12/31

The final picture of 2009. This was after a wedding we attended in Orsay, France. I think it is very symbolic of what the new year means to a lot of people. I know I am anxious to see what it will bring and also eager to take advantage of the motivation that comes with a clean slate.

12/30

I know that pictures of the Eiffel Tower can tres passe but I really love the way that this one turned out. The clouds make it look like it's about to launch! We were walking through the 7th arrondissement to see the tower (7 km each way to and from our apartment!) and once we got to the Armory Museum, the view was incredible!

12/29

I believe this is the last remaining Metropolitain sign with the cover that comes out from it. I spent a good part of my trip trying to find a poster of a sign like this for a friend who specifically requested one but no luck! This was shot in the 18th Arrondissement in the same area where the movie Amelie was filmed.

12/28

I probably shouldn't have gotten started on this tangent because now I can't stop looking at my Paris pictures. Le sigh! I think I'll do a week of Paris. Hopefully that will get it out of my system. Here is Notre Dame right before it started pouring down rain.

12/27

I'm having some friends over this evening and the theme for the gathering is Paris. I decided to go back into my folder and dig out some pictures from our trip this summer. This one is an absolute favorite.

12/26

The day after Christmas is traditionally hectic. I made some returns, had to take my daughter to meet her dad at the Philadelphia airport, went to IKEA to buy said daughter a new desk for her room and then went to visit and old high school friend at work in the city. All of this while it was pouring down rain. Seeing this picture made me feel a little more tranquil inside.

12/25

Merry Christmas!

12/24

My daughter had a celebration of heritage at her school yesterday. We live in a really diverse little town and many of the children came in the traditional dress of their respective countries. It was amazing and totally adorable. We can all learn a lot from these kids!

12/23

One of the angels at Rockefeller Center in New York last week. The lighting made it difficult to get a decent picture of the tree itself. I remember always noticing the angels blowing their horns in front of the tree when I'd see pictures and it was just as cool to see them as it was to see the tree for the very first time five years ago.

12/22

As you can see, we got a ton of snow this weekend. Over a foot and a half. It's still all over the ground but it's supposed to be in the 40's and rainy on Friday and Saturday so that should melt a lot of it. This is a shot of the 'snow cake' on our balcony.

12/21

Also taken in New York last Friday. This is the side of Sak's. The entire building was covered in them and every once in a while, Carol of the Bells (one of my favorite Christmas carols!) would play and they would start flashing. It was really cool.

12/20

Taken in NYC this past Friday. A group of friends and I went to see the tree and we love looking at all of the window displays at the major department stores. Macy's had a wonderful Miracle on 34th Street theme! I absolutely adore it!

12/19

We took a trip to Salem, MA in October with some good friends. We found a lovely and peaceful memorial set up for the 19 people who were tried and executed as witches. Each victim had a small stone bench with their name, the year they died and how they were killed.

12/18

My first attempt at making candied orange peels was a few months ago. One of my Tuesday knitters gave me some peel cut in perfect strips. The ones that I cut on my own for my second attempt weren't nearly as pretty.

12/17

Same party as the shot before. The jealousy inducing collection of vintage coffee paraphernalia at Casa Massa. Don't even get me started on the amazing collection of dishes!!!

12/16

I am a sucker for a few specific things: graffiti, food, flowers and red berry thingys. These were spotted as I was leaving a Halloween party at my friend Kate's house.

12/15

The Stephansdom in Vienna, Austria. It was overcast and cloudy for most of that day so it was difficult to get a decent shot. I thought this one looked cool despite the fog. The church was absolutely magnificent and we really had a great time exploring the area around it.

12/14

My dog, Chowder. Isn't he a peach? This is probably about 3 months old now but he's still just as precious.

12/13

We were at the Jersey Shore yesterday taking pictures with some of my extended family. It was right around sunset which happens way too early for my taste these days! By the time 5:00 rolls around, it's dark. It was absolutely freezing outside but that didn't take away from the beauty of the beach.

