Some Handsome Leading Men For The Weekend

Gentle Nudges

Things that got me through the week:

1. The hope of spring, and orange tulips showing up with it.

2. More hope. This time in the form of the Royal Palms Resort in Arizona. 

3. smittenkitchen.com's "Surprise Me" button: the source of the muffin recipe I will hopefully use this weekend.

4. Inspiration to be creative.

5. My Q&A a day journal. Ending my day well.

A Vintage Friday

I told myself I wouldn't buy anything. I even had a friend who was going to hold me accountable. That didn't happen! But I did get two lovely additions (and steals at that) to my wardrobe: a beautifully stitched Kimchi Blue cardigan and a fantastic cloche. I'm thrilled to have a little 1920s appeal in my life. And thank you Mom for the linzer cookies and Trader Joe's Cherry Lovey Gummy Tummies! Nothing says "I love you" like nummy treats :)

To My Valentines...

Eloise loves pink...

...and so apparently does Betsey!

What's In The Bag?

Ina Garten's kitchen

It was a long week, a really, really long week. But you know what makes life infinitely better? Partly sunny skies, kind-eyed Sunday walkers, and a solo visit to Trader Joe's.

Here's what I came home with:

-a bag of raw almonds
-crunchy organic peanut butter
-chicken and cheese tamales
-frozen organic blueberries
-bananas
-zucchini squash
-an eggplant
-baby carrots
-blue cheese (purchasing this made me feel especially grown up)

And here's what's for dinner:

Oven-roasted eggplant and sweet potato, with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and crumbled blue cheese

Sunshine Makes Me Happy, Like I Should Be

It's funny how something that may seem so minor can have such a huge impact on one's day. I am of course referring to the sun. With it's absence for the majority of winter in Seattle, seasonal depression has already hit me (hence a few guilt-laden trips to the cancer coffin tanning bed in the past couple of weeks, the Mecca for twenty-something leather-skinned women). This morning I was practically falling asleep in lecture (which, to my credit, is in a well-heated dimly lit basement), and feeling pretty irritated that I was going to have to walk home in the rain. Upon my emergence from the depths of the Art Building, to my complete delight beams of sunshine radiated on my face and enclosed my entire body in them. The only way I can describe the feeling is that scene from Paris, Je T'Aime where the mimes are seeing their son off to school. Looking at him with sad expressions, they raise their hands slowly up and over their faces, palms inward, revealing a bottom to top transformation of sour looks into beaming smiles. As I write this, I am sitting out on what my housemates and I call "the back patch". It is a lovely little grassy fenced in area behind our house with a small patio, a haven enclosing us away from the uncertainties of bizarre neighbors and a fraternity trash-laden alleyway. The sun is thawing me mentally and emotionally, and I can't help but feel blessed to have started off this week with what so far has been a delightful Monday.

Let's Celebrate!

Fu~Blessings (an obvious reason why this would be part of my sister's Chinese name)

Today marks the beginning of the fifteen day Chinese Lunar New Year celebration! Legend has it that 4,000 years ago the Chinese emperor had a race to determine the sequence of animals in the twelve year cycle. We begin the year of the rabbit today, who finished fourth in the race. 

To prepare, families sweep their houses only the day before festivities begin and not during so as not to sweep away the good luck that will arrive. Houses are enfolded in red lanterns and scrolls, while firecrackers are lit in the night streets and dragon dances are performed to scare away evil spirits. The most popular foods eaten during this celebration are fish, which symbolize success, and dumplings, which symbolize prosperity (because they look like gold!). Noodles represent longevity, while mandarin oranges are for luck. And of course, children receive red envelopes filled with money, usually even numbered in count (8 is the Chinese lucky number) because odd numbers are unlucky.