A Puppy in the Snowpocolypse

So we didn't really get that much snow here in NYC, but further south they really got hit. Check out this guy in the snow! Love that you can see his teeth not to mention those great pawprints in the snow.

Image via Juliet M on Flickr.

Cheese or Font?

Thanks to Clarissa for this one. Highly amusing and highly addictive!

Which is it, cheese or font?

(in this case, Lancashire is a cheese...)

Handmade gift traditions

Some close friends and I have a tradition of hand-making our Christmas gifts for each other every year. It's so fun to see what kind of project each of us gets up to. Sometimes it's art, sometimes food, sometimes paper and cards. Always unique and made with time, attention and care.

This post over at Everybody Likes Sandwiches reminded me of this gift-giving tradition and how fun it can be to put so much time and effort into the little things like gift tags and labels as well.

We didn't all get together this Christmas, so we'll be having a delayed exchange. Hence, the reason it's still on my mind. But I did sent Christmas cookies. Next year, I'll have to remember this wonderfully creative label for my packaging!

Another take on ornaments

Before the Christmas season officially comes to a close, here's one more take on decorating with ornaments, pendant style.

Image via Dress, Design, Decor.

Moss Wreath

So for those of you who follow my wedding blog, you know that I have a huge crush on green moss. We even did our wedding centerpieces out of them.

My sister is also a fan, so this post is for her. Moss Christmas wreaths.

I. Love. It.

I heart eggs and toast

I'd really like to be eating this for breakfast right now. Of course that would involved getting a very large heart-shaped cookie cutter.

Post via Cup of Jo. Image via SwissMiss.

Martha Stewart Holiday Fair, Part 3: The Sweet Shop

Another highlight of the Holiday Fair was The Sweet Shop. For $5, you could fill up one of these candy-cane striped boxes below with any of the candy or cookies featured. YUM!

I'm all over the festive packaging, especially in the final image below. It's all about the gift wrap to me (at least in the giving!)

Final photo via Rachel Photo on Flickr.

Martha Stewart Holiday Craft Fair, originally uploaded by rachel.photo.

Martha Stewart Holiday Fair, Part 2: The Offices

So one of the most interesting parts of going to the Holiday Fair was getting to see the Martha Stewart offices.

They are surprisingly far West in Manhattan on 26th Street, and they overlook the Hudson River. However, there's not much else in that area.

In general, the design is very clean, white and modern. The image above is of their reception area through the glass doors to their lobby.

However, at one point we had a glimpse into the cubes inside which were surprisingly bland. In fact, Gawker did a post a while back on how the employees aren't allowed personal items.

Part three on the food at the craft fair to come.

Martha Stewart Holiday Craft Fair, Part 1

So yesterday Carine and I went to the Martha Stewart Holiday Craft Fair which was phenomenal - really just what you'd expect of Martha. It was actually hosted in a very large space in their offices.

Good thing we got there early though as it was a mob scene with VERY long lines to get in.

This is Part 1 on their Christmas displays. The tree above greeted us as we entered.



The moss at the base of the tree above is amazing, and this bird and log display was one of my favorites.

These pine cone characters above remind me of some of the decorations we had at home when I was a kid. It's the simplicity of their forms I think. They'd certainly be easy enough to make.

Many of the booths were selling products which had previously been featured on Martha's show, including these sustainable magazine trees.

Finally, I thought this gift packaging above was the cleverest display for those who are naughty. Gorgeous "coal" boxes with a gift of diamonds inside. Simply perfect!

Parts 2 and 3 to come.

NYC Macy's

NYC Macy's, originally uploaded by deadborah.

There's nothing like the holiday lights and window displays at Macy's and the other New York City department stores to get you in the holiday spirit!

Bay Leaf and Pomegranate Garland

I'm all "Martha, Martha, Martha" lately!

Since being married, I'm feeling very crafty. Especially in regard to the holiday season.

Needless to say, feeling crafty goes hand in hand with Martha Stewart. I'm impressed with this super simple bay leaf and pomegranate garland from her site. In a pinch, since I have neither, I'm thinking I can come up with alternatives for both, but still do something similar. I might make my garland from some greens in the backyard and red ornaments on it instead. Sounds like a plan to me!

Image via Martha Stewart's website.

Stained glass phone lines

bird pattern, originally uploaded by yeyanfit.

Love this compelling photo from yeyanfit on Flickr.

Taken on 8th Ave in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

Holiday Ornament Pendant

How's this for holiday inspiration?

I've been looking long and hard for a pendant light to put over our dining room table. I could do something like this as a temporary holiday feature, or I could find clear bulbs and use white ribbon for a more year-round feature. Of course, I still have to figure out how the lighting comes into play, but it's something to think about!

Images via ish and chi.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Watching the parade is a tradition in my home. So here's a little fun something for you from anniebee on Flickr.

Enjoy the holiday and be mindful of all the good things in life!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Faux fireplace filler

Some of you may recall my dilemma in regard to my fireplace mantle that has nothing but empty wall space inside of it. I've always thought it would be fun to do something interesting where the fire should be.

I played with the idea of tiny stacked logs, but I have no woodworking skills and couldn't find anywhere to buy the size baby logs I need. I even tried to post a request to Etsy's Alchemy / Custom section with no luck.

After seeing this beautiful image on Style Me Pretty, I got another idea in my head. I could just fill the space with reflective tiles and place some lighting at the base. A warm yellow light reflected off the mirrors would be reminiscent of a fire, but still abstract.

Nadinoo, blue tights, and red shoes

I'm charmed by a new blog I just found called Nadinoo.

There's tons of great photography and fashion on the site, but I'm particularly taken with this combination of blue tights and red heels.

