life | it's a wrap

the only reason i was anxious to start 2012 was to finish up my 365-photo project and i did. for the last day, i wanted to take a special photo, but was not feeling well when i woke up - extreme dizziness, which did not seem to go away. but, it got better and through a bit of stumbling, which is totally acceptable on new year's eve, we had a nice brunch and later headed into the city.

we haven't been to the world trade center area since before 9/11/01 and when i saw the new building going up, 1 WTC, was adorned in holiday colors, i thought it would be a good time to see what's what. it is quite emotional going down there as it brings back the memories of the day, but sometimes you just have to deal with them. little did i imagine there would be such a beautiful sunset, too.

hope you had a great holiday!

xo, cindy

life | start again

wishing you a sparkly & safe new year, everyone. hope 2012 will be all you imagine and more!

xo, cindy

garden | choo choo!

i hope you all had a lovely holiday! on christmas eve we visited the new york botanical garden train show with my brother and it never fails to delight. enjoy the rest of the week and i'll be back with one more post to close-out the year.

xo, cindy

life | happy holidays!

festive wreaths provide a lovely display all over town. hope you have a wonderful holiday and a happy new year. thanks for visiting our neck of the woods this year and here's to a great 2012. personally, i've gotten a lot done this month and hope it carries forward.

xo, cindy

ps rachel platten is a new artist to me and her version of you're a mean one mr. grinch is really good.

town | lovely shops

clean, fresh home design can be found at save haven in soho.

the most fantastic mix of vintage & modern paper goods from brooklyn art libary in williamsburg, brooklyn. jen's book w o r d is for sale here and it is our new favorite store.

the sketchbook project is housed within brooklyn art library and erika will have a sketchbook included here, eventually. can't wait to see it.

although i think the mannequins could use some hair, the new orla kiely shop in soho is wonderful. can we move in?

a fine curated collection of paper goods & furniture can be found at top hat in the lower east side, which was recommended by jen. these are japanese pin cushions made with vintage kimono fabrics.

a rare photo from marimekko in chelsea because the second time we visited no photos were allowed.

feels like summer in france at les toiles du soleil in chelsea. awesome and i love the striped espadrilles.

we've done our fair share of shopping at big brand stores this season (the sales have been incredible), but visiting smaller shops & holiday boutiques were the shopping highlights of the season. hope your holiday prep is going well!

xo, cindy

work | convertible cart

back in november i got a cart to take shop orders to the post office, which is a mile round trip. it kind of makes me feel like a little old lady, but taking the bus is not an option because that would put our shop into the red and we want to have happy customers & be profitable. plus, the walk is good exercise.

the cart is also great for the 40 lbs of laundry we do each week (yes, i weighed it), especially if the laundry room is crowded and i have to go back later. i made the liner myself yesterday and it was fun to sew again, which is how i got started posting photos online in the first place.

today, i realized it's also perfect with the vintage mahogany tray we bought this summer placed on top as an impromptu table for still life photography. it's the simple things y'all. enjoy your weekend. hope it's good.

xo, cindy

ps have you seen the TED talk about gratitude by louie schwartzberg? it's terrific and the little girl about halfway through - awesome.

pps my brother told me about these cool personal greetings you can get from santa, himself. have you been naughty or nice? santa knows.

art | flaming cactus

my intention each weekend is to go around town and take some photos of the holiday decorations to share, but then i get distracted. isn't this flaming cactus installation cool? created by the animus arts collective in cooper square it was made by fastening 32,000 fluorescent-colored cable ties to 14 lampposts to show that anyone can make wonderful art using simple, everyday items.

it is so interesting to see & touch, and if you try real hard, the cacti kind of resemble {very thin} christmas trees, especially if you live in the desert. read more about the project here.

xo, cindy

ps claudia's idea for beautifying her ugly christmas tree stand is very clever.

town | last days of fall

dear fall:

how about you stick around just a little bit longer? whaddya say?

xo, cindy

ps love this new song by surfer blood. seems like summertime in their world all of the time.

town | weekend beauty

the weather was beautiful this weekend & we've been lucky to have a true fall season this year.

there were romantics leaving lovely messages on construction sites.

cool ironwork outside a tattoo parlor in brooklyn.

a color coordinated shrine.

a very inventive bench in long island city.

and a shadow poser with a lot of patience - over to the right, raise your arm up, higher, no lower :).

thanks for the well wishes everyone! i fell off the face of the earth for a bit, but thanks to some tlc and scott airing me out like a hot house plant over the weekend (vitamin d from the sun), i'm just about all better. last week i also finished my accounting class (a+), ordered a 2012 calendar from pinhole press and our 2010 blurb book, so things are getting back on track and i hope to do the same on this old blog by creating a schedule of sorts for the rest of the year.

hope your holiday activities are going well. we've got our cards & the stamps!

xo, cindy

ps have you seen the summary of the most powerful photos of 2011? so good!

life | family treasures

over the thanksgiving holiday, my brother gave me a small photo album that gives me just what i need to prove (to scott) that i was a domestic diva and quite stylish as a kid. he was also quite stylish with his pinky ring and our mom in her confirmation dress - beautiful.

i genuinely loved that pretend vacuum cleaner, which made the hum sound, and also enjoyed wearing pretty dresses with hats and gloves. nowadays, i'll pass on the vacuuming, but a pretty dress every now and then might be nice.

xo, cindy

ps today i have such a bad cold and really miss my mom's tlc. things i didn't care for at all as a kid like soft-boiled eggs with toast and vicks vapor rub would be so welcome right about now.

life | giving thanks

we'll be celebrating thanksgiving here in the us tomorrow and the holiday makes us think about what's good in our lives. even though there's a tendency to harp on the bad stuff, in many ways it's the small gestures of kindness that make it all worth it.

take my email inbox for instance. i have a folder containing all of the blog comments we've received over the years and as of today it has over 8,900 emails. wow, that's a lot of nice notes of encouragement about us, charlie, someplace we went, or whatever was up that day. it's pretty awesome, so thank you for being awesome and making us feel that way, too.

have a lovely holiday if you celebrate and a good weekend!

xo, cindy

ps isn't that birdhouse the coolest? it's about 20' high in gramercy park, which is a private park except for those of us looking over the fence and the birds.

town | art out & about

one of the greatest things about living in this town is finding a vast variety of art, including work like this mural in williamsburg, brooklyn. it's definitely kind of scary, but interesting just the same.

i never realized this love sculpture by robert indiana was located just a few steps away from the hotel where scott & i had our wedding reception. maybe that's the reason why we've lasted so long as a couple :)?

i learned about the paintings by mark nilsson from jen who had one created of herself on her last trip to nyc. she posed for him just outside the museum of modern art for an hour and i give her all the credit in the world for doing so because it is hectic.

the last photo was taken by ms. artsyville herself and features me (on the left) and aimee (on the right) who recently moved from kansas to new jersey. this sunday, aimee spent her sunday morning with me at the museum of modern art (see her wonderful photos here) and meeting someone in person you've come to know online is such a special treat.

one of the highlights of blogging by far is getting to know smart, creative folks from around the world who enrich our lives in so many ways. and, it's funny, when you actually meet you seem to know so much about each other, but not quite all the details and nuances.

xo, cindy