Hello, and Happy Monday morning. Our “weekend in the city” got tabled, since Chicago was hit with more snow on Saturday. I think we got another six inches, so we passed on the potential 2 1/2 hour drive this time around. Instead, we had dinner at a cozy local Italian restaurant, since I was craving ravioli. (I recommend ravoli with a split of champage. Very festive!) The tree did get decorated, though, so we’re caught up on that, complete with wishes. And Abner the elf found us on the 15th. Our son is enjoying his daily visits and notes …..
Over the weekend, thanks to Kathryn at Snippet&Ink’s excellent suggestion to make use of Google Reader, I set up my usual blog reads. (I cannot recommend this service highly enough, by the way. It’s fabulous.) This freed up a lot of online time, time I was using to stalk my favs for updates, so naturally, I found myself web-wandering, and discovered a new blog that I just adore. Cakespy hooked me with its adorable watercolor illustrations, and kept me with its all-encompassing pastry coverage. Cupcakes, crumb cake, cookies, doughnuts, and
bakeries. Oh yeah, that’s my kind of blog. And interviews, too? (Miette and Trophy were especially fun to read, since I’d love to visit either shop.) Heaven. Check it out yourself at cakespy.com. And if you’d like a watercolor of your own, visit artist Jessie “Cakespy” Olsen’s Etsy shop. Not too late for holiday giving if you act today!
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It’s a busy holiday weekend. (Is there any other type?) On Saturday, I hope to hit Greer and Anjenu for some last minute card shopping. Then, we’re having “dinner in the city”: year two of a tradition for our family. (Oh, and Chicagoans: there will be three hours of This American Life on WBEZ this Saturday. Last minute fundraising treat!) Sunday? I think that will be tree decorating day. I bought a new ornament from RedEnvelope and can’t wait to incorporate it into the tradition mix.
On with the Five:
- evening
- Milk, vanilla cupcake (2)
- four stones on the ice
- Old money
- sugared almonds
We’re in the home stretch! Have a great weekend – see you Monday.
p.s. You lucky nyc-ers, Paper + Cup (Friday) and Moontree Letterpress (Saturday and Sunday) are at, or having, holiday sales this weekend. Check them out for your last-minute paper needs …. (Sesame Letterpress will be at the Sunday show location, too! Bonus!)
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Admittedly, if you look at the picture above and you are Scandinavian, or know anything about the feast of Santa Lucia, you are probably wondering how I got it so wrong. Here’s how: when my son was born ten years ago, and my husband was working long hours coupled with a long commute, I wanted a day during the Christmas season where we could celebrate, in a small way, as a family, together. I must have read the story of St. Lucia in a magazine around that time, and fell in love with its simplicity: the eldest daughter wearing the crown of candles, bringing coffee and St. Lucia buns to her parents. And I thought to myself, how can I make this work? And I turned it into my husband not leaving that morning for work until our son was awake. We would celebrate by sharing orange juice and cinnamon rolls. (Why orange juice? My husband does not drink coffee and I just couldn’t see serving diet Mountain Dew and cinnamon rolls.) It was a moment of peace during the busy season. Fast forward to today. Yep, I popped open the can of cinnamon rolls and poured the orange juice. Now, it’s tradition. I look forward to it every year. (I hope someday my son remembers it fondly.) And I refuse to give it up, even if it’s not exactly the way it’s “supposed” to be.
p.s. I always thought the crown of candles represented bringing light to the darkest part of the year. Now, while writing this (and scanning Wikipedia), I’ve learned it started as a representation of St. Lucia’s survival after being sentenced to be burned ….. funny how the magazine didn’t mention that part.
p.p.s. Should you live in Boston, check out the South End Holiday Stroll tonight! Looc, Hudson, South End Buttery, and Black Pearl Press are just a few of the shops that will be open …. enjoy!
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…. but that doesn’t mean I’m not still doing it! In January, I’m planning to feature items in my personal “Hall of Fame”. Could be lipgloss, could be shampoo, could be shoes, could be stationery :) Right now, the focus is bottle reduction (once again) and I’m really, really trying to pare down the “stuff” to the HoF essentials. I’ve already used up a lipstick and a lipgloss, plus various sample-size products that were plotting a takeover of the medicine cabinet. (My stationery supplies are unionized – and thus I can’t lay any of them off, so I’ve been extra ruthless with the bath and body stuff.)
At any rate, Real Simple’s January issue features a lot of products that are favorites for one reason or another, plus a nifty New Year’s Eve party. Kind of renewed my faith in the mag, to be honest. And I need Real Simple now. My magazines are slowly deserting me.
Until tomorrow, then.
photo from marthastewart.com
Sad magazine news to report. Blueprint Magazine is folding – the January/February 2008 issue will be its last. (The blog, Bluelines, will continue.) I have to admit, I prefer Martha Stewart Weddings to Blueprint, and I’m already married, thank you, but that doesn’t mean I wanted Blueprint to go away! (I checked: my subscription runs/ran through January 2010.) I loved that there were no cover lines of “Lose Weight the Blueprint Way” or “Sexy You!”. I enjoyed Blueprint’s features, and found their party suggestions especially creative and fresh, while still do-able. Some day, I will host an Easy Wine Tasting Dinner like they suggested. One of my sisters told me that Blueprint read like I wrote it. I think that’s a compliment, by the way. At the rate magazines are closing shop, I’ll be able to sit back and let the publishers decide how to reduce my monthly stack of reading material.
And speaking of Weddings magazines, the winter issue from Martha Stewart should arrive shortly, full of the Today Show wedding details. Plus, have you heard that Real Simple is publishing a weddings magazine in January?! Counting the days ….
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