Northampton

Northampton, Massachusetts, the little "city-lette" next door to Amherst, the town where I grew up and where my parents live, is highlighted today in Design*Sponge's City Guide feature. Yay for the adorable, lovely, quaint, and picturesque Pioneer Valley of Western Mass! Western Mass is a really wonderful part of the country. It was a great place to grow up, and it's a great place to visit. If you've never been, there's TONS to do and see - and every time of year is fantastic in its own special way. There's nature, there's shopping, there's great food, there's a beautiful bike trail, and more and more and more. And all wrapped up in a perfect little old New England package. Can't be beat. It would make a great getaway weekend destination... I'm just throwing that out there, in case you're looking for one! Anyway, you should just go ahead and check it out!

(images via Google image search)

Virtual Clothes Consultation

I need some input. I've been coveting and semi-stalking this top from ModCloth for a while. I even pinned it three separate times before realizing I'd already pinned it. Seriously. I also have a pinning problem. It's the Love Ballad Top and it was out of stock, and I just got an email that it's back in stock. Here she is:

(from ModCloth)

BUT... last Friday I wandered randomly through Forever21 on my way to the bus to go home, and happened upon this little number - very similar - that I decided I'd just go ahead and buy:

(from Forever21)

They are quite alike, it's true. But there are also differences. Hearts vs. Stars. Beige background vs. Cream background. Single breast pocket vs. Double breast pockets. Am I kidding myself? They're basically the same shirt, right? What should I do? What would YOU do?

Reading Challenge 2012

I've waxed poetic about my love of reading, my nerdy nature, and my obsession with Goodreads (the social network for book nerds) plenty around here. I know. But as I've said before, I am who I am. So, here I go again.

In addition to helping you track your reading, catalog your thoughts on what you've read (I try to write something every time I finish a book, and I've found that it actually helps me remember the books better - beyond just, "I really loved that book," or "I think I liked that one, but I can't remember the characters' names" - know what I mean?), and get good recommendations from friends and fellow readers, Goodreads also offers various giveaways, contests, online chats with authors, and challenges. Last year I jumped on board with the 2011 Reading Challenge. I assessed my previous years' reading and my overflowing to-read bookcase at home, and decided to try and be realistic. I challenged myself to read 20 books. That seemed do-able. And it was! In fact, it was more than do-able. I read 26 books in 2011! Every time I logged into Goodreads, a little bar graph told me where I was in my challenge, and what percentage of my goal-total I'd already accomplished. It didn't make me anxious that I wouldn't make it, rather, it encouraged me that I was tackling this goal month by month. So for 2012, I definitely wanted to challenge myself again, and up the goal a bit. But I don't want to be to bold. So, I'm going for 25 books in 2012. We'll see how I do. You can see what I'm reading in that little window on the right-hand side of the blog, actually, which I've connected right to my Goodreads account. Right now, as you see, I'm reading my first book of 2012 (this one's for my online book group, Reading Without Borders -- which you're welcome to join!): The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides. So far, so good.

Want to know what I read in 2011? They weren't all big winners, but overall, I did a lot of really good, really satisfying reading last year. Here are the titles and authors:

• Gun, With Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem
• Bamboo People by Metali Perkins
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night by Mark Haddon
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
• Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
• March by Geraldine Brooks
• Breathing Underwater by Marie Darrieussecq
• The City & The City by China Miéville
• If Today be Sweet by Thrity Umrigar
• Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
• A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
• Tinkers by Paul Harding
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
• Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
• Room by Emma Donoghue
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
• The Motel Life by Willy Vlautin
• A Short History of Women by Kate Walbert
• The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson
• The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai
• Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
• The Pleasing Hour by Lily King
• Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
• Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
• Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

PLUS! I just realized I'd totally dropped the ball on my "What I'm Reading Now" photo posts. I will try to pick that up again. Yeesh - how'd I do that?! Anyway... that's my 2011 reading, and now, here I go burrowing my nose into my 2012 books! What are you reading now?

New Year Shout-Outs

Happy New Year! Is it just me, or did 2011 really zip by?! I feel like I blinked and it was the holidays again. And now here we are in 2012! Holy moly!

