i've had a sudden uplifting...maybe it's the shopping spree i've been on that is lifting my spirits, or passing my annual review at work, or wearing dresses a few times a week that's doing it, but something has brightened my outlook tremendously in the last few weeks. it's good.

in other news, i think hubb and i have decided on a 5 year anniversary trip - - santiago, chile. it's a new experience for both of us, good food, good wine (two of my favorite wineries are in the maipo valley), we won't be berated with recommendations and tips from our friends (no offense, but we really want this trip to be 100% ours, you know?), and most importantly, it will be warm. low 70's to be exact. no too hot, not too cold, just perfect. oh my god i can't wait. hopefully we'll be buying the plane tickets and locking in our plan very soon. airfare is outrageously expensive, but hotels, rental cars and meals will be cheap, and looking at the mountains and the ocean on a 70 degree sunny day is free.

i've been totally distracted by random silliness lately, namely these barack and hillary sites. you've probably already seen them, but enjoy anyway. it's fun to compare.

i complain all the time about, well, everything, but quite a bit about being busy and having nearly every day in my planner filled with something to do. oh, poor me, with lots of social obligations and places to be. yeah, i'm going to stop complaining because i am in fact very very lucky. incredibly lucky to have such a great network of (incredibly talented) friends who want to be around me, family who love me and want me to come visit them, coworkers that i want to hang out with after 5pm, opportunities to volunteer, the strength to exercise (occasionally) and the financial stability to fit in a few shopping trips in between. life is pretty good. and if that means i take a few less lazy sunday photos and make a few less meals at home, so be it. even if it makes me sigh and start complaining about my busy life again.

just wait until we have a kid.

i'm not pregnant. that wasn't an announcement, just a reflection.

ok, then. so i'm antsy for springtime and just ordered a few cute ruffly things with bows in colors! actual colors other than black and denim! i'm looking forward to rust orange and peacock blue and yellow and white to come back into my daily wardrobe.

i'm wearing a cranberry color today (underneath my black sweater) in honor of valentine's day. i don't have the cynicism a lot of people do about it being a hallmark holiday, which it totally is, because i enjoy the romantic moment it inspires us take with each other, to pause and accept and enjoy each other in the midst of our busy lives. sometimes life just happens underneath you and you catch yourself taking your significant other (or your family, or your friends) for granted. valentine's day is just one of those days that makes us step back and feel grateful for the love we have in our lives. and maybe get some flowers out of the deal.

so happy heart day, friends. i love you.

i'm still feeling listy. which i am now associating with lazy.

a. the barista at the starbucks that i pass on the way to work has been upgrading me from a grande to a venti, often enough that i am beginning to wonder if it's his way of flirting or if i just look damned tired.

b. i've often looked at the potbelly's bicycle delivery people and wondered if that might be a fun job, riding around the city, making people happy by bringing them food.

c. after eating anything i want for a weekend full of visitors, it's hard to get back to normal and resist buffalo blue cheese fries when they're available.

d. i am so desperate for a vacation, so much that i almost "accidently" bought plane tickets to montreal for the end of the week, and daydreamed a story of why i needed the time off work.

e. looking at potential apartment locations with friends this past weekend got my itchy for something new. i'm sort of slightly considering a few open house visits this weekend. or not. if i am feeling lazy. which i am.

some things. (i'm totally into lists lately)

- for some reason, anti my usual critical self, i adore this.

- i want to create little business cards that say "i can hear your music. your headphones don't work." to hand to people on the train. i think that would be the polite thing to do, because these people are probably unaware that they are being rude.

- i bought a box of lemongrass tea from the ethnic cosmetic/hair care section of cvs a few weeks ago. it was $1.49 and is currently my favorite beverage.

- i feel totally awesome after tae bo monday. i'm antsy to go back and punish my leg muscles some more. once they stop throbbing, that is.

- i have found the most wonderful toy box, ever. i want it.

- i am almost done reading animal, vegetable, miracle, and it is totally making me want to go live on a farm and raise turkeys and tomatoes and squash. if you're at all into food you should read this inspirational, educational book.

- i would like a vacation soon. somewhere warm, please.

things i've been thinking about.

