Saturday, December 31, 2011

I Only Bought One!

Two photos/posts today! Please to enjoy the interior of the rare book room of The Strand bookstore (est. 1927) on Broadway. Sigh.

Snuggling

Me lying on my best friend's apartment floor with her dog/my doggie niece. One of the best parts about visiting NYC, in my opinion.

Friday, December 30, 2011

A Moveable Feast

At Cannibal NYC tonight. In heart-swooning love with the beer fridges in the entrance. <3

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Schwag

Somebody finally started using up some of her Christmas gift cards (from this year & last).  Look at the haul from trips to T.J Maxx and Old Navy!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

'Tis the Season

Whew!  Busy last few days - spending time with family, giving and receiving gifts, and eating, eating, eating.  But I remembered to take a photo each day!  Please enjoy December 25th-28th.  And a belated Merry Christmas!




Saturday, December 24, 2011

Blessings & Light

I am so blessed to have my husband home with me this year.  In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it's sometimes easy to forget how much that means.  But tonight, when this candlelit photo was taken at my church and we all sang "Silent Night," he was right next to me.  And that means soooo much.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Friday, December 23, 2011

Second Verse . . .

. . . slightly different from the first.  Our dining room table, cleared of the wrapping materials of last night and ready for our dinner party tonight.  We're not hosting Christmas anything this year, so it's nice to think that at least our friends will get to enjoy our Christmas decorations.

Also - the plaid tablecloth and the silver candlesticks belonged to my mum's mother, who lived in this house for forty-three years.  I love that.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

No Rest for the Weary

Well, those weary of seeing my Christmas prep, that is.  I'm doing ok over here!  We had our weekly pizza night tonight - watched a bunch of TV and enjoyed takeout pizza, two things we really only do on Thursday nights.  Then, after the shows were over, I wrapped up the final half-dozen presents and off they went under the tree!

I'm pretty content this Thursday night.  I'm a bit tired from a busy week, but one more workday and I'm staring down the barrel of eleven blissful days off.  I'll take it.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Sick of It Yet?

Getting tired of seeing my Christmas decorations yet?  Tonight, I wrapped a spare strand of lights around the banister and the pine garland that I put up weeks ago.  It's so lovely and bright that we don't even need to turn on the stairway light to go up & down.

I also added some newly arrived Christmas cards to the ribbon card hanger I made the other night for the back of the front door - will try to post a photo of that tomorrow.  And with the help of my handsome husband, finished off the last four cards & wrapped about 75% of the gifts.  Huzzah!

Welcome!

Tonight, the final Christmas decorations went up, including a new lit garland that Justin put up while I was at work.  It was heaven to pull into the driveway and see the front door (with its lovely wreath) all lit up!

After I got home, we baked 62 cookies for the staff & volunteers at one of my museums and 27 cupcakes, as well.  The cupcakes were meant for both the museum stuff tomorrow and for our dinner party on Friday.  However, half of them didn't get cooked long enough and collapsed after coming out of the oven.  So we decided to just salvage the good ones for our dinner party.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Home Sweet

I love my living room at all times of the year, but I really love how inviting it looks with Christmas lights on the tree and in the window.  Makes coming home even more more enjoyable!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Christmas Cookies!

A lovely day at the lake today, featuring pancakes, a soak in the hot tub, and Christmas cookies with the little monkeys!

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Oh, Brother(s)!


 Two photos, and monkeys, for the price of one today!  Above are shots of Things 1 and 2 watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas."  Too sweet.  The shot of Thing 2 was actually taken from above/behind the chair he was in, because he hid his face when he saw me with the camera.

Friday, December 16, 2011

A Big Present

A sweet puppy underneath her grandparents' tree. We're at the lake house this weekend and looking forward to some Christmasy family time.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Let Us Gather

Pictured here is the cool ceiling of Meadhall bar in Kendall Square.  I met a grad school friend and some other EMPs (emerging museum professionals) here tonight for happy hour.  Their beer selection is really impressive and definitely going to bring Justin back to try some.  Besides, with a name like that, how can an Beowulf-and-Old-English loving dude like himself not like the place?

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Base Camp

Tonight's photo was inspired by this one over at Chez Larsson.  Hers is much better, but I kinda like mine, too.  After a long and kind of busy day (split between two museums), I had to endure a 90-minute commute home.  That's twice what it should be and the last 45 minutes was just sitting in traffic within 10 miles of home.  Boooooo.

However, I came home to a lovely glass of wine already poured and an equally lovely dinner.  That was followed by a few hours of lolling about on the sofa - drinking wine, admiring the lights on the tree, and reading stuff on the interwebs.  Plus a short dance party interruption.

I read a post on someone's blog today about their first year of marriage being equal parts "cocktail hour before dinner" and "sofa forts on the weekend" and I loved it.  If I can find it, I'll re-post.  Tonight reminded me how much fun my own marriage can be.  I'm glad I have it/him.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

The CIC

Don't buy into the Christmas industrial complex, man.  Tune in, drop out, and recycle your poinsettia year to year.

