Something Sweet

A quick hello & some links.

For Valentine's ideas (including humanitarian), especially homemade cards.

Samantha Hahn's free Valentines, so pretty.

A Paris street photography blog (archives)

Quick Dulce de Leche & one way to use it.

I've disabled comments for now because I'm too tired to engage much except a bit on Twitter. Pls consider joining me there. xo

(photograph by Linda McCartney)

Roses in February

A slightly altered post from Giulia Geranium. Because that is the sort of year I'm having (so far). The David Austin Handbook of Roses 2012 arrived in the mail Monday. I really do place it on the night table for a flip-through. It also makes lovely gazing when in a bubble bath. Definitely order one here (it's free & beautifully photographed). Even if you don't have a garden, many of these roses do well in pots. And if you don't have a place for a pot, you might consider giving a rose as a gift. And if you're reading this in another country, you can probably order a catalogue, here.

Cheers.

(lovely photograph by Le Portillon)

♥♥♥

My health is uppermost on my mind of late. All the time, actually. Three links I'm looking at today:

Heart-healthy Foods

Go Red for Women

Heart Healthy Women

(photograph by Beata Rydén - check out her Flickr sets, she's terrific)

A Free Internet

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

Hi everyone. A petit rant via Giulia Geranium

If you do not understand why certain sites are not available to you today, please watch the video. If you think you do understand what SOPA/PIPPA is & think, "but people should be paid for their content, it's a good idea," please watch the video. Every seemingly good idea is not implemented properly & it can cause wreckage. Please make your voice heard by following the links to the online protest. If you aren't in the States, believe me, this affects you just as much me. (Thank you to Swissmiss for the video link)

Cheers!

(image via Comically Vintage)

Cold War Games

I'm being spammed to within less than an inch of my patience. I am exceedingly patient (I've worked on it, believe me), so this is saying a lot. While I try to get many ducks in a row, a new photograph. This is how I feel (except I'm not as cheerful as Audrey). Back soon but I'm turning off comments. I hope all are well.

Primrose

I'm pushing primroses because I bought one for $1.67 + tax. (I tweeted the photo but it's not worth posting here.) You cannot beat that with a stick. It will make you feel better, I promise. For some other ideas, here's my "do not toss out all holiday decorations" exhortation on GG. I'm sitting here looking at fluffy pink poinsettia flowers in a ceramic mustard jar. A stylist would charge many monies for that, I am certain. Cost to me: $3.99 6 weeks ago for the local poinsettia & I don't know how much for the jar. But the mustard was excellent.

I'm always looking for inspiration so if you have any, please let me know. I'm enjoying the IKEA blog, btw. (You can translate it if you like.) The photograph is by Teresa at Meadowbrook Farm, another new-to-me blog I'm enjoying.

Happy New Year

Hi peeps. Happy new year, fresh start, do over, whatever you want to call it. However. My tree is up until next week. I do not understand the fuss to "get it over with." There are people wildly shoving decorations into storage bins & boxes, crazed vacuuming, etc in order to have things "back to normal." (I'm quoting real people.)

Is everyone's average day so fabulous that they simply cannot stand 24 more hours of twinkly lights, lovely holiday food? If it's about to spontaneously combust, then by all means chuck out the tree. But for heaven's sake, leave some decorations up. Or make a winter wreath or put some holly in a jam jar. Or something.

The complaining portion of New Year's Day is now over (here, anyway:) Carry on!

(photograph by Sharon Montrose. Though I rarely make resolutions to buy things: I resolve in 2012 to finally have either a Sharon Montrose print or her new book)

New Year's Eve Day

Oops. Best laid plans, etc. Dashing out on errands & now a last-minute babysitting request (for the afternoon). Happy to help but that pushes some things off my list right now. I may be back before midnight, maybe not. I will most certainly be on Twitter. Happy New Year already to Julie & Simon & others I don't know. For those without televisions, there's a live webcast from NYC's Time Square beginning at 6pm EST. Join in!