Merry Christmas to all

Merry Christmas. We hope you are finding joy and blessings during this holiday season. 

Thanks to all of you who touch our lives and bring to joy to us. 

We feel so blessed this holiday season for all of our wonderful family and friends.

boots

If you are in a snowy place like I am then you might need a pair of these

Goodbye New York

copycat

"Always be a first rate version of yourself, instead of a second rate version of somebody else."

 -Judy Garland

    I was part of a conversation last night about individuality and originality. Of course like everyone, I have been copied, and I have been a copier. Although they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, sometimes isn't it downright annoying? My friend Kathryn wrote all about this on her blog this morning. And instead of just leaving a comment I wanted to share with you the quote listed above by Judy Garland that I have sort of tried to live by since I first discovered it in high school. In high school all of my friends were dancers and soccer players. Of course since that was cool thing to do I also wanted to be a dancer and a soccer player. Well, fortunately for all of us I didn't take me very long to figure out I am painfully uncoordinated. It was a little bit of a let down, but on to plan b. After this phase I discovered other activities like Yearbook, that I really loved and excelled at. It was hard lesson to learn, but I'm grateful I had the chance to find things that I am good at and that I love, because I'll be honest I never really loved soccer or dance. The point being, we all owe to ourselves to respect the person that we are. It doesn't mean we can't admire others for their skills and talents, but it does mean we should find our own voices in this world. 

*This Norman Rockwell print has always been one of my favorites

and the clock ticks

In approximately one week we will be spending our last night as residents of New York City. This makes me kind of sad. It made me really sad when some of my friends came over last night to help me pack and I was reminded of all the fun I'll be missing out on when I am thousands of miles away. I needed cheering up so I went today and bought a yellow sweater. This made me happy because I realized I can start trading in my black clothes for bright colorful California ones and I can unpack all my darling high heels that can't bear the New York City sidewalks. So life isn't all that bad right?

Image via cherry blossom girl

choo choo

I remember being a kid and loving everything in miniature, and I am not sure I ever outgrew that. I was one of those children with wild imaginations that would get swept up in pretend. I specifically remember convincing myself that a town called Kaysville on the way to my cousin's house was a miniature city where miniature people lived and drove miniature cars, and had miniature dogs. In my defense things usually do look smaller from the freeway. 

Speaking of miniature, yesterday I went to meet Dan at his office building. For the holidays they set up special exhibit of miniature toy trains in the lobby. It is an event publicized all over New York and well worth the effort to go to for kids and adults alike. I have to say I was enthralled, but the funny thing was, so was Winston. He was mesmerized by all the little trains  and just staring and staring at them. When 2 or 3 would pas near us he would get all giddy and start kicking his legs. I guess the hopes that we would be spared a Thomas the Tank Engine phase were just hopes. 

If you are in the area, you should definitely pop by. And if not, check out this link. 

coast to coast

The rumors are true. We are moving. We'll be headed out to California the beginning of the year and although Dan will staying with Merrill Lynch he'll be venturing out on his own as a financial advisor/private wealth manager. We are sad to leave our friends, New York, and all that is familiar here. But how can you not be excited about sunny skies, more space, and being closer to home. Meanwhile I've got lots of packing, purging, and soaking up New York to do before we make the trek west. We've got a busy couple of weeks ahead.

The downside, I don't know many people that live in San Diego. If you read this blog and you live there, will you please be my friend?

And the fun begins...

I've waited all my life to take my child to see Santa Claus, and it was just as wonderful as I had imagined it. It is a little known fact that the best Santa in New York City (or maybe the world) hangs out at ABC Carpet and Home in December for all the children to visit. We saw him last year there and I just knew we had to take our little Pookie to visit Father Christmas. He was so dear and Winston just loved him and kept snuggling with him(note to Grandpas, I think it was the beard). This may have been one of my sweetest moments being a mom. I told Santa Winston has been a very good boy this year and that what he wanted most for Christmas was sugary binkies and stuff to chew on. We'll see if he gets lucky. 

The big parade

It's a pastime of many New Yorker's to go visit the balloons at the Museum of Natural History on the eve of the parade as all the preparations are being made for the big event. Of course Winston was asleep the whole time, but I got to see Buzz Lightyear, Spongebob and a host of others. I couldn't believe how big these were in real life. Just one of the things I love about New York.

this little guy is keeping me busy

nothing without the cranberry

In my opinion cranberry sauce can make or break Thanksgiving, which means it is absolutely crucial to have a knock your socks off recipe to ensure your Holiday doesn't fall short. You don't have such a recipe you say? Have no fear, I'm here to give it to you. For the past four years I have made the yummy recipe below courtesy of Barefoot Contessa and I've impressed myself every time. Perhaps it is my grandmaother in me, but I think it would be a form of torture to eat cranberry sauce from a can. I think my Gammy would be proud of this sauce, and the best part is the recipe is so easy it will make you feel like a really good cook and make your house smell amazing.

Ingredients
1 (12-ounce) bag of fresh cranberries, cleaned
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
1 orange, zest grated and juiced
1 lemon, zest grated and juiced
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
* raisins and nuts optional (I'm a traditionalist so I skip them)

Directions
Cook the cranberries, sugar, and 1 cup of water in a saucepan over low heat for about 5 minutes, or until the skins pop open. Add the apple, zests, and juices and cook for 15 more minutes. Remove from the heat and add the raisins and nuts. Let cool, and serve chilled.

free art

Last year for Christmas there was one present under the tree that was big and heavy and meant for me. It turned out to be a stack of about 300 New Yorker covers that Dan's dad had been collecting for years.  Since Dan and I are New Yorkers, he thought it would be appropriate to give them to us.  Needless to say we don't have the wall space for 300 but we did pick out a few of our favorites and have been rotating them through the year. This one above is one of my favorites. This just goes to show you, art doesn't have to cost much to look great. 

projects

I like projects. Unfortunately I like them so much that at any given time I have about 6 different things I am working on and lots of them never end up getting finished. One of these projects is my etsy shop, another Winston's Birth announcements. I'm trying to get a handle on both. I let you know it goes, but meanwhile I have all the supplies for Winston's announcements sitting neatly at my desk. My goal is before Christmas. We'll see how it goes. But hopefully the 100 yards of beautiful linen ribbon I bought for them will get me motivated. This is my favorite ribbon ever. Go buy some, your holiday packages will thank you.

us

Love this picture that Jill  took of us a couple of weeks ago up at Columbia.

yum

You probably didn't know that our friend Gwyneth is a huge foodie. In fact she spent three months touring spain with Mario Batali to film a cooking special with him. She's just launched a new website, GOOP that I am tickled pink over. Today I received in my inbox a vast collection of recipes for Gwyneth's Thanksgiving. Goodbye Williams-Sonoma and Martha, hello Gwyneth. This has got me excited. And best of all I love the pictures. I couldn't find the link to the recipes online, but if you sign up for the newsletter, I have a feeling you might get a little surprise in your inbox. I can't wait to see what Gwyneth Paltrow comes up with next.