Oh sush your whining!

Found here via friend Rahree

OK...I'm the first to confess. Being sick bums me out. Granted, I'm not the grumpiest person that ever was, but I am certainty not Miss. Oh I'll be Fine either. All I can say is, thank goodness I have such a lovely boyfriend. He is so very patient. Not once did he roll his eyes or get annoyed and... he made me soup. Homemade with all the bells and whistles.

And even though I'm still not feeling up to par, I'm better than yesterday (thank you Ben and Aimee for lovely healing suggestions-zicam and ginger are running through my blood). And anyway, I'm officially taking the mind over matter approach.

Happy Friday! I feel great!

For the love of comfort

I am feeling slightly sick. It's not bad yet... but, a slight tingle in my throat, sniffles in my nose, and a pure desire to fall asleep at my desk makes me was to scream.... noooooo, not now!!! A long awaited mini-break to bright lights and sinful deeds begins on Friday and a head cold is just not in the picture. I have outfits put together, cocktails picked out, and plans to spend very little time in bed. So please, for the love of everything good in this world...go away!

 Maybe I'll just make something out of this lovely cookbook that I got for Christmas. Because even though I want to die at the awful timing of these irreversible sniffles, I do love soup and perhaps it will cure me. 

Any other healing tricks? I'll try anything!

An out of the box kind of year...

I'm not great at resolutions (even though I ALWAYS ask other people what their's are- maybe to jump start my brain into being into it). But really, one goal for the whole year? That just seems silly to me and quite frankly, very narrow minded.

So this year I'm picking something so simple that you can apply it to many life dimensions. AND, I can double it with a BIG project that I am working on at school... so really, I'm thinking outside the box....

Think outside the box #1

Think outside the box #2

Think outside the box #3

Think outside the box #4

Which color makes you THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX?

Dinner Parties and Red Sweaters

 I'm a little belated on these shots. But looking back on them, I knew I needed to share them with you.

Now that December is over I am feeling full from all the love, food, and warmth I was surrounded by. There is no doubt in my mind that holidays should only happen once a year. The intensity of food consumption and emotions is just too much to happen more than once. But I do feel so lucky to have spent it with such wonderful people, in such lovely homes.

And as you may have guessed, my new camera what attached to my hip through all of it. I already love you Nikon D5000.

Watercolor and recipes

Well, 8 days until Christmas and I finally got my holiday card done...but zero of them are in the mail. And in all reality, they probably won't be till this weekend. So if the card misses you, here it is. And you can look forward to having it in your mailbox in January. Just cross off the Holidays part and write in New Year...or you could collage it with letters from a magazine. That would be very artsy of you!

Today was cold but not nearly as cold as it has been. Temps in the single digits has essentially paralyzed this southern city, so we were all joyous to wake up to a balmy 30 degrees this morning. But still my 545am walk chilled me to my bones and all I wanted when I got home from my tromp with the pup was a hot muffin and a delicious cup of coffee. The coffee was ready (I love you) but the muffin was no where to be found. Maybe this weekend we can make one of these happen for the drive north (9 hours in the car on Sunday)...

Muffins from Jessie the Chef!

Butternut Squash Muffins....

Yield: 24 Muffins
3.5 Cups All Purpose Flour
1.25 Cups Granulated Sugar
1.25 Cups Light Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Baking Powder
.5 teaspoon Salt
2 Cups Butternut Squash Puree, ( I used one can Organic puree)
(if you can't find it, you can use pumpkin, or cook and puree a butternut squash)
.25 Cups Yogurt ( I used nonfat Vanilla, but you can use soy yogurt, or whatever you choose)
1 Cup Almond Milk ( I used Vanilla Almond Milk, but you can use Soymilk, or dairy milk)
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
.25 Cup Honey ( You can use molasses to make it vegan, but I like honey better)

Combine flour, sugars, baking powder and salt.
In a different bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients.
Put the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well, until smooth, but do not over mix.

I added dried cranberries, about three quarters of a cup or so. You can add them when you add the wet ingredients.

or.... 

Spiced Yogurt Muffins

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/spiced-yogurt-muffins

Oh hell, maybe I'll just make both.

Stolen with gratitude

There is this friend I have in Nashville and her birthday is tomorrow. (You'll notice that a lot of people in my life are December babies like me! What can I say...birds of a feather flock together.)

I could spend about two hours writing about how much she has changed my life since I moved here a year and a half ago. How much love she has given me and how much strength I have gained from watching her grow and change this past year. But that would be mushy, and who really wants to read mushy?

She has two birthdays really...December 14th and February1st. The first is the day of her actual birth (thanks Momma Lemon, you did good!) and the second is the day of her re-birth, a day in which she was able to start over. She's told me that she wants to hold off on the real celebration until February... but I couldn't let this week pass by without a note of love and gratitude for the day that made her exist in the first place.

So to honor her, I stole a poem from her blog. Us teachers have a snow day down here in Nashville. And, although there are about a million things I love about this woman, her ability to bring poems into my life may be at the top of that list. So here is one that I had hanging by my desk in graduate school, but forgot about until it showed up from her just the other day.

Love you A. Happy Birthday week.

Walking Home from Oak-Head

 

There is something
about the snow-laden sky
in winter
in the late afternoon

 

that brings to the heart elation
and the lovely meaninglessness
of time.
Whenever I get home - whenever -

 

somebody loves me there.
Meanwhile
I stand in the same dark peace
as any pine tree,

 

or wander on slowly
like the still unhurried wind,
waiting,
as for a gift,

 

for the snow to begin
which it does
at first casually,
then, irrepressibly.

 

Wherever else I live -
in music, in words,
in the fires of the heart,
I abide just as deeply

 

in this nameless, indivisible place,
this world,
which is falling apart now,
which is white and wild,

 

which is faithful beyond all our expressions of faith,
our deepest prayers.
Don't worry, sooner or later I'll be home.
Red-cheeked from the roused wind,

 

I'll stand in the doorway
stamping my boots and slapping my hands,
my shoulders
covered with stars.

 

~ Mary Oliver ~

The perfect birthday dress...

I know there are people out there that are shy about their birthday. Turns out, I'm not one of them. In fact, I like to embrace the idea of the "birthday month", a term in which the boyfriend supported beautifully by leaving flowers at my doorstep on December 1st (yes, thank you- he's perfect).

However, even though I love my birthday...shopping for the birthday dress is always a bit of a struggle Cold December nights don't offer a ton of thrilling options in Pittsburgh, PA. Thanks to ModCloth I found these...you can click on the name to get more info.

Kick Back and Relax

..colored tights and boots?

Too Nice of Night

...sparkled earing and flats?

Geode to Joy

...perhaps I am envisioning my January trip to Vegas in this frock but still, it's pretty good.

Send thoughts. I could use some help on this one. I hate internet shopping, I need to feel the fabric of something before I buy it. But it's fun to look and dream about all the exciting things I will smile about in the coming weeks....

Now, to tackle that to do list! (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)