12/12

One of the cats at the Silver Forge Farm. I forget his name. I was taking pictures of some of Shannon and Eliezer's various farm animals and this big guy struck a pose! He looks like he has a good life!

12/11

This was taken the Friday before Halloween of this year. Molly's school had a costume parade and I was able to get off of work and attend. She was Coraline this year. Her wig was itchy. We bought a wig cap for the next day and it helped but then she complained that it was too tight. We couldn't win! She was still cute though.

12/10

The bookstore where I work hosts two knitter groups. The Thursday group knitted up a bunch of hats to donate to children who live in the mountains of Burma. The lady who was collecting them was born there and has been traveling once a year for the past 12 years to bring hand knitted hats to help the children keep warm.

12/09

Taken in August of this year in Alabama at my Aunt and Uncle's horse farm. This is my nephew, Christian. He turns ten years old today. Happy Birthday Little Man!! Or should I say Big Man now?

12/08

This is one of my favorite things I brought back from the trip last month. An antique traditional Bavarian ornament. It's German but I actually purchased it in Vienna. I have a small Christmas tree on my dining room table that has nothing but German ornaments on them. I really love the look of the old Bavarian style decorations so I was thrilled to finally get one! I paid about 10 US dollars for it at the Nachtmarkt but in Germany, I bet it would have run me closer to $25.

12/07

This was taken in Spring of this year. I was sitting next to Chris on the couch and couldn't help photographing him admiring our herb box which was bursting with life at the time! He is such a nurturing spirit and he absolutely loves plants. And animals. And his family.... The list goes on.

12/06

The view from my bed in our Germany hotel gazing at the open window. They kept the rooms well heated so we needed a little cool air. I can remember willing myself not to take a nap even though the jet lag was killing me and I'd been wandering around all day. I managed to get myself back out and I had a great time!

12/05

From a different trip but also taken in New York City in May of this year. My friend Shannon and I were walking around Manhattan and we stumbled upon a guerilla knitting project! It was seriously awesome to see because I'd read about them recently in a magazine.

12/04

From the same trip to NYC as the 12/3 picture. We stopped in an East Village bakery and I had a pistachio cupcake. It was different! I'd probably hit it again! The icing tasted kind of like Cool Whip. Molly had a huge slab of cheesecake that was almost as big as she is. This cupcake makes me think of the pistachios my Opa used to bring back from Turkey when he was in the Air Force. Mmmmmmm.

12/03

My daughter in March of this year playing Paper, Rock, Scissors with my Opa who was sitting in the seat behind us on the train to New York City. Looking at this picture, I can really see how much she has changed this year.

12/02

Back to Austria. I went to the Leopold Museum which was a personal triumph for me. I've always wanted to see the famous works of Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele in person so this was a big thing to cross off of my Bucket List. I was super lucky in that this particular museum actually allowed photography without the flash!!! This is a detailed shot of Klimts Death and Life which was absolutely breathtaking in person!

12/01

I love cake but for my birthday, I always request pie. Not just any pie will do. I want a cherry pie from Delicious Orchards. They're a bit pricey I love them and my inlaws are more than willing to splurge for the cause. I was looking through my pictures and deciding what to post and this one just caught my eye! I guess I shouldn't post when I'm hungry!

11/30

Time for something festive! For years I've dreamed of having a bird tree for Christmas time and that finally became a reality yesterday! Tacky? Yes! Gawdy? Yes! Do I love it? YES! The gorgeous blue bird on the right came from Germany. The silvery sparkly owl in the upper middle came from Austria.

11/29

Some street performers in Austria. A hardcore group of break dancers who deserve to be on television! This guy held that pose for about 40 seconds. The others were taunting him and telling him to smile while he did it so he did!

