Curious Bird

not bad for a tuesday

 

 

Hope you're having a good one. 
And for those of you out there getting all that snow, I must admit I'm kind of jealous.

Stay Warm,
Leya

 

Hope you had a good weekend. We certainly did.

Some of the highlights include:

Wonderful Malaysian food out with the girls on Friday.
A long breakfast of savory and sweet crepes with another good friend on Saturday.
Snow!
A holiday party with a spread that included four kinds of cupcakes.
Finishing up a school project, my last of the semester.
Some holiday decorating.
Steamed milk with honey.
Multiple naps (with kitties of course).

More soon. Happy Monday.

-l.

I had my camera in my bag, so I couldn't resist taking at least one shot even though Dustin told me it's illegal. I'm such a rebel.

Just as we had hoped, Fantastic Mr. Fox was wonderful.  If you haven't seen it yet, you must -- it's beautiful and hilarious, and Willem Dafoe does the voice over for a cider-addicted beatnik rat!  The junior mints were good as always and I'm not sitting in the pokey for taking a photo. Good times. Happy Friday.

-Leya

p.s. For the month of December I was invited back to habit. All 33 participates from the year are joining in. Should be a good time. Go Take a look.

tough guys

I know you'll agree that woodworking is a damn fine hobby. I mean, who doesn't love to hammer and saw and drill until something cool materializes, well, probably a lot of people, but some people do love it. I already have too many hobbies or I would definitely branch out and try my luck at a few small projects. I would. Lucky for me,  this is where Dustin comes in. Don't get me wrong, Dustin is busy, but he does have room for maybe one or two more hobbies, so it was great to catch him and his main man Atticus as they worked away on a woodworking project last weekend. Atticus made me a really sweet birdhouse last Summer, and this weekend, equally sweet Butterfly Houses were built. It's a long story where the idea came from, but the important thing is, we now have a nifty butterfly house (made by Dustin) to host all the lovely butterflies that fly through (attention all butterflies, please come to South Philly -- I have some sweet digs waiting for you. you can stay as long as you like -- and I will put a coat of paint on your house as soon as I find time).

 

 Butterfly houses...it just doesn't get much tougher than that.

Be well,
L. 

 

there is nothing better than a long morning with nothing to do and nowhere to be. so grateful to have had a couple of them this past weekend.
makes for a good start to the week.

hope your weekend was full of relaxation.
happy monday.

-leya

grateful

Some of my favorite images from the day.

 

 

 

Hope your Thanksgiving was full to the brim. We had a wonderful day of cooking, eating, cooing over a sweet baby boy (Marco!), and more eating. We're driving south to the Chesapeake Bay for part two this weekend...and I'm pretty thrilled about getting to spend a few days with people I love doing more, well,  cooking and eating. Can't get enough of pretty much everything that is traditionally found on a Thanksgiving menu.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Cheers,
Leya

some bits

Togetherness.

Breakfast before.

After.

More togetherness. 

Here's to another lovely weekend. 

oh, clementine

Just like that, another week has flown by. Overall, it has been a pretty nice one. The end of semester crunch is upon me, but I'm hanging in there and somehow keeping my stress level down. For now.
I think all the clementines I've been consuming may be helping things stay relatively cheery (and healthy). Not that I haven't been called out for my clementine consumption, because I have, and it was by a three-year -old at one of the schools I visit for work. This particular three-year-old did not think I should be eating three in a row. She was probably right, but still. After all, I am the boss of me (to use three-year-old lingo) and I sometimes eat four.

For those of you who are going to cook, have you started planning your Thanksgiving menu yet? This year, we are having not one but two Thanksgiving dinners, so I have plenty to do.
Funny thing is, all I can think about are creamed brussels sprouts. I know the other stuff will come together -- it always does -- but creamed brussels sprouts are a definite. If you haven't tried them yet, please do yourself a favor and give this recipe a try. There's heavy cream and butter involved...

