here’s a toast to new beginnings, new jobs (susan/katie!), new friendships, new goals and resolutions.
i hope you have a safe and happy evening tonight and you start the year with a BANG!
happy new year – i appreciate you!
Archive | December, 2011
this time of year with all the parties is so much fun –
down time
27 Decthis is hands down the best time of the year! I’m still in new jersey with ROF and susan and the whole fam having a great time. I hope this finds you enjoying the season too!
christmas from the east coast!
25 DecMerry Christmas everyone!! here i am in beautiful new jersey! once again, susan is going to tell us all about her family’s traditions and this year, i’m so blessed that ROF and i are a part of it!
another tradition i love
around the holidays is spending christmas day at ellen and bill’s house. my husband comes from a large and wonderful family, he is one of 10 children, and ellen is mike’s younger sister. she has a beautiful home that I have said many times is the perfect place to spend christmas. ellen and bill’s home is spectacularly decorated and there is plenty of wonderful and delicious food and drink. there are many lovely places to sit and visit with family and friends. people talk and laugh, catch up or nap, and watch the children or the tvs. People gather around fires in the fireplaces, out back near the fire pit and of course in the kitchen. ellen and bill are perfect christmas hosts.
more important then all of these things though, is the feeling of christmas. it is warm and welcome and calm and secure. i am grateful to be part of this wonderful family and to have spent so many perfect christmas days at ellen and bills house.
most unbelievable week in review
23 Decboy, i’m a very loved person!
what an incredible week i’ve had to say the least. if it seems like i’m bragging a little bit, i am. full force bragging.
the week started on monday, like most weeks do, but this was not an ordinary monday. first off, it was raining like the dickens. not a gentle pour, mind you – the kind of rain where every last leaf fell off the trees and there was a river flowing down our street. typically, my birthday week includes some sort of girls get together with friends and family from everywhere. but i didn’t have that going on this year. why? maybe i’d grown out of organizing big parties for myself? nah. i knew ROF had a lot of tricks up his sleeves so i just didn’t do it.
have no fear – suzanne is here
thanks to suzanne, she put together a small get-together with friends megen, jamie, katie and the 5 of us dashed through the storm to jamie’s new house. which is an unbelievably beautiful house – and oh so close to mine! we had crock pot meatballs, cheese, crackers and vino galore. got some good loot too – a great wine glass, book i’ve been eyeing and an awesome necklace that i had pinned on pinterest. lucky girl!
and that was only monday
flash to wednesday and this was my first day off of work until jan 3rd. what complete bliss. but of course i worked, but it just doesn’t seem like work when you’re laying on your stomach on your bed peddling away on the laptop. that night…ROF surprised me by taking me out for a pre-birthday dinner at the petroleum club in downtown dallas. just so you know where this place is… it is on the 40th floor of the building with the big hole in it – chase tower. this is a private club – you don’t even pay, dahling…you just sign for it. it’s been around since 1934 primarily for oil men (cue the music from the dallas tv show) ROF’s friend is a member and this was the second time we went there – the first being the night we got engaged. here are some pics I snapped.
our table was snug right up against the window and the view amazing. ROF started with a salad, me with my favorite – escargot ! then i had boston scrod in a lobster sauce and goat cheese polenta, side of lobster mac & cheese and mushrooms. ROF had lamb and side of sauteed spinach and asparagus. truly, we were spoiled! and an excellent bottle of vino as well. after that we went from high atop dallas to our favorite local dive – louie’s on henderson. just for a nightcap cuz that’s how we roll.
thursday was the actual birthday of me and the festivities started while i was still in the pjs. ROF gave me a beautiful new purse and the new cartier perfume. spoiled. rotten. and loving it.
and i got some fabulous cards (thank you prendevilles & karen!!) and facebook messages (isn’t that fun?) but then ROF took us both to get deluxe manicures and pedicures at my fave salon down the street. it was PACKED solid in there. these little twerps, i mean, adorable kids kept saying: “MOM WHAT IS A BOY DOING IN HERE?!” which made us giggle. some people need to realize that not everyone thinks their kids are as cute as they think they are. geez. i did snap a pic of ROF with his hands all wrapped up in towels but thought i’d have to run for cover if i posted it.
