thankful :: one

given that it is november and thanksgiving is approaching, i thought it would be fun to post (as much as i can here given all of the grad school work i have to do) a series of entries highlighting just a few of the things (because there are many!) that i'm thankful for in my life.

so i will start off this first post by expressing my gratitude for crafters, especially those whom i'm related to, eh em, thistle downs wool design.

i recently purchased a couple of handmade purses from her for christmas presents and being the fabulous cousin that she is, she included two special treats, one for me and one for my sister. have a look:



felted scarves!! the pink and grey one is so me. while the brown and tan one is very much my sister's style. i can't stop wearing mine!

so i am thankful for you cousin and your thoughtfulness and generosity.

for those of you looking to purchase something handmade this holiday season for a special someone, i highly recommend going on over to thistle downs wool design or visit her store at smashing darling.

happy halloween.

look at this beautiful mural that my sister created. it's for her halloween party tonight.

i hope you all have a fun and frightful night!!

also, look at this adorable bumble bee sitting on my lap! she is my colleague's little girl who loves to watch videos of herself on her daddy's facebook page. :-)

new music - adele.

i realize that i have not posted about music on my blog. i sometimes wonder what life would be like without music - not very joyful, if you ask me. it feeds my soul whether i'm happy or blue.

i like so many different genres of music actually - reggae, jazz, r&b, disco, funk, to name a few. but there's a special place in my heart for bossa nova. i absolutely love the beat and the rhythm of this type of music.

i spent most of this evening, however, looking for new music on itunes (i know, i know, i should be doing grad school work -blah!), in the hopes to find something i've never heard before. and i was successful! i discovered this fabulous album by adele titled, 19.

i am definitely more likely to download a single song than a whole album from itunes, but this one is good from start to finish and worth the (very affordable) price of $7.99 on itunes. so i now own her complete album!

as i type this post, i'm listening to "right as rain" - a favorite. check out her profile on myspace to learn more about her and preview her tunes!

butternut squash + friends = a fabulous fall day

my friend visited yesterday with her son, noah. i cooked them up a batch of yummy butternut squash soup!

i have to admit it was my first attempt at making the soup, and it came out so good! i used a recipe from realsimple.com.

i also made some homemade croutons from this bread i bought over the weekend from a bakery in port chester, ny, the kneaded bread. if you are in that area of ny, go there and try the aged provolone. you will not be sorry.


after lunch we got some fresh air and went for a walk. it was the best way to spend a fall sunday in october.


oh, and i had to take a picture of mr. noah in the hat that i made for him last winter. it still fits!!

my love.

Martha's Vineyard 2008

New York City 2006

apples.

what could be better than spending a weekend with your girlfriends picking apples, baking apple crisp, drinking wine, and chatting until the wee hours of the morning?

it was so nice to spend some time with my ladies (and one gentleman pictured below). i needed to take a break from this insanely busy life that i'm now leading. i took this picture below of my dear friend MV and her son noah. he is the little boy for whom i made the light blue sweater for posted over in the right column. he was such a riot at the orchard.



we picked a lot of apples - probably too many. but you can never make enough apple crisp. i made two batches and it's all gone just after one day. must be a good sign.

ah! i love fall...


p.s. i just bought a new camera (yippee!). so you'll be seeing even more photos, possibly some more video, and even a little audio. so check back often!