it came and went. i did not get frantic. i did not over-do. i did over eat (and will start the master cleanse on january 3rd, with my daughter and sister). i baked just enough and bought just enough.
i spent some lovely time with friends. relaxing. talking.
i am happy that this year is coming to a close. it wasn't particularly great. not bad...just not great. a couple of challenges i could have done without and did not handle well.
i have some goals for next year. i won't call them resolutions. learn to handle my camera better. cook my way through the 400 cookbooks i bought this year. be nicer. i say that every year. enjoy every day.
anything else you can think of?

every christmas i toy with the idea of a big tree, decorated only with twinkly white lights. that's it. but then i think of our ornaments, when we got them and where they came from. and you know what?? they got to go on the tree.
this year they are also piled up in glass vases and pedestals. i've stuffed some greenery and berries in vintage silver sugar and creamers. thanks colleen. i've hung some icicles in the windows. new tradition?
maybe i will decorate a cabin one day....oh wait, fat chance. can't get to our property in the winter!
maybe two trees?

What can i say about the corson building in seattle? that it was perfect? magical? delicious? all of the above. the building itself was beautiful...perfectly chipped and crumbling. i loved the attention to detail. vintage, chipped platters. salt cellars fashioned out of old highball coasters. mismatched vintage silverware. i'm quite the sucker for all that.
the food was amazing. fresh, local and seasonal. no kidding...the chickens were running around in the side yard. it felt like we were sitting in a friends (a very cool one) dining room...enjoying a winter brunch.
the best part of all? no pretension. not one tiny bit. i think i'm in love.....

it begins on december 1st. then slowly, each day, the decorations come out...bit by bit. it's different every year or else i'd be bored stiff.
this year will be a bit more spare than usual i think. i'm feeling like pine cones, nests and antique bulbs. maybe some fairy lights??? walnuts and clementines. drying peppers from our yard. foraged greenery.
so far....