wishlist 2012

bussola riding boots / jurlique rosewater mist / odette jewelry / warby parker 'sinclair' frames / julep polish / caudalie divine oil / lush 'sandy santa' / baggu duck bag / madewell chambray shirt / butter london nail foundation / cozy boot socks / mac cleanse off oil / starry string lights / tangle teezer

In keeping with the tradition of the past two years, I put together a collection of some items that made it on to my Christmas wishlist this year. Here are my wishlists from 2011 & 2010.

{collage courtesy of polyvore}

· fall to winter ·

Somewhere along the way the seasons changed and we went from fall to winter. Wow, time sure does fly!

· pasta night ·

I met Brandi back in November at this pop-up shop in NJ, where she provided several yummy treats...the most favorite of the treats being her Dark Chocolate Dipped Citrus Olive Oil Cake (so good!). After chatting with Brandi I learned that she had just moved to DC, so she's practically my neighbor! We soon had made plans to get together, and since she loves to cook, she offered to have me over for homemade pasta. So the week before Christmas Brandi kindly prepared an awesome meal for us, which included linguine with garlic and basil...easily the best linguine I have ever had. I didn't get a photo of the dessert, but it was also quite yummy, brandied apples with vanilla bean ice cream and a cup of hot apple cider...perfect winter dessert.

Thanks again to Brandi for being such a generous hostess, I really enjoyed getting to know you better and I look forward to our next meet up!

Visit Brandi at: not your average ordinary, and at her food blog pizzelles.

· christmas ·

So I guess I took a little Christmas siesta...I didn't exactly plan it, but I'm not gonna lie, it felt good. It was nice to just focus on the season and enjoy being with family and friends. My family had a nice Christmas; we enjoyed watching my brother's five kids open gifts, play with their new toys/gadgets and as kind of a family tradition, we sat around the dining room table playing "Say Anything" late at night. It was really nice. Oh, and my mom and I got a good laugh on Christmas morning when the monkey bread went a little crazy...never-mind how it looked, it was quite yummy! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year...here's to a new year full of possibilities!

· wishlist 2011 ·

Christmas 2011 by kscott featuring stripe socks

A few items on my Christmas list this year. And yes, those are dunkin' donuts k-cups and a coffee grinder...because sometimes you want good coffee fast via the keurig and sometimes you want good coffee slow via the french press.

What's on your wishlist?

{here's what I wished for in 2010}

· i want ·

Did you see these over on design sponge? I love pigeon toe ceramics and shanna murray...and now they're collaborating...beautiful. I just wish I could go to the Portland Bazaar this coming weekend, but alas, I'm in DC. :(

p.s. I'm loving my shanna murray wall decal.

· weekend goodness: a christmas festivity ·

My roommate and I kicked-off this holiday season with a little Pre-Christmas Christmas gathering. We had fun decorating, baking, cooking and lighting the many candles that adorn our cozy place to prepare for our friends to arrive. We wanted to make sure we had a good mix of sweet and savory foods, so we included the following items on our menu: bite-size grilled cheese and tomato soup, sweet & sour kielbasa kabobs, mini cheesecakes, camembert and pear slices...and the usual suspects like veggies & dip, mixed nuts and olives. Our featured beverages were two cocktail mixes: a traditional Pimm's Cup Cocktail and a sparkling mix of champagne, goldschläger and apple juice that we coined "Golden Fizz".

In such a busy time of the year, I'm thankful to be able to set some time aside to relax, laugh and fellowship with friends...it was truly a fun and memorable evening!

· winter skin-saver ·

I don't know if you're like me, but in the winter my hands get severely dry...we're talking to the point of cracking...eeps. I have tried LOTS of different hand lotions (e.g. aveda, eucerin, kiehl's) and nothing heals my dry/cracked skin like Neutrogena's Norwegian Formula. I know I sound like an advertisement, but seriously this stuff has actually made my hands soft again. I figured there may be some other people out there who's hands suffer like mine...and since this has been a rough winter for most of the country, I thought I'd share my skin relief! Oh, and did I mention it's less than $5...SCORE!

· nye + sparkle ·

For nye I had the good fortune of attending a sparkle-themed party hosted by the creative Fay & Ben - they have such a cool home. To make us sparkly for the occasion, Jennifer created beautiful star head pieces inspired by these. Aren't they pretty?

(images taken by Jennifer)

· merry christmas ·