- it would be cool to have a chandelier for my dining room table that is also wine glass storage. the wine glasses hang by their stems around the light, creating sparkly romantic lighting and easy access to stemware.

- diy baby stuff. i think one of the reasons hubb and i don't have any kids yet (one of the many many reasons) is that we are against all of the consumerism associated with raising children. disney this and sesame street that, toys and gadgets that we probably need in some capacity but really don't want to have to buy...or find a home for in our little condo. i don't think we'll ever get our families to go along with this, but i'd like to stick to as much of a diy aesthetic/lifestyle as possible when we finally decide to expand our family. handmade wooden and felt toys, handsewn clothes, homemade baby food. i think i have the gumption for it, we'll just see if someday i'll have the time to execute.

- another friend had a baby on friday, and surprise! it was a girl. what are these people eating/drinking that they all are having girl babies? but they're all perfect and beautiful and i wouldn't change any of them into boys. welcome to the world, alice! (i love that name so so much!)

- i keep buying artwork, and i've sort of run out of places to put it. i think i'd like to turn our hallway into a randomly arranged gallery of art...i just need to gather up the courage to put a bunch of nail holes into my walls.

- i keep pretending i'm going to go to a gym, do some aerobic activity, exercise, but i always find an excuse not to. it is possible that some people just aren't built for being active or am i just being lazy?

today: 10 things about me

1. i love love love blue cheese. everything about it is perfect.

2. i occasionally go through these ADD fits where i can't concentrate on anything for more than a minute. like today on the train i was trying to read newsweek and kept getting bored 2 paragraphs into each article. i hate when that happens.

3. i love to paint my own nails. i love getting pedicures, but i often feel that in my anal retentive attention to detail self, i do a better job at the painting part. sometimes i go through the whole summer with an impeccably self maintained french manicure and pedicure.

4. i have a lot of trouble following recipes. i always feel the need to change it, even by just a little bit. that has resulted in tragedy more than once when i've tried to bake.

5. i bit the tongue of the first guy i ever french kissed. i'm still amazed that he gave me a second chance.

6. i really dislike green bean casserole. with a passion.

7. i have these dual busybody/lazy sides to me. i love me some couch sitting in the evenings, but when i'm home sick, i have to do stuff. i often spend hours in the kitchen making chicken broth, then soup from scratch when i'm home sick from work. it makes me feel better.

8. i believe strongly in holistic and homeopathic medicine, though i don't practice it regularly.

9. i love almost anything with flavored with almond.

10. i used to play soccer when i was a kid, and my nickname was "speedy gonzalez" because i was short and fast.

wow food. so much yumminess in my kitchen lately.

1. braised whole chicken with rosemary, pears, and vermouth. holy cow it was so juicy and tender and delicious. from all about braising, a cookbook i bought for myself over the holidays. i tried to follow the recipe verbatim, which i rarely do, and it was well worth it.

2. bucatini with chicken, artichoke hearts and caramelized onions. using up some of the shredded rosemary pear chicken, and the yummy pear/vermouth sauce that came with it. i added a tiny bit of tomato sauce to thicken, and it was simply divine.

3. turkey meatloaf. sounds boring, but dinner last night was one of the best things i've made in a very very long time. the recipe:

- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1/2 large red bell pepper, diced (or 1 small)
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 4 cups ground turkey (or chicken)
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese (i used low fat)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp truffle oil
- 1 sprig rosemary, chopped finely
- salt and pepper to taste

preheat oven to 375. saute onion, bell pepper and garlic in about 1 tbsp olive oil over medium to low heat until soft. meanwhile, mix together all other ingredients. add onion pepper mixture. form into a loaf and set atop some firm bread pieces to sop up the juices as they run off. (i used mini bagels that were stale and ready for the garbage anyway.) no ketchup, no chili sauce. just yum. oh my god so good. i served it with baked potatoes which i rubbed with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and a tiny bit of the truffle oil, and some simple steamed broccoli with lemon. perfect. and pretty! the red pepper in the soft pale meatloaf is so festive.

