.auld lang syne.

.happy new year, all!.

here, have a cupcake. from magnolia, during our recent visit in to NYC.

and, some requisite couple shots.

.cheers.

.ho ho ho.

.we're off to seattle!.

i can't wait to be home with family and friends, lots of christmas cookies and wine. hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

.cheers.

81 - done!

81. take a vacation with just claire

yet another item to tick off my 101 in 1001 list. woo hoo!

this is another one i was looking forward to. c and i don't really get to travel much on our own, and since she was studying abroad, and i was going to switzerland for christmas to visit my dad, i figured, hey, we should do our own little trip.

and so we did!

we went to oporto, portugal, a country i had never been to before (thus allowing me to kill two birds with one stone - knocking off another letter!).

speaking of birds, yes, there were peacocks. lots of peacocks. c and i got a little lost trying to find the city center the first day, and ended up walking a lot. we found a little park, and there were flocks of peacocks there. so beautiful.


oporto is a lovely old city perched on the hills lining the duoro river. one of my favorite things about the city was that most buildings had beautiful tile on their facades. it was so pretty, and made every building beautiful and unique.


click on the pictures to see them a bit larger - they come out super small on the blog.

we did some port wine tasting, which was really fun. the port lodges are up on the hills across the duoro in vila nova de gaia, and c and i had fun wandering up the cobbly dark alleys during the portuguese equivalent of a siesta - all the lodges close for a time in the afternoon, mainly between 1pm and 3pm, or thereabouts.

somewhat obsessed with this one


also obsessed with these tiles.


we had to hole up in taylor's lodge while it monsooned, but that was fine by us, because the port there was the best we had. we also met some russian women who were studying in barcelona, and did some tasting with them.

to see the city, c and i got two-day tickets for the hop-on, hop-off bus, which actually worked out really well, because there was a stop right by our hotel! anyway, the bus drivers were a little flirty, but the tour was great, because it went down the coast, and also drove by the major buildings of the city.

all in all, it was a great trip! and it was even better because it meant i got to spend some time with bear.

by the way, i don't think i've ever posted this many pictures. ever. it has taken me over an hour to load them all. my wrist hurts, so i am stopping, and will upload the rest tomorrow.

(for round two, go here)

.cheers.

.twenty ten.

.happy new year!.


here's hoping 2010 is healthy, happy, and full of loved-ones.

.cheers.

.merry.

.merry (late) christmas!.

i was in switzerland for christmas, and couldn't post, but i hope everyone had a wonderful christmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate). i'll post pictures from portugal and switzerland when j is back and i can load my pictures.

currently 13 degrees in cambridge, feels like -5. excellent.

oh. and i'll leave you with a picture of c's that i blatantly stole from her (which is why the quality is bad). do i really look like that when i'm taking pictures? yikes.


.cheers.

.red, a tribute.

.sigh.

i miss the farmer's markets of yore. and by yore, i mean a few months ago. this first** snowfall has me in the christmas-y mood, 'tis true (although i keep trying to find a good advent wreath, and i cannot find one anywhere!). but, i do love and miss the fruits and veggies of summer.

and nice red strawberries just scream summer. well, and this children's book. loved that book, and it always made me hungry.

anyway. although i do miss summer fruits, i did eat 6 oranges this weekend. they were amazing. and pomegranates ain't so bad, either.

here's for a long, hard winter

.cheers.


**by first, i mean the first one i am acknowledging. i have completely blocked the snowfall of mid-october '09 out of my memory, and thus it never occured

.so soon?.

.it is snowing.


no, this picture is not from today (thank god) - it's from last february. but, it is snowing. mind you, not the first snowfall of the year. that happened in mid-october (wha??). but, it is snowing, nonetheless.

so, j and i are listening to the smooth sound of kenny g's christmas carols and making cards. well, i am making cards. he is studying for finals.

to be honest, i was a bit relieved. the weather has been so wonky here lately - i think it was up to 70 at some point this past week. so bizarre. so, i am ready for snow. as long as the blizzarding, crappy boston weather holds off until i am back from my christmas trip, i will be fine. maybe not fine. boston winters suck. we'll see. maybe this year will be different.

maybe.

.cheers.

.pom.

.goodbye thanksgiving, hello advent!.

i have been trying to figure out where i can obtain an advent wreath around here - apparently our church does not sell them? sigh. i want to light the candles week by week; it always makes me feel all festive.

j and i have been buying pomegranates at an alarming rate. i know i have documented my love of pomegranates before, but i wanted to do a brief shout-out again.


they're a lot of work for not much fruit, but honestly, they're so good. so. good.


and so pretty! like little pockets of jewels, all shiny and red.


it's funny when you think about how perfectly they are formed, and how much they resemble honeycomb. very cool.


.cheers.

.deck the halls.

i love christmastime! the mood is always so festive and fun - it's always over far too quickly. which is why i constantly listen to christmas caroles in december, and surround myself in as much christmas as possible while i can.

i got a package in the mail from sue the other day, and lo and behold, it contained a mini christmas tree that i had decorated many many years ago! it's just a fake little thing, with painted pine cones and ribbon, but i love that little tree, and since j and i have absolutely no christmas decorations (we're pathetic, i know), it now has a place of honor on our kitchen table.

thanks sue!

it's good to have some semblance of christmas cheer around.

and, i made my cards this past weekend! apparently 'god jul' is not a common phrase amongst normal folk, so the cards may be incomprehensible to some people, but oh well. i think christmas trees and reindeer are fairly universal symbols of awesomeness.

but no peeking!

so there you have it. tidings of comfort and joy. seattle one week from today!

.cheers.