what to wear out with your boyfriend on new years eve.

we're leaving our plans up to the last minute tonight,

but that doesn't mean a girl can't plan what to wear

for the new year.

a year ago,

my girlies and i went out on the town for d.c. festivities.

this year promises to be quite a bit more quiet,

and i'm trading in the sky-high heels for something much

more comfy and cozy . . .

and while i'm at it,

here's a fun tune for you to jam while you're getting ready tonight . . .

i'm not usually one for pop,

but i can't help but love little willow smith.

so, whatever your plans,

i hope you're happy, safe and with the ones you love most.

happy new year!

oh for the love of tape!

i can't believe that after all of the wrapping i just finished last week,

i'm already looking at gift wrap supplies . . .

i swear,

this stuff is addicting.

just take a look at these adorable rolls of tape from one of my fave etsy shops,

wonderland room.

i would match tape like this to a natural brown paper and simple white string for ribbon

to bundle up packages . . .

how sweet and pretty would that look?

love came down.

love this.

thanks, sister, for sharing.

light bright

on Christmas night,

after opening presents with both mom, brother, sister and then later with dad

and eating big family dinner with mom's side,

mr. wonderful picked me up

and drove us around to look at neighborhood lights.

this house is in a neighborhood of Christmas lights enthusiasts-

the home has carols playing outdoors

and the neighbors dress up like santa and mrs. claus

and sit outside to greet visitors!

the funniest part, i think, is that the home right next door to

bright light extravaganza displays a blow-up grinch in the front yard . . .

nothing else

{a response to the surrounding holiday mayhem, perhaps?}.

we also went by the home of a local taxidermist

who totally stuffed and mounted two reindeer . . .

and attached them to a sleigh with lights in his front yard.

um, weird?

didn't take any pictures of THAT house.

you guys really like the grinch!

according to my analytics account,

"grinch" searches bring a ton of you over to my little blog!

most of you probably stumble upon

this post

and don't linger for too long,

but it just tickles me to know that's how you find me.

some of your searches:

grinch smile

the grinch smile

the grinch's evil smile

grinch's smile

grinch's evil smile

grinch face

grinch love

grinch smilie

how the grinch smile

how the grinch stole christmas, grinch smile

in grinch smile

the grinch evil grin

the grinch smiles

what is in the grinch smile

~~~

i think it's safe to say there is a trend running here . . .

i hope you had a very who-like Christmas holiday!

{via tumblr}

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

i wish you a blessed Christmas holiday

full of laughter, joy and peace.

my Christmas will be spent with loved ones . . .

especially after the recent loss of my grammie,

i can't think of doing anything other than sharing time

with the people i care about.

i hope you are doing the same thing today

as we celebrate the birth of our Savior.

my mother said something interesting the other day-

someone had mentioned it was sad to lose

her mum just before Christmas.

mom said, in a way, it was quiet beautiful because

it demonstrated a perfect circle of our relationship with Christ.

He was born as a baby to die for our sins

so that we might spend eternity with Him.

i am blessed to celebrate the birth

that enabled Him to bring her home.

that's a pretty miraculous Christmas gift,

isn't it?

~~~

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

{via tumblr}

on a mission.

it's Christmas Eve and i have elving work to finish!

at 8:15 am,

i already feel like i've wasted half my day perusing tumblr

and drinking big cups of coffee.

i'm about to pull on some leggings and uggs

and bolt outta here

without so much as a shower . . .

so much to do,

and so little time!

i can't believe Christmas is tomorrow!

{via tumblr}

a storm is baking up.

or maybe it's supposed to say

"baking up a storm" . . . whatever.

last week,

mr. wonderful and i went to a party at his brother and sister-in-law's

{they're the most fun couple and they have a super-cute little baby girl . . . also named abby!},

and of course we needed to bring treats!

mr. wonderful voted for the oatmeal cookie bars i had baked and sent to him

in nashville a few months ago---

he devoured them in almost just a day!

how guys can eat like that and look the way they do is completely

beyond my understanding and i sometimes wish to have

strong conversations with God about the

discrepancies in male/female metabolisms,

but i digress . . .

anyway,

the cookie bars were a huge hit.

if you're looking for a dynamite way to please folks

with a fabulous and easy dessert,

these are the only way to go.

i've since baked 2 more batches of this stuff

and plan on at least one more before Christmas Day.

they're just mouth-wateringly delicious!

thank you, martha stewart!

in loving memory: the things my grammie taught me

the guidelines to life as instructed by constance madison:

20. stay true to your morals and beliefs.

