Thursday, December 29, 2011

January 2012 Desktop Wallpaper

I leave in the morning to ring in the New Year, 
but I wanted to go ahead and share January's desktop background!



*remember to click on the image first before saving as background

Soak up your final days of 2011 and reflect on both the good and bad.
The bad prepares us just as much, if not more, for the good in the future.
Learn from yesterday, dream for tomorrow, 
but only seek happiness from the now.
Dream bigger than you think you deserve
because you, in fact, deserve the best.
But keep in mind that you are the only one who can make it a reality.

Thank you, as always, for reading my little blog.
My year was filled with exciting new ventures, challenges,
and many, many blessings.

Take care & goodbye for now.
I'm off to visit my favorite blessing of 2011.

xo, 
little lady


until next time,

g

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

I'm Back in the Big Apple!

{...well, for like 36 hours before I leave town to ring in 2012.}

Hooray! I miraculously made it back in one piece sans drama of the 2010 blizzard.

But it wouldn't be a little-lady-trip without some sort of nonsense. My mother, the most on-top-of-things-person-on-the-planet, set two alarms this morning, neither of which ever went off...

I have never been more thankful of my paranoia that causes me to do things like set a third back-up alarm.

iPhone, what did I do before there was you?

The train ride back to NYC was actually fine. It was packed out the wazoo, though, and I tried to not let the other panicking passengers increase my blood pressure. Every stop, people entered with a mad dash to find the optimum seating arrangement, which doesn't exist on a sold-out train. I sat in front of a blind woman who mistook my suitcase at the end of the car for hers before we got off at Penn Station. I hobbled towards her, insisting she had the wrong one, and helped find hers. And then I watched as she exited the train, 40 times more gracefully than I. I must have appeared completely incapacitated trying to maneuver my heavy bags since a man approached me and asked if he could help me with my suitcase. "Oh, thank you, THANK YOU! I really appreciate it!" As we inched up the way-too-skinny escalator, the man looked at my large white box, smiled, and asked me what kind of dog I have.

...

"That's a sewing machine."

...

I made it to the street and was so very thankful it wasn't snowing or raining or freezing cold. Despite not being able to physically lift my bags in unison, I still had that going for me. I pushed my suitcase along the sidewalk and stood there for 15 minutes unable to get a cab. A black limo pulled up and asked if I needed a lift. It wasn't white, it wasn't a party stretch size, and it cost only $30 instead of last year's $50. But I did it!

After making friends with the Haitian driver, who asked if he could take me to Haiti in February {"How about I just take your word for it that it's a lovely place and I'll go with my buddies sometime?"}, I was at my apartment. And after heaving my bags one by one up the stairs,

I

am

home!

For only enough time to unpack and repack! :)

Here are some images from the past few days:

oh, that Santa!

yay!!!
looking forward to taking pictures on something besides my phone!

this morning's sunrise.

driving over Afton Mountain.

driving down memory lane...
...and past my old sorority house.

best
bagels
ever.

view of the big apple from the train.

After seeing loved ones and the inevitable goodbyes, I sure am thankful I get to return to where I do.
Seeing that skyline somehow makes it all okay.


until next time,

g

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Merry, Merry!


this weekend, my siblings & I gave my mom a Christmas surprise.
we realized we hadn't had a night, just the 5 of us, in 20-some years.
{and it was time for that to be fixed!}
she thought we were staying at my sister's house on Friday night, 
but after a couple of hours my sis & I...
...well, we kidnapped her.


as you can see, she was not amused.
"no but seriously, where are we going?"
"guys, tell me."
"guys!"

we drove her to the General Lewis
allowed her to remove her blindfold, and led her inside.

we turned the corner and my two brothers 
were standing there holding a bouquet of red roses. 
my mom gasped, held her hands to her face, 
and immediately started crying. 

and then we all started crying.

after dinner, we went to my brother's house. 
we baked brownies, drank wine, played Balderdash
and giggled so hard that we cried some more.



we also gave the boys mud masks...

