Scenes from Christmas

Here are some quiet little scenes from Christmas. I really liked my outfit and thought I'd share it here before the clock ran out on 2012. I wore pretty much the same thing on Thanksgiving as I have the same dress in navy blue and matched it with navy tights. The sweater (that buckle!), locket, and shoes were all the same. I guess it became my easy, go-to, pretty outfit for the latter part of the year.

The tree greens in tea cups served as a quasi-centerpiece for our Christmas dinner table. I am hesitant to disassemble them and will probably leave them out for a while longer. This will placate any longings to leave the actual Christmas tree up, I think :)

I hope the new year is good to all of you.

A knack for knick-knacks

I have spent much of today enjoying the heat from the wood stove and the company of my four-legged critter friends. It has been a pleasant, unplanned day off spent at home. Yesterday I was asked to work later than my scheduled shift and nix working today. I welcomed the opportunity of a complete day to re-charge and not think about too many extra things (it has been a regular occurrence for me since the summer to work seven days in a row for a few weeks at a time). I have, though, saved a little extra brain space for blogging and decided to share my newest (and, honestly, completely unnecessary) little collection of vintage salt and pepper shakers. My sister will agree when she reads this that the last thing I needed to do was start up a new collection of something, but I couldn't resist these wee gems when I spotted them at various thrift stores and flea markets this past spring-summer-autumn. Could you?

My knick-knack loving heart is quite content with these four and I think I could resist any further acquisitions, unless that is I come across another pair of squirrels... or some little skunks!

Comfort Food Season

Try as I might, I just can't seem to get a handle on blogging. Every time I think I'm ready to post in a somewhat consistent manner, my intentions fall by the wayside. To those who continue to read my sporadic updates, thank you. I very much miss interacting with all of you, but my attention span for internet-things has been very limited these last six months. Most days I wake up already mentally and emotionally exhausted and the thought of trying to squeeze internet time into my routine is overwhelming. I wish it wasn't. I do plan on devoting an afternoon sometime in the near future to blog reading and reestablishing contact with all of you.

In the meantime, I do have both the time and concentration for an update. I cannot decide if that sentence should be left as is with a period or if an exclamation would be more appropriate. Haha.

So, it is well known (or, used to be!) around here that I love autumn. Though, I can never fully decide if autumn or spring is my favorite time of year, so I've stopped trying. Anyway, one of the greatest things about autumn is that it heralds in comfort food season. We all have those favorite dishes and treats that somehow taste so much better when there's a chill in the air. For me, it's my mother's macaroni and cheese and any of her homemade soups, as well as my father's goulash and beef stew. This is my favorite time of year to bake both pumpkin-oatmeal and carrot-honey cookies. And, I have something new to add to my list: pumpkin black bean chili. I know what you're thinking: pumpkin chili? Trust me, it's good! The flavor is smooth and subtle. Try it!

Pumpkin Black Bean Chili
Adapted from The Ordinary Vegetarian.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 10 to 20-ounces mushrooms*, cleaned and diced
• 4 cups cooked black beans (or 2 15-ounce cans, rinsed and drained)
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 2 cups fresh pumpkin puree (or 1 15-ounce can)
• (2) 15-ounce or (1) 28-ounce can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes, with liquid
• 1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1 1/2 tbsp. smoked paprika
• 3 tsp. chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. rubbed sage
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne
• 2 tsp. ground cumin

* I used baby portobellos, but small white/button mushrooms would be fine as well. Also, the mushroom quantity can easily be altered to your liking. I always say the more mushrooms the better! For this recipe, I used (2) 10-ounce packages.

Directions:

In a large soup pot, heat 1/4 cup water and add the diced onion. Saute for 3 minutes, or until translucent. Add the garlic and saute for an additional 2 - 3 minutes, until fragrant.

Add the mushrooms and saute for an additional 2 - 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the spices and stir to coat the onions and mushrooms. Saute for 1 - 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pour in the broth  and allow to simmer for about 2 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cover. Simmer for 45 minutes stirring occasionally.

Sunflares and a goodbye to summer

Well, I thought I was on a roll with this back to blogging thing, but apparently I have some work to do. I took these photos a few weeks ago now (a day or two after I took the photos for my previous post) when it was still warm enough to wear shorts without tights and the leaves were just starting to tint yellow. Since then the seasons have officially changed and the hills are teeming in bright color.

It's been a nice season so far, as Autumn usually is, and I've spent the last few days scheming up and researching new recipes to try. Most of them include pumpkin in some way. In fact, there's one I plan on jotting down as soon as I finish this post with the hopes of making sometime this week. Maybe I'll share it here, too. A few years back I wanted to try incorporating recipes more on this blog, but it never amounted to much. Maybe one here, maybe one there. Let's see what these cooler months bring.