we just happen to have two different bottles of truffle oil we received as gifts from wonderful wonderful friends. i have been trying to come up with sneaky ways to use them without overpowering dishes, and this turned out heavenly. if you don't have truffle oil, don't fret. you could use any flavored oil (basil, garlic, chili) or run out to your nearby gourmet store, plop down the credit card and purchase the most deliciously indulgent condiment you'll ever buy. and it will be worth every penny.

today i am:

1. happy about my new amy ruppel purchase!
2. wishing i had bought two.
3. so so cold i wish i wore long johns.
4. anticipating jamie oliver's guinness + steak + cheese pie i was going to make last night but instead will be making this weekend.
5. still reeling from my bra fitting at intimacy.
6. really full from too much bread and soup at lunch.
7. excited about an upcoming post about my work on the apartment therapy nursery blog!
8. needing a change, something different.
9. thinking i should maybe leave the credit card in the wallet for a while.
10. considering becoming a nanny.

so, last night i had the privilege of eating dinner at custom house, participating in a unibroue beer and food pairing. on the menu: mussels, lamb, rabbit, duck, venison, sweetbreads, and 6 other delectable delicacies paired with 6 yummy inspiring unibroue beers. it was a fantastic sunday evening meal, though i think hubb and i both reached a meat threshold by the end of it.

today is supposedly the most depressing day of the year. and, surprisingly enough, i'm actually having a pretty good day so far. woke up late, but made it to work on time, feeling sort of cute in my outfit today, and already getting response to my new etsy items. also, although i rarely stop by starbucks on the way into work, i did today, treating myself to a caramel latte. after the first of our monday morning meetings, hubb walks in with a vanilla latte for me as well. so i'm double fisting the caffeine today, which is probably part of the cause for my uplifted mood, come to think of it.

i'm trying to waste time and distract myself from eating the second half of my sandwich for lunch today....after 12 courses last night, following a few months of overeating, i'm trying to make my stomach a little more normal sized by limiting portions. tough for a girl who loves food. i'm learning a few tricks, though, and hopefully i'll learn enough self restraint to change my habits. wish me luck.

perhaps i just need more coffee.

hi there! i've just finished some new audubon collage paintings. check them out on my arts and crafts blog and my etsy shop.

enjoy!

i’ve been on a sort of blah icky moody lately…not quite sure why or how it came about, but it’s here and i can’t seem to kick it. i don’t want to be around people during the day. i don’t want to go to work, or to meetings or even volunteer…i want to be at home. always. under a blanket, sipping tea (or a sidecar). i want to paint and cut and paste and learn to knit and cook complicated extended prep dinners every night. no more of this 9-5 business (or 8-6). i want to pet my cats and take naps and long walks at 11 am and use my camera a lot. and go to the grocery store when nobody else is there. and explore this city that i love so much. i want to be alone. i’ve been thinking of ways to make this happen and have come up with three options:

1. quit my job, never buy anymore clothes, shoes, fancy toiletries, or interesting imported wine, beer, or spices ever again.
2. move to rural michigan. become a dog walker.
3. hope hubb someday gets paid twice as much as he does now, stay home and raise a baby.

seeing as these aren’t really options right now, it looks like i’m stuck with my current routine for a while longer. i’ll likely get out of this rut once winter starts to fade (which by the look of the weather forecast today isn’t going to happen anytime real soon). until then i’m trying to find ways to intermittently cheer myself up that don’t include drinking or eating too much. it’s hard. really really hard.

one of my cheer ups includes shopping, which really should be put on hold. i have also been going through a reorganizing kick, redoing my petite walk in closet, which has succeeded in cheering me up immensely. i got rid of three huge bags of incorrectly sized bras, out of style shoes, and ill fitting and a little too worn clothing, and in the process discovered some old favorites that have made their way back into my rotation. like the vintage inspired grey boat neck angora sweater i’m wearing today. (i would never buy angora now, but having purchased this sweater nearly 5 years ago makes it ok to continue to wear).

i've also been taking a break from cooking recently, being much much busier than i expected i would be this month. but i think i get to cook dinner either friday or sunday, which will mean comfort food galore. i’m antsy to roast a chicken and make some gravy and mashed potatoes. or braise something. or make some pasta. and marinara sauce from scratch. oh i wish i could just stay home the rest of the week and cook.

