have had an insane crush for years. He might be a little shy, perhaps a tad clueless, but his heart and charming personage are in just the right place! Especially the scene when Esther comes to apologize to him after beating him up or when she dances around the Christmas tree with Grandpa and then... (I won't spoil the scene for those who haven't see it) - SO romantic!

{Tootie (Margaret O'Brien) and Esther (Judy Garland) for
"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas}

And finally, I must pay tribute to the original version of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," sung by the incomparable Judy Garland. This is my favorite Christmas song - the one my parents always play when I come home for the holidays. No one sings it better than Judy. Not even close. This was the film where director Vincent Minnelli fell in love with Judy Garland. You can see that love in every shot. She said that she felt truly beautiful in this movie. And she certainly is.

Image found here, here, here, and here.

Cupcakes!

Glory of glorious weekends! There was good music, dancing, friends, cute boys, brunch (SO much brunch), holiday shopping, good yoga, relaxing, and...cupcakes! Needless to say, I am so thankful for the gift of this past weekend - it's energy and adventures rejuvenated parts of me that had become dormant as of late. One of the highlights was finally using the cupcake kit that my mom gave me for my birthday (a cupcake baking pan, cupcake cookbook, pretty cupcake papers, and a pastry decorating kit)! In honor of the holiday season, I settled upon making the delicious Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting from Epicurious.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
• 1 large egg, beaten lightly
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 8 ounce cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon thinly sliced crystallized ginger

Into a bowl sift together the flour, the ground ginger, the cinnamon, the cloves, the allspice, and the salt. In another bowl cream 1/2 stick of the butter, add the granulated sugar, and beat the mixture until it is fluffy. Beat in the molasses and the egg, beating until the mixture is smooth. In a measuring cup combine the baking soda with 1/2 cup boiling water and stir the mixture to dissolve the baking soda. Stir the mixture into the molasses mixture (the mixture will appear curdled) and stir the molasses mixture into the flour mixture, stirring to combine the ingredients well. Line twelve 1/2-cup muffin tins with paper liners and spoon the batter into the liners, filling them halfway. Bake the cupcakes in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. (The cupcakes will be flat or slightly indented on top.) Transfer the cupcakes to a rack and let them cool.

In a bowl cream together the cream cheese, and the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, add the confectioners' sugar and the vanilla, and beat the mixture until it is fluffy and smooth. Beat in the zest and the lemon juice and chill the frosting for 30 minutes. Spread the frosting on the cupcakes and top each cupcake with some of the crystallized ginger.

{Mixing the wet ingredients with the dry}

{Pouring the batter into the pretty cupcake papers}

{Almost ready to pop in the oven!}

{Voila! Perfection!}

{Mixing the cream cheese frosting}

{Le Fin!}

The Sugar Plum Fairy

Look how pretty. Such grace. Such a sweet, frilly tutu. And she dances with a hunky cavalier. Lucky girl. Sometimes I wish I had been a ballerina. Except for my lack of coordination and grace. At least I can appreciate the beauty of it.

Happy Weekend!

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy ...

Source: The New York Times; image found here.

Black Brush

Hues of morning blue and white light brimming over the roof line of the Boston brownstones. A stately tree, spare with rimed, wiry branches - brush bristles - puncturing the sky. Tiny naked bones missing their verdant flesh. It is early. I leave for the T and the cold runs deep, seeping through the thick material of my parka. I miss my scarf, a fuzzy rainbow knitted with love. My bare neck weakened - the entry point for evil pricks of frigid air. A January chill making its presence known early, a reminder of the winter yet to come. It's still autumn but nature knows no deadlines.

This is time when we close into ourselves, wrapping our bodies and souls in all things warm. Everything is clean, dry, stark. Hair, tamed by the mighty iron, stays in its place, defying the native curl. Skin tightens then breaks, chafing into small white flakes. My own uncomfortable snow. Thank goodness for lotions and gels that irrigate these dry dermal pastures. I am thankful for the warmth of my home, the items to ease the winter roughness, the light that ignites the darkened scenes of these months, and the love that inspires millions in this profoundly magical time.

A Wreath of White

Oh, pretty little wreath, so full of festive holiday cheer! Fine fir smells and resplendent with decorations and such signs of creativity! I am inspired here by Anne of The City Sage (check out her design blog, it's so elegant and well-put together), who posted the picture above in a recent post. The picture features a Paper Doily Wreath that I am determined to make with my mom when I go home for the holidays. I love the delicate, frilly-ness of it. The gentle light. I might like to perch such a beauty above my bed all year-round! How-to instructions are found here.

I also strolled around the Web to find some other inspirations of white wreaths:

{This Winter White Rose Wreath from Williams Sonoma}

{A Flocked White Wreath From Colin Cowie}

{Snowball Wreath from Martha Stewart}

{Gumdrop Wreath from Martha Stewart}

Images: 1) Martha Stewart/The City Sage 2) Williams Sonoma 3) Colin Cowie 4) &5) Martha Stewart.