Looking back, this may just be my favorite outfit from the summer. I had it dreamed up in my head for a while, but unfortunately only wore it once. I think I picked a pretty good day for it, though. I don't know, as shallow and trivial as it sounds some days and some outfits just don't mix well. Anyway, this blouse is, without contest, my favorite purchase all year. I love the pintucks (which I didn't manage to get a clear glimpse of in any of these photos) and all the little lace details. I'm hoping to get another few wears out of it before it goes into closet hibernation...

Back in the saddle, or something like that

Since in the past this has been a sometimes-personal-style-blog, I thought I'd give the ol' self-timed outfit shoot thing another go. I'll admit that it felt a little odd running back and forth from the camera again after not having done it for about 5 months. On the other hand, I did seem to enjoy it (in a loose sense of the word) and was pleased that it didn't take me too long to get a few decent photos.

Right. So, this ensemble is a variation on my go-to summer outfit theme: a nice shirt/blouse paired with shorts. For whatever reason I couldn't be bothered with skirts or even the simplest of sundresses much this summer. Or, at least not more than once or twice a week, if that. They just seemed too fussy (which is odd, I know, especially since many consider them fuss-free!). Maybe it's because I wish that spring would run into autumn bypassing sticky-humid-summer all together. Alas, I dream in layers ;)

Big City Afternoon

Last Wednesday, my friend Erin and I spent a long, but fun-filled day in New York City. I took the train downstate the day prior to meet up with her and from there we embarked on our adventure.

Light fixture in Grand Central Terminal
 

We didn't journey to the city to sight-see (though we did a little, of course. It's inevitable!) or to shop (again, inevitable, especially if one counts window shopping), but rather to see the Broadway production of Once.

Having been fans of the film for quite a few years now, we were eager to see how the story would be adapted for the stage. The production was still filled with the beautiful, raw, and honest songs fans of the film know and love (and also included a few new ones). I felt the writer did a fine job at re-telling the story and enhancing the plot with scenes and dialogue the film only leaves to imagination. We left the theater wishing we could see it again!

Clearly, I was entranced by light fixtures that day! The interior of this particular theater was really lovely.

After Broadway, our excursion also included a little meandering through Central Park and a stop at Ladurée on Madison Avenue for some scrumptious macarons.

L- R: vanilla, dark chocolate, lemon, and salted caramel. 

Consumed quickly and therefore not photographed: rose, violet, and coffee ;)

At dusk, we said our goodbyes to the city, caught a train that would take us to the family home we were staying in, and sleepily chatted while munching on veggie wraps and samosas.

Some time ago...

These few photos are from the last roll of film I took this past spring. Spring almost feels like a lifetime ago now. I haven't been taking many photos since. The rolls of film I started earlier this summer have been languishing in their cameras waiting to be used. I know that one of these days I'll want to work on them again. Until then, it's all snow and frost, quiet and thaw.

Camera: Nikon FM 10
Film: Fujifilm 200

I've been under the ground eating prayers from this old book I found

Earlier this month the opportunity came along for me to see my favorite band, Great Lake Swimmers, practically in my own backyard. I had waited seven years for such an opportunity (even though they tour North America frequently, I can be lazy when it comes to road-tripping for concerts). With a heart full of anticipation, I invited my sister to come along and we headed down into a neighboring county for the show.

The band played at a great venue in Hudson, NY called Club Helsinki. I couldn't imagine a better or more intimate venue in which to hear them. We ordered tea and wine and listened to 2 1/2 hours of some of the best music on earth (I am not exaggerating). I was pleased to hear songs, 21 in all, from all five of their albums. We were even treated to a few cover songs (a la Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, among others). One word completely sums up my feelings for the night: perfect.

Photos by my sister

Lavandula angustifolia

Last weekend my friend, E, and I made a return visit to the Finger Lakes Lavender Festival (last year's post can be seen here). We had such a nice time at the 2011 festival that we decided then and there to visit again. The drive from our little area of New York to the town the festival is in takes about 3.5 hours, but it's barely noticeable with all the pretty farmland and countryside to look at. Interstate-90 even runs along the Erie Canal for a while and we amused ourselves trying to recall the Erie Canal song we learned way back in grade school (we laughed more than we sang!).

Hat: Target, Sunglasses: TJ Maxx, Cardigan: H&M, Dress: J.Crew outlet 

Unfortunately, we've been experiencing really high temperatures (think 90F and above) lately with little-to-no rain, so the otherwise lovely lawns and pastures at the farm were dull and brown this year. And in my adamant refusal to use sunblock anywhere other than on my legs, I walked around nearly all day in long sleeves. I did bring a short sleeved tie-front blousey-thing to wear, in intervals, when the heat got unbearable and am pleased to say I made it through the day without getting sunburned (or a farmer's tan).