2011 was filled with lots of good things and bright moments. Lots of friends, lots of laughter, lots of family, lots of fulfilling and active choices. And there is only more good to come in this next year. I'm going to try to write more meaningful posts, though there will inevitably also be some good ol' fluff, because, well, who am I kidding. First up - the Golden Globes are around the corner, so get ready for A's and my second round of Award Show Fashion Recaps! Whee!

But before we go there, I want to start the year off with a little shout-out to some of my friends who have some noteworthy things going on in their worlds, electronic or real. In no particular order...


* A's new(ish) blog, Anthologie, is great. Just all around great. She themes each day, and therefore has some really good fodder for consistent, content-rich posts. There are good updates for those who know her and her family, but there's also regular good stuff on crafts, food, beauty products, fashion, and lots of great ideas. If you're on Pinterest (and if you're not, get on Pinterest), you'll want to pin a million little tidbits from her posts.

* Another friend A made a hugely bold move and quit her (amazing) full-time job at a major magazine in NY to pursue a freelance career and move back to Chicago (yay for us in Chicago!). First and foremost - I am incredibly impressed by A's bravery, and also by her tenacity. She's been writing away, taking this freelance life by the horns and killing it. You can check her out in this month's Whole Living, where her article on being healthier in the work place made the cover - WOOT! Go A!

* My friend EA is also taking on new challenges in 2012... And she faced her trepidation and is doing it in the blogosphere! The 52 Project will have E and anyone who chooses to join her doing something different each week for the year, with the over-arching goal of simply living a healthier, more balanced, more meaningful and inspired every day. How wonderful is that?! I'm going to join her wherever I feel inspired, and you should, too! It's a fantastic idea, and an inspiring way to approach the new year. I hope she doesn't kill me for posting this on Owlet............

* My former (and maybe soon will be again) trainer and now great friend C is going to kick 2012 in the pants. She's opening her first studio (yoga, fitness, personal training) in Chicago in the coming weeks! It's in Lincoln Park, and as soon as I'm given the green light to release more details I will, but you can feel free to email me if you're local and interested! She's so talented and so strong and she really connects with each of her clients - a gift that makes anyone lucky enough to work with her get more out of their fitness/yoga/training experience then they likely ever had before. This new facility is going to be beautiful and incredible. I will be there regularly. Come with! AND... her previously self-produced annual detoxification guide (earlier versions were printed and sold low-budget to clients only) has been given a total overhaul for the 2012 edition, and it will be sold on Amazon (and at the facility) starting this month! Oh, did I mention I'm the editor?! (a little self-promotion - forgive me)

Good things for good friends to start the year off right. Here's to a wonderful year to come...

paula greif ceramics

First thing's first: Happy Birthday to the most wonderful Tia in the world.

I stumbled upon this tumblr (or tumbl'd upon it, perhaps?) thanks to simple things, another lovely little blog. I was immediately drawn to Paula Greif's beautiful ceramic works, and just wish there were a "shop" or "buy" button right on there for those of us not in NY. Here's hoping...

William Edmonds' Eskimo Kiss

I have been extraordinarily absent here, I know, and I apologize. I keep trying to encourage some creativity in myself each day/week lately, and am finding myself coming up short. It'll come back, I know, it's just... missing right now. That said, I saw this image today and fell in love with it for a whole bunch of reasons and had to share. I want a print of this. Maybe the mere act of re-posting will inspire some ideas of my own...

via Miss Moss:

(William Edmonds on Flickr)

Again, Input?

So, I'm just going to call it on the photography challenge, and I'll walk around with my head hung in shame for the next week. Oh well. I'll try it again another time, when I have a more fancy-pants camera, I think.

Back to my solicitation of input, though. I have to turn in my assignment for the non-fiction lesson in my writing class by tonight, and I still haven't decided what to write about. Here's a short-list of "events" that popped into my head as moments that made an impact on me (full assignment can be viewed here)... can you help me narrow??

Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion

Obama Election Night

Katrina

Death of Michael Jackson

Columbine

2000 Presidential Election

Anti-Iraq War Protests in Washington, D.C. (2002-2003)

Red Sox 2004 World Series Victory

...

???