11/28

A church in central Nuremberg, Germany that I walk past constantly when I visit there. 3 big, beautiful churches are on my regular route through the center of town and I can never seem to photograph them enough. They're such striking and gorgeous structures. This one in particular is still under renovation because of damage from the war.

11/27

I'm home after an amazing trip that I'm still recovering from! I figured I should post a pic from my trip so here is a shot taken in Vienna. It was a huge fountain with various mythological gods and goddesses and one of them had their foot hanging off of the outside almost touching the ground. I thought it looked cool.

11/17

We're leaving for Austria and Germany today. This is a picture of the two that I will miss the most. Our dog, Chowder, is with some friends for the week and Molly is going to her friend Chloe's. She lives two buildings over. She is super excited for her giant sleepover. I always get apprehensive before a flight. Going to Vienna has been high up on my list of things to do for half of my life so I'm still bowled over that it's finally happening. I'll be gone through the 25th so no more posts until then. Auf Wiedersehen!

11/16

You'll find a lot of random graffiti in this blog. I have a weakness for it when I'm wandering around with my camera. This was taken in Brattleboro, VT back in October of this year. We went there as part of our honeymoon a few years ago and stopped in on the way back from another New England trip this fall to relive some of the memories.

11/15

This was taken at a restaurant in Germany over the summer. They brought out these lovely condiments but our meal was so incredibly tasty and perfect that I didn't even use any. Their efforts were not wasted though. I probably took at least ten shots of those darn bottles in an attempt to capture the essence of sitting in that booth and staring at the light that was shining through that oil and vinegar. We leave Tuesday morning to go back to Austria and Germany for a week and we are definitely eating at that place again. I can't wait.

11/14

This is another shot taken in Cranbury. I was proud of the way it came out. I really like that the blossoms almost appear to be scoping you out... It's a little difficult to determine if they are friends or foes.

11/13

This picture is about 3 years old and before we got the new camera. We were grabbing a slice of pizza before a concert in Philadelphia. This was Molly's first show (Sufjan Stevens) and we all had a great night out. I love how this kinda looks like a still from a cheesy music video.

11/12

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we have a group of knitters who come and hang out in the cafe at work. The Thursday group is led by a master knitter named Maggie who is an absolute genius when it comes to needlework. She was playing around one day and knitted a tiny mitten that she planned on using as a charm on a keychain. She's been in the hospital for the past two weeks with H1N1 and I hope to see her back today.

11/11

My husband and his incredibly strong yet gentle hand. We were at a school function for Molly and they stamped us.

11/10

This past spring, we went on a Haunted Tour of the town of Cranbury, NJ. We met up at our starting point and waited for a bit to get going. There was an adorable little sitting spot and garden next to the house and it was dedicated to a woman (I think her name was Sarah) for her years of community service. The place had a peculiar yet peaceful air to it and I couldn't help but take a few pictures.

11/9

Rainbow chard has to be one of my least favorite of the leafy greens. However, it is definitely the most beautiful! I can never resist taking lot of pictures of it when I do give in to their alluring colors and purchase a bunch.

11/7

This is a new creative project that I'm doing just for fun. It's basically an outlet for pictures that don't fall neatly into any particular category but that want to share. I guess this is sort of my birthday gift to myself. I know I'm not a great photographer but I enjoy taking pictures. If someone else gets any sort of pleasure out of viewing them, my day is made.

I do a lot of traveling, cooking and galavanting and the images will reflect that. The pictures I post will be selected on a somewhat random basis. Whatever speaks to me that day will be plucked, jotted and posted.

I wasn't sure how to start this off but I emptied out my camera today and this one grabbed me. A group of some of my girlfriends accompanied my family and I out to Doylestown, PA for a birthday trip. It's a lovely little town and we had a great time wandering around. I snapped this picture of my daughter, Molly, in front of this old church and I really love the way it turned out. She has been the greatest source of joy and pride in my life and I feel that I grow more in the right direction on each of my birthdays because of her.