Bonne année !

Bonne année à tous et à toutes !

It’s hard to believe I last artsdevivre’d almost two months ago. Eep. Things happen. Like life. Since I made that lovely coq au vin, we’ve been busy in our little corner of the world … D re-did our kitchen while I was in Michigan visiting my niece, nephew, brother and sister-in law for Thaksgiving.

It was so sweet and thoughtful of him to take on such an aggressive project, and actually finish it (well!) in only five days. It’s so fun having the open cabinets I’ve been admiring for months on Pinterest. And the chalkboard paint is a super-fun bonus, too! 

I took on a few projects of my own (not nearly as expansive as re-doing the kitchen). I gave our front door a makeover, transforming from typical grey ~

 ~ opting for a cheerful green ~

I felt pretty nervous at how bright it was, but was ecstatic with the result ~

I love the contrast of the green door and black shutters. It was even more festive with this simple DYI wreath I hot glue-gunned together ~

It was a bit perkier the first week in December than it is now (pesky gravity), but I’ll supplement it with additional ornaments next year.

We of course did the usual holiday rigamorale, spending time with friends and family (in person and on face time), sending and receiving holidays cards and well-wishes. 

I’m pretty militant about online privacy, which is why this one is blurred out. You get the idea though 🙂

I tried out new recipes ~

~ learning how to improve ones like this simple roast via my personal favorite, the Barefoot Contessa (you really should cut a roast this thick in half to optimize a medium-rare temperature). I was fine with the end pieces, but the middle was really too rare for my family’s liking. I shockingly succeeding at intricate ones like an authentic French Bearnaise sauce. The key is to continue stirring for quite some time. (I think Maman and I together put in about 35 minutes.)

We celebrated NYE Charm City style, and were so ecstatic to happen on a small-time ball drop in Hampden, ‘hun. So fun and festive, I couldn’t believe we haven’t been attending annually.

I’d lost my motivation for artsdevivre the past couple months. I’m an habitual comparer of myself to others and was feeling frustrated with my utter lack of knowledge of photography and graphic design. I can’t give the time to this blog that I’d like, what with my job that actually pays me. But I started to really miss this whole process, from brainstorming, to documenting, to writing and publishing. So me re-voilà les amis. I don’t promise perfectly taken photographs (I’ll still be sticking with my trusty iphone, instagram and diptic for now), or super funky layouts but I do promise (most importantly to  myself) to continue documenting all the little daydreams and real-life experiences that add up to create the artsdevivre in our lives. 

Gold accents

I fell in love with this pin today …

 

… and it got me thinking about gold in general around the home…

 

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I especially love those canisters top right. They are vintage and French! What more could I ask for?

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I also love these festive gold table settings. So fun for Christmas, especially, I think.

And, well, I know I’ll never have this gold headboard …

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… but I love it popping against the bright wall and crisp blue pillows!

What about you? Do you like gold or do you prefer silver accents?

Amazing snowflakes

Incredible snow shot

All I can say about this week is that I am glad it is over. Overly antsy students looking forward to winter break make for unhappy and exasperated teachers. Here’s to our four day week next week going smoothly and off without a hitch. I did nothing this week except sleep some restless winks, huff about my day to poor DPE (whilst he was sick thanks to me) and complete my work duties. I have never been so happy to come home, admire the Christmas tree and (out of the ordinary for me) watch Dr Phil. Not overly interested in Dr. Phil, I found myself perusing Pinterest and then moved on to my fave blogs. Let me tell you, I could not believe these incredible images I found on the Anthology Magazine blog. They are truly amazing – real-life snow flakes that, when magnified who knows how many thousands (millions?) of times look just like those we used to make in grade school. Hope you enjoy as much as I did. TGIF, friends. And, as Ellen reminds me daily: Be kind to each other!

Gift ideas for little ones

Today was the official start of my holiday shopping. Lists have become shorter in the past couple of years, as my family draws one name in an effort to de-materialize the season a bit. For fear of revealing surprises, I can’t say precisely what I purchased; however, my niece is but ten months young, so I felt I had to share this sweet set of alphabet blocks with you:

Old-fashioned wooden blocks

My mother suggested them months ago as the perfect gift for my favorite (and only ;)) niece. As you can see, they are colorful, easy to hold and a great way to begin letter recognition. As you cannot see, they are affordable and have French vocabulary on them. I can’t wait for FRH to start using them and share some artsdevivre moments.

The rest of the shopping day cannot be revealed; however, DPE and I had fun browsing through shops like aMuse, where I could hardly resist these keys-for-babies:

Baby friendly keys

. We also wandered through 10,000 Villages and Su Casa, holder of some fabulous Paris wall art that I have not yet managed to hunt down online. I left Fells Point feeling a bit accomplished and knew I was really meant to be productive when I pulled up to the area generic mall and proceeded directly into a parking spot front row, adjacent to the Nordstrom entrance. As I finish this entry, I’m about half way done with my shopping, and looking forward to hunting down the rest of my treasures to share with family, friends and others.

Hello again … !