then we headed over to henderson to go to the porch for lunch. we love that place. it is like someone opened up their house to a whole bunch of people for lunch. we sat at the bar and had a lot of fun together. we love to laugh and talk. he’s the best.
then i took a nap.
but the real fun was just going to be underway. mom and katie came over and we did our christmas with them since we wouldn’t see them on the 25th. as a surprise, ROF ordered steak and all the fixings from a very awesome steak place in dayton, ohio. it was a place mom & dad went to a lot in 1967 and 1968 before they had any kids. imagine the look on mom’s face! plus the steak was absolutely outstanding. but wait…back up… first katie’s job was to bring an hor d’oerve. and she made this from barefoot contessa.
this would be puff pastry with guyere cheese and pepper salami. seems too heavy but it is not. it was heavenly. we had that with an apple martini to start the evening.
and we had steak, noodles with green onion, salad with pine club dressing.
and then as a special surprise to me… german chocolate cake with amaretto frosting… best cake i’ve ever had….
lastly, was fooling around with a new app and took some pics of the house:
thanks for letting me brag on my most fabulous week this year!! thank you ROF ! and mom, katie, suzanne, jamie – everyone.
Happy Holiday!! XXOO
planted firmly in the ground
21 Deci’ve thought all night about what i wanted to say about my fascination with trees.
no, it didn’t keep me up at night, i just couldn’t sleep. think it has something to do with the flannel sheets we sleep in. i woke up at 1:30 feeling as if i were on fire, in a burning inferno (drama) and couldn’t go back to sleep. thinking about trees did not keep me up.
but back to trees…. for as long as i can remember, i’ve had a spiritual connection with trees. think of everything they have been through – how long it took them to grow so big, how stable and unmoving they are (for the most part). staring at trees when i’m laying in bed or snuggled on the couch makes me think of one of my favorite bible scriptures from John:
5I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him,bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
specifically, i remember a tree that was outside my apartment on lasalle and chestnut in chicago. the apartment was huge and old and my room was all the way in the back down this long hallway. it had tall ceilings and old hardwood floors and got really cold in the winter. i loved that room. my bed was against the wall. i lived here when 9-11 happened and afterwards is when i started praying about moving to texas. i remember laying on that bed earlier in the morning and looking out the window at this huge beautiful tree and thinking about needing stability (roots) and wanting to bear good fruit. i knew i wasn’t going to get there in chicago doing what i’ve always done. so i moved.
i also like this poem by joyce kilmer
TREES
by: Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918)
THINK that I shall never see- A poem lovely as a tree.
- A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
- Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;
- A tree that looks at God all day,
- And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
- A tree that may in Summer wear
- A nest of robins in her hair;
- Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
- Who intimately lives with rain.
- Poems are made by fools like me,
- But only God can make a tree.
“Trees” was originally published in Trees and Other Poems. Joyce Kilmer. New York: George H. Doran Company, 1914.
all these beautiful photos are the efforts of a lot of awesome photographers i found on etsy. please click on the photos to make them bigger and click here to see details and how you can buy them
appreciating disappointment
20 Deci appreciate my sister-in-law, Susan, for being so honest:
every one of us has something that we hide, something that we are
ashamed of. and every once in a while that thing becomes exposed and
we either lose something that is precious to us, or our self esteem
takes a serious blow or we hurt someone who we would rather die than
hurt. sometimes it can be repaired and sometimes important things are
lost.
i have told my kids that it is fun to be their mother. i can say, oh
yes, he won the election, was chosen, plays D1 football, has an
amazing job, is beautiful and smart and doing exactly the kinds of
things that mothers are proud of. but obviously they have
disappointments and do things that hurt themselves and others and of
course i talk much less about those things.
recently, i finished one job in order to start another and the
situation at the job I was leaving deteriorated in a way that i am not
proud of at the very end. i was ashamed and exposed in front of my
family but i did not hide it from them. it has been so important to
me, every single day that i have had the privilege to have my
children, that i am a good mother. i felt that this time, being a
good mother would be letting my kids see my mistakes and talking to
them about being human, which means not only triumph but making
mistakes, learning from them and trying with all your might to move
forward smarter, more humble, more ready for the next thing that life
sends your way.
