Art isn’t easy
Cue Stephen Sondheim…
But seriously, art isn’t easy or everybody would do it. For me, it’s been about making mistakes, facing my fears, bearing my soul, finding my truth, discovering what’s holds me back, and, slowly, becoming free.
Category: Birthdays
Smart and Meaningful Reads
Lead image courtesy of Anusorn P nachol / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
I’ve been preparing for a work offsite event that is taking place this week. If you’ve ever been to one, you know these things tend to happen away from the regular office environment and can sometimes involve one or more overnights.
If you’ve ever planned one of these events, you’d also know that the organizing end can feel like simultaneously having a party and a performance review: it’s exciting, you want everyone to have a good time and you personally want to have chance to enjoy and get the most out of it.
Unique Gift Ideas: What I’m Dying To Give Now
Image courtesy of shuttershock (c) Kristijan Zontar
I’m usually prompted to source new gift ideas because I am shopping for an event or occasion. Recently fantastical ideas have just surfaced unsolicited by way of Instagram, Facebook, Twitter (gotta love social media) and old-fashioned word-of-mouth in a lovely happenstance kind of fashion. So these are some AH-MAY-ZING looking tokens that I am dying to find the right occasion for–and I already have a few in mind–so I just had to share, and pay that good-gifting-kharma forward. Enjoy!
Summer 2013: Highlights, Gifts and Surprises
The kids in the ocean at Coney Island: Summer 2013
The summer is almost over. It’s hard to believe Labor Day weekend is just two days off in the distance and all I my blog has to show for it is a handful of posts. I had grand plans…
The summer is a meaningful time for me: family birthdays and annual celebrations, my anniversary and, of course, excursions and getaways. Yet every time I meant to sit down and capture it for my blog, I was distracted or something else came up and it no longer seemed timely. But now, dear reader, as summer’s precious moments are coming to a close, it seems all the more necessary to remember the highlights, gifts and surprises of Summer 2013.
My Take On Turning Thirty-Eight
On my 30th birthday I woke up and cried. Not because I was turning 30, but because I was entering a decade that my father would have no part of. He died when I was 22 and so he had seen a small part of my twenties. Entering my thirties meant starting a chapter that would be devoid of any semblance of his imprint.
I have another birthday coming this week.
Summer Birthdays: Remembering My Nanny
My beautiful Nanny, 1999
I didn’t do a July 4th post… I tried, I couldn’t do it. I kept putting stuff together and bursting into tears, nothing felt right and I just couldn’t get into the spirit. July 4th we always celebrated my grandmothers birthday–her birthday was July 3rd. She started the tradition years ago with a lobster bake and my aunt has continued the tradition–a promise she made my grandmother before she passed away in 2008.
So this last Wednesday would have been my grandmothers birthday, and I can’t call her that… I never called her that. I called her Nanny. She was the best Nanny in the world. She was beautiful, she was effusive and she lived adventurously. She was proud of her family and she made you feel loved yet she also could give a kick in the ass when it was needed.
Chic Summer Style: Delicate Jewelry
To me, summer style is all about breezy-chic and no-fuss cool (I don’t mean “funky-fresh” cool, I mean temperature cool). What says that better than delicate jewelry that doesn’t weigh a ton, but looks sweet and maybe even sparkles. I’ve been keeping a list of items I want to snatch-up–either for me or for the summer birthdays I have to buy for, and truth be told those might be a “one for you, one for me” situation.
Inexpensive Date Ideas
Coffee, muffins and Scrabble for iPad in Marcus Garvey Park, Harlem, NYC
I’m a big believer in dating. The excitement, the energy, the getting dressed up and primping for the other person… And then of course the actual experience of having time together, knowing smiles and flirting across the table, brushing hands and fumbling fingers. In particular, I don’t think married people date enough.
Looking Back: Birthday Celebrations For My Son
Spring is almost here and in my house, that means it’s almost time for a birthday party…for a little boy–my youngest, no less. Every year he gets excited about six weeks beforehand and starts dropping not-very-subtle hints about what he wants for his birthday, and where he wants his party. This year he is turning the big 1-0 and he’s all about computers and baseball–if you can’t catch it or code it, it’s impossible to get much of his attention for very long. He wants a robotics and game design party–yes, this exists–but maybe because it’s a landmark year (ten feels special and monumental to me) this got me thinking about all the different parties we’ve had over the years (don’t worry, I’ve omitted any duplications).
Photo-Fun Birthday Party
One of my very favorite group shots, they all look so psyched.
Last week my daughter turned twelve, and every year we do two parties: one for friends and one for family. My daughter is an incredibly creative spirit and has always liked her parties to reflect her personality and what she’s currently obsessed with–this is always a (fun) challenge for me, the Mom, as we attempt to find something unique, fun and thematic to her tastes and passions. We started by going through her favorite things–theater, art, music–and talked about a few different ideas for each: taking friends to a Broadway show, doing a karaoke thing (again–Oh No!), or doing an art themed celebration. And then I remembered her love of photography. She’s on Instagram, takes pictures of EVERYTHING and as soon as I mentioned it, she was game! But how to have a “Photography Party”? Good question.
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The Gifting Whisperer 