"dude, is yours burning?"
:)

my brother happens to live in an alleged haunted house, 
{just to make the night more interesting!}
but his sweet kitty offered her protection.


oh, and i had another little surprise up my sleeve... 
while I was home in October, 
I collected albums & envelopes of photos
and decided to make a special gift.
using Pinhole Press (incredible company!), I made books for everyone 
filled with nearly 100 pictures - some that they had never seen before. 

here are just a few shots:

(the last pic of the book is the same as the cover, but the back of us)

...many, many memories.

Goodness, I'm so very thankful the surprise-night worked out.
We had a few logistical glitches with the planning process
{planning anything for "a planner" like my mother is nearly impossible!},
but it worked!
...and it was a night I will cherish always.

...

p.s. today, i made Oreo truffles!


my co-worker made them for our office 
and was kind enough to share her recipe.
{...after I admitted that they might be the best thing I've eaten in my 26 years of existence}

thought i'd pass along her recipe to you, too!


Ingredients:
  • 1 package OREO Cookies*
  • 1 (8 ounce) package Cream Cheese, softened
  • 1 (8 ounce) package baking chocolate
1.     Crush the cookies to fine crumbs in food processor; or by spoon – in medium bowl
2.     Add cream cheese; I only used 5oz, or little more than half the package mix until well blended. Can use spoon, but I found digging in with my hands is much faster!
3.     Mix until cream cheese has filtered through to all crumb
4.     Roll cookie mixture into balls, about 1-inch in diameter
5.     Place into freezer for about 15-20 minutes or until hardened
6.     While freezing, melt chocolate in pan.** (can use any chocolate you prefer)
7.     Dip Oreo balls into chocolate and place onto wax paper.
8.     While the chocolate is still warm, sprinkle any kind of garnish you want (ex: red & green sprinkles or left over crumbs)
9.     Cool or keep at room temperature – whatever your preference
10.   ENJOY!


*Can use double stuffed Oreos for more creamy taste or just use regular cookies. Also recommend trying Mint Oreos for a fun new flavor!
**melting chocolate

p.p.s. one final thing to share ~



merry christmas from the little lady!

may you hum "hark! the herald angels sing" 
in your head & heart all day.

xo.

until next time,

g

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Heading Home

{cards on my mantle}

I'm heading south today to see my family for Christmas!
I have to say, these freakishly warm temperatures in NYC
are confusing my system...
I know once I'm with my mom, though, it'll all feel right.
And who am I kidding?
I'd rather have mild weather instead of what happened last year.
Oh, what a memory...

May you all travely safely to your loved ones this weekend.
Merry, Merry!

p.s. Want to send a call from Santa? :) Go here.

xo.

 
until next time,

g

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Recently

a lot has happened recently and i'm here to fill you in!

i went on a holiday date last week with four fabulous ladies.
we went to opening night of The Nutcracker at BAM
followed by a festive gathering at a friend's apartment. 


one of the ladies has a book coming out!
she traveled the world for a year interviewing
men & women about their relationships,
exploring and questioning this post-dating world
in search for a better answer than "he's just not that into you."
 you can pre-order her book, The Gaggle, on Amazon.
to learn more about the book, click here.
and guess what? New Line Cinema is making it into a movie!
(ahhh! can't wait.)

also, the hostess (the best hostess around) made candied bacon chocolate chip cookies...
I know, I know - sounds completely wack, but they were incredible.
her recipe is here.

...

christmas-card-love:


i hope my cards brought smiles to my loved ones!

...

the smell of oranges has always reminded my mom of Christmas -
- and thus, reminds me of the same.


...

a group of us threw a surprise party on Friday for friends
that are moving to San Francisco in January.
{no photo to show you, but their faces were priceless!}


sigh...I'm in such denial this lady is leaving.
pack me in your suitcase? please?

