christmas.

as i'm writing this, there are big white flakes falling through the sky. hurray! what a perfect end to a fun weekend. how were your holidays?

our christmas weekend was filled with games, 1000 piece puzzles, stuffed bellies, tears from laughing so hard, and lots of thoughtful gifts.

we started our mornings with coffee and scones, (and i decided to be festive by painting my nails with glitter.) we even tried a spicy egg-nog flavored coffee in honor of the holiday, but alas, my coffee snobbery got in the way. in fact, it was so disappointing, i threw it out and made a whole second pot of (normal) coffee.

simon's mother had decorated their house beautifully, and we played christmas tunes all day long. we also sat by the roaring fire and sipped wine. love.

and aside from all the festivities, we managed to squeeze in a quick knitting lesson for me. i am starting small, but it's so addictive. (i'm curious, do you knit?)

all in all, it was a lovely holiday, and i am a happy girl. now it's time to gear up for the next holiday... new years! xo.

give love.

hello friends! are you all ready for christmas? in our house, the cookies are baked and we are getting our bags packed to drive to maine. i'm signing off for a few days, but i will see you again next week!

in the meantime, enjoy this song. it's one of my favorites, and love that it was recently referred to as a "yogi christmas song".

here's wishing you the the happiest of holidays! xo.

p.s. thank you, heather. :)

snow and gift wrapping.

hello friends!

yesterday it snowed in boston and i couldn't be happier. i love white christmases, and the forecast looks promising. today, simon and i are spending the day lounging, crafting, reading and wrapping. :) we're also going for a walk, because walks are my favorite.

in the meantime, here is an easy little craft project i did the other day.

instructions: cut felt into holly shaped leaves, glue it to fun construction paper, (or directly to your wrapping paper), adorn with ribbon and bells, and voila! you have a sweet little gift. (in this case, for one of simon's family dogs.)

happy tuesday!

special visitors.

this week has been busy, but in the best possible way. i've had visitors from near (providence) and far (norway) and it's been so refreshing. i love the kinds of friendships that fill me up with inspiration and laughter, (not to mention, give me an excuse to take a lot of photos).

first, christine and her gorgeous, seven-week-old son came to visit. i don't think i've ever met such a good baby! he was incredibly mellow and smiley, and christine is such a natural mama. we walked around beacon hill and talked for hours about writing, marriage and babies. it was so lovely.

hello gorgeous.

sigh. meeting baby vijay did not help my baby fever. jeez! :)

p.s. christine gave me the cutest holiday gift! a handmade camera strap. i am so in love. (photo by christine too.)

then, two norwegian friends came to visit and we walked around the city all bundled up in the freezing cold. christmas lights were everywhere, they ate clam chowder, and we had a blast catching up. (and i got to speak norwegian, hurray!)

finally, today we took a quick walk around the harvard campus and spent an hour in the harvard coop. they walked out with their hands full (literally) with books... my kind of peeps.

thank you, everyone for coming! i love visitors. xo.

green and red.

all i want for christmas is permission to keep all of our holiday decorations on display until next year. what do you say, simon? :)

p.s. this is my new favorite holiday song. thank you, lynette, for sharing it with me.

p.p.s. the second photo is from a shop window. those gorgeous candlesticks aren't mine... yet. :)

happiness is...

over the weekend, simon surprised me with an early christmas present. seeing as i am the most impatient person in the world when it comes to exciting things like holiday gifts, i took this as a sign that a) he knows me all too well and b) it was going to be good.

and i was right. :)

i unwrapped a dvd of the 1952 mickey mouse christmas film that i used to watch when i was a little girl. have you guys ever seen it? it's a classic!

as we snuggled up to watch it, i felt like i was transported back in time. and yet, there i was with my husband. wow, when did i become a grown-up? nevertheless, we laughed like little kids and then fell asleep.

it was the perfect holiday "date night" and a sweet way for us to kick off our first christmas as husband and wife.

so, tell me, do you have any little, quirky holiday traditions from your childhood that you now share with your significant other?

(photo credit: 625lineas)

scenes from new york.

as you know, last weekend simon and i drove to new york city. it was one of those perfect weekends. the air was crisp, the streets were lined with christmas trees, and i walked arm in arm through the village with some of my best friends in the world.

this was the view from our hotel. that being said, we stayed up until the wee hours of the night talking to our friends over glasses of wine, so we barely saw it. (in retrospect, this may be why i came down with a cold, but it was so worth it.)

even though i lived in new york city for many years, i still feel like a tourist every time. but i love that some things never change, like the subways and the metro cards. (i also love my fingerless gloves even though they're not practical when it's freezing outside.)

we visited rockefeller center and saw the giant tree! we also saw the saks 5th avenue christmas display (above) which was really cool.

and last but not least, here are some pictures of my friends. they might kill me for posting these... but they're so cute, aren't they? :)

i feel so lucky to live so close to the city, and have friends that make us french-style pastis cocktails, take us to fabulous restaurants, and make us laugh. simon and i are still smiling. xo.

i love this time of year.

hello friends! how was your thanksgiving? ours was lovely... we drove up to maine, spent time with our family, practiced a little yoga, ate a lot, watched movies, snuggled with our nieces and decorated our house for christmas! (we don't waste any time.)

here are a few snapshots from the weekend:

we took a little walk around kennebunkport and stopped into this adorable coffee shop for peppermint mochas.

have you ever seen such a cute to-go cup?

christmas decorations are popping up everywhere and i couldn't be happier. is it just me, or does this fake snow look really good? :) we put our (tiny) tree up yesterday and it makes me ridiculously happy.

the smallest, sweetest little vintage christmas book in the world. i want.

anyway, starting tomorrow, i'll be kicking off a month of holiday-related posts: crafts, gift guides, my favorite holiday traditions and much more. i hope you are all enjoying your weekends! see you soon. xo.

two thousand and ten.

i am really excited about 2010. it's the year i'll walk down the aisle, become mrs. simon, and also become a yoga teacher. huzzah!

but for now, simon and i are both sick; i burst into tears late last night because i felt so sorry for myself (and decided the best solution to all of my troubles was to take them out on simon who had just arrived from the airport); and last but not least, our condo is cluttered in reminders that christmas is over. wah.

it's a good thing we have lots of red wine and a steak dinner to look forward to later. :)

happy new year!

(photo credit: jordan blanchard)

our christmas in photos.

how was your christmas? (or if you don't celebrate, how was your weekend?)
i have missed you all and am happy to be back... although i am always bummed when christmas is over. sigh.

it's a good thing that 2010 is just around the corner! i love an excuse to celebrate.

holiday hair.

i am so ridiculously in love with this braided messy updo. wouldn't it be so chic for a holiday party? i may have to try it.

(photo credits: suzy puzz)

cutest ornaments you've ever seen.

these felt hand sewn ornaments are just so sweet, don't you think?

tell me, do you make your own ornaments? simon's family has a tradition of making ornaments every year, and i love it. maybe i can convince them to make these next year. that camera is awesome.



(credit: lupin shop)

my favorite christmas flicks.

every year i love to curl up on the couch and watch the same holiday movies over and over again. they really make me happy.

(i know some of these are only loosely related to the holidays, but hey... i still love them!)

what are your favorites?