 

I picked another bundle of Royal Velvet culinary lavender to bring home along with a few other small purchases: soaps, a tote bag, honey, and lavender fudge sauce. One of the food vendors this year was selling lavender ice cream, so naturally I had to get some of that as well. It was delicious! Now, from food to funny: while I was sitting in the grass picking my lavender two different people approached me to take my photo. I found it rather amusing as one tried twice to get my attention before I realized what was happening while the other didn't. I just happened to look up and there her lens was staring me down. I have yet to come across any of these other photos on the internet - haha!

Somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly

 

Bluebird of happiness

It wasn't my intention to stop blogging so abruptly, but as eluded to in my last post the life I knew up until this past spring changed in an instant. I couldn't think much further beyond meeting my basic needs, hence hitting the pause button on this little space of mine. In the days and weeks that followed I was deeply touched by the messages I received via e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and even regular mail expressing concern when the reason behind my hasty departure wasn't even known. Your kindness helped to lift my heart and for that I genuinely thank you and yet wonder if those two simple words are really enough to express the gratitude I feel.

I have taken the last few weeks to get to know myself again. I am slowly finding joy and comfort in my own interests and hobbies. It feels strange to even think that the life I led before a certain day in April no longer exists. It has become part of my past and now I have to use all that it holds to guide my future.

All of this has been to preface the following, and it isn't easy for me to say by any means: for the last 2 months+ I have been grieving the loss of someone I love dearly and deeply. I am grieving the loss of someone I never thought I'd have to grieve over so early in our lives. I am learning that my grief will be a lifelong process, that even though I will always feel an emptiness, my life will begin to work around it and regain a sense of peace.

Despite my sadness, the summer holds many promises of fun that I can happily say I am looking forward to: day trips and long weekends with friends, baseball games and free plays in the park, the new Batman movie, lots and lots of ice cream, family time, kayaking, flea markets, parties, concerts, etc.

Thank you for sticking around to read this. I hope to resume blogging here at Resplendent Tranquility soon.

Until then,
Emily

I have been struggling over whether to write this post or not; struggling with what I would and wouldn't say. All I can muster is this: at the end of April my life changed drastically. It changed forever. My family and I are slowly coming to grips with reality. We are trying to seek a new normal. For me, updating my blog will not be a part of that process. At least not right away. I do think that I will still read blogs and comment from time to time, so I won't be gone completely. To readers old and new, thank you for being a part of this with me. Take care.

A quiet morning reading Frost

Sweater: H&M, Vintage dress: thrifted, Shoes: H&M

I have been on a Robert Frost kick recently and got caught up in this poem, Spring Pools, this morning. I kept poring over the words and images embedded in these few lines and really found myself feeling them. I may be wearing a springy dress and not wearing tights, but don't let that fool you - the air was chilly despite the sun. Birds and little bugs were out, but really, let's not rush the change of seasons too much. While I love full-blown spring as much as the next person, let's hold on a bit longer to that winter thaw. It's an awfully nice little span of time (though we didn't get much of one this year, I can pretend and enjoy this poem all the same).

Poker Face

I could not, in fact, keep a poker face while taking these photos. This bit of pasture is outback near our chicken coop where my dad keeps a radio playing to ward off prowling predators (gotta keep those hens and eggs safe). I wasn't paying much attention to the background noise until a particular anthem from a few years back came on. And it made me laugh. Who doesn't like a little Gaga on their Easter Sunday?

  

Vintage cardigan: thrifted, Vintage pin: gift/Etsy, Skirt: thrifted, Tights: Hue via Marshall's, Wedges: Target

Speaking of Easter, I hope those of you reading (who celebrate) had a happy one. This might just be my favorite Easter get-up in recent memory and that partially has to do with this buttercream cardigan. It's been designated to my collection of favorite spring cardigans and has been in some of my favorite spring outfit sets here on ye old blog (this one and this one). Isn't the color just delicious? As for actual buttercream (heavenly stuff!), I'd had it on my mind for the past few days and satiated my want of it by making some brown sugar cupcakes with buttercream frosting for dessert today. Also delicious!

I suppose since it's in some of these photos I'll talk about my little purse. I've wanted a vintage straw/basket purse for about as long as I can remember, but all the ones I ever come across are either in tatters or smell weird (or, exaggerating aside, have something not quite right about them). So, I don't know, 6 or 7 years ago I stumbled upon this small basket at Pier One, tied a vintage scarf to it and voilà! a basket bag with vintage flair was born.

And, finally, I couldn't resist sharing this photo of Little Bunny Foo Foo!