Surprise! Yesterday we had 1-2″ of snow and it came right during the morning rush hour. Apparently the weathermen were unable to predict this weather and it stuck around long enough to sock me with a 2.5 hour commute to work. My daily drive is 35 miles one way. It’s been a tough week and I’m trying to focus on our vacation in less than a month. We’ll be staying with my great aunt and uncle in Ninole. They have a wonderful home right on the the Big Island Coastline. I’ll definitely be taking more photos when we visit. On this blustery winter day, it already looks very inviting!
Archive for January, 2010
at home: in ninole
January 29, 2010palate cleanser
January 28, 2010Work has been so busy lately, I haven’t had much time/energy to shoot or edit anything new… I’ve been sorting through photos to put on a digital photo frame and when I came across these squirrels from a trip to Canada I thought I thought we could all use a break from my usual posts about food! There are lots of small critters in the Canadian Rockies and some of them are used to tourists, so they can be down-right outgoing if they think you have something to eat. We met these fellows at a rest stop along the road to Maligne Lake outside of Jasper. 
I was sorting through some photos from our 2008 trip to the Rockies and if you haven’t been to this part of Canada, put it on your list. It’s just spectacular. When I get back to more travel blogging I’ll revisit the photos from this trip. I felt like every view was breathtaking! Never heard of Maligne Lake? Here it is in all its glory, even on a gray rainy day!
If you watch web soup, you’ll get the reference to this blog title.
how sweet it is… dylan’s candy bar
January 27, 2010Last weekend it was back to Big Apple. Between seeing Jersey Boys and dinner at BLT Steak, we decided to do some shopping. Dylan’s Candy Bar was a complete zoo at 5pm on a Saturday, but the very prospect of so much sugar is positively intoxicating! Julie and I had fun cramming all kind of gummy and sour candies into sectioned boxes for my niece and nephew. How about a staircase made of sweets or artwork composed with jelly beans!?
always in style
January 21, 2010Until yesterday I forgot about my photos from Greenport, Long Island. It was foggy/soggy May weekend. After digging up Burke’s birthday shot, I found a few more I wanted to share. This Goorin Bros hat first found its way onto D’s head during Jo and Pete’s Christmas party. D seemed to take to it quite naturally, so I thought this fedora would make a perfect gift when he switched jobs last March.
And here are two All-Stars on the shell & stone filled shoreline.
M’s Chuck Taylors and D’s more modern take by John Varvados for Converse. The classics are always in style!
born on this day
January 19, 2010It’s Paul Cezanne’s birthday, but who cares? I’ve got two dear friends who I’m sure are celebrating in style today!
First up: Burke. His wit is razor-sharp and among other things, B has introduced me to Austin, Texas (one seriously awesome city) and Celine Dion’s Let’s Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste (enough said). This photo was taken on the shores of Greenport Long Island, dark & stormy in hand. 
And E, who I’m sure is this blog’s most faithful follower. Even in the age of Google Analytics: there are some days I’m convinced no one’s reading this, but E always proves me wrong. I’m no Anthony DeCarlo, but I can guarantee this was the very first shot after she put on her wedding dress this past June.
desperately seeking (cool) new neighbors
January 19, 2010Our neighbor just put his house on the market…again. It’s not your typical cookie-cutter home, but I still miss the slate roof. It broke my heart to hear the roofers carelessly throwing the slate onto the ground. Sunday was the first open house and there was some brisk traffic all afternoon long. What’s so great about Morningside? Well, right now there are bare trees and lots of dirty snow banks, but in the summer… there are glorious long days, with late sunsets and plenty of time to walk along Morningside Drive. You can even even try your luck with a fishing pole!
I LOVE: felix doolittle
January 18, 2010In 2009, a record number of my friends had a baby (or two, in the case of Jo & Pete) and it’s always a struggle for me to figure out children’s gifts. This past Christmas, Felix Doolittle’s new Junior Wordplay Medallions were just the ticket. These circular labels feature his signature watercolor illustrations and can be customized as bookplates or simply used for staking claim on any of your wee-one’s worldly possessions! They’re printed on premium paper and the luxe feel makes you want to save these for something special. 
In a shrinking world of handwritten correspondence, Mr. Doolittle’s stationery shop constantly inspires me to send more snail mail.
in season: the citrus edition
January 17, 2010I keep hearing about the prolonged cold snap devastating Florida citrus growers, so I was surprised to see navel oranges on sale for $.99/lb! I like to cut them up in advance for a quick weekday breakfast. 
Over the past month, I’ve been favoring the fancier Cara Cara. It’s not a variety you’ll see year-round. I’m in love with the sweet taste and the beautiful color. You can see why their labels proudly proclaim, pink is the new orange. They look like a small pink grapefruit, but they’re not tart at all.
I’ve been wanting a satsuma orange for weeks. Something about the one leaf draws me in. During my childhood trips to Hawaii, I remember Japanese homes displaying a mandarin orange on top of two mochi rice cakes. Kagami Mochi is a traditional New Year’s decoration, but I swear I used to see it other times of the year…
somewhere over the rainbow
January 15, 2010This week, my friend Rachel announced she needed grape & winery photographs for a new blog. I thought I could help out, but realized that I don’t have many images that fit the bill… In my search, I came across this shot again. Another cold, gray New England day. We were spending the night in Mystic so we could get our marriage license first thing on Monday morning. Hardly anyone was in the winery tasting room that Sunday afternoon. That day- it was the sleepy, quiet place I fell for on our first visit. Out of nowhere, D was the first to see the rainbow arching over the entire vineyard. We all raced out on to the deck to get a better look.
I’ve always loved the spot where we got married… in the rain… even before the rainbow. It looked like heaven to me on that hilltop. Just like the kind of place Judy Garland sang about. 
baby, it’s cold outside
January 14, 2010Who’s with me… are you sick of winter yet? As a lifelong New England resident, you’d think I’d be used to the cold and the snow. Every January I get complete fed up with being freezing cold all the time. This year we got smart and planned a vacation to visit family! We’ve got about a month to go and we’ll be happily installed on the beach in Hawaii… This photo of the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel dates back to our first trip to the the islands in 2005. It rained that day. All day. And not liquid sunshine where the sun is out and you get some sprinkles from the sky. Everywhere we went, locals told us it never rains this much in Kona. No matter, it kept pouring right up until the very end of the day where our patience was rewarded with this view. 
We haven’t been to this beach since the hotel was renovated, but you can plainly see there’s no need to upgrade the spectacular sunsets along the Kohala coastline of the Big Island.