Decking the Halls

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…”

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November 2024 in Pictures

"November is tied together with the heartstrings of gratitude" — Josiah Soto

Currently • November 2024

“Colour is everything; black and white is more.” – Dominic Rouse, photographer

READING:

• Paris by Design: An Inspired Guide to the City's Creative Side by Eva Jorgensen — “With a combination of interviews, profiles, essays, tips, and lists, author and designer Eva Jorgensen explores why Paris has such a magnetic pull for artists and design lovers, by introducing us to some of the city’s most fascinating residents and frequent visitors. Jorgensen has wrangled an eclectic and exciting group of contributors—creatives based in Paris and abroad—who offer travel tips and insight into Paris’s fashion, design, craft, and art scenes” (Goodreads).

• The Little Black Dress by Amy Holman Edleman — “Since Audrey Hepburn"s show-stopper in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the little black dress has become more than an item of clothing. This book looks at the history of this loaded fashion symbol which is a cultural icon that stand s for a woman’s identity” (Goodreads). I purchased this book for $3 at the Door County Library book sale. The photos are stunning.

WATCHING:

• Decorating videos on YouTube — It’s fun to get ideas while I’m decking the halls. It’s also a great way to avoid trends (no “antique” gold bells, Norfolk pine stems, flocked burgundy ornaments, “viral” reindeer, Target seasonal prints, or Christmas trees tangled with ribbons for me).

• Shrinking Season 2 (Apple TV) — “A grieving therapist starts to tell his clients exactly what he thinks. Ignoring his training and ethics, he finds himself making huge changes to people's lives - including his own” (IMDb).

• Cecilia Blomdahl’s Life on Svalbard YouTube channel - Cecilia is a Swedish photographer who lives in a cabin outside of Longyearbyen on Svalbard, a Norwegian island close to the North Pole. She and her boyfriend Christoffer (a chef) and their Finnish lapphund, Grim make videos about daily life in the Northernmost town in the world. The videos are full of stunning views, northern lights, and yummy Scandinavia recipes.

• A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (Apple TV) — Is it really a holiday without Snoopy and his pals?

LISTENING TO:

• Cool jazz has been my go-to since the beginning of fall.

• November Instapuzzle Mini-Playlist (This one all really ecclectic.)

  • Pictures of You (The Cure)

  • Sailing (Christopher Cross)

  • Non, je ne regrette rien (Édith Piaf)

  • Thanksgiving Theme (Vince Guaraldi Trio)

  • November (Art Music)

  • Back in Black (AC/DC)

  • Longing Love (George Winston, Autumn)

  • The French Café (Melodia blu)

  • A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (George Winston)

ENJOYING:

• A November weekend in Door County — We spent a long weekend “up home” as a mini-celebration for Eric’s 50th birthday. Although nothing really went according to plan, htere were lots of nice surprises like a book sale at the library, a Christmas parade, and even sailing in the Bay in November (Thanks, Bennie Larsen).

• The first snowfall of the season — Magical!

• Thanksgiving with family (and 7 dogs)

• Decorating for the holidays — I love reminiscing over traditional pieces and adding new treasures each year. I’ll share photos soon.

October 2024 in Pictures

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” - Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

Currently • October 2024

"In October any wonderful unexpected thing might be possible." — Elizabeth George Speare, The Witch of Blackbird Pond

READING:

• Books:

  • The Women by Kristin Hannah — “The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era” (Goodreads). I took a break from women in war literature, having read so many WWII French Resistance stories, including Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale. The Women came highly recommended by several colleagues and since it’s set during the Vietnam War, I thought it might be “novel” enough to revisit women in war. Nazis and spies were replaced with gruesome injuries and debilitating PTSD. Kristin Hannah is a good writer, but this genre isn’t for me.

  • Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella — “Meet Emma Corrigan, a young woman with a huge heart, an irrepressible spirit, and a few little secrets — secrets she wouldn’t share with anyone…until she spills them all to a handsome stranger on a plane. At least, she thought he was a stranger.…Until Emma comes face-to-face with Jack Harper, the company's elusive CEO, a man who knows every single humiliating detail about her…” (Goodreads). I have read Sophie Kinsella before. It’s proper “chick lit” à la Bridget Jones’ Diary, but I think it might have been the perfect anecdote to the gravitas of The Women.

  • Building Thinking Classrooms by Peter Liljedahl — 14 Practices for enhancing learning — a good read, but not exactly recreational.

  • Fresh Water for Flowers by Valérie Perrin — “Violette Toussaint is the caretaker at a cemetery in a small town in Bourgogne. Random visitors, regulars, and, most notably, her colleagues—three gravediggers, three groundskeepers, and a priest—visit her as often as possible to warm themselves in her lodge, where laughter, companionship, and occasional tears mix with the coffee that she offers them. Her daily life is lived to the rhythms of their hilarious and touching confidences” (Goodreads).

• Links:

  • Wisconsin’s Wine Country (Milwaukee Magazine)

  • 30 Years of “It Bags” (InStyle) — It may have debuted ten years ago, by I still carry my Saint Laurent Sac du Jour to work everyday. Mine is black with cream over stitching — a classic.

  • The Most Sought-After Travel Guide Is a Google Doc (Thrillist) — I have created bespoke Google Docs and Maps for Paris, Door County, New York, Napa/Sonoma, etc.

WATCHING:

• Gilmore Girls (Netflix) — Autumn requires an annual trip to Stars Hollow.

• My perennial Halloween favorites:

  • Hocus Pocus — Would it be Halloween without The Sanderson Sisters?'

  • Practical Magic — I love the vibe of the town, the house, and the 90’s fashion.

  • Beetlejuice — Favorite Scene: The Banana Boat Song

  • Beetlejuice Beetlejuice at the Outdoor in Fish Creek

  • It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown — twice

• The Lincoln Lawyer Season 3 (Netflix)

LISTENING TO:

• Cool jazz: It just reminds me of fall.

• My personally curated Fall and Halloween playlists — perfect for road trips and evenings on the deck.

• My October Instapuzzle Mini-Playlist:

  • The Great Pumpkin Waltz (Vince Guaraldi)

  • I Want Candy (Bow Wow Wow)

  • Take Five (The Dave Brubeck Quartet)

  • Autumn Leaves (Vince Guaraldi)

  • Hello October (Sugar Lime Blue)

  • Practical Magic (Alan Silvestri)

  • Spooky Season (Bradley Thomas Turner)

  • The Pumpkin’s Song (Oskar Schuster)

  • Spooky (Classics IV)

ENJOYING: October —- I love the colors and the smell of the changing leaves; “sweater weather” and cozy fashions; bonfires and football; comfort foods and red wines; super moons and starry skies; Gilmore Girls and Halloween movies, and a trip to the pumpkin patch, carving jack-o-lanterns and roasting pumpkin seeds…October feels a big hug.

Saturday at the Pumpkin Patch

“You cannot share your life with a dog or a cat, and not know perfectly well that animals have personalities and feelings.” – Jane Goodall

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“Those sure are great pumpkins, Mom!” — Piper