this week, my child had a bitter disappointment and feels remorse, as
is appropriate, and my mothers heart is broken for everyone involved.
i must say… this is life, good and bad, you are human, you will heal,
be humble, take responsibility, please God, learn from your mistakes.
and even in setback, appreciate.
appreciating doing something other than work
17 Decso i started thinking
before i started writing this blog, that i’d write about hobbies and my lack of having one. however, during the real in-depth research i do for every post, i discovered – HA! – i actually have several. i’ve also discovered that i do not like the word hobby. maybe because it reminds me of holly hobby and i always thought she was stupid. but also the word hobby doesn’t really do what it means justice. case in point, if you like designing grand pieces of abstract art that demonstrates your radical existential viewpoint on life but you don’t make a living at it, is that your…hobby? i guess so.
anyhoo
i guess a hobby i have is photography. i don’t have the fancy cameras, in fact, my phone will work just fine. i love capturing everything. what i think is important is then transferring those photos to something tangible like a book. i haven’t gone that far yet. with my photos, i like to capture a city’s beat or pulse. i like to capture moments and make them look pretty. for some reason, this year, i love capturing in-flight photos. maybe because i appreciate God’s ability to get me up in the air and give me a glimpse of the earth from 15,000+ feet. i also like ‘slice of life’ photos – for the same reason i like woody allen’s slice of life movies.
big boy
so that’s photography. now
my other love, which kinda links into yesterday’s post on home offices, is to make collages. and don’t use that term …what do they say?… can’t think of it now but it’s some french term. who knows what i’m talking about? DECOUPAGE (just thought of it) it’s not that. i like collages because i liked ripping stuff out and blowing up pictures and putting it all together as one big thing I like made of small things that i like. does that make sense? here is my work i’m so proud of. it hangs in our extra room…
these are two panels and include:
photographs taken when katie and i went to stay at the broadmoor resort in colorado after dad died – just to get away, photos of chicago landmarks for me, snippets from magazines and things that i like. i need to do more and have been inspired by the work done by eva :
lastly, a hobby i want to be able to do – actually two – one is sew and another is knit. i found some cool knitted stuff on etsy:
i love all of these – what a unique yarn scarf above and the mug warmer – adorable! you can get more info here on all of these etsy finds.
so – what hobby do you do – or what do you want to do? XXOO
the best home offices…for me
16 Decif there was one luxury i’d want in a house it would be my own office.
it is most important that ROF have his own office for all his boy stuff because let’s be honest here girls, the rest of the house is pretty much my playground for creative experimentation.
but ever since i can remember, i’ve loved my own little creative corner. a place where i can hang up inspiring things, post them to a board and just be surrounded by things that get my mind going – quotes, color, design and just, me. i read a great book by one of my favorite people luci swindoll called “i married adventure”.
this is a book i would highly recommend. luci is the most fascinating person to me. she never got married but not because she didn’t like men or love but because she was such an incredible free spirit. she sang in the dallas opera and traveled the world with them, she was a high powered executive at mobile oil a long time ago before it was even cool for women to be in high powered positions. i love this book because she spills all her best ideas and finds. for the purpose of today’s post, i bring her up because in her home, she transformed a walk-in closet to an office where she lined it with boards to pin articles and pictures that inspired her. she collected things from her travels that she kept there. one thing she did was send herself post cards from all her travels and she got them when she arrived home. sometimes she would even have strangers write a note to her on a postcard (like a bus driver, or cafe barista) that she would then send home and post in this office. i love that. it’s like an adult playhouse!
i gathered from houzz.com some of these great office spaces i found. click on the image to make them bigger.
and then these you can see details on my pinterest board located here. let me know if you need an invite to pinterest.
and then, of course, who doesn’t love office supplies.
these are also on my pinterest board, link above
vintage goods above c/o etsy, also on my pinterest board.
what would your dream room be? (other than a pantry you could step into and shove food in your mouth and none of it would count!)
around the corner
12 Dechad to post a poem our minister read us yesterday
Around the corner I have a friend,
In this great city that has no end,
Yet the days go by and weeks rush on,
And before I know it, a year is gone. And I never see my old friends face,
For life is a swift and terrible race,
He knows I like him just as well,
As in the days when I rang his bell. And he rang mine but we were younger then,
And now we are busy, tired men.
