Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and yours a very merry Christmas!  These digital SLR images are from Christmas 2010 (featuring our Philly condo windowsills that I still miss).

 

December 2010

In just a few days we’ll be heading to my parents’ house in New Jersey for Christmas.  I’m definitely looking forward to a few days away and having some time to recharge before 2013.  These are some of my favorite digital SLR images from December 2010 in NJ.  I’m hoping for a little snow before we say good-bye to 2012.

We belong to each other.

It has been difficult for me to fully process the horror of what happened in Newtown, Connecticut this past Friday.  I think of those innocent children, only six- and seven-years-old, and of the teachers and administrators who lost their lives trying to protect their students, and all I can think is “why.”  Such senseless loss of life. 

It is hard to accept that one human being could do this to another.  I keep asking myself: How does this happen?  What can we do to prevent this from happening again?  In the days following the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, I came across this quote by Mother Teresa.  It has stayed with me.

Snaps: Christmas in our NYC Apartment

I can hardly believe that Christmas is less than two weeks away...  I love this festive time of year, and although our New York City apartment doesn’t have the space for too much in terms of Christmas decorations (makes me miss our Philly windowsills – to be revisited in a future post!), I still like putting a little bit of the holiday touch in our living space.  These are a few Instagram snaps of some bits of Christmas in our daily lives.

From top: (1) Christmas tree coffee cup, (2) first gift wrap of Christmas 2012, (3) our pile of Christmas ornaments, sans tree, (4) blurred twinkle lights

On the Menu | 2

I’m in full-on Christmas mode (Christmas music, twinkle lights, evergreen candles...), but somehow found myself putting together a menu that felt more appropriate for summer or fall than winter.  I only discovered kale a few years ago, but it’s now one of my favorite vegetables (a flash sauté in very hot olive oil, finish with lemon juice and a dash of sea salt – delicious!).  I’ve made spaghetti with braised kale (recipe via Bon Appetit) several times, so I’m sure to like the spaghetti with kale and lemon recipe I’ve linked to below.

Sources:

(1) cava sangria

(2) clams in a light fennel & shallot broth

(3) spaghetti with kale & lemon

(4) fried donuts  

Snaps: ABV

Recently, our good friends introduced us to this great little place called ABV on the Upper East Side (97th and Lexington).  Delicious food, good drinks, cool and relaxed vibe... my kind of place.  Here are a few iPhone snaps from our leisurely meal at the bar at ABV. 

Above: edited with VSCO Cam and Snapseed

Some food recs - everything we got was terrific: kirby (cucumber) kimchi, super fries (topped with caramelized onions & dik dik sauce), fish tacos, fall gnocchi (I think this was my favorite of the night), and for dessert – pot de crème (fruition chocolate, Turkish coffee, & charred fluff).

Recipe Files: Bon Appetit’s Oven-Roasted Flounder with Bok Choy, Cilantro, and Lime

This recipe is from the “Fast, Easy, Fresh” section of the Decmeber 2012 issue of Bon Appetit magazine.  The preparation is really straightforward, and the end result incredibly delicious. The sauce alone – soy sauce, rice vinegar, lime juice, scallion, ginger, and cilantro (with some vegetable oil whisked in) – was just amazing.  I will definitely be making this flounder dish again.  Click here for the recipe on Bon Appetit’s website.

iPhone photo edited with Snapseed

Moon + Jupiter

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  My husband and I enjoyed a fun trip to Dallas, and now we’re both back into the whirlwind of work before Christmas.  I’m swamped at work, so just one post for the week... this is an Instagram photo of the moon and Jupiter that I took last night.

A few notes:

I am incredibly excited to have a few orders of my first Minted design trickling in.  A big thank you to my first crop of “official” customers!

I didn’t participate in Black Friday or Cyber Monday, but did decide to treat myself to a lovely Instagram calendar by one of my favorite photographers, Alice Gao.  Twenty-five percent of November purchases will go to Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.

Happy Thanksgiving

Today is my favorite holiday.  I realize that Thanksgiving is followed by Black Friday and what is essentially the official start of holiday shopping madness, but for me this day still feels stripped down to the things that truly matter – being grateful for my wonderful family, my friends, and the good fortune that I’ve had in my life.

The photos in this post are from “Philly Thanksgiving” that we hosted back in 2010.  It was a fun and delicious potluck (pre-actual Thanksgiving) dinner with a group of good friends.  The flowers are an arrangement that I bought for the dinner.  I asked the florist for something that felt autumnal, and even two years later, I think she captured it perfectly.

Wishing you and your loved ones a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

A Dressed-Up Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is just a few days away, and I thought I would kick off the week with some inspiration for a fancy Thanksgiving dinner party, spectacular letterpress invitations and all.  I’m not usually drawn to blush colors, but recently I found myself Pinning one pale blush image after another, and this inspiration “board” came together in my mind.

