Merry Christmas!

Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have a real spirit of Christmas.

~ Calvin Coolidge

Merry Christmas! I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday! May the spirit of the season stay with you all year long.

30 Days of Thanks: Day 18- A Saying, Quote or Scripture

{image from pinterest}

This is the Holstee Manifesto. I first came across it about a year ago. It was features on several bogs that I read: Elements of Style, La Dolce Vita, and more.

There are so many inspirational quotes out there in the blogosphere, and as you can tell, I like most of them. Choosing just one quote was not an easy task. Here's what I like about this one- it's big. It's not just about love, it's not just about getting ahead on your career, it's not just about surrounding yourself with the people who bring out the best in you. It's about all of that, and that's what I find appealing.

30 Days of Thanks: Day 17- A Store

It seems like an interesting thing to be thankful for- a store. In a time when we're all paying so much attention to the way we spend and how we spend, it's nice to take a moment and be thankful for the ability to spend at all. We could be in a very different place than we are right now, and I'm very grateful for all that the Big Guy and I have achieved and all that we're able to do. We work hard, and sometimes we take our opportunities for granted.

In thinking about a store that I love, there's one that comes to mind right away. Anthropologie. I love their mix of home decor, clothing, kitchen accessories, jewelry and shoes. Some of my favorite pieces have come from their store, and some of the pictures that are most inspiring to me in terms of home design and fashion come from their catalog.

Some of you may remember the frames that are a floating headboard in our 3rd bedroom- well all of the images in those frames are actually pages from old Anthropologie catalogs.

There's something about the store that I seek out every time I'm in a mall that has one. I love the atmosphere they've created, and I love being able to bring that into my home as well.

Big Guy Studies the Classics

In the under thirty crowd these days you can get a strange look from your friends for ordering a dirty martini or a Manhattan. It’s partly due to the atmosphere of most bars we are in. Once you get past the post college blackout phase, you start thinking a lot more about what sort of atmosphere you enjoy. You start looking to nicer places and all of a sudden the drinks of our parents and grandparents become way more common.

To give your home that grown up atmosphere, you need to learn of a few of the classics.

Martini
2.5 oz of gin or vodka
.5 oz dry vermouth

Shaken over ice and put in a tall martini glass, (Yes you should have martini glasses at your disposal). Garnish with an olive, pickled onion or lemon twist. To go Dirty just add a half oz of olive juice.

Big Guy’s Manhattan
3 oz bullet bourbon
1 oz sweet vermouth
.5 oz maraschino cherry juice
A dash of bitters

Shaken over ice and put into a highball glass (or a martini glass if you feel dashing) Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

White Russian Brought to you by the dude…
3 oz vanilla vodka
1 oz Kahlua Especial
1 oz half and half

Fill an old fashioned glass halfway with ice. Pour the vodka in first, then add the Kahlua. After that add the half and half and a stir straw. Stir and enjoy.

Long Island Iced Tea This is the frat punch that doesn’t make it look like you are still in college
1 oz clear rum

1 oz gin
1 oz vodka
1 oz white tequila
1 oz triple sec
1 oz lemon or lime juice
2 oz cola

Fill a tall sling style, or double high ball glass with about a third of the way full with ice. Mix the liquors in the glass with a long bar spoon. Add the cola and lemon juice last. Garnish with a lime or lemon.

30 Days of Thanks: Day 16- An Experience

If you want change: choose it, leap, act. Don't wait for life to happen to you. Make things happen.
~ via Making Things Happen

The summer after my junior year in college, I had an internship with a small theatre company. In London- Chickenshed Theatre.

It was an amazing experience, one that I wouldn't trade. At first I was nervous, I wasn't sure that I'd get into the program- it was  a study abroad program with Purdue. I think there were about 20 of us who went, and all of us worked with different companies. The way the program was structured, we had two days with class in the morning and four days a week we were working either all day or just in the afternoon.

That left us with 3 day weekends every weekend. Amazing. I spent a weekend in Paris where I actually woke up to the sounds of an accordian playing La Vie en Rose. I swear. I backbacked through Scotland and Ireland.

The theatre company was amazing. Their philosophy is that the arts should be inclusive and that everyone has creativity in them, they just need an opportunity to express that creativity. You can dance in a wheelchair, you can sing a beautiful song even if you can't talk. You can read more about them and what they do on their website. It's amazing.

I'm itching to plan a trip back. I'd love to show the Big Guy where I lived and where I spent my time that summer.

30 Days of Thanks: Day 15- A Recipe

We try a lot of recipes. The Big Guy and I like food. We like all kinds of food. My favorite things to cook tend to be comfort food. Thick sauces, pastas, rich flavors, aromas that fill the whole house. Here's one of those recipes. Really easy to make, but delicious and plenty of left overs.

It's baked rigatoni pasta in a tomato-vodka-cream sauce with ground turkey. I can't post the actual recipe, because the cookbook I have it in is still in print. I'm pretty sure that's less than legal. But I do have a lot of pictures from the last time I made it.

30 Days of Thanks: Day 14- Something New

If I'm honest, I have to tell you that I still read fairy tales and I like them best of all.~ Audrey Hepburn

My something new is a collection of Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tales. This book is one of the latest additions to my collection of the Penguin Clothbound Classics, with cover designs by Coralie Bickford-Smith. Not only do they look great on the shelf, but the list includes some of my favorite titles. Adding this book to the collection is also progress on Goal 36.

{image from www.cb-smith.com}

30 Days of Thanks: Day 13- Something Old

I got a little out of order on this one, but that's ok. My something old is my teddy bear.

I've had him since I was a baby. His fur is worn and his nose came unravelled on a regular basis. From my perspective, that just adds to his charm. Sure I'm 30, but there's something about that bear that just makes me smile. Lots of good memories.

30 Days of Thanks: Day 12- A Gadget

This is my kindle. I was totally the girl in the commercial who's all "no I don't want to give up actual books" and then falls for the kindle. Don't get me wrong, I still love books and will never give them up entirely. There's something about the feel of the pages and the binding and the smell of a brand new book that I love. (Yes, I'm a giant dork for writing that. That's not news.)

Now I can be a bit more selective about what actually sits on the shelf. A nine volume Hemingway collection with ivory cloth binding and gilded lettering on the spines? Of course that can be on the shelf! A trilogy written for young adults about a secret troll society and their princess who doesn't know that she's a princess with incredible psychic powers? Ummm, I maybe don't need to be seen carrying that one around. (It's the Trylle series by Amanda Hocking in case you're wondering and it was FANTASTIC.)

Plus, if I'm ever on an episode of hoarders, it will be because of books. That tiny little thing holds up to 1,000 books. Challenge accepted. I think it'll be easy to get to that number with the help of sites like Pixel of Ink, a blog that posts great deals and free downloadable books for the Kindle and the Nook. Some are great, some are not, but when they're free I'm willing to give them a try.

If you haven't tried one out, I highly recommend it. 

30 Days of Thanks: Day 11- A Tradition

Today is Veteran's Day, so it seems fitting that the tradition I'm thankful for is our military. I find myself humbled on a regular basis by those who choose to serve our country and protect our ideals and our freedoms. As the daughter of an Air Force veteran and the grand-daughter of Navy veteran, I am immeasurably proud today. I'm proud of them every day, but today I get to take a few minutes out of my day and really think about all that they've done.

So to all those soldiers and their families- Thank you. The sacrifices you make are not easy, but they are appreciated. Though we frequently take them for granted, we would be lost without the opportunities provided to all of us through your sacrifices.

{image found via pinterest}