crush month: day 31

This was a tough one. There are a lot of options for a crush on the very last day of a year, while visiting your childhood stomping grounds in New England. For a while there, I was even considering having a crush on the conversation with my siblings wherein we discussed what I should do for a crush. But then Bethany reminded me of something we saw early this morning while we were driving to Woodstock to go shopping (Gillinghams!), and it was clearly the crush month winner. The Maple Grove Bakery hearse. Yes, indeed, you read that right. As we were turning off of I89 to drive through Quechee, we were behind a hearse with a giant cardboard sign in the back window that read "Maple Grove Bakery." It's a pastry delivery hearse. We weren't swift enough with the cameras to get a picture, but I googled it when we got home and found the picture above. This is the actual vehicle, but the picture was taken by the previous owner and was on her website with the information that it's now the delivery vehicle for Maple Grove. Only awesome.

Happy New Year, all! For my next blogging project, something more ambitious, at which I may or may not succeed. Stay tuned...

crush month: day 30

Dan & Whit's! The store with everything - and I really mean everything. Swing by for a gallon of milk, and walk out with your milk, flyfishing equipment, an excellent Chianti, a buffalo plaid wool hunting jacket, a sink, some yarn, Yankee Magazine, the New York Times and one of those rubber ball-paddle thingies. And maple candy. Also get a tank of gas, the local gossip, and drop off your FedEx overnights. And a Dan & Whit's tshirt - don't forget that. Wear that shirt and anywhere you go in the world, someone will stop you and say, "I LOVE Dan & Whit's!" Me too. Hey, Mom, do we need any milk?

crush month: day 29

Betty the Retro Robot Waitress

My very first Etsy love: Artsy. When I first discovered Etsy, way back in November of 2006, Cat Bishop's shop was the first thing I loved, and it's still one of my favorite stops. Cat is a gifted artist who works in vintage and found objects to create sculpture with a tremendous sense of personality, color and movement. She's also a fellow vintage bead lover, and she's generous and fun. Here are a few of my favorites.

Gertrude - Bowling Pin Babe

LADY MARMALADE recycled vintage object sculpture 1000 PIECES no.23

(Lady Marmalade is my one who got away - I still wish I'd bought her when I had the chance.)

HOUSE LOVE vintage object sculpture couple 1000 PIECES no. 69 and 70

9 LIVES CAT vintage tin sculpture 1000 PIECES no 128

crush month: day 28

Today (and all the days hereafter) I have a crush on one of my Christmas presents. Shana shares my love of selvedge, but she has the foresight to actually keep it. In a true labor of love, she made me this amazing cowl by painstakingly sewing strips of selvedge together and lining it with a fluffy blue fleece. It's delectable, and I'm in love with it. As you can see from the last picture, I don't even brush out my bedhead before putting it on in the morning. You can't tell, but I'm smiling in there. Sexy. Thank you, Shana!

crush month: day 27

Today's crush is very confusing. I can't choose among four women. I'm enjoying my first designing blitz in the whole of my two week vacation, and I'm watching Julie & Julia. This movie is so pleasing and satisfying, and I don't know who is making me happiest: Julie Powell, the author of the original blog and book Julie & Julia; Amy Adams, who plays Julie; Julia Child, who was and remains an all-around enchantress; or Meryl Streep, on whom I have a lifelong girlcrush. I don't suppose it matters much. I'm very happy right now, and took a few minutes out (while Julie's stew is burning) to tell you about it. Now back to watching people cook, while I happily make jewelry and think about cooking. No time for hyperlinks; if it's possible that anyone doesn't know about this movie, may I recommend Google: your friend and mine.

crush month: day 26

Monkey! She's a yellow lab who gives hugs. What could be better than that? Unless it's a yellow lab who gives hugs while wearing a knitted babushka.

crush month: day 25

The Boy. My sweet and funny nephew, Grant, is celebrating his third Christmas today. I wish I could be with him to share the fun, but as we're far apart I have to be content with pictures. Just this fall, he stopped looking like a baby and started looking like a boy. Here are some that I love.