19. richness in life should not be measured in dollars made or spent.

18. allow people to be who they are.

17. ladies do not hunch.

16. sometimes it feels good to balk at tradition.

15. beautiful women do not have to be petite or supermodel-esc.

14. "never judge a book by its cover" is not a cliche to be ignored.

13. absolutely no excuses for poor grammar.

12. there is a time and place for inappropriate humor.

11. stubbornness can be but is not always a virtue.

10. love fiercely,

especially those not easily loved.

9. there is always room for more-

more children, more visitors, more pets, more food . . . come one and come all.

8. only wimps wear rubber gloves to clean the toilet.

7. never let a man walk all over you;

this, however, does not give you license to walk all over a man.

6. laugh happily and hard at several things each day.

5. read much, learn much.

4. give cheerfully to others even when you have little yourself.

3. a jewelry box can instantly calm a fussy two-year old.

2. don't waste words. say what you mean; mean what you say.

1. take your cues from your Heavenly Father-

always, always, ALWAYS forgive.

~~~

love you, dearest grammie,

our family lighthouse and most treasured one.

we will forever miss you.

{photo source unknown}

a boston date

slidding on the boston garden ice pond.

sitting on a park bench.

strolling newbury street.

sharing quincy market lo mein.

staking out mike's pastry in the north end.

saturday was the sweetest "date day" and probably

my favorite day in a long, long time.

i wish you a happy weekend!

hurray!

my cold is all but a stuffy nose and hoarse voice today . . .

and i'm so happy,

because mr. wonderful and i are frolicking around

boston

for the whole day together

{okay, okay . . . i will frolic and he will walk sensibly}.

i've been looking forward to our little "date day"

for weeks . . .

i know it's silly,

but even the car ride will be fun.

we don't have much of a plan for what we're doing

which to me is the best kind of weekend plan.

i hope you have a delightful weekend too!

{via from me to you}

23.

you keep me on my toes.

love.

friday's food for thought.

such wise words from mr. clive.

{source unknown}

speaking of being sick . . .

besides drinking copious mugs of tea with honey

and fighting the urge to overdose on

nyquil,

one of the most soothing products for an ailing aching body

also happens to be one of my fave bath/beauty products of all time . . .

bobbi brown's beach body oil

is amazing when you drop it into a warm bath to soak

when you're feeling like poo.

it smells so relaxing too-

just like the sunscreen and salty air scent from the beach

{no lie; it really takes you back to the ocean visits of your kiddo days}

but doesn't linger too strongly when you're out of the tub

i've been using it as a moisturizer from since summer

but it fights scaly skin just as

well when used in the bath.

just make sure to give the tub a quick spray down before getting

into the shower the next morning . . .

you'll break your neck!

{via tumblr}

bleh.

i've had an itchy inner ear for daaaaaays.

what i thought was just allergies turned into a full-blown,

no good, terrible and miserable cold

yesterday afternoon.

thank goodness for my lovely friend katie,

who came over to the apartment to help carry empty tree trimming boxes

back up to the freezing attic.

my friends spoil me rotten.

of course,

i contracted the plague just in time for mr. wonderful's visit to new hampshire.

ughhhhh.

say a prayer that this clears up before our fun weekend plans . . .

being ill with no energy is NOT the way i want to spend the next few days-

lots of juice, sleep, vaposteam and

tea with honey for me!!!!!

did you know i'm on tumblr?

a few months ago i was in a horrible habit of hoarding images

like no one's business.

i just never seem to have enough posts

to cover all the super neat things i find while browsing the web . . .

my poor memory stick and desktop were completely cluttered

and it drove me crazy,

even if i did try to keep things categorized to some degree.

now i'm using tumblr to post all the pretty

pictures that don't make it to

this blog.

you should go check it out . . .

i'm absolutely loving it!

{via tumblr}

imagine the most whimsical cupcakery

one of my fave girlies from india and i often daydream

about co-owning a bakery together . . .

in my head,

everything is super adorable and packaged to marketing perfection.

imagine my delight when my dear friend and fellow blogger,

miss amanda,

sent me to the sugary site,

sweet and saucy supply.

i haven't been able to stop perusing the pages for

pretty cake stands and platters since!

i mean, really, this might be just too much girly-ness for me to handle,

and that is saying

A LOT.

i can't get over all of the pastel colors and lovely designs.

it's like each and every item was designed specifically for my kitchen . . .

well, that is, future kitchen.

can you imagine baking something like a chocolate coconut cake and presenting it

on one of these delightful pretties?

oh happiness.

{images via sweet & saucy supply}

the prettiest little dance to watch.

just watched this animated movie on one of my fave blogs,

the rockstar diaries,

and could waste no time in reposting.

for those of you out there who love all things dance

{especially if you- also like me- represent the group on this planet who should be

prevented from dancing anywhere public to avoid humiliation}

you're gonna love this gem.

Thought of You from Ryan J Woodward on Vimeo.

how lovely and romantic.

i'm dreaming of a summer scooter ride.

i'm not really sure why i'm posting this now,

considering the fact that we couldn't be much further from

scooter riding season

{at least for us new englanders who are shivering right now}.

this summer, mr. wonderful introduced me to the world of scooter rides-

i'd pretty much been gaga over vespas since a trip to italy during college,

but riding with him was the first time i'd ever been on one.

ah-maz-ing.

so, naturally, now i really want one of my own . . .

not to mention some cute helmet to wear while riding

and, while i'm at it,

a pretty dress and accessories to wear on rides,

no matter how impractical . . .

because i'm a girly-girl and can't have it any other way.

is it just me,

or does this have fun summer afternoon ride downtown

written all over it?

. . . especially with the cute shoulder bag!