I hadn't expected much from this experiment - it really just stemmed from my desire not to throw the plant away after last Christmas.  There are some really complicated instructions out there for reflowering your poinsettia, but I just treated it like any other houseplant.  Kept it near the window in decent sunlight and watered it once a week.

And now here we are, less than two weeks to Christmas and as you can see above, at least four of the leaves have gone red.  Lovely!

Monday, December 12, 2011

A Little Late to the Game

Guess who took the photo for and ordered their Christmas cards tonight?

The poor pup, though.  She had been sound asleep, but we knew we had to get them ordered tonight, so we lured her downstairs with dog biscuits.  She looks like she figured out the trick and just wants to be back in bed.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Army Weekend

Two photos for the price of one today.  Saturday's is above, of a sergeant in Justin's battery giving the "artillery punch speech" at the holiday party.  The bucket to hold the punch and the various ingredients (9 different liquids, ranging from Hawaiian Punch to cognac) are behind him on that little table.  After the punch was polished off, a bunch of us went out on the town in Portsmouth.  Good times.

And someone was very happy to see daddy when he got home early from drill this afternoon!  Well, two someones, really.  :)

Friday, December 09, 2011

Prepare for Launch

Walking in the South End of Portsmouth today, I looked up and saw the above scene over at the Peirce Island boat launch.  It's the new gundalow, ready to hit the water tomorrow morning!

I had been hoping to go the launch, but I have to work at one of my museums (storytelling by the fire in our 1710 house, then crafting Christmas ornaments & doing a scavenger hunt back at the museum).  Then, we have Justin's army Christmas party at night.  Look forward to some . . . interesting photos from that one, probably very interesting once we get into the artillery punch!

Pay Attention

It's after midnight, but this is my photo for Thursday.  We were in town a few hours ago picking my brother-in-law from the airport.  Boston's Mayor "Mumbles" Menino declared a midnight deadline for the Occupy Boston camp to disband and leave Dewey Square.  It's now thirty minutes past the deadline and nothing has happened yet.

Obviously, time will tell and the story may be very different when I wake up in the morning.  However, for now, the eviction of one of the Occupy groups in a large city (MY city!) has remained peaceful.  I hope to write more about the Occupy movement in the future, but for now, here's what I think.  

There are major groups of people, protesting in major cities across the United States and despite the perceived lack of a clear message, there's something here.  People are unhappy with the way this country is going and they're not afraid to stand up and say so.  If you're not paying attention, you should be.

Wednesday, December 07, 2011

The Good Husband

Hee hee.  The things I make him do . . . both for the blog and for Christmas.

Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Dressed

Ta da!  I know the lights make a streaky line across the photo, but it's late and I'm tired.  And I love our tree.

Monday, December 05, 2011

O Tannenbaum

Front and center is our tree, in its not-natural-per-se-but-not-yet-settled-indoors state at the tree lot!  We got it in the door (not without stress), into its stand, and strung with lights tonight.  All while enjoying some Bailey's-laced hot cocoa.  Next up, ornaments!  Look for a decorated tree photo tomorrow night.

Sunday, December 04, 2011

Party On

Today was a busy day for us!  Up at 8:30 to wrap some Yankee swap gifts and start some stuffed mushrooms for my work holiday parties this evening.  Then off across town for a birthday brunch for my sister, then back to her house for cake and gifts after brunch.  Then home to finish the mushrooms, "plate" the bagel chips & bruschetta, and walk the pup.  A little after 3, we were off to Work Holiday Party #1, then after a couple of hours, on to Work Holiday Party #2!

It is any wonder that we climbed right into bed when we got home around 9:30?

Saturday, December 03, 2011

A(nother) Walk in the Woods

Lovely afternoon today, hiking about Blue Hills with the husband, Sadie-pup,  five of my college friends, and Sadie's boyfriend Lou (the chocolate lab of my friends T and T).  Later Muppets movie plans were slayed by heavy traffic and our evening commitment to babysit the monkeys, but I was glad to at least have that hour or so in the woods with old friends and dogs.

Friday, December 02, 2011

Insert Sad Trombone Noise

Guess whose 46-year old kitchen door's lock finally went this morning?  Yup.  We realized as we were about to leave for Portsmouth (me to work, Justin to do some army stuff).  I called my mother (who is also our landlord) and she relayed the search for a locksmith to my sainted father.  Who then spent the rest of his day playing phone tag with locksmith companies and trying to get one who could meet us after 5 when we returned home.

He finally landed one (a Russian dude with a very thick accent) and he met us at the house.  Our lock was too broken to pick, so he had to whip out the drill and just tear it up.  Which, hilariously, didn't bring the dog running.  As Justin said on the porch over the noise of the drill, "Worst watchdog ever."

$200 and an offer from the Russian locksmith for a hit of weed* later . . . it was done and we're safely on the right side of the door.  And the old lock still works, as long as you lock it from the inside, so that's nice.  Potential robbers, take note.

*to relieve the stress of getting locked out, we think?

Thursday, December 01, 2011

Silly

Someone didn't know he was posing for the photo of the day . . .