Tired of playing a foolish game,
Tired of trying to make a name.
In this great city that has no end,
Yet the days go by and weeks rush on,
And before I know it, a year is gone. And I never see my old friends face,
For life is a swift and terrible race,
He knows I like him just as well,
As in the days when I rang his bell. And he rang mine but we were younger then,
And now we are busy, tired men.
Tired of playing a foolish game,
Tired of trying to make a name.
“Tomorrow” I say! “I will call on Jim
Just to show that I’m thinking of him”,
But tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes,
And distance between us grows and grows.
Around the corner, yet miles away,
“Here’s a telegram sir,” “Jim died today.”
And that’s what we get and deserve in the end.
Around the corner, a vanished friend.
– charles hanson towne
anyone you want to call?
slumming it at the mansion
11 Decthis time of year with all the parties is so much fun –
friends, work, family and i love it all. it’s fun to get cleaned up and be wined and dined and i got to do this last thursday. ROF and i were invited to the duke party at the beautiful mansion on turtle creek.
this was a party that ROF told me was one that couldn’t be missed- not only because it was in this historic, beautiful hotel but because the people were the best. and he was right. what a treat…
the party started with cocktails and hor d’oerves, which most do, and after everyone took their seats, i noticed a sweet little blue box at all the ladies places that was oh so recognizable…
everything was twinkly and gorgeous sounding
with a set of people playing the strings in the corner. the evening started with lovely jeff turner welcoming everyone. he had his guitar and everyone sang a couple of stanzas of ‘silent night’ together. it is always awkward … singing together in a place that isn’t church or at least there is another loud instrument (like an organ) to drown you out. people are let into the fact that you are clearly mouthing it or mispronouncing words (i tend to always say “wild” instead of “mild” in silent night) but nonetheless it started out the evening with a sense of comaraderie and i loved how it made me feel – all warm and fuzzy.
dinner was outstanding: famous tortilla soup (this was where it all started with mr. dean fearing) followed by salad, lobster and filet and desert. the merlot was flowing as well. i snapped some pics as i floated around in the fairy tale land that is the mansion. we ended up floating by the bar which – i have to say – is way cool. ROF and i decided we are definitely going back there. dark and black and white with little rooms and a live band…everything a good evening should have.
view from my plate
front lobby and restaurant
ROF and good friend tim
new friends at our table
looking down from the top floor
entrance to the bar
holiday traditions
7 Deci’ve asked my family and friends to weigh in on their favorite or new holiday traditions and my bestest sister in law gladly participated. unfortunately my other friends and family named joan, katie, rof and demian did not. it’s my blog and i fully feel comfortable calling them out. HA.
so back to my bestest susan. i am thrilled to be spending a couple of days over the holidays with my east coast family this season. even more excited now that i see how she has decked the halls! i can’t tell you how in love i am with the prendeville house. high up on a hill overlooking hills and hills and trees and rivers – this house is so warm and beautiful. i can’t wait to be sipping coffee in pjs with all the prendeville’s and whipping michael and bill in gin rummy while looking out their massive picture window to the snow falling. sigh. can’t come quick enough.
thanks susan for participating – i appreciate you.
one tradition i love around the holidays
is decorating my home for christmas! i like to “deck the halls” during the weekend after thanksgiving and then enjoy my christmas house all season long. i love to sit and look at the trimmed tree with my husband in the evening when it is dark outside. i always use tiny white lights and like to squint at them and see them blur. i took these pictures last weekend. i appreciate the opportunity to share them.
5 lovely links: fire me up
6 Deci’ve got a secret obsession with candles.
i’m not sure when it started.
might have been in my 20’s in chicago when i smoked non-stop in my apartment with my friends and hated the smell so would fire up the vanilla scented votives during our pre-party parties (that is when you get together at the apartment before going out to the parties). the next day the room would smell like vanilla marlboro light with a side of lite beer. nice.
or maybe it was
when i moved into the coolest apt on lasalle and chestnut in chicago and we’d have dinner parties and the candles played a big part in creating a real funky ambiance and warmed up the room that had a tall ceiling.
i don’t know what did it and quite honestly, who cares. candles rock. they are something that is alive and kicking, the flame signifying warmth and love. and this is saying a lot from someone that also has an obsession with fire. some people don’t like candles with a scent, but i like them. i like smelling a holiday or a flower. here are some links to all things that light:
1. i’m not too into “foofy” (pronounced foo-fee) candles but this is one i had to include in the gift bags we did for our guests who came in for our wedding. i got this candle for my birthday from a friend and the minute i lit it up i loved it. it actually smells like my favorite perfume: angel. it is pretty strong but i love it. check it out here.