Before I go, here are a few links I wanted to share from the "I really need to learn how to knit" series.  

Stem and Leaf Cowl

Cozy Bolero

Pasha

Silver Coline

Have a great weekend,

Leya

new discovery

Loving these wonderful drawings of  some of my favorite cameras by Jordis. Would make a great gift for any camera geek, if I do say so myself.

 

I'm not a knitter -- hopefully one day I will be -- but my friend Mary Beth is and on top of that she is an excellent producer involved in all sorts of cool projects. Her production company, which she co-owns with her partner Leslie is Junk Drawer Media. They just completed ten videos called "Two-Minute Inspirations" for Lion Brand Yarn.

Very well done, Mary Beth. Perhaps I will become a knitter sooner than I thought...

turning that frown upside down

Happy Friday.

This week has been so dreary and grey, and the 5pm darkness is taking a little getting used to.
I'm trying to remain focused on all the great things I enjoy about Winter. For instance, I know I love big pots of soup on the stove and soft flannel sheets on my bed. There's also something really great about layering up and wearing cozy sweaters and scarves every day. Slippers are pretty fantastic and I am certainly digging my second box of delicious clementines. However, since I'm still in adjustment mode, I have had to look around for cheerful things to brighten my days. Here are a few.

Jen's Pop Up Shop is delightful. I especially love the photos by Laina Briedis -- I had never seen her work before now. 

Niki Jones is new to me too. I love just about everything available. I know it's a little early, but these papier mache Christmas ornaments are definitely making me look forward to decorating for the holidays. And I adore these Suzani cushion covers. So bright and pretty. 

And talk about the opposite of grey and dreary, this amazing wedding shot by Feather Love Photography (found via Oh Joy!) is fantastic.

And lastly, check out Kelly Rae's house tour on Apartment Therapy. No dreariness found there.

Have a great weekend,

Leya

Finally...

after months and months of procrastination. I got new glasses.  Now I can actually see when my hair is totally windblown in the photo above.  I'm not saying I'm going to do anything about it, but I can see it loud and clear. And I get to clearly see the beauty of the leaves outside my front door. Love those colors.

 

And lastly, I get to see The Fantastic Mr. Fox as soon as it opens. Can't wait.

Have fun,
L.

daily light

 

 

 

it might have been a little chilly outside today but the house was full of lovely light.
perfect for granola making
plant growing
kitty snuggling
catching up on some much needed cleaning
music listening
and holiday list making

not bad. not bad at all.

slowly but surely

 

Finally getting some new prints framed and up on the wall. Not sure why this sort of thing always takes so long. Is it just me or is this a common occurrence? 

.............................................................................................

I'm so looking forward to a relaxing weekend. The idea of reading (I have a lot to do for school) while snuggled up under a quilt with my kitties sounds pretty nice. It has been freezing here today. Also feeling like doing some baking. Maybe something simple like biscuits or a little more involved like those amazing fruit galettes. from way back when.

There may even be time to start scheming about holiday projects on my mind lately. It will be here before we know it.

Hope you have yourself a lovely weekend.

-L

Hello out there. I'm still here, just feeling a bit quiet lately. The change of seasons is making we want to hibernate a little. Although as I type this I see the most amazing leaves outside my window -- I think the red and deep orange are my favorite -- must get my camera and go for a walk before they all disappear.

I've been perusing Etsy lately and here are some recent favorites I wanted to share.

Lovely Lotus Gold jewelry is something new for me. Always been a pretty strict silver girl until lately.

This simple and pretty crocheted accessory in one of my favorite colors.

I really need to learn how to knit. This scarf pattern might just give me the kick in the pants I need.

Lovely and comfy Lirola handmade dresses. Like this one, and this one. Perfect with tights and boots.

Also, did you see that Blair is in the chocolate business? So cool.

And one last thing. Urban Weeds. I'm sold...although it makes me want to live in Portland again. I miss that city and my little house on Yamhill Street.  Maybe one day we'll make our way back there...

Be well,
L