picture perfect

I cannot stop stalking WildFlowers photography blog.  She's been on my favorites for a while and never disappoints.  It's impossible to be in a bad mood when looking at her pictures.  

Check out her website archives (especially her work with newborns and children).  It makes me want to move to sunny CA, have lots of barefoot babies and dress in flea market finds.

And check out her engagement shoot, done in Pixar's UP style.

Perfect.


B

God bless us, everyone!

Christmas eve and it is snowing, snowing, snowing.  I have to hide in our office because Tom is being all sorts of procrastinating sneaky and wrapping up my presents.  Which is giving me this spare 5 minutes to blog, because I am type A a good planner-aheader.  We just came back from a wonderful family party with lots of children, festive adults, decadent food and smooth homemade honey mead.

We wish all of you and yours the same content hearts--not content in the passing warmth and coziness of this earth.  Content in knowing that all we experience is but a glimpse through this dark glass of terrestrial life.  The sweetness we taste now, the warmth and love and comfort, will not be able to stand compared to the eternal Reality we were created to experience.  Maranatha!  Come Lord Jesus.

(Christmas card photo...I love our family of 2)

Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!

B

'The Tree of Life'

Now you too can have this playing and replaying through your head all day/week/month etc.
I've watched this trailer everyday since it released last week, and I hold my breath every time.



While we're waiting for the movie's release, we'll be re-watching the director's other movies.  Our two favorites (not that we have a large number to chose from) are 'Days of Heaven' and 'The New World'.  They are not the story-driven masterpiece that we hope 'The Tree of Life' to be, but good golly can that man prepare a visual feast.

B

what's for dinner

Tonight's menu was born of several inspirations.

#1 Whenever I've a spare moment, I run down the road to the library and browse the cooking section.  Don't think the variety/quality of my literature cramped, because it's not; it's just that I find new recipes and foods therapeutic, adventuresome and (dare I say it) invigorating.  I love Nigella Lawson in part because she's British and has great variety, but mostly because she eats like a horse and cooks like the fat southern grandmother I never had.  Anywho, a picture in her book How to be a Domestic Goddess instantly caught my eye (don't bother mocking the title...my husband has that covered). Feast your eyes on:

Sooooo, we all  love  should love onions (after all, who can resist their transformational flavors AND their ability to ward off the common cold?!?).  Seriously...I judge you if you can't take the plunge.  After seeing the photo and reading how easy it was to make, I decided to keep this recipe close at hand.  Onion pie for dinner.

Step #2 of inspiration:  We found the most epic of finds at a thrift store 2 weeks ago: a vintage tweed sport-coat for the husband.  For $4.  That fits him like a glove.  

Now, while my husband is NOT as pre-pubescent as this gem of a male model, the jacket does fit him in a similar manner.  It's complete with suede elbow patches.  Be still my beating heart.

#3.  You may be asking how a tweed sport-coat goes with onion pie.  Read on.

After reading James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small this summer/fall (and every other sequel that followed), it was with great delight that we discovered the BBC television adaptation.  We've been watching it regularly as part of our evening routine.  There is no word to describe the perfection of this television show (esp with Robert Hardy at the helm)...not even 'delightful'.  Perhaps 'scrumtrulescent' alle SNL's 'Inside Actor's Studio'.  Perhaps.

We love having our four cats, one dog and six birds while watching this program.  We also love that it's the dead of winter weather out here in Chicago, with wind chills significantly below zero.  The Yorkshire farmers--in the books and the television show--live every year in similar conditions.  They battle the elements, maintaining their animal stock and livelihood, whilst remaining salt-of-the-earth-folk.  

Bringing it all full circle: they eat heartily and dress in thick woolen tweed.  As did we tonight.

Dinner was quite delicious.  Warmed us from the inside out.

Although that may have been because we were covered in purring cats and kittens.

We love having company.  The front door is always open.

B

   

where I'm headed

Among the delights that my weekend in the city holds, I'm ever so excited to visit the 2nd biggest Anthropologie in the world.

Hold.my.horses.
(and my wallet)

So excited to visit these--

and this--

and this--

B

O Tannenbaum

Tonight our tiny Christmas tree is going up.  The apartment is most warm and cozy, compared to the bitter wind-chill that's left everything covered in ice.

Our tree is so tiny because we don't have the space...and because our four cats like to climb up the tree and knock it over (although annoying, it's not the disaster that would be if we had a 6' tall tree).  We put our Christmas tree on a table and tie it down so that it stays standing when this happens:

Oh Beaker...

While I'm waiting for the husband to arrive home from work, I think I'll make some white chocolate chip chocolate cookies.  And play Handel's Messiah.  And light my new favorite candle...at least it will smell right when we decorate our plastic tree.

And yes, my shrewd reader--I did say four cats.  We're keeping the little black kitten we've been bottle feeding.  We've named her Rousseau.  It's going to be a crowded, fuzzy, bright and warm Christmas.

B