2. check out these creative uses for candles. i especially like the one that uses a wine rack for votives .
3. my favorite place to purchase candles is anthropologie. you pretty much can’t go wrong with this selection.
4. it’s no secret that people who never go to church go around Christmas time. and Jesus thanks you for that. when talking about Christmas, you have to talk about the candlelight services on Christmas eve. talk about love, twinkly candle lights. my favorite part is when you have to light the candle from the person next to you. if you are in dallas and looking for an great, welcoming church, check out ours.
last link #5. napastyle has great candle things. check them out here. my favorite is the mercury glass votives.
christmas lessons to learn
3 Decthe holiday season while i was growing up
was always a lot of fun for my family. we had many traditions and the sense of family was so strong that if i ever wanted to feel warm and fuzzy, i thought to this time of year. it’s why 4Q (or 4th quarter) is my favorite time of year.
my family lived in several cities. cincinnati, dayton, cleveland, troy, boston, grand blanc, brookfield, naperville and then southlake. but in every one, we had the same christmas decorations that followed us from place to place. opening the boxes of stuff was like saying hello to an old friend and decorating the house was something that a busy mom with three young kids in a new house probably didn’t want to do but she did.
my lovely grandma always came during this time of year too. i wish i could go back to the day she arrived and capture that excitement and anticipation even for a minute. it was overwhelming! i wish she was still around. her hands were so soft and wrinkly and smelled like triple lanolin hand lotion. she had a tuft of tissue peeking out from the bottom of the arm of her sweater. grandma’s are so cool. maybe i should go to the old age home and adopt one. the great thing about my grandma was that she very much “told it how it was” but in a sweet way. she had a very strong POV, which come to think of it – so do I and so does my mom. thanks, gran! having her around the house to talk to and have fun with was always a sign that christmas was near.
one year,
my mom and grandma decided to wrap all our presents downstairs in the basement together. i think they had some music set up, perhaps a little hit of chardonnay and a ton of gifts. we were older – i was a freshman in high school and katie and jim in grade school. my parents kind of went all out on christmas. they were really generous. we had a ton of presents to open typically. so this wrapping job was intense and an all day affair. well they didn’t get through it all in one day so they put one piece of scotch tape across the basement door at the top as a “safety” so they could tell if any snoopy kids went down there, and they left it for the night. well, no one IS as snoopy (to this day) as my sister, katie. however, i don’t remember her being a part of this escapade. i knew that i was going to get some of the popular clothing for christmas- all the preppy stuff. this is when preppy was really huge and i had my handbook and was following it. izod, pappagallo handbags, topsiders, argyle, wide wale cords – you name it. didn’t you read:
i truly thought it would help mom out if i were to try on some of the clothes before she wrapped them so that if they didn’t fit, she would have time to get the right size before christmas. so that night, i peeled back the tape and slowly descended the basement stairs. carefully i avoided the second to the last stair that had a creek to it when you landed on it. and wouldn’t you know it – i was right! clothes all over the place. excitedly, i stepped in and out of pink, green outfits, tried on grosgrain hairbands and penny loafers. however, the one benetton sweater that i probably would have just used to throw around my shoulders was a bit too big.
i thought long and hard how to bring this up to my mom and gran. i knew that i would be scolded for going in the basement but probably rewarded for finding out early that the sweater was too big and saving them time at the mall in that horrible post-christmas rush to return it. so i approached it carefully. both my mom and grandma had (and have) a way at looking at you – a bit sideways with upturned eyebrows – to let you know instantly that you made the wrong decision. i got one – no two – of these looks.
needless to say, this did not go over well with gran and mom and come christmas day, there was no benetton sweater to be opened at all. i learned my lesson but good. it’s ok to look but not tell.