Friday, November 27, 2009

Establishing new Thanksgiving traditions

Yesterday was my first Thanksgiving as a married woman. Christian and I actually get to spend Thanksgiving AND Christmas together this year (we've never spent Christmas day together) and we want to start establishing holiday traditions for our new family of 2.

So far, for Thanksgiving we've got:

1. Re-watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy each year on Thanksgiving day/weekend. The extended versions. I may have agreed to this tradition after a lot of holiday imbibing.

Right now, we're on The Return of the King. Obviously, I'm paying a lot of attention. Helm's Deep was successfully defended yesterday afternoon and I totally missed the whole thing.

I've started doing the holiday cards tonight. I think that will also be one of the traditions -- me addressing cards while LOTR plays.

2. Candied sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, cornbread and turkey all make the cut for dishes we want to make every year. I never had candied sweet potatoes until a friend brought them over for T-day dinner last year (shocking, I know). Boy are they good! Very excited they are going to be a staple from now on.

3. Lots of booze with Thanksgiving dinner. Which leads us to #4...

4. For the time being, #4 is sleeping in late the next day and avoiding Black Friday shopping as much as possible. This tradition will probably be revised at a later point. But this morning, it was fabulous.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Things I'm currently coveting

The Brigitta Dresser from Anthropologie


One of these plates from Etsy seller Ninainvorm


A house so I'd actually have some place to put the dresser. Said house would also have lots of cabinets in the kitchen in which to store the adorable plate without constantly worrying about Christian or I knocking it down and breaking it. That kind of thing is a constant worry in our apartment and not without cause.

And, of course, plenty of clothes, shoes and accessories from J Crew. Like these lovelies:

Saturday, November 7, 2009

O'Keefe at the Whitney

Today, Christian and I were good New Yorkers (for the most part).  We got up, got some brunch and went to the Whitney to see the Georgia O'Keefe exhibit currently on display there.  

I really like O'Keefe.  Growing up in New Mexico, I would mostly see her skull paintings and I wasn't crazy about those.  But, as I got older and I got to see more of her work, it started drawing me in.  In law school, my seminar class was actually held in a room at the library that was all O'Keefe prints.  They soothed me.  

Really, I know very little about art and I have no idea how to look at art critically but I just find her work simply beautiful.  Also, even though I know everything she did wasn't meant to be sexual, there's almost always a sexuality to me in every one of her pieces.  

This exhibit had several of her series and it was intriguing  to see her do the same subject in different ways.  Each time the subject became softer and more abstract.  

Of course, one of the highlights for me was seeing my favorite piece Blue Flower.  The Whitney borrowed it from the O'Keefe museum in Santa Fe.  This is my third time seeing it in person.  It stops me in my tracks every time.  Now, I just wish I could find a print of it.  

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Reality TV

I watch way too much of it.  I blame my husband.  For years, I lived without TV.  Now, two years with Christian and I watch reality TV all the time.  Currently, I'm watching some Top Chef show that isn't even regular Top Chef, it's some silly reunion dinner that I couldn't care less about.

I should be reading the Times or some Tolstoy or even  just looking at one of my W magazines that are piling up.  Instead, I'm a lump on the couch watching something I'm not interested in that does nothing to enrich me.

Oh, and it makes me hungry at 10:30 at night.  Never a good thing. 

Oh, I've got to run.  They're plating!