Little Things

Favorite Things: the second week of February...

...making a huge pot of coffee on Saturday mornings to enjoy throughout an afternoon of chores, blogs, pinterest, grad school paperwork and cleaning. 

...Valentine's Day crafts (see above for my new front door decor)

...a tumblr completely dedicated to coffee!

...a thin layer of snow on the grass outside

...running on the Creekwalk this month, thanks to more post-work daylight

...the sugar cookies I am going to bake this afternoon

...still spending every morning, afternoon and weekend hour in my moccasin slippers <3

Fresh starts

It's cold outside!  Oh right, it's winter, and finally feeling that way.  With no snow and temperatures fluctuating between summer and fall on a daily basis, it was easy to forget that it was December, which is probably why the holiday season basically slipped past me before I had a chance to prepare.  Now that it's January, and many of the projects and responsibilities consuming my time before the New Year are over with, I've been enjoying more time on my couch, hiding under piles of warm blankets, making plans for the year ahead and soaking up a little bit of this certainly short-lived calm.  

Things I'm obsessed with:: week one of 2012:
...pinterest
...voluspa candles
...making coffee in the morning before i go to work (groundbreaking idea!)
...my (mostly) clean apartment
...mindy kaling's book
...the moccasin slippers anthony gave me for my birthday and i have worn every day since


A few resolutions for the new year:

...make more time for creativity.  Photo-taking, craft-making, blogging, painting, decorating and more. 

...drink more water and mix up my work out plan.  Doesn't everyone's New Year Resolution list contain some sort of fitness goal?  Though they may be oft-neglected, I still think it's worthwhile to include plans for your health in your fresh start each new year.  My goals for 2012 include a little more yoga and maybe some strength training.

...keep working on becoming a correspondence queen.  I love receiving mail, and I love prettying up a card or package to send off to someone else.  Each year I get just a pinch better at sending birthday and thank you cards, and getting gifts in the mail on time; I consider this one a lifelong goal.

...work harder than ever, get into grad school and start acting on those career goals. 

Twelve by 2012

{logo from Oh, Hello Friend's Twelve by 2012 project}

I'm participating in Danni's Twelve by 2012!  Oh, Hello Friend is one of my favorite blogs, and now that I actually have time to READ blogs again, I've been playing a little bit of catch up and came across this post from a couple of weeks ago.  Yes, I am a huge procrastinator.  Surprise!  (Okay, you're not surprised).  But, we can always have lofty goals, can't we?  I spend an awful lot of time making lists - they make me feel a little more organized when everything else around me is feeling chaotic - and, when I actually start using them, it turns out they work!  My wedding to do list became my ultimate go-to during that final week when I could hardly remember my name, let alone manage the projects I had left to complete, or even the item I had entered a store to purchase!  Oh, don't get me started.

Anyway, the point is that when I read about the Twelve by 2012 project, and realized that there are so many others out there who procrastinate just like me, yet manage to still be creative, inspiring individuals, I just had to jump at the chance to join others in plugging through my to-do list, in hopes that the team spirit of the project will motivate me to stay on task, and really work to complete EVERYTHING on this list, even through the lovely rush of the holiday season.  I'll try to record my progress here (see goal #4...)


Without further ado, my twelve:

1.  Record wedding memories with Anthony
A suggestion from my cousin, we've talked about doing this every day since the wedding.  Granted, it's only been a whopping nine days, but still, the sooner the better, we don't want to let the emotions and small moments slip away.   Time to plan a date night, pop some popcorn and write down every little detail we can possibly stir up about that magical, blurry day.

2. Finish my sketchbook!!!
I joined the 2012 sketchbook tour this year!  My little kraft-paper bound book so often sits dormant in my craft room/office, but I am truly dedicated to making this a success, and not letting the opportunity to join in something so brilliant pass me by.  The post-marked-by date is January 31st, 2012!

3.  Thank you cards
Alright, this is kind of an obligatory one, but it's also very important to me.  I kind of love writing thank-yous.  Because I love to receive a card or piece of mail that makes me feel as though the sender actually thought about what they wrote and their reasons for sending the card, I am dedicated to sending thoughtful thank you messages, not simply cards with a generic sentiment and my signature.  It can be tricky and time-consuming, but I think it's so worth it.  Getting out all of my wedding thank-yous WAY before December 31st 2011 might just be at the very top of my list!

4. BLOG!
Self-explanatory?  I've let my blog grow stagnant, despite the satisfaction and creative outlet it's afforded me in the past.  Back in the game, it is! 

5.  Plan out my Etsy shop
I don't say start, because I truly don't want to rush the process.  So many of my crafty endeavors feel rushed in the end, and as a result, I'm not satisfied with the results.  When I open my shop, I want it to be right.  Maybe not perfect, as there should always be room for change, improvement and creative thinking, but it should be well thought out and carefully, not hastily, assembled.

