Christmas

Merry Christmas my dear readers, whomever you may be. I will be spending Christmas in Clearwater with my family, my extended family and on and on. My gift to you is Michelle White. She is a beautiful illustrator that I've loved for quite some time. I toy with the idea of getting a piece of her's tattooed. Have a wonderful holiday and I'll see you on the other side!

Alma

Alma from Rodrigo Blaas on Vimeo.

I LOVE this little short. It is completely creepy, but so beautifully animated.

Pregnant

No I am not pregnant. Honestly, this is the first year of my life that I am unsure if I want to be. Luckily both Mike and I are in the same place of not knowing where we are on the baby issue. That doesn't stop me from just adoring babies and pregnant women. Both are radiant and beautiful and so full of LIFE (both figuratively and literally!) The above photo is by Ryan Marshall of his wife Cole (she is fierce!) He has shot a whole series of photos of Cole leading up to the birth of their baby girl Tessa. They are stunningly amazing. That statement can be used for his photography work in general. I love finding wonderful photography like this. Always so very inspiring.

Delightful

I recently made a post with a great item from Delight.com. Since then I've come to just love that site! What a great find!! I wanted to share some of my other favorites design elements from the site. Like these excellent bookshelves. Books don't need to be contained in wood! Let them be their own bold decorative piece!

The death of the Polaroid is quite honestly devastating.  I love that these little frames help keep the tradition alive in a little way.

Speaking of Polaroids (and off subject from Delight - I know), you simply must check out Kerry Ball's photography! She is a wonderful photographer in both digital and Polaroid mediums. Her collages are stunning!! (as you can see!)

Snow

It is almost Christmas dear readers!! How positively perfect is this scene from DC?! Doesn't it look just like a movie set?? I want to be one of those people bundled up, happily shopping, Starbucks in hand. Of course that all sounds far better to me because I'm a non-snowed in Floridian. Confession - I've never seen snow. Ever. It is, in fact, an experience I long for with every fiber of my being. Seeing snow is on my bucket list. Every year I think, this will be the year we take the drive just to SEE the snow and come back. I was teased with the possibility this year again. Now I'll probably just wait till next year and hope for the best! Till then, I'll keep looking at lovely pictures like this and day dream about snow, snow, snow, snow - SNOW!

(picture by Bullneck)

Cheesy

I love cheese. More than I should. Aren't these cheese knives just fantastic?! I love it when cute and functional meet! And until December 30th you can get them at 20% off thanks to InStyle (use code INSTYLE09)! Buy them at Delight.com.

Alice

I am just going to put this out there. I love Alice in Wonderland. A lot. Tell me who cannot relate to a story about finding yourself (both literally and figuratively) in the middle of a crazy place with crazy people. Is that not every typical day for most people? I know it is for me. I also loved the wonder of Wonderland. The beauty. I think Brandi Milne captures those feelings perfectly in this painting. (Which is both available in print form and Gelaskins form!)

After watching Alice on Syfy, my Alice obsession has really been kicked into high gear. I thought I'd put together my list of Alice inspired things that I just love.

Anthropologie makes the most beautiful and unusual things for the home! I just love this tea cup lamp. Perfect for any Alice themed room.

How unique is this bracelet by Tom Binns! I love the cut pieces of tea cup linking it all together. This is from an upcoming line he has put together in conjunction with Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. Which yes - I am just on pins and needles waiting for it to be released! (picture by Jens Mortensen)

The tiny little mushroom is adorable!!! I just imagine Alice slipping it right into her pocket after she takes a bite! (via YellerCracka)

Aren't these just the most amazing Alice inspired pieces of furniture you've ever seen in your life! Walking around your house would feel like falling down the rabbit hole! (via dust*furniture)

There is no way I would be able to wear these heels - but - how very (sexy) Alice are they!! The little tea cup heel is just killing me! (shoes by Mui Mui)

Wouldn't this Alice invitation be the perfect way to announce an Alice themed event! (via whatkatyhad)

I love the idea of putting out drink bottles at that event with these tags on them. (via pinkcherrymama)

Postsecret

PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death and God from Frank Warren on Vimeo.

Simple truths are beautiful.

Traditions

I just read about a friends joy at watching her children's excitement when looking for the "Christmas Elf" each morning. I've never heard of this tradition, but upon doing some googling, I've totally fallen in love with it. Whenever Mike and I have kids, they will certainly be visited by the Christmas Elf! But this got me thinking about my Christmas traditions. Though a small list, they are all close to my heart:

• Putting the tree up (especially with my Mom) - I understand that doesn't sound like a tradition, but the way Mom always made that time special - it was and it was always the weekend after Thanksgiving.
  
• Shopping with Mom the first weekend in December.
• Baking cookies - Spritz Cookies are a must, and these Italian cookies are a new/old must. We would make these cookies for Easter actually, but I just LOVE them for Christmas. The Nobel Pig posted this spot on recipe last year.
• Grandma (and now Grandpa) Angel - After my Grandma passed away when I was 4, Mom would hide a Christmas present for me to find after opening all my other gifts that would be from Grandma Angel. It was a wonderful way to keep Grandma a part of my life and make me feel like she was still watching over me.
  