Brushing his teeth:

DJ'ing a wedding:

Enjoying the packing, last Christmas:

Aiming his Red Ryder BB Gun (oh wait, that's Ralphie):

Catching snowflakes:

And in a few short months, he'll be joined by a baby sister; I can't wait to meet her. Merry Christmas! God bless us, every one.

crush month: day 24

Mimosas. I love them. They're elegant, they're refreshing, and more than any other cocktail they say "Right now, I have no responsibilities and am free to lounge in luxury and good company." They really do - listen hard, and you can hear the bubbles speaking soothing words of relaxation. A classic mimosa is champagne over fresh orange juice, but it's fun to play around with other additions, too. Martha Stewart has a lovely lemony version with Prosecco. I've added apricot or pomegranate liqueurs or juices with very pleasant results. Disaronno's tasty, too, and I recently had a happy accident with frozen orange juice (actual juice, not concentrate) that made a kind of mimosa slushy. Hey, I'm thirsty. Gotta go. Happy Christmas Eve!

crush month: day 23 (also slightly late)

This robot necklace from Anthropologie. I keep waiting for it to drop all the way down to, say, $40.00, but no such luck. In the meantime, I like to visit it now and then.

crush month: day 22

Zooey Deschanel's apartment in 500 Days of Summer. I wish I could find more pictures of the set, because it's perfect: serene, intimate and feminine, but still somehow suggesting a temporary life. Quite lovely in dark woods, white and pale blue fabrics, layers and layers of art, and a chalkboard wall.

crush month: day 21

Sandrine Mercier's illustrations.

I found this lovely website today and I think these lush and elegant illustrations are amazing: full of mystery, enchantment and the promise of story.

crush month: day 20

Dr. Daniel Faraday.
I'm in the middle of catching up on Season 5 of Lost,
and I'm crushing hard on the twitchy and earnest Daniel Faraday.

So sweaty:

So science-y:

So important to the plot:

So...well, I have no idea what's going on here, but I fully endorse it:

crush month: day 19

As of 3:30 p.m. yesterday, I'm officially on winter break. In honor of making it to this much-needed vacation, today's crush is this fantastic picture.

And now, I'm going to go lie on the couch. Vacation!

crush month: day 18

Sylvia the Monkey.

I was just thinning out my Favorites on Etsy (they've reached an unmanageable 76 pages), and found that I've hearted Sylvia no less than five times (she sells frequently). She's just that good.

crush month: day 17

Muppet Carol of the Bells.

The combination of Animal, Beaker and Swedish Chef is a tonic 100% guaranteed to cure what ails you. I know we've had Muppets already, but, well, I don't care. This one's seasonal!

crush month: day 16

The Fabulous Kate. Here we have an excellent picture of Kate, with a nice gingerbread man, in front of a truly sensational candy-covered Christmas tree in a very pretty mint-and-pink room. All very good things, which cheered me up quite a bit today.

crush month: day 15 (with special crush supplement 15a)

A Bit of Fry & Laurie. Crush Month Consumer Warning: If you are the tiniest bit cool (see also Ben Folds video, below), you will not find this funny. I, of course, think it's a howler. #dorksunite



[related editorial material:]

crush month: day 14

This delectable coat. And if it's not perfect enough on its own, it's called the Gumshoe Sweatercoat. That's just not playing fair.

crush month: day 13

This lovely, lovely book:


I've always loved children's books, but recently I've been feeling nostalgic for a few special books that I remember from when I was a kid. They all have a distinctive type of illustration, and I think the yearning was brought on by pillow covers I bought from IKEA (see below). I'm really wishing that I still had a copy of The Plant Sitter by Gene Zion, illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham. Because it's charming and beautiful, and also because it's now about $75.00 for a good copy. Ouch.

crush month: day 12 (slightly late)

This pink elephant: