the newest addition to our family :)

we got her last night, she's a Shiba Inu, i love her so much already :)

*name pending
**update: we named her meka 

for newtown

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

— Wendell Berry



new york - my first christmas tree farm

 hanging out my the bonfire 

 i want to have benches like this around a fire pit of my own one day 

 mini trees, so adorable

 our tree :)

 going all out :) 

 the free ornament you got when you purchased a tree, i love how it's rustic 

I've been wanting to go to a christmas tree farm for a while now because it just seems like more of an experience than picking out a pre-cut tree. My family and I went to the Emmerich Tree Farm  in Warwick NY, & it was better than I imagined. They had a bonfire going, rustic log benches to sit on, free hot chocolate & cookies, you got a free ornament when you got a tree, & everyone was so nice. However, there was one minor flaw... this was the farms first year so all of the trees to cut down were up to my waist or shorter. We ended up having to get one of there pre-cut trees, but besides the not cutting the tree part the rest of the experience was there & there is always next year :)

* i just found this great article too about the benefits of cutting down your own tree 

nyc - christmas time in the city

hanging out at the bar before dinner 

part of my dinner at Natsumi: grilled salmon teriyaki with shitake mushrooms & avocado...we all shared everything, which is my favorite way to eat out at a restaurant because then you get to try so much :) i also recommend butterfly green tea ravioli: lobster shitake filling with lobster bisque sauce...such a cool combo

the silver & gold flags blowing the the wind were lovely 

a beautiful anthropologie window 

the Wicked stage before the show began 

beautiful full moon & if you look closely above the moon a little to the left yo can see a small bright speck, which is jupiter  

*  *  *

This past Thursday I went into the city with my mom, sister, and three aunts (one of whom was visiting from Montana). We went to Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas tree, ate at an amazing Japanese restaurant, Natsumi, & saw the Broadway play Wicked...which I have been dying to see since it came out! It was a beautiful night in the city & everything always looks so magical during the holidays. The restaurant was right across the street from the Gershwin Theater were Wicked is which was which was very convenient & the food was delicious *more detail above. Most importantly, I want to recommend that everyone see Wicked it was an incredible show filled with amazingly talented people, but what won me over the most was the story. Usually, at some point in most pieces of work i wish the story would have gone a different way & rarely am I completely satisfied, but Wicked was one of those rare pieces that I loved every bit. 

holiday card 2012

happy holidays everyone!

things i found browsing the internet: november '12

i'm starting my first series :)

because every month i create a draft in my emails with cool things that i find & want to remember while browsing the interent + blogs & figured it would be fun to start sharing them with you, hope you enjoy!

- a book about the wisdom of french parenting: bring up bebe 

- cool restaurant in seattle washington: how to cook a wolf

- lovely location for celebrations in seattle washington: bella luna farms

- anti-inflammatory ginger spiced chai

- this looks delicious coconut chai coffee cake

- spied pumpkin ice cream w/ coconut milk 

- millet croquettes 

- tutorial how to print on tags, journaling cards and other non-traditional paper

- apple cider carmels

- i love mexican food..tiny taquitos with cilantor avacado sauce

- book i want to read: the post carbon reader, managing the 21st century’s sustainability crises

- diy moon pinata

- diy number pinatas

- eco friendly dryer balls

- eco laundry soap nuts

- looks delicious & i've been going through a carmel faze lately: crack carmel

- hotels for outdoor lovers

- throw your own holiday crafting party, i would love to do this one day

- adorable children's clothing: noe & zoe berlin

- recipie: shaved brussels sprout salad with dates and goat cheese

- great home decor website: burkedecor

- mushroom, leek & cornbread stuffing

- what a great combination of ingredients spinach hazlenut dip & carrott tahini dip

- great wooden childrens bikes: wishbone design studio

- these eco-diapers are so cute: gdiapers

- imaginavtive solutions childrens game: obstacles

- organic chilrens clothing by kate quinn organics

- cool home stuff, childrens stuff: story north

- food blog: happy yolks

- coconut pear detox smoothie

- pumpkin sandwhich cookies

- hand crafted wood home goods: milled

- scarletta bakes food blog

      *plus: the next cake i will be making looks soo yummy :)



light fun

i love playing around with the bulb setting on my dslr 

& i just got new l.e.d. christmas lights to hang around the ceiling of my room which are very fun to photograph on this setting :)   

nyc - brooklyn flea

i've been wanting to go to the brooklyn flea ever since taza from the rockstardiaries posted about it here 

so two weekends ago my sister & i ventured into brooklyn

it was a lot of fun & we both loved looking around, but agreed that next time we should probably just go the the smorgasbord market because the food was our favorite part :) 

i could see myself being more into the vintage & antique items when i have a home of my own to decorate though, & as far as the clothes go there were a lot of nice pieces, but a little pricey to what i'm used to seeing at the local thrift stores i go to 

beautiful mirrors 

<3 this bench 

would love a piece like this to fill with all my art supplies 

letters 

lovely, unique rugs

love this!

cool looking camera...that i almost got 

brooklyn: love the ivy & i want a bike like the one below!

delicious home brewed sodas from brooklyn soda works! i bought a re-useable/refillable growler of the apple ginger & refilled it again before i left :) 

the dough-nuts that taza talked about in her blog post, they were as delicious as promised & i too recommend that everyone try one!

you must also try an asia dog! they have organic hot dogs too (which made my day) & their topping combinations are unique & delicious 

below are the hotdogs my sister & i got plus my growler of apple ginger soda 

i got: the SIDNEY: Thai style relish with mango + cucumber + red onion +

cilantro + crushed peanuts + fish sauce

my sister got: MASH: Spicy ketchup + jalapeno mustard + crushed salt and pepper

potato chips

*both were delicious, but the mash was my favorite...i have a weakness for spicy

we thought these bows were headbands, but they were actually bow ties...i love them either way 

so many cool retro glasses! when i need glasses one day i want to get them from here 

hello!

and the dough-nut i choose was.....passion fruit with cacao nibs (i lived in hawaii for 8 months & have a weakness for passion fruit) it was incredible!

*   *   *

 so i definitely recommend taking a trip to the brooklyn flea 

the outdoor markets are closed for the winter, but the indoor winter market is open saturday + sunday from 10 am-6 pm, more details here 

enjoy :)