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!