6.  Study for the GREs
Like the thank you cards, this is another one with a due date earlier than December 31st, but I believe it still belongs on the list.  It's a serious goal!

7.  Apply to masters programs
This has to happen, and it has to be before January.  No questions, no excuses.  This one is a life list goal.

8.  Learn to style my hair
Yowza!  A silly, selfish goal, I know, but at the age of 27, I am still unsatisfied with my own abilities to wrangle my heavy, straight and non-conformist head of hair.  Pinterest is packed with photos and mini-tutorials on how to style hair at home, while still looking a little more glam than a simple pony tail.  I need all the help I can get.

9. Trim down my email inbox to under 30 and keep it there!
This goal is borrowed, but nonetheless important.  Every now and then I get the urge, and really go all in wiping clean my email inbox.  I'll stay dedicated for a few weeks, but then, something happens, and I let it all slip away from me again.  Curse those clothing store junk emails!  Right now my inbox is at an embarrassing 737 emails, with 457 of those UNREAD!  Disturbing.  Time to unsubscribe from some lists, once and for all.

10.  Use my new Kitchen Aid mixer at least 5 times
Tis the season to bake and share!

11.  Send out Christmas cards!
I want to do this every year, but never seem to make it happen.  What better time to start than our first Christmas as a married couple?  Soaking up all that newlywed energy and enthusiasm while I can! 

12.  Take more photos
I've missed doing this over the past year or so.  Being bummed out, trying to figure out life plans, and, of course, wedding planning all got in the way, and I'm a little saddened at the sight of so many large gaps of time in my photos folders.  Here's to recording the rest of our 2011 adventures!

Good stuff

It's Thursday.  Here are the things I love today:

{one of my OOODLES of excellent finds from pinterest.  it's really fueling my obsession with fall boots.  not. good.  //image from One of Everything}

  1.  Pinterest.  I've been hearing (or rather, reading) tidbits about it over the past month, and I finally wandered over to the site last week to see what the hubbub was all about.  Needless to say, I'm obsessed.

{Okay, this is not, in fact, a photo of my serveware, because I haven't taken a photo of those lovely bowls and plates yet, but it IS a photo of the beautiful Kitchen Aid mixer I received at my shower.  ::love:: }

2.  My mountains of new serveware.  My bridal shower was this past Sunday, and now most of the tabletops in our apartment are stacked with the lovely gifts we received, while I reorganize to make a space for each item.  As we had a fair amount of kitchen gadgets already, a lot of what we registered for and received was serveware, and I can't wait to host a big dinner for family or friends and put it all to use!  I'm pretty excited already just imagining what it will look like set out on a simple tablecloth with some flowers or candles.

{clover bunch from heart of light}

3.  Catching up with some of my favorite blogs.  Wedding planning + vacation + job stress + life = less time to browse blogs in search of inspiration and relaxation.  In truth, wedding blogs have really replaced some of the general life and craftiness blog reading I used to do.  It's nice to see what else is going on out there from time to time.

Case of the Mondays

Sigh.  It's eleven at night and I'm doing my best to think happy thoughts; it's hard sometimes, isn't it?  I have a lovely glass of wine that tastes just like a scrumptiously fresh grape off the vine, and in my cleaning efforts tonight I uncovered a package of glow-in-the-dark twinkle stars, the kind you can affix to the ceiling.  I might put them up before A-Chef comes home (shhh..don't tell).  What else?

• A poster of the NYC subway system that I simply adore.  I'm wondering if there's one of my beloved Metro out there somewhere.
• Oh, and then I visited the artist's website.  I might want her job.
• Did I tell you that I blog for work, too?  Well I do, and students might actually be reading it!  This is exciting news.  If I'm brave enough, I'll share the link soon.
• A gorgeously colorful photo of an NYC street at Gothamist that immediately convinced me that a spring daytrip is in order, to visit my bestie and my cousin and my bedazzled friend Kristin (who got engaged practically the same day as I did!). 
• Also, I love the ists.  I am admittedly still addicted to DCist.

 And now I'm sleepy.  And I want a dog.  Nighty night!  Talk to you soon...

Local Lovelies: my countdown list (and a bonus trip to the Vanderbilt Mansion!)

Oh, March.  We are very fairly into 2010 now, and I've been shirking my new years resolutions long enough, at least as far as my petite blog is concerned - remember when it used to be about my adventures?  Yeah, me too.  As is turns out, the in-like-a-lion-out-like-a-lamb month also brings another milestone:  I'm officially entering the middle point of my final semester (I'm still counting time in semesters...) in the Hudson Valley and our little on-campus apartment. There's still so much to do!  Places I want to visit, things I want to see, adventures I want to go on...my Local Adventure to-do list has been stewing in my mind for the past several months, and I've narrowed it down to the following, at least for now...