I got this pillow for their new apartment:


it makes me smile. :)

...

memories of a beloved dog named Jackson:


my good friends had to say goodbye this weekend
to this special member of their family after only 5 years;
my heart aches for their loss. :(
we'll never forget your loyalty & love, jack. never ever.

...

so, i follow naomi davis & her family's journey on her adorable blog.
(we're talkin' huge fan over here.)
as you can imagine, I was delighted to run into
her husband and baby during their nyc visit!


i have to admit, it's a little awkward
running into a stranger you know so much about.
i follow him on twitter, i know his wife just announced they're expecting,
i know that he has an affinity for french fries.
{stalk much? sheesh!}
josh was as nice as he could be, though,
asking about me and posing for pictures.
he asked for my help putting on eleanor's mittens;
she looked at me like "who, on earth, are you?",
but still totally melted my heart.
i tweeted the pictures to naomi and she tweeted me back,
wishing me a merry christmas.
hope she knows she totally made my 2011.

...

i bought new hair brushes for the first time
in a really, really long time.


thought you should know.

...

saw this sign in my local art store:


i dig it.

...

gifts from friends:


glasses for sundaes & shakes?
fun straws?
nail polish?
chevron for my iPhone?

obsessed! oh ladies, you sure do know me.
(thank you!)

...

p.s. i know this time of year can get a tad stressful with what feels like
 one
big
holiday
RUSH.
 ~ so much to do, so much going on, so much traveling ~
remember to take a second and laugh a little. it helps.
I highly recommend watching these minute long clips of
"Sh*t Girls Say" if you haven't already seen them.
they're hilarious!
you can watch episodes 1 and 2 here & here.


until next time,

g

Friday, December 16, 2011

Calendars: Last Chance to Get One Before Christmas!

If you're interested in purchasing one of my letterpress postcard calendars as a gift,
please place your order TODAY!
I will be shipping final pre-holiday orders tomorrow,
and will not be mailing packages until the new year.


each set includes:
12 calendar pages
12 postcards (on back of different colored chevron prints)
an acrylic easel stand
plus a little bonus of 3 "from the hart" postcard stamps!

Only 18 left!

Click here to buy.

until next time,

g

Dear Santa + Suggestions

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas is to one day have a room in my home dedicated to all of my various crafts. Apologies for the insensitive analogy, but my apartment currently looks like the North Pole on crack. I spilled an entire pod of glitter last night and now everything in my vicinity has a slight sheen. Don't get me wrong, I'm a lover of sparkle, but not when it's somehow on my monogrammed bath towel. I know my lease isn't up until summer and I know I can't really expect to have a spare room until, IdunnoI'm47, but please please please put this somewhere on your magical list for the future. I know I've already asked you for a sewing machine this year and you're probably wondering where in Rudolph's name I'm going to store that, but I'll figure it out. I mean, who needs a place to sit down anyways? Heh.
Oh! I have something to show you, Mr. C.

see?
I believe!
(this hangs in my kitchen all year.)


Love,
me

p.s. Readers, here are some suggestions for your Friday:

Make your own decorations & reindeer food.

Elmer Fudd hats for guys & girls.

These satin pajamas are pretty fabulous.
(fun fact: they're Kourtney Kardashian's favorite.)

Great use of rubber stamps.

I love the pictures on this post (especially the quote).

NYC borough coasters.

How to make your own turkish delight. (Yes, the fascinating white stuff Edward eats in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe that you spent your entire childhood not knowing what it was.)

A gift guide for the DIY fans.

Have you actually never read the letter to Virginia O'Hanlon about whether or not Santa is real?
Read it here.

Have a wonderful weekend!

until next time,

g

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Stocking Stuffers!




10. Essie Nail Polish - locate a store near you
(2 favorites: Clambake & Eternal Optimist)

Plus!
Joanna Goddard's amazing gift guide for the kiddos.
A while back, I mentioned the opening of C. Wonder in Soho.
Now they have an online store!
{fun fact: C. Wonder was started by J. Christopher Burch, Tory Burch's ex-husband.}

until next time,

g

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