On December 31st ....

On December 31st in 1892

 Ellis Island Immigrant Station 

formally opened in 

New York.

Arriving immigrants.

oh look, what a concept...

they are waving American flags!!!

'All American Kids'

and New Immigrants!!!!

On December 31st in 1808 

The U.S. prohibited import of slaves from Africa. 

Our great shame.

The end of this.

Freed Slaves.

hallelujah!!!! 

 .......on decmember 31st in 0404  

The last gladiator competition was held in Rome. 

So if you can't think of anything to celebrate....

you can celebrate 

these 'little things' in history.

*my love to my friends 

and best wishes to all of us!!!

i don't know about you...

but i think that one of those guys 

was a great, great uncle 

of mine getting off that boat 

(in the 4th picture).

Or was it YOURS?

Renee Finberg 'TELLS ALL' in her BLOG.....
Interior Design, Palm Beach, Boca Raton,Ft.Lauderdale,Design Service, Window Treatments, TurnKey Interior Design Service,Paint selection, Floor-Plans,Online Interior Design,
Design Center of The Americas, D.C.O.T.A., Ellis Island is formally opened, Slavery Importing becomes illegal in the U.S., the last gladiator competition

Happy New Year!

I'm not sure if it's the egg nog, the hot apple cider or the warm fire but I've been on vacation mode and it feels quite good.

Here's what we've been up to...first, this is Hubby reading, "The Joy of Cooking" in hopes to discover a fabulous new Christmas Eve recipe. See those 'crumbs' on his pocket? Well, they're not from Christmas cookies, those are tree crumbs from splitting and hauling in so much wood for our fires.



Here's our little Lucy smiling on one of our hikes as she can't stop giggling over the bells around her Christmas collar.



We also went cross country skiing up around Mt. Hood. It was a beautiful blue bird day. Note: Lucy is still smiling!



And there's been lots and lots of cozy time in the house....with lots of accompanying warm beverages...like hot cocoa.



Green tea.



And hot apple cider - something I've consumed a lot of this past week.



There's also been a lot of Backgammon (shhhh, I'm on a winning streak).

And a lot of sitting in front of the fire enjoying the Christmas tree lights.

And the warm glow of the fire.

The new furniture is proving to be very comfortable and conducive to lazy day snuggling.

I love how the cabinet glass reflects all the light in the room.

And this is what happens when Hubby turns the camera on me. As you can see, I'm not as well behaved as Hubby is.

Nate over at Laurel Street nominated me for the Homies 2009 Award! Wow, huh? I'm absolutely honored but also, feel a little shy!

Happy New Year!

Welcome 2010

My husband and I spent our first official New Year's together, just a few days before our wedding, painting the living room of our first little home. We ate popcorn and drank Martinelli's while we rolled on the paint and dreamed together about our new life that was about to start. And now it's a tradition - popcorn, fake bubbly and paint. I know, so glamorous and romantic! We do make sure to have a dance together at midnight though, and there may or may not be kissing involved.

We also take a few minutes to write out our resolutions and goals for the year. Here's a watered down version of my 2010 list:

- Get my portfolio together (finally) and consider forking over the cash for a web designer
- Blog 5x per week

Kelly Wearstler via Style Court

- Focus more on eDecorating

Pearl Street Interiors

- Organize and simplify - buy less and get rid of stuff I don't use

- Take my girls to do something special and enriching every month - the ballet, museums, concerts, etc

photography by Rachel Papo

- Go to children's story time at the library on Tuesdays and check out books for me too

via The Selby

- Train for the NYC marathon in November (fingers crossed that I get chosen for the lottery in March)

- Make everyday life more beautiful

via this is glamorous

- Be better about separating work and family life. Stick to the schedule.

- Plan my outfits and wear more jewelry! (I feel so much better about life when I'm dressed/groomed -- all day in jimjams = cranky Jenny)

via Desire to Inspire

- Take an oil painting class. I really want to learn how to do flowers better and I think small paintings make awesome gifts.

via domino

What are your grand plans for 2010? Can you BELIEVE it is already a new decade?? It feels like the Y2K thing was just yesterday...

Have a very HAPPY and safe New Year!

love,
jenny

It's Complicated - Set Design

So I am a big fan of Nancy Meyers' movies. Something's gotta give was a great movie- however my real love comes in the movie sets!! It's Complicated set design is a combination of talent from Jon Hutman and Beth Rubino. Something's gotta give and The Holiday were both designed with the help of James Radin, who is currently helping Meyers design her own home. What an amazing talent. I have yet to see the movie (I am hoping to sneak out to it tomorrow) but from what I have seen and heard it is pretty great. Too bad they don't show you the new kitchen- that would have been fun too, but I guess the movie is really about the relationships.. hum.

Another great little story I found about the film and the set design is on Annechovie very fun to see your hard work paying off in a major way! Congratulations!











From what I have heard the bakery that she owns in the film is more than perfect!! The bakery unfortunately is a fictional character as well. It was designed around the idea of several different places "London’s Daylesford Organic to New York’s City Bakery and Dean & Deluca, among others." (Quote from Traditional Homes Magazine article.)








Love the little table with bath goodies..







Even the garden is amazing. hum- I am moving in thanks!


**Update: I saw the movie and I must say I may need to see it again as I was trying to soak up all of the sets and pieces within**

images via Traditional Home and It's Complicated

Happy New Years from Spain!

I'm so happy to be in Spain for New Years because that means I'm able to celebrate it with my boyfriend, Chris who lives here in Segovia. I did a little research and based on what I've been told, this is a summary of how the Spanish bring in the New Year:

"Like most festivals in Spain, New Year's Eve, known as "Nochevieja" is usually a family affair which takes place at home. Until midnight people tend to stay at home and on the stroke of midnight it is traditional to eat 12 grapes, one on each stroke of the clock to bring good luck for the New Year. This tradition began when after a particularly big grape harvest the king of Spain decided to give everybody grapes to eat on New Year's Eve.

It is traditional to listen to the clock from Puerta del Sol in Madrid, usually via the television. Even young people won’t go out with their friends until they have seen the New Year in with their families. Throughout the country there are street parties and special nights in hotels and clubs everywhere."

-via Eye on Spain

The Puerta del Sol in Madrid on Nochevieja
image via Monsters and Critics

Chris and I picked up some grapes at the grocery store last night, and I accidentally ate a few not realizing they were for New Years, but we should have enough for both of us to have 12. Since our families are not here we are having a little potluck at one of his friends apartment until 12, after which we'll go out and celebrate some more.





via Nuevo Estilo





via Mi casa

Happy Holidays!

From my home to yours, wishing you all a very happy holiday!!

It has been a great gift to travel this road with you.

Thank you so much for reading, commenting and continuing to inspire me.

Wishing you peace and happiness in the New Year!

xxx-Gina