• Late Night Christmas stocking shopping - My husband and I started this our first Christmas together. We would stay up late and go to someplace like Walmart, go our separate ways with a small budget to buy silly little gifts that we would then go home and immediately open. This is also repeated for Easter baskets. 

In addition to that main list are also watching White Christmas, driving around Riverside to see the Luminaries and the Blow up house, baking my pumpkin bread, and probably a few more things I can't think of now.

So I'm wondering, what other traditions are out there. What are traditions that you hold dear? I'm always looking for things that keep the holiday spirit going!

Blessings

It is a cold rainy day here in Florida. Very rare, but somehow appropriate for the less than stellar day I'm having. I listen to Pandora while I work, and just now the perfect song came on - Count your Blessings Instead of Sheep by Rosemary Clooney. Not only an all time favorite (and from my favorite holiday movie), but a good reminder that even on bad days, I still am blessed. What blessings are you counting today?

StoryCorps

This experience is one of the best things I've ever done. It lived up to every expectation I had for it. I asked mom one simple question - what were your happiest times, but I asked her that question in relation to the people that were most important in our lives. Every person I asked her about, besides me, has passed away, but it is our memories that live on.This recording will always help me remember mom and her happy times - and my happy times with her.

Check StoryCorps out for yourself. I promise you both laughter and tears. I strongly suggest if the mobile unit is in your area (or if you are lucky enough to live near a permanent unit) to take advantage of the opportunity. You'll be happy you did.

Macarons

This, my friends, is the first bite of the first macaron I've ever had. For years I've been dying to have one. I've drooled over countless pictures and recipes.

Macarons are a traditional French pastry and this one was worth the wait. There are no bakeries around me that make macarons (I had this in Vegas), so now that I've had one - I'm just going to have to make them myself. And let me tell you, I am scared! Making these little suckers is all about technique.

Generally my baking skills are good, my technique - that could use some work. But I love a good challenge, especially in the kitchen. I'm going to us a chocolate recipe from a great resource - David Lebovitz. So if you are interested in going down this rabbit hole with me, stay tuned as I soon will be tackling this on my own!

In the meantime - look at all these beautiful macarons (and get a head start on making some for yourself if you dare!)

 

Updates

She had no idea, but he had her phone ready to go for her too. You can see his actual tweet here!

Daydreaming

It is gloomy outside and I can't help but wish I was somewhere else.
Like maybe Venice or Las Vegas - or both!
(side note: This was my first mobile blog!)

Wish

I am loving this cute intricate little bag from Starbucks and all their Christmas wish stuff. Always keep making wishes!

Winter

I am a born and raised Florida girl. I hate the summers and long for winter. The first winter I spent here in Jacksonville, I purchased my first scarf, hat and glove set. I didn't know what I was missing my whole life! The coziness they provide is like a hug all day long. This winter season I'm obsessed with fingerless gloves. Look at how cute these two pairs are from gknits and Evelda's Neverland (both on Etsy).

Wedding

Originally uploaded by trishybee

Two things you should know about me - I just got married and I am slightly
obsessed with Paris. It was only fitting that those two things were able to be mashed up in one beautiful evening.

Now...granted...it wasn't the REAL Paris, but it was as close as our budget was going to allow us for right now (We are planning a REAL Paris honeymoon at some point.) The evening was everything I wanted it to be. Fun, romantic, intimate, stress free. Las Vegas was more than I expected it to be. A wise friend told me if I went to Las Vegas without expectations it would give me everything I needed from it - she was 100% correct. I whole heartedly recommend you following her advice whenever you visit.

Pictures

best homemade polaroid camera ever
Originally uploaded by girlhula

This photo and I - it was love at first site. Additionally, I love this little girl who made this camera for her supreme creativity and attention to detail and her mom's wonderful pictures. Check hula seventy out!

What?

bliss - n. complete happiness

It also happens to be my favorite word. To me it is an onomatopoeia. To me it sounds like happiness. Hold that s.... now say it again... blissssssssss. Happiness.

brio - n. enthusiastic vigor

Italian in origin, as am I, and completely encompasses how I am approaching this blog.

What better words to use to collect all the random things I see that I love, that tickle me, that make me cock my head to the side and say....huh?

I'm always keeping a mental collection of those things I find on the web, in the stores, on the street. Might as well collect them all in one place.

Maybe one of you will fall in love, be tickled, say huh?

First

I'm going to be honest from the start - I'm a terrible blogger. I enjoy blogging, I really do...it just is that I am terrible at keeping up with it.

There are many a blog in my past. They first started off as journals - the real paper kind. Does anyone even remember those anymore? I would write and write and write, read it all, realize I am ridiculous, and the journal would be history, trashed, torn apart. As I moved onto the internet, I refrained from deleting my past journals. They still are up, waiting for me to show interest again, but secretly hoping I forgot about them so that they my live another day on the internet.

I've had normal pour-out-my-soul blogs, a baking blog and a twitter - which remarkably is still a go to for me. I think the minimal commitment helps it stay alive.

So the question is - what do I want out of this blog?

Honestly, I don't know. It will be a journey and we'll all get to see together where it takes me.

Are you ready? Am I?