around the house

some scenes around the house. the girls had their nursery school christmas concert last night and i was laughing so hard. the baby jesus doll was nearly decapitated. the donkey had something in his mouth and was licking his hand to try to get it out for a good five minutes. and one of the three kings was krumping. forget watching saturday night live on hulu, just head to a nursery school holiday concert and you can get your fill of entertainment.

hope you don't have too much scurrying to do this weekend.  peace to you all.

and here's the recipe to the monster molasses cookies right here. 

used books

we went to a circus in a trunk skit with some friends this past weekend at our local library and i couldn't help stopping by the friends bookstore (used bookstore and the proceeds benefit the library). i'm always looking to feed my used book habit even if it is the week before christmas. i found these two books that were published in the 70's. love the graphics on their covers and had to share them with you.

coconut macaroons

i made this coconut macaroon recipe today while the girls were at school. and then added a step of drizzled chocolate on top. i wrapped them in cellophane bags and wrote out little notes for all their teachers. i love coconut and i hope they do too.

simple and natural holiday decorations

i like simple and natural decorations during the holiday season. i think it conjures a more meaningful and elegant feel. a bowl of clementines. fresh evergreen roping around a doorway. red berries. and lots of candles. i hope these images inspire you. have a lovely weekend, friends.

image sources:

1. photo from homemaker

2. photo via blackbird

3. photo by studio dreyer hensley for design sponge

4. photo via trendenser.se

5. photo by dana velden for the kitchn

6. photo by erin boyle for gardenista

clark's christmas tree farm

we went for the third straight year to clark's christmas tree farm in tiverton, rhode island to get our christmas tree. the girls love running in and out of the trees and playing hide and go seek. and i love taking deep breaths in to inhale the embodiment of the holiday season. there is nothing better than that fresh evergreen smell. oh, and the guy that loaded our tree on our car looked like tim riggins from friday night lights. you know who i'm talking about, right ladies? i quickly stopped breathing in and making my loud inhale sounds like the dork that i am when i saw mr. tim standing there. josh was laughing at me the entire time because i was all flustered talking to him. i tried to play it calm, cool, and collected but after 11 years of marriage and 4 years of motherhood it didn't really work. it has reaffirmed the fact that i am still a wife. mother. and complete geek.

earthscapes

hope you all had a lovely weekend. we ventured to an estate sale in little compton, rhode island on saturday. the story was that an heiress was downsizing. her name is daphne farago and it was like sifting through a museum warehouse. she had some beautiful pieces of art and almost every object she owned was sculptural and beautiful. we came home with a few finds from her pantry, but nothing too outrageous.

and then we went to our friend's boat (they live there year round-she has taught me a thing or two about living simply with three kids on board) for a dinner party. my friend, natasha is from costa rica so she cooked a typical costa rican meal with rice, beans, and slow cooked meat and it was delicious. 

on sunday we went to the redwood library (the oldest lending library in the country) holiday open house and heard children's stories read and christmas carols sung by a choir. the sweet shoppe in newport also had an open house so we walked there and the girls decorated gingerbread men. and then it was on to the playground with friends.

i love taking advantage of all the holiday festivities this area has to offer. speaking of holiday, i was getting our cards ready to mail out and was looking at the united states postal service website and found these earthscape stamps. i just put an order in for our holiday cards. i'm always on the look out for artful and meaningful stamps to adorn our letters and cards and these do just the trick.

narcisco rodriguez's line for kohls is 50% off

i swiped up two items in the narcisco rodriguez line for kohls. it is 50% off right now. go treat yourself to a clothing designer who designed carolyn bessette's wedding dress and michelle obama's 2008 victory dress.  it's affordable now and you deserve it.

travelogue. barcelona, spain.

more pictures from our spain and france trip. these were taken in barcelona, spain around the barcelona museum of contemporary art (MACBA) in the raval district. we couldn't take our eyes off of the skate boarders. this was our last day on our trip so we just wanted to soak it all up.

cleveland museum of art's new atrium

i wrote about seeing the first phase of the new addition at the cleveland museum of art by the new york architect rafael viñoly  right here. well, since then the second stage of this project has been completed. 39,000 square feet and five stories high. i haven't seen it, but my family and friends in that area have visited it and raved about the new atrium. my dad said it looked like a building in new york, chicago or boston. and it is right there in cleveland, ohio. how lucky are the cleveland natives who can visit this space. to be a part of the community. a place to center your mind. to be inspired by culture and design. we are putting this numero uno on things to do when we head back to cleveland to visit family.

photo from cleveland museum of art

an artist's abode

what an inspiring artful home from an equally imaginative woman. gisèle d’ailly van waterschoot van der gracht just turned 100 years old and lives in this canal house in amsterdam. she has lived an extraordinary life. read more it here. i haven't met her, but i feel my heart swell when i read about her because she is just so special. 

photography: jordi huisman for freunde von freunden.
via miss moss

thanksgiving day hike at second beach

the ocean. fresh air. blue sea + sky. orange rust brush. brown sand. my family. these are all things i'm thankful for.

thanksgiving dinner

the brining heritage blend turkey ready to be taken out and herb-roasted in the oven

the rub ingredients for the inside and outside of the turkey

negroni cocktails and kale, collard greens and red swiss chard ready for the creamed greens with chestnuts recipe

swiss chard stems, garlic, and shallots sauteing for the creamed greens recipe

the resting turkey

the girls decorated the branch in the white vase with little tags. they drew designs and pictures of what they were thankful for.

we collected orangey rocks and seashells at the beach during our hike and then put them on the thanksgiving table.

our thanksgiving day table without all the food

lots of candles and indian corn

i hope you all enjoyed your thanksgiving weekend. this was the first year we did our own little thanksgiving celebration with our family of four. josh and i really enjoyed the process of making the feast with no pressure. the colors and cooking process mesmerized me so i took lots of pictures. we had been collecting recipes and stocking the refrigerator with all the ingredients for the past week. and we picked up our first turkey we have ever cooked at simmons organic farm on monday afternoon. we opted for a heritage blend. here's a link to read more about this type of turkey. we concocted the brine on tuesday morning so it would be full of flavor on thursday.

we got outside for a hike at second beach in middletown, rhode island on thanksgiving morning once the turkey was in the oven. we collected orangish rocks and shells so the girls could put them on the thanksgiving dinner table. the girls also decorated little tags with designs and pictures on what they were thankful for this year. it really made the day enjoyable because the girls felt special being a part of the preparation for the day. i'm definitely going to repeat this little project because it kept the girls entertained and happy while the meal was being prepared.

here are the recipes we used for thanksgiving. feel free to skip on over this. i'm mostly doing this so i have some documentation for future years.

a simple turkey brine 

herb-roasted turkey

whipped potatoes with horseradish 

creamed greens with chestnuts 

fresh cranberry relish

buttermilk cornbread for the cornbread dressing

cornbread dressing (in honor of my grandmother, mar)

corn (for the girls)

greek yogurt cheesecake with pomegranate syrup 

grandma's pumpkin pie