How I Spent My Christmas Vacation.

For me, coming back from New York, is not easy. Besides the 'time' thing - the internal clock being all jacked up and what not, it's a sort of decompression that takes time -lest I get the stimulus bends. My regular environment, the one I've grown accustom to, is that of crashing waves, slow moving folks {who don't seem to work} casually waving with one hand, as they saunter by my house, and the other gripping a surfboard. Coming back to this "vacation as life" world in which I live, requires, steady, breathes as I ease back to the surface.

..................................................................................................................................

Aren't you glad that I'm not going to start this post by using, as comparison, an image like this>>

honestly, I was more like this until noon most days {what. I was on West Coast time. In a hotel room. With no children}:

Or maybe I'd give it a more modern {yet no less overused, reference} and suddenly I'm....

But to be truthful, It was more like this:

Totally uncool, trying to scurry across the park on a retail mission and the next thing you know, I'm being pulled into a street performance {that's me, biting my lip, trying to figure out how to ease my way out of the debacle- oh and freezing my *ss off, as I hadn't broken out the winter gear quite yet}

and the next..... I'm eating lunch at this corner spot in Soho. While 2/3 of you are are fighting seasonal affective disorder, for us, 'winter' is a magical thing.

Food. Big part of our trip. If you're going to over indulge, go big.

eat 'till it hurts. Wear elastic waist bands if you must.

We ate our Italian in soho...not here:

Didn't go here. But wondering what Mexican food tastes like outside of L.A. I hear NYC has some of the best. Better than L.A.?

and there was shopping. and lots of window shopping {A Bergdorf's window below, fabulous as always}

and per use. the stalking of well dressed women over the age of 80

This little, Super Model minx, stood outside of Bergdorf's, with her care giver, ordering everyone with children to 'Stop and make them look at the windows. Then photograph them in front of their favorite'

Can't wait to be 80.

There was also art.

Art on walls... inside....

and out.

And great views of House Beautiful headquarters,

which I realized on day 3 while brushing my teeth as I blindly stared out my hotel window- at noon} How was Times Square on New Year's you ask?

wouldn't know.

We were asleep by 8:00 p.m.

Hope your holiday week was as exhausting as mine. Welcome back!

pie

don your elastic waist bands,

dig in

and have a peaceful day of gratitude.

i'm thankful for

each

of you.

xoxo
*M

weck glass containers

Can you tell what's on my mind this week? I'm gearing up to create hostess gifts as the Holiday invites start rolling in and the calendar begins to fill.

I'm not about to pretend that, this holiday season, I'm going to create something that involves boiling and pectin. But I think these would be great containers to can all kinds of 'dry' gift items. Anyone would love to receive, cookies, homemade hot chocolate mix, spice rubs or even homemade bath salts. They have that great, simple, utilitarian vibe that makes them 'classic'.

Or grab several yourself and replace all of those plastic, mismatched pieces you have on your shelves. Weck canning containers via Heath Ceramics.

pom pilot

Pom-poms are a great little embellishment to add to any package this time of year. I love the new candle line at Anthro. with a plush little trio of pom-poms topping off the lid.


You could buy these at any fabric store {Hart's fabric has a nice selection}, cutting them off of the gimp and gluing them in groups on top of packages, wrapped with some of the great papers available at Paper Source . Easy and elegant.

or for a less formal, you can make it yourself, using a bit of yarn. The yarn gives it a bit more of a retro DIY look, but still cute.

ready to get started? here's a great little pilot on how-to :: domestifluff