Morningtime

Breakfast. A buttered English muffin topped with fresh blueberries. Sitting alone at a long wooden table, the morning light filtering through the window. An early quiet made possible by still sleeping roommates. Soon there will be a warm wool coat with ruffles, leather gloves lined with cashmere, a fuzzy wool hat, and bags gathered to carry out into the world. A morning commute. I find a single seat away from the bother of flustered strangers. I tuck my second bag between my legs and hug my purse in my lap. Reading Holidays On Ice. A lark that brings an unexpected smile to my face and fades the many bodies that surround me.

How lucky am I to have such safety. Such comfort. A commute free from harm. I do not rise each morning wondering if my subway car will burst into a million tiny fragments of human ignorance. Anger in this first world is as petty as a forgotten mobile phone or the fact that this rotund gentleman stands a little too close to you on the bus. We know so little of true, raw pain. We don't see real anger, the kind of bites and scratches wounds so deep they take generations to heal. We don't know. We don't appreciate. And sometimes, I wonder, if our humanity is not the worse for it.

Bad Plastic

Friends, check your kitchens for all plastics that have a 3, 6, 0r 7 on the bottom and remove them from your home now. We've all heard warnings of BPA and the chemicals found plastics, but this recent column by The New York Times' Nicholas Kristof highlights some real evils and cancer-causing effects of using these plastics, especially heating them in microwaves or dishwashers. Even plastics with other numbers - I am not convinced they are entirely safe. Sometimes I wish that I could purge my home of all the chemicals and toxic objects I know are malignant. Not intending to be an alarmist here, but I have personally experienced some of the negative effects of using bad plastics and would like to prevent as many people as possible from experiencing similar unpleasantness!

Image found here.

Paper Heart

{Charlyne Yi and Michael Cera play themselves in Paper Heart}

“We’re not a very patient society so if something goes wrong, and there’s no quick fix, they give up. If you can hang in there, it just gets better.”

Patience has ceased to be a virtue of mine. Well, it was never really a virtue for me. Ask my mother. But it is perhaps because of patience that relationships have so much trouble these days. We think we want that "perfect" person, which is folly. We hold out for something better, impatient with the choices the universe gives us. But what if we took a chance and waited to see how it played out? Would that be better than living without love? Without a true connection? I think so. But sometimes, I don't know.

Paper Heart. Just rented it. Quite cute, except for Charlyne Yi's monotone, whiney voice that grated on me after a while. I enjoyed her role in the story but I wished that they also had filmed it more from Michael Cera's perspective (some of his lines really made the movie for me). The best part was the paper animation of the love stories Yi learned from her interviews with couples across the country. Impressive and in honor of this artistic achievement, here are some pretty paper hearts I found.


Image found here, here, here, here, and here.

Running Lights

I went running this afternoon in the setting sun. I really needed it. The sun sets so early these days. The biting air threatened my bundled self. I persisted. Treads beating down on the path along the Charles. The coming evening illuminated holiday lights strung in windows of nearby brownstones. Lovely how these darkened times are illuminated by little warm lights.

Image found here.

Style Love: Penelope Cruz

I watched Vicky Cristina Barcelona last night. I've been wanting to see it for so long and finally sat down to watch... and was promptly put into a bored stupor. Until the arrival of Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz), who is a luminescent presence in this film. Penelope Cruz so richly deserved her Academy Award for this role. She's the epitome of a sexy, passionate, and yes, crazy woman. She inspires me to sprinkle a little more of these traits (sans the crazy) into my own life. She really knows how to exude her sexuality. Her confidence. All good things for women to emulate. I mean, why do we always have to button it up? Play the proper prude? Okay. Maybe I am being a bit dramatic. Sometimes I think being a bit bad can be good for the soul.

Penelope Cruz's fashion is always pitch perfect in her movies and on the red carpet. Below are some of my favorite outfits.


How elegantly bad-ass is Maria Elena's outfit in this scene? A pink nightgown, her fringe purse slung over one shoulder, and her camera over the other. Sans the cigarette of course, I think this look is the perfect blend of "Devil may care" and feminine style.


I love the messiness of her hair (makes me long for my longer hair) in this picture and the disheveled, impassioned nature of her fashion.


I love the texture of this black floor-length gown with it's sweetheart neckline. And that pop of white at the bottom - tres chic!

The informality of this red pantsuit is such a bold move on the red carpet, but it is one of my favorite outfits. The double-breasted jacket, the cuffed pants, and the wedge heels really complete the ensemble. All in all, the best part is the perfection of this hue of red, which suits her so well.

Image found here, here, here, here.

A Special Time

Pretty lamps at Upstairs on the Square, a delicious and stylish restaurant in the heart of Harvard Square. My birthday lunch with two wonderful parents. Salad Niçoise. Zebra cake with a long, thin sparkly candle. Delightful!
Birthday flowers from my mom. Yellow mimosas. Red and white reniculas. Purchased with such love. A girl should always have flowers on her birthday.
The family birthday cake. Yellow cake with yummy frosting. The last of its kind. I'm really "growed" up.
Birthday car (well, a birthday ZIPcar). Snazzy red luxury. Carrier of good friends to brunch at my favorite place and around the city on a brilliantly sunny Sunday.
Peeking outside my window on my birthday morning. If you can see it, there are a pair of interlocking hearts drawn in that patch of snow. A loving sign, and perhaps, a wish for my coming year.