Have two weeks really passed since the winter holiday?  I must admit to the bit of a pit that was  inhabiting my stomach at the end of vacation.  The excitement and comfort of the holidays with family and friends made C.T. seem somehow bleak and uninviting.  Thinking about mountains of lesson plans, distraught students and non-functioning yearbook software caused a couple of sleepless nights there at the end of break.  But you know what?  It’s actually been two of the best weeks of my school year.  Yes, I still have mountains of lesson plans.  Yes I still have distraught students.  Yes (no?) the yearbook software isn’t really functioning.  But I’m learning more and more how to trouble shoot the multitude of curve balls that get thrown my way as an educator.  And that is a good feeling for a lot of reasons.

But chief among them is of course the fact that it allows me to quietly enjoy my artsdevivre evenings.  As usual, this includes puttering in the kitchen, listening to Carla Bruni and absentmindedly pondering the meaning of it all.  (Oh and Harry Potter.  Right now, my artsdevivre most definitely includes Harry Potter. Which dedicated reading may or may not explain the sparse artsdevivre entries the past week or so.  Prior to that I was just being lazy.)

It’s also oh-so-nice to revel in the Christmas gifts my sweet family so thoughtfully bestowed upon me a few weeks ago.  A bit of identity crisis following my first return home from Paris going on four (ouch!) years ago, convinced me that I was destined to be a chef.  Ha.  You would be laughing too had you ever seen me in the kitchen.  Those of you who have I feel confident are, at the very least, chuckling.  Unnecessary tears over sugar cookies pop right into mind.  A top chef never will I be, but I do thoroughly enjoy the coziness a kitchen provides.  Thanks to said identity crisis, I usually receive some fun and/or cute kitchen gadgets for each holiday.  Tonight I had the pleasure of draining my tofu noodles (as always, don’t knock it till you try it) in my nifty hooks-over-the-sink-edge colander, sauteeing my spinach and marinara sauce with an adorably cheeky light turquoise spatula stamped with an oh-so-useful measurement conversion chart and even of weighing my frozen shrimp on a handy little kitchen scale.  Fun!

It might not be the snazziest or flashiest Thursday night one ever read about, but it’ll do.  Feeling alert enough to compose a little artsdevivre ditty, and gently reminding everyone to appreciate their own is beauty enough for me.

Christmas sounds

Just like gifts, the holidays come in all shapes, sizes and experiences.  A soundtrack to this year’s would include:

Rain pittering-pattering on my mom’s roof

My oldest brother’s snore

Key board clicks and clacks

The slurp of red wine (courtesy of yours truly)

Yep.  That’s it.  I bet that’s decibel levels quieter than your family’s Christmas.

For many years in my family, it was quite different.  Every year on Christmas morning, my grandmother (who was quite the matriarch) required everyone’s presence at her house bright and early.  Once arrived, dare not leave.  When my parents had my oldest brother, they put their foot down and diplomatically invited my father’s parents over to join the festivities.  Although it took some getting used to, eventually Grandma Rose and Grandpa Welford (aren’t those such classic grandparent names?  I love them …)  realized that being with their children and grandchildren trumped their raucous, gi-normous, all-day throw down.

Now, I gravitate to small, intimate gatherings of several close friends and/or family members (usually it’s a fusion), quiet music (that sometimes gets louder in direct proportion to wine consumed) and one-on-one conversation.  Surely this is a product of the majority of festivities in which I took part growing up.  It’s not that I’m incapable of appreciating big parties, but it’s just not my comfort zone.  The big family gathering will be on Sunday and it’ll be nice to catch up with my multitude of cousins once/twice/three times removed.  But for now, I’m enjoying the peace and quiet that only small and intimate gatherings can afford.   

So no matter where you find yourself today: at home, abroad, alone, with everyone related to you, just immediate family, friends that are like family, or maybe even strangers, take a moment to stop and observe the sensory experiences surrounding you.  Really hear the noises.  Taste the foods.  Feel the warm hug or the cozy blanket.  Smell the food cooking.  No matter what your setting, I think it’ll slow you down and help you appreciate your own life’s artsdevivre.

Holiday reminiscence

What is it about the holidays that makes you reminisce?  Every where I look/read/see/hear, I am reminded of a bygone era.

Any Christmas tree inevitably takes me back to arguing with my brothers over who got to put what ornament on the tree.  Board games transport me to uncountable Christmas eves debating who deserved how many points in which round.  And the movie a Christmas Story … well … it just speaks for itself. I hear “You’ll shoot your eye out!”, and am instantly curled up on the couch breathlessly waiting to see whether or not Ralph will get his coveted gun.

In fact, watching a Christmas Story transports me to a time that  I never even knew.  It recalls milk shakes, records and radio programs rather than frappuccinos, ipods and youtube.  The retro home decor I search for in vain at the antique mall were commonplace during a Christmas Story.

I haven’t quite put my finger on why just yet, but there’s something comforting about witnessing that every day slice of classic Americana.

Although we can never have mid-20th century America back, it’s nice to think about and/or watch from time to time.  Try it out for yourself.  If you need any help, rent a Christmas Story. Or just flip through the channels like I did … i think you’ll find it!