Give Thanks

I am spending the holiday with just my lover, and will be making the big meal by myself, for the first time! I suppose it's a good distraction from the fact that our families are so very far away. Anyway, here is a blog post for a very adorable banner (which coincidentally is on a very adorable blog), and here is the banner hanging in our bay window:




I am thankful for a whole host of things, but mostly for the love and support from my friends and family, and for Brad who happens to be a super being somewhere in between the most treasured friend, and the backbone of the family we are engaged to begin in the future. Sometimes I'm a little hard on my life, but it really is one of the better ones.

A Cauldron of Hot, Strong Love

This morning, for my birthday, my lover and I went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 in Cambridge. Then, since we were on that side of town, we went to the famous L.A. Burdick for some hot chocolate. Can I just say...ugh. There are no words. I forgot my camera, so marvel at these little gems from around the web:


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I'm a little obsessed with the mouse and penguin truffles! They're so tiny and cute! (And probably delicious too! I just wouldn't have the heart to eat one.)

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I read a review of this place on yelp that said this is obviously the medicinal chocolate taken after an encounter with dementors, as described in the Harry Potter books. I totally agree.

Brad has decided, based on this hot chocolate alone, that we should live here forever. I'm not sold, but this is very persuasive.

Also, today was the Harvard v Yale football game, and I saw lots of people wearing sweaters like this:

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I now need one with my school's monogram.

Thank you for such a sweet Saturday, lover!

Apartment Therapy

Our apartment literally had 2 feet of counter space. One foot on either side of the sink. This is not enough. So, Brad built this little make shift workspace out of a piano stand and some giant Tupperware lids. Observe:

I know, it's a little depressing.

We finally bought nice pub table from an unfinished wood furniture store, and stained it ourselves. We even had it custom measured to fit our tiny kitchen!

We stained it ourselves, out on the balcony.

Brad smoothed it out with some steel wool for a professional finish. Now our kitchen is easy to work in, looks warm and cozy, and has a great space for cooking a Thanksgiving feast!

The Google doodle today is honoring Robert Lewis Stevenson. It was interesting and cool and all of that, but I was looking at his wikipedia page, when I found this photo of him.

This is what really interests me! It was taken in 1888, and I thought it was so compelling because I don't see many candid photo portraits from that era. Usually 19th century portraits are so emotionless, I guess because they're trying to keep still, but the intensity with which he looks at the camera here is great!

Thinly Veiled Harry Potter Nerdiness

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This is today's "look of the day" on the InStyle website. Look of the day? More like "the look of all time"!

Need.

A girl walked into one of my classes flirting with being preppy to the point of costume. Pink button down, flipped up collar, yellow wellies with pink and blue gingham trim, and pearl stud earrings. I think part of the reason her outfit looked really chic, rather than looking like a costume is that everything was pressed, and beautifully cut. Her outfit fit her like a glove. The other reason for her look being so awesome was her REALLY great headband. It was so simple, but it had the perfect luxurious touch: a horse bit. It's a nice departure from the usual nautical interpretation of the preppy aesthetic. I might even go so far to say this look suggests some sort of elitism in preppiness, with only the very upper echelons of "society" partaking in equestrian sports like polo. (Listen to me! Like "society" matters. This sounds so snobby...I really don't mean it to be! ) Yes, I had all of these thoughts on a headband. You can think what you want about that. :o/

I found it here. She's got the black one, which is the color I would pick too. I have so many other things I need to spend money on before I shell out $30 for a head band...but it's so perfect! Forever 21 and H+M, are you listening??? I need this on the cheap, and I need it now! Maybe I should submit a request to Miss Madeline to help me with this little case of fashion lust. Also, I was quite tickled to see a little shout-out to the bit motif in fashion on Miss Ginny's blog this week!

Baking(read: mental health) Day

Do I have a ton of work to do? Yes.
Am I doing it? Maybe later.
What am I doing instead?
Baking whole wheat banana bread and making cranberry-apple sauce!
Hey, it's dark and misty out... I'm entitled.

Ear Muffs

I think I have really low set ears or something, because it's really hard for me to find hats that sufficiently protect my ears from the cutting Boston wind without nearly covering my eyes! I think I have found the perfect solution. Item number one on my current wish list?

Ear muffs!

If you have $1255 to blow and you don't have any problem with using animal fur, these are quite pretty.

I'm actually have a bit of trouble finding them for sale in stores , so I've done a little looking around and I found this really cute DIY method:



She uses a sewing machine, but I think ear muffs are small enough to sew by hand if you (like me) do not own a sewing machine. (YET! This would be item number 2 on my wish list.) I bet with this method and a bit of patience and a decent ribbon/ sparkle stash, a reasonable faux fur facsimile of the Lavin ear muffs could be achieved.

Happy November!

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Apologies! I'm putting my life on hold to go to school! I wish I could blog, but I really have very little desire to document myself doing homework. Again.

Although, there is one little bit of information to note: I registered for Spring 2011 classes this morning! :o) ( I told you, no life. Life is on hold.)

Happy November!