2008. it's off to a good start, i think. and already broken resolutions (i ate a huge cheeseburger for lunch today, had a beer last night, and have been totally slacking on my artwork.) but there is a lot to look forward to this year, which i'm noticing as i'm consolidating calendars and spreadsheets for the new year.

2008 is the year of travel. we're going somewhere almost every month starting in march. virginia for my step-mother's 60th birthday, virginia again for my little brother's college graduation (i can't believe he's about to be a grown up in the real world and all that. he's still 12 to me sometimes), boston to visit a very very good friend, new york city to visit my brother-in-law, montreal (maybe) for a little weekend getaway to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary, turkey (yay!) for a long overdue weeklong vacation and to see my best friend get married...again, and finally los angeles (maybe) for my uncle's 50th birthday + a family reunion. in between maybe we'll fit in a cabin weekend in michigan or a night in milwaukee, too. maybe. we'll see how our already depleted travel budget treats us.

2008 is the year of friends. more babies (only 3 due in 2008...so far), more weddings, and a couple we met on our honeymoon 5 years ago are moving up from texas this spring. and definitely more babysitting and being amazed at how fast the 2007 babies are growing. i am already in awe at the fact that i knew these women...some of them before they met/married their mates, and then they were pregnant, and now there's a little person with their lips and their husbands' eyes, and they've grown strong enough to sit up on their own and smile at you and use their hands, and soon they'll be talking and walking, and actually recognizing me when i hold them. i don't want them to grow up.

2008 is the year to get organized. i'm a pretty anal person, i love organizing the kitchen cabinets, balancing the checkbook, tidying the counters, but there are parts of me and my home that are disheveled and need attention. we need to purge closets and filing cabinets, and i'm starting this week with my small walk in closet in our bedroom. new shelves, drawers and hooks and i should have a closet that a) you can actually walk in to, and b) can actually find clothing/shoes in without looking under piles of crap on the floor. february will be office month, tackling the closets in there as well as our filing cabinet. purge purge purge!

2008 is the year for a lot more, but i'll just let it happen as it happens. now it's time to stop thinking about the future and start doing it and living it.

so i'm jumping back into cooking head on, trying new things, experimenting. i tried my hand at candy making for the holidays, which turned out pretty well, i think. maple almond brittle graced the holiday tables of a few of our friends and much of our family, and i am pleased to say that i will definitely pick up the recipe again and again. it may become my holiday staple.

i'm also venturing deeper and deeper into the realm of baking, making this pecan fig bourbon cake from this month's Gourmet magazine for a dinner party over the weekend. holy cow. i halved the recipe and edited the icing to just a simple powdered sugar/bourbon icing (no cream), but otherwise i followed the recipe to the letter, and it turned out wonderfully! it didn't collapse, it didn't turn into a brick, it didn't taste like raw flour...it tasted heavenly! definitely one for the repeat recipe file, i say.

tonight i'm venturing into the land of paella. i got a paella pan for christmas with a really great recipe book and tonight i'm testing a classic seafood paella on some unsuspecting friends. actually, they totally suspect since i ran the ok-to-eat-shellfish question by them before planning the meal. i'll try to remember to take photos if it's pretty, which i feel like it just might be.

2008 has so far been relatively healthy (minus the bourbon cake and two beef dinners in a row.) i'm not drinking on weekdays, which was a big change for me as i do enjoy a glass of wine with dinner nearly every evening. i have taken one long walk, practiced one pseudo yoga session, and am drinking more water and less carbonated beverages and caffeine. my weight hasn't come down in the past week, but it's been less fluctuating, holding at a steady number each morning, which is nice.

the next few weeks are full of business: closet reorganization, thank you notes, tidying, volunteering, cooking, haircuts, babysitting, baby showers, parties. and a little less booze and a lot more health. and paella.

to do this weekend, in order of most probable:

1. make a few more paintings for my etsy site.
2. make caramelized onions for pizza party saturday night.
3. cook something time consuming, warm and comforting.
4. write thank you notes for christmas gifts.
5. take some photos.
6. take a long walk. (possibly in conjunction with #5)
7. read.
   