Image sources:
Paper Love: woven paper & Balzac cards
Decor: wine, garland, balloons, & table setting
Dress: BHLDN regalia & chrysanthemum  

Seeking Calm

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, it feels like the holiday season is officially in full swing.  The end of the year always feels a bit frenzied, and I have to remind myself to take a few moments to relax and clear my mind.  I love the bright, serene feel of the room below.

Image source

Happy weekend!

On the Menu | 1

I enjoy cooking, and wish that I had more time during the week to prepare our dinners.  While I’ve been trying to gather new recipes that are “quick and easy,” it’s still fun to dream about more complicated, involved meals.  Below is the first in a series of dream menus that I’ll be sharing with you on the blog.  I’m hoping to make the crispy brussels sprouts with garlic aioli tonight!

Sources:

(1) elderflower champagne cocktail

(2) crispy brussels sprouts with garlic aioli

(3) spinach gnocchi

(4) chocolate cake with salted caramel frosting

Snaps: Snowfall in the City

We’ve been subjected to quite the stretch of extreme weather here in New York City.  It was a bit difficult to comprehend a snowy nor’easter so soon on the heels of Hurricane Sandy, but this past Wednesday arrived with a hefty dose of wind, rain, slush, and snow.  It made for a cold and slippery, yet beautiful (I love the atmosphere of the first image), walk to the Roosevelt Island tram.  I had to pause to snap a few iPhone photos along the wintry commute home.

Happy weekend!

Vote

On this Election Day I hope that all of you who are eligible will go out and vote.  I still remember the excitement and pride I felt when I was able to vote in my first Presidential Election.  The election was during my sophomore year of college, and unfortunately, I had missed the deadline to request an absentee ballot.  However, not voting was not an option, so I made the trip back to my hometown (luckily in the same state) to cast my ballot.  This year, I will be at my polling place bright and early before heading out to work.

For New Yorkers who have been displaced by Hurricane Sandy, Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed an executive order that allows individuals to vote by affidavit ballot at any polling place (however, only the Presidential and US Senate races will be on the ballot).

Happy Halloween!

We are grateful and lucky to have made it through Hurricane Sandy with no major damage.  Hoping for a quick recovery for everyone in the affected regions.  

I wanted to share a bit of holiday cheer with an old (circa 2010), but favorite photo of some mini-pumpkins I purchased at the Headhouse Square Farmer's Market in Philadelphia.  Wishing you all a safe and happy Halloween.

Snaps: Mohonk Mountain House

In mid-October, I was at Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, NY for my department’s annual retreat.  Mohonk is a truly beautiful place, and the grounds offer some great hiking opportunities.  Below are some favorite iPhone photos from my brief stay at Mohonk.  The first eight images were taken using Instagram.  The last two were taken with the iPhone camera (not using any special camera program).

I hope those of you in the path of Hurricane Sandy are staying safe!

Floral Stylings: Tulips

I spotted these tulips on a recent trip to Whole Foods, and two bouquets made the trip home with me.  I love the pattern on the yellow and pink tulips, and the bright red tulips were too cheerful to pass up.  The first image is taken with my digital SLR camera, and the last three images are via my iPhone.

Dogear Press Projects: Available on Minted!

I am incredibly excited to announce that a Dogear Press design is available for sale on Minted!

For those of you who may not be familiar with Minted, it is an online stationery store that sells the designs of independent graphic designers from all over the world.  Minted holds frequent design contests for a variety of themes (e.g. wedding invitations, holiday cards, calendars, etc.), and the community’s favorite designs (which are determined by voting), and a collection of Editor’s Picks are printed and sold on Minted. 

Needless to say, I was thrilled when my entry for the Happy 2013 (New Year’s photo cards) Challenge was selected as an Editor’s Pick.  It’s an amazing feeling to see a product that I designed available for sale via such an incredible community.

Bottom two images via Minted

You can customize the front with any photo you like (the photo of Stephen and me is from the rooftop of our Philly condo building, taken by Joy Moody).  The design is available in two different color schemes, and also as a flat or folded card.  For the flat cards, I designed the striped backer that is shown above, and I also designed the striped envelope liner that can be used with either card.

Minted has a huge range of really beautiful products, so I encourage you to visit their website and do some exploring!

My New Year’s card is available here, and my Minted designer page (which I hope to fill with future work!) is here.

PS: Click on the Minted badge on the right side of my blog, and take advantage of the 10 percent discount code on my design!

Happy Weekend

I love this dreamy, pre-sunset photo that I took from the Roosevelt Island tram a few days ago.

Wishing you a happy weekend.  We’ll be celebrating the first birthday of our cutie-pie nephew!

Traveled: Haedong Yonggungsa Temple

It’s been awhile since my last post about our Korea/Hong Kong trip this past spring (fingers crossed that I get through all of the images before 2012 ends...).  The photos in this post are from a morning spent walking around a beautiful Buddhist temple in the northeastern region of Busan.  Haedong Yonggunsa Temple is unique for its ocean-side location and 108 steps down to the temple grounds.  I found that being so close to the sea intensified the lonely, yet spiritual atmosphere of this temple.