1. Tour Olana just one more time
2. Early summer berry picking.  It's a must!  How often will I live 5 minutes from a fabulous you-pick berry patch?
3. Go for a walk at Burger Hill park.  Right down the road, why haven't I been there yet?
4. Hike to the top of Mt. Overlook.  We made it to the top two years ago in September and the view was spectacular, it's about time for another trip.  I think we'll wait for slightly warmer weather on this one.
5. Visit Herman Melville's Arrowhead in the Berkshires.  Only open Memorial Day through Labor Day.  I'll have to plan this one ahead!
6. An afternoon trip to Wilderstein.
7. Finally check out that antique shop just a couple of miles down the road.
8. Walk (or run) the rail trail across the river?  I've had a strange interest in rail trails ever since I ran one every day during our Cape Cod vacation a couple summers ago.  Aren't trains and railroads facinating?  Especially old ones.
9. More hikes in the woods on campus this Spring.  Hopefully this one will come easy.
10. Another visit to the Eric Carle Museum Picture Book Art...not exactly local, I know, but still within day-trip distance.

And a few things I've already checked off:

• An October trip to Sleepy Hollow and Legend Nights!  I love the story of Sleepy Hollow.
• Apple picking in the area - I don't think I've gone a single fall in the past 10+ years without going apple picking somewhere, but this was my first time in this area.
• Taking photos of my favorite local spots.
• And of course, this brings me to "visiting Vanderbilt Mansion at Christmastime," a goal we reached this past December!

Christmas Classics

Tonight I'm hanging out at home on the couch and trying to catch up with life.  'Santa Claus is Coming to Town' is on, and believe it or not, I've never actually seen it.  How is this possible?  The story of Santa's life complete with stop motion animation and narration by Fred Astaire?  Sounds like my ideal holiday film.

We've only just begun to break into our holiday movie collection this season.  I have a few classics, old and new, that I do my best to watch every year.  They help to get me in the holiday spirit. 

1.  The Year Without a Santa Claus.  I don't own it, but it's on TV every year without fail.  Just like Rudolph and Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, it's a lovely display of stop motion animation. 

2. Elf.  Hilarious!  And Buddy the Elf has quite the flair for decorating.

3.  It's a Wonderful Life.  I don't even think this one needs to be explained.  I remember seeing the gym floor/swimming pool scene on TV as a kid before I even knew what this movie was.  I think that's still my favorite scene.

4.  Love Actually.  Definitely a new classic.  Music, overlapping relationships, laughing and crying.  It has everything.

Let me tell you, this list is surely not complete.  Charlie Brown, of course, always finds his way into the mix.  And I do love to watch Meet Me In St. Louis, though it's technically not a holiday movie.  And OF COURSE, White Christmas, which really should be at the top of the list.  I think if there's any one movie that I make sure to watch every year, it's White Christmas.  Even if I'm waiting on a snowfall in my own part of the world, it never fails to make me feel Christmasy :)

Are there any movies you find yourself returning to each holiday season?

December notes: craftyness

December has officially arrived, and even though the snow isn't here yet - which I am getting pretty impatient about - it's becoming more and more visible everywhere else you look.  Of course, with December comes prime crafty season, and just as much as I love making decorations and handmade gifts myself, I love to see what everyone else out there comes up with.  This lovely blogosphere is the perfect place to start.  Here's a short list of my favorites from around the blog world tonight:

Teensy terrariums, which are actually ornaments, via Cup of Jo (via Unruly Things).  Terrariums are all the rage these days, I tell you.

Gold leaf placecards.  These are technically a Thanksgiving craft, but I enjoy them nonetheless.  Via A Field Journal.

Cheerful printable gift tags over at Creature Comforts (one of my daily must-reads).  I love a good gifttag...thinking of trying these out with my 2-inch scalloped circle punch.

AND I saw this Jen Corace calendar on Design*Sponge today!  In case you don't recognize her artwork, she's the illustrator of Little Pea, Little Hoot and Little Oink, among many other wonderful books and publications.  I love her work, and I love that this calendar has a peek at some different mediums - a little pencil and some lighter watercolor, too. See more here.

My current obsessions

(and some link love)...

1. Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Twist (the holiday cups are back!)
2. Bad TV: lately I've been feeling unusually interested in just lounging on the couch and watching loads of questionable television.  You know, things like Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Jon & Kate Plus 8 (or what's left of it), Family Guy, etc.   A glass of wine and some sweatpants don't hurt the situation either.
3. NY Times Home and Garden photo galleries...I could get lost in these for hours.
4. Lobster and Swan.  Check out her circle garlands.  She also makes a small postcard sized collage every day, posted on her other blog, Record the Day.
5. Gnomes 30th Anniversary Edition.  I saw some cute stuffed gnome dolls online the other day when browsing for kids' Christmas gifts, and since then, I've been sketching pictures of gnomes and trees and thinking about this book that we had around the house when I was a kid.  There's a Christmas crafts book, too!

What I want to be my next obsession: Fantastic Mr. Fox.  It looks awesome!