8. finalize new website.
9. with hubb, write up travel budget for 2008.
10. clean out closet.

as i traditionally tend to do, i purchased myself a few things this holiday season while shopping for friends and family (for the gifts i didn't make, that is.) i thought i'd share a few of the highlights:

1. warioware touched, a new game for our nintendo ds. (just came today and can't wait to play it.)
2. all about braising: the art of uncomplicated cooking. (not here yet, but can't wait to start making the recipes.)
3. a custom girls best friend wallet from jennalou. this girl is amazing. and the wallet is wonderful and beautiful and perfect. i got a smaller one for my mom, and plan to have another one made for my mother in law's birthday.
4. a simply vera wang dress from kohls. i was thrilled that they actually had size small in virginia stores, but after getting home i'm not exactly sure how i feel about it. the flowy wide cut garments seem to look better on tall thin ladies, not short and stout framed me.
   

whirlwind christmas 2007 memories, in no particular order.

1. lots of books, a tv, identical sets of s+p shakers, bird art, booze, 200 year old fruitcake, x-acto knives in my stocking, britney spears perfume (really), electric socks, paella. generosity.
2. amarula.
3. apples to apples with both sets of families + scrabble + christmas story monopoly (cheaters).
4. babies. cousins, nieces, friends. and yet another pregnancy for one very recent new mother. more on this later.
5. natural bridge, va.
6. the cellar.
7. a possible near brake-in, adt security being on the ball, and friends who we owe dearly for being there in our absence.
8. ham. ham. pork loin.
9. allergies.
10. mid-50s, rain, forgetting dreary chicago winter.

well it's about that time again when i reflect on everything i've learned, loved, feared and experienced throughout the past year.

last year's resolutions:
1. Lose 10-15 pounds. (use my gym membership, eat less cheese, drink less wine) RESULT: did not do it. i actually gained 5 more pounds. and ate way more wine and cheese than i should have, i think. oh, and i quit the gym, too. but i'm happy with who i am and the size of my pants. for the most part anyway.
2. Be responsible and more knowledgeable about the large purchase we made in 2006, especially the tax implications. (read our condo docs, talk to our lawyer) RESULT: well, i didn't read our condo docs, i didn't talk to our lawyer, but i became the secretary of our condo association and i have recently spent the last two months dealing with a mixup between our mortgage company and cook county, having been wrongly assigned property taxes for the entire building versus our individual condo.
3. Sell something I make. (etsy) RESULT: YES! i did it! i made my bird collage/paintings, sold about 50 of them, and have big plans for 2008. yay!
4. Travel somewhere new. (Montreal, anyone?) RESULT: nope. nada. oh wait, that's not true...i did visit holland, michigan. that was new.
5. Let things go. (keep reminding myself that I cannot possibly control everything, all the time.) RESULT: not so much. i keep kicking myself for not doing more, not being more busy, not making more, cooking more, doing more. i can stand to work on this one.

And a bonus: Watch my friends have babies and stop feeling guilty that I'm not ready. RESULT: yes and no. watching them has made me more ready, but not quite there yet. and i don't feel so much guilty as left out...i want to be able to share in the experiences that my friends are having rather than watching on the sidelines. but there's time. no worries.

2007 was a pretty good year for me. i started making things, selling them, feeling good and confident about them, and my abilities. i watched 12 babies be born (well not actually literally watched, but you know what i mean...). welcome to the world ava, abel, addison, blake, bella, ceridwen, gabriella, jack, sophia, sophie, stella, and tierney. (and tbd due in february. and ANOTHER friend recently pregnant as well!) (notice the two lone boys abel and jack in there. why is everyone having girls?!) i got a wonderful new camera. i stopped the 365 project. i learned how to make candy. i moved my company's office. i drank a lot of wine and learned to love classic cocktails even more (my hubb makes a pretty killer sidecar, tom collins, and manhattan.) i got a new tattoo. i discovered new names for my future children. i committed to a new volunteer program to start in 2008. i watched my best friend get married to a wonderful man. i watched two other sets of friends get married. i stopped wearing high heels, then started wearing them again. i rediscovered dark nail polish. i hosted thanksgiving for my in-laws for the first time, and survived. i had an excellent year, really.