~~~

scooter: genuine "buddy"

helmet: ruby

dress: modcloth

hoodie: jcrew

sneakers: converse

sunglasses: ray-ban "wayfarer"

watch: nixon

bag: ika bags

{image via tumblr}

i've been obsessed with roxy since the 8th grade.

one might think i would have grown out of my love

for jeans and casual hoodies by now . . .

but nope!

and now that we've officially into

icy cold december new england weather

{i had a near-sliding-in-car-scare yesterday morning on the way to church!}

it's definitely time to break out the warm layers.

enter roxy's latest winter line.

doesn't it look so warm, cozy and stylish?

i even feel,

dare i say,

cute and pretty

in winter outfits that are playful

yet not too childish like these . . .

thanks, roxy;

i've enjoyed our 15 years together.

friday night dance party

in light of the recent sad post{s},

i feel like it's also important to include

a little sweet fun-ness

in for good measure and peace of mind.

so here's the song i rocked out to on my way home from the studio tonight.

hope you dig it.

happy weekend, all!

{via tumblr}

where to find warmth.

this week has been the coldest i can remember in a long while.

not because of the temperatures

{though a bitterness has been in the air lately}

but more because of where life has me and my loved ones at present.

we're in the process of bidding goodbye to my precious grammie,

the strong glue who has held my family together

since long before i was even close to entering this world.

when i am alone,

the thought of losing her

leaves the world feeling devoid of anything happy.

i can't come close to imagining life without her in it.

i hate the idea that she won't be around to see me walk down an aisle

or to knit booties for my first baby.

i know i'm not alone in feeling like now is too soon

to see her go.

but i don't get to decide when grammie goes or if she stays.

i am not God.

so, instead of wallowing in what many might call well-deserved sadness,

i am going to focus on the things i am left with-

my belief in life beyond this world

and the wonderful family God brought me into . . .

i find warmth in my quiet times with my Heavenly Father,

embraces with my cousins,

squeezes from my mother's hands,

and the glimmer that still comes from my grandmother's eyes

when i enter the room and kiss her baby-soft hair.

i find warmth in the surprise bouquet from girl friends,

scriptures of encouragement sent by mr. wonderful

and tears shed with my brother and sister.

today our hearts might be in the dead of winter . . .

but the warmth i'm given brings me comfort and hope

and the promise of spring in the future.

~~~

"the Lord is close to the brokenhearted;

he rescues those whose spirits are crushed."

~psalm 34:18

{via tumblr}