Spinster Homemaker

My friend Clarissa just started a food and craft blog called Spinster Homemaker, and I'm seriously impressed. She's such a great, funny writer so it's entertaining, but I'm really inspired by her baking skills. So much so that I've decided to really go for it this Thanksgiving and cook and bake up a storm.

I just finished preparing a pumpkin cheesecake, so details and pics on that to come!

On top of the baking featured on her blog, every year Clarissa mails me a package of her delectable Christmas cookies. I can never get enough of them!

She just did a post on Christmas cookie packaging, and now I and determined that this year, I will also do fancy Christmas cookies! Quite appropriate for my first holiday season as a Mrs.

She even recommends a great Christmas cookie book called Rose's Christmas Cookies, which I will be buying shortly to help guide me!

Not only will I make them, but I want to get all crafty and have them look like this above!

Looking out at the Brooklyn Bridge from Harbour Lights

Alex and I went to Harbour Lights in the South Street Seaport last night. I think it's a bit of a hidden gem with phenomenal views of the Brooklyn Bridge and the East River. Depending on what you order, you could spend a lot but you definitely don't have to. Alex's fish and chips entree was only $15.

It was a foggy, misty night, but we were still able to spend a bit of time outside on their deck. The photo above is of the view from our table. The second is the view of the bridge from their deck.

This second photo is of their to-die-for Brooklyn Bridge chocolate mousse. We also had something similar at the River Cafe. So I'm not sure if they use the same vendor, have the same owner, or if one copied the other, but whatever the case, it's good!

Peru planning

Those of you who follow me on Facebook or my other blog know that we're excitedly planning a trip to Peru in May. It's been a while since I've done any international travel beyond England for work or Canada.

The flights to Peru were crazy inexpensive, and it seems as though the dollar will go VERY far there. I've just been enjoying doing a bit of research and planning for restaurants and hotels. We'll definitely be eating at some of the best restaurants. I was just reading about one that was considered to be quite expensive. Their 4-course lunches are $12! I love it!

Mostly the photos I've been coming across are of Machu Picchu, but I love this one above of a hotel in Lima.

I've also started my Spanish lessons.

Actual Buddha-Shaped Pears

These are real! Amazing Buddha-shaped pears are grown into a mold so they come out looking oh-so-Buddha-and-Zen-Like.

Post via LotusHaus.

Ooh la la!

This one is for Evelyn and Liezl!

These Norwegian cards are available from Darling Clementine.

Kitchen Curtains

Piece-y felt curtains like this in white would be perfect for our newly painted kitchen. I'm doing strands of felt circles as garland for the photo wall at the wedding, so if all goes well, I'll extend that project to our post-wedding kitchen.

Image via Design*Sponge.

40 Years in 40 Days

An incredible photo from the series 40 Years in 40 days.

Photo via Hyperbolic Pants Explosion on Flickr.

Madison Square Market

Very excited about the seasonal Madison Square Market scheduled to open here in NYC Oct 9th.

All my favorite things, outdoor markets, the park, gourmet food and handcrafted items. I definitely intend on having either a crepe or Wafels and Dinges. My favorite.

Isn't it too early for Christmas prep?

I signed up for a Christmas ornament swap on swap-bot.com ages ago. I LOVE handmade Christmas ornaments and just thought it'd be fun all around.

The premise of the swap is that you make one ornament for ten different people, then in return you get ten different ornaments.

I've gotten one so far, the swap started waaaay back in the Spring. It seemed like I had so much time to make my ornaments, but now, somehow, it's October and the deadline is early November.

So, despite wedding craftiness and chaos, I need to get cracking on my ornaments. I just realized that they are actually due the week before the wedding. Better to get them out of the way now.

So, all of that is a long-winded way of saying, wouldn't this ornament craft project be perfect? I just found it on Zakka Life. I'm pretty good at felt work and softies, so I hope this project will be suited to my skills. I of course want to wow my swap partners!

Wish me luck!

A New Shelter Magazine from the Editors of Domino

Given the state of the magazine industry these days, some former editors from Domino (RIP) have just started a new shelter publication called Lonny Magazine.

The catch, however, is that it's online only. Not a website or a blog, but a "zimbria magazine." It looks like a print piece, but you can flip the pages electronically. See what I mean here.

Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf

Alex and I are currently debating Halloween costumes, and we're leaning toward Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf.

What are you planning for Halloween?

Love this photo from Flickr...

More artwork inspiration

I'm drooling over this large piece of artwork behind reception at The London Hotel. I just posted to our wedding blog that my friends just rented a suite there for my bachelorette party! yay!

I'm also inspired to reproduce this piece for our apartment. That'd be a lovely reminder of a fun time!

Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig

Just got home from seeing the play A Steady Rain on Broadway. Personally, I'd recommend it. I found the play itself to be quite compelling, and of course sitting how many feet away from these two men isn't bad entertainment either.

It's definitely a dark story about two Chicago cops. There are a handful of pretty disturbing moments, but I liked how perspective came into play in terms of whose truth is real. The interplay between good and bad and how they can be intermingled was also quite interesting.

I snapped the shot above during the curtain call. Then we waited by the stage door to try and meet them. It was definitely WAY too packed for that, but I did snap a few shots of Daniel Craig (below). My pics of Hugh Jackman aren't even worth uploading!



Fastquez on Flickr got better photos of the two during an earlier matinee. Check out his pics here!

A Steady Rain!

I'm trying to prepare myself for tonight. Both Daniel Craig AND Hugh Jackman in a Steady Rain on Broadway! Just one more reason I love living in New York!

Beforehand, we're going to Casellula for dinner. I posted it about it last year. One of my favorite restaurants!

Perhaps I can convince Nora to wait at the side exit and see if we can meet them afterward. It worked when I saw Mark Ruffalo in Awake and Sing a couple of years ago. AND I got an autograph!