i also had a somewhat hard year. emotional and life changing at times, stressful and depressing at others. the virginia tech tragedy sitting high on my list. right behind my brother's reaction to it and his situation with the u.s. army. but this year the happy times greatly outweighed the sad ones, and 2007 is ending on an amazingly high note. i'm looking forward to what 2008 might bring, and 2009 even more (i'll be 30!). life is only getting better.

so, resolution time. although i'm getting a little down on myself for not living up to the majority of them each year. but here they go anyway:

1. be a little bit healthier. not lose weight per se, but eat a little better, get a little exercise. i've let things slip the past few years and as i get older i need to take care of my body a little bit better.
2. take more photos. i think i'll start 365 again, and maybe a few other flickr groups because i am a nerd and need that kind of motivation. i think i also need to experience more enlightening things, put myself in situations that elicit me taking out my camera.
3. write down my recipes, menus, ideas. i tend to wing it when i cook then i forget what i served at my dinner parties.
4. travel. dammit, i need to get this one out of the way before we grow our family. luckily my best friend is having a wedding ceremony in turkey next fall, and i'm totally there.
5. grow my name, make more paintings, sell more, put myself out there. redo my website, apply for more craft/art fairs. see where this thing can go. wish me luck.

and happy holidays dear readers. i really appreciate the 3 of you. 2008 will bring a new website, a new look, some new content. fresh, clean, fun. just you wait and see.

xoxo - emily

and on to winter. it snowed last night and when i got home from the bar i was sharing a birthday drink with a friend at, (her birthday, not mine), there were tiny little paw prints in the snow leading up the stairs from the door to my house. my first thought was, “oh how cute. a little fluffy bunny rabbit was hanging out on our stoop!” then i saw the little trail in between the prints and realized it was a rat. a very very large rat based on the distance between his feet. i will never open my front door without banging on it to scare off potentially rabid vermin first.

so i have been crafting like crazy lately, as i am making about 75% of our christmas gifts this year, am participating in two christmas ornament swaps, and have sold a few custom paintings since the diy trunkshow. i have a lot of felting, painting, cutting, beading and cooking to do in the next couple of weeks, in addition to having a very busy month at work. forgive me if i finish all the wine in the house between now and new years.

as my impatient self, i’ve jumped the gun and already started using my cute angela adams organizer intended for 2008. it’s fill in the blank, so i was easily able to start using it early, but i’ve now lost that new feeling, and have no datebook anticipation left for the new year. a new datebook is one of the things i most look forward to each year; it’s starting from scratch, a new beginning, a blank slate. and now it’s started.

i was at a convenience store the other day and was romanced by the holiday candy display into purchasing a box of nearly 100 tiny candy canes. i was craving a peppermint treat, and only after getting back to the office did i realize that it was a mistake. i cannot stop eating them, despite their being cheap and kind of chewy and a little too artificially minty.

i'm thoroughly exhausted today, as i came to work at 7am monday and tuesday, and then today, when i was going to sleep in until 6:30, a snowblower outside my bedroom window woke me up at 4am. i have been a bit punchy and lacking concentration these last few days, and i swear if i don't get 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep soon i'm going to throw a temper tantrum.

...which would maybe scare the rats away at least.

thanks to everyone who stopped by to see me and hillary at the diy trunkshow saturday! i am still on cloud nine over the response i got from my pieces, and am very pleased with my sales (sold about 33 pieces, plus one more today via e-mail!). this was definitely a great starting point for my new venture, so keep your eyes out for more activity in the future. i'm already considering other venues, consignments, fairs, and website updates in the near future. yay for using my art degree!

and check out my new website emilykberman.com. there's still a lot of work to do on it, but it's a good starting point.

also take a look at the pieces i had for sale at the trunkshow on flickr here. i'll be updating over the next week or so to reflect what's sold and what is still available, and i'll also be putting up the leftovers plus some new pieces over the next few weeks on my etsy shop.

thanks again, friends, for the support and excitement over selling my art. i couldn't have done it all without you!

ten things

1. my brother. to make the long story short: he signed up for the national guard under a "college first" program, experienced the terrible event at virginia tech last spring, went to boot camp all summer, decided his beliefs did not agree with the military's and applied for a discharge on the grounds of conscientious objection. then on halloween he received a phone call that he was to be deployed to iraq in two weeks. after phone calls and meetings and stress and worry, the army finally agreed to honor the terms of his contract and postpone deployment until after he graduates. in the meantime hopefully his c.o. application will go through. it's been a tough few weeks.

