rushmore.

for your wes anderson film fanatics:

max fischer's extracurricular club pencil set

christmas vinyl.

just a little glimpse of what i have been listening to while preparing for christmas.

barbra streisand / a christmas album
- babs sure does a mean version of jingle bells on crack.

tchaikovsky / the nutcracker suite
- now i want to wrap all my presents in pink tulle.

george winston / december
- damn, george. you can really tickle the ivory.

scenes from the weekend.

this past friday was our christmas party! we decided to class it up a bit from last year -- hors d'oeuvres and champagne cocktails. ok, ok...there was also cheap beer present, but no one dressed up as uncle eddie from national lampoon's christmas vacation the year. the party was a blast and it was nice to meet some new friends.

saturday was spent cleaning and putting everything back together after the party. saturday night we tried an afghan restaurant around the corner from our apt. i love having so many great restaurants just blocks away.

sunday i woke up to SNOW! i spent a lazy day watching cbs sunday morning, drinking coffee, writing christmas cards and wrapping presents. wrapped up the weekend with sunday funday with my yoga girls at my favorite wine bar, sasha's on shaw.

you know you're turning into your mother when...

you know you're turning into your mother when you have.....

not one....

not two...

but three christmas trees in your home.

christmas at tiffany's.

i'm in love with tiffany's new holiday ad campaign.

i'm ready for snow.

especially this one below. it reminds me of the scene in when harry met sally when they are dragging the christmas tree home to sally's apt :)

cranberry gin and tonics.

the day before flying out to DC for thanksgiving my coworker, who loves to cook for her large family, and i were discussing what was going to be on our thanksgiving tables. i was telling her about my brussel sprouts, she telling me about her sweet potatoes.

as a veteran cook, i asked her if she was preparing anything for the big meal in advance. she responded that she had already cooked her cranberries for cranberry gin & tonics. cranberry gin & tonics! as a member of a family whose drink of choice is already g&ts, i knew that i would be cooking up my own cranberries for this holiday cocktail.

the cocktails we a hit! the cranberries were not too bitter or too sweet, just a subtle flavor and a very festive look. the red of the cranberries and green of the lime, also make this a refreshing drink for the christmas season!

cranberry gin & tonics (recipe found on epicurious)

ingredients:
2 (12-ounce) bags fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
3 1/3 cups chilled tonic water
1 1/4 cups gin
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

prep:
bring cranberries, sugar, and water to a simmer in a saucepan, then simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until berries just begin to pop, about 2 minutes. Drain cranberries in a fine-mesh sieve (i used a colander) set over a 1-quart glass measuring cup, then reserve 2 cups cranberries and force remaining berries through sieve into syrup. Discard solids remaining in sieve, then add reserved cranberries to syrup. Cool to room temperature. Transfer to a pitcher and chill until cold, about 2 hours.
Add remaining ingredients to syrup, stirring gently to combine. Serve drinks over ice in 8- to 10-ounce glasses.

back from the beach.

finally back from miami! and let me tell you, it feels so good to be home. we had a fun and successful trip at the art fairs, but phew, it's exhausting. and of course i have sprung into full christmas mode -- which i will be highlighting on here.

thanks for hanging with me even though i'm not always around.... do i smell a new year's resolution?