2. ink. during this time of concern and fear and overwhelming love for my brother, i got a tattoo for him, and he got one for me, though not the same. we're close. and i had forgotten that tattoos don't hurt as bad as i think they do, and they are really gross while they heal. i'm almost there, but i'm afraid i'll have to get the stem touched up because i probably didn't take the best care of it in the initial stages of healing.

3. collecting. i purchased a vintage eva zeisel pitcher off ebay in september, and after forgetting to update my shipping address (our office moved), decided it was lost forever within the USPS. it finally came today, 6 weeks after the first delivery attempt to the wrong address. i'm smiling.

4. thanksgiving. 8 days to go before i serve dinner to 10 in my tiny condo. hubb's parents, grandparents, brother, our friends with their new baby, and the new mom's father. a 25 pound (give or take) turkey will be joining our house for a few days, and i'm feverishly putting together the agenda and menu for 6 days worth of visitors. new recipes will be tried, old stand bys will sneak in, a mother-in-law will share my kitchen, and a gigantic turkey will be brined. wish me luck.

5. cooking. i love my new large le creuset dutch oven. it is my hero.

6. babies. i had to sneak them in here. i've had a lot of baby time in the past few weeks, and it makes me melt. three little girls are all within 5 minutes to an hour of my open arms. i'm already dreaming of craft camp at auntie em's.

7. sleep. since august or so there has been a squeaky chirpy noise in the wall behind my bed. it kept me awake for weeks, made me scream in agony and cry in frustration at my inability to silence it as it went back and forth between an occasional disruption to a constant annoyance. now it's finally fixed and the noise is gone, blissfully and happily quiet. and i can sleep. which is wonderful damn you, hot water recirculator pump. damn you straight to hell.

8. autumn. it's getting colder, then it's getting warmer, and i can't figure it out. i think it was 65 or something yesterday, while i'm ready to bundle and wrap, waiting for -10. at least give me a few solid weeks of 45-50 to get the fall out of my system before it is sleeting and icy. please?

9. photos. i've been back on a bit of a photo kick, going through old flickr pages, remembering when i was taking a self portrait a day for 365 days. i might start it again. maybe.

10. crafts. the diy trunkshow is this saturday and you should come see me in booth 24. i have shiny new business cards, pretty little buttons, and some pretty little bird collage paintings. hillary of sans couture will be sharing the booth with me, and will have some beautiful handmade jewelry for sale. come see us!

so i turned 28 today. and for the first time in my life, a birthday has actually made me feel older. 27 seems young and youthful and innocent, 28 is two years from 30. safe, mature, adult. not that i'm concerned or worried or saddened by this....it is actually really nice. i'm looking forward to an older more mature me, and today is the first day i really feel it. in a very good way.

i'm a material girl, i won't lie, so i love being showered with gifts on my birthday. so far i've received nummy truffles from a good friend of mine in maryland, yummy bath products from another good friend in virginia, some birthday cash from family (they know me well), an eames shell chair (two, actually, but that's a long story*) from my wonderful wonderful husband, and a 6.75 quart cherry red le creuset dutch oven on the way to me thanks to a generous gift certificate from my in-laws (who also know me well). life is pretty good.

and today: some twin baby time with my friend and her 2-1/2 week old little girls. tonight: hubb is taking me to the violet hour, of which i have only heard exceptional reviews. this weekend: jerry's sandwiches and some drinks and dancing with my friends. a girl couldn't ask for more, really.

so i'm having the best birthday ever so far, and i feel good things are to come in my 28th year of life. and i'm that much closer to 30, which, incidentally, will be my golden birthday. i plan to go all out in 2009, so get ready people. start stocking up on gold lame leggings and giant gold chains. i feel a costume party coming on, two years in the making. save the date and hire your babysitters now, friends.

thanks to everyone who has already (at 10:30 am) made this birthday very very special.