Xmas Morning

We were really impressed with how engaged in opening presents the little one seemed to be. She joyfully plucked tissue paper from gift bags and, most notably, was really excited for all her new clothes. She really took a liking to her sequin sweatshirt (she's a Maxxinista for sure) and insisted she wear it over her fleecey footy pajamas. Mr. SevPrez thinks its because I wore a sequin shirt on Christmas Eve, but I think she's just a magpie like me.

She received two Fishers Price toys from her Mema, and they are like gold. I forget that FP exists, and sometimes I feel bad that my kid has a mom without a clue about fun kids stuff. But let me tell you, the few loud, flashy, plastic toys that we do have make a real impact. They almost trump all our real electronic devices. Almost.

Sisyphus

Spent the day trying to absorb all of Baby SevPrez's lovely gifts into our home. Making space in her drawers for stylin new threads (2T! At least in leggings) and reorganizing our back entry bookshelf to accommodate some of the little one's books and belongings. Her shoe collection has mushroomed. She favors her patent Mary Janes but tries to put her new sparkly pink shoes on over them.

She looked adorable on Christmas Eve, then I dropped my phone in the toilet and lost my photo documentation. You'll just have to take my word for it.

Merry

Taking merry to an all time high, an itemized list.

1. Listening to Christmas music in the car. And singing and gesticulating along, ostensibly for Baby Sevprez

2. Staying up til 12:45 to wrap presents.

3. Baking pumpkin pies on Christmas Eve. While wearing a pompom hat.

4. Last minute shopping for stocking stuffers and an undershirt to complete Baby SevPrez's Christmas outfit. (Usually I would let these details go.)

5. Singing "Let it Snow" and "Rudolph" instead of my usual lullabies.

6. Reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas" aloud all the way through til the end, long after my daughter has walked away bored.

7. Being the most distraught in the house to learn that the "Mickey's Christmas Carol" DVD went missing.

Merry Xmas.

The Best Lights In All The Land

Thank you, family that lives on Creamery Lane, for putting up the most stunning display of Christmas lights I have ever seen, year after year.

This picture does it no justice. It can be spotted from a quarter mile away across a nursery in Colts Neck. You have to turn your head at just the right time to catch them, but needing an extra boost of the upside of life, today I sought them out upclose. It's only fair I share it with you.

O Christmas Tree

Another Charlie Brown from the Maine woods.

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

After a whirlwind fall of European business trips and Hurricane Sandy/Early Snowfall, we packed up the car to the gills and took our yearly Thanksgiving roadtrip to Maine. Thanksgiving came early this year and we felt it. As much as we felt like we hadn't been home as family in our own house for more than a few days at a time, packing up the ole suitcases felt like business as usual so off we went.

And it was great.

First we had Thanksgiving.























Then my birthday!





















And now Christmas is a'coming.
(As signalled by my newly acquired vintage Christmas candles.)
Cheers to you.

The European Makeover Continues...

Crazy boots, dramatic hat, neon jewelry, sparkly sweaters. Picked up the sweaters at a store called Reserved, while the rest was found at good old H&M. Sure we have it back home, but being here brings out another side of my identity.

Now to fit it all in my suitcase!!

P.S.
Went to their T.J. Maxx, T.K. Maxx here. It was a madhouse! I was able to understand how people who don't like T.J. Maxx back in the states feel.

Wroclove

Was visiting Southwestern Poland in a city called Wrcolaw (sounds like Vrotsloff) and got to see a bit of the countryside. It's a golden fall out here which is so nice, since I'll probably miss it at home.

All Saints Day is coming up on November 1st so I'm pretty sure the massive amounts of fake flowers are to leave at the cemetery when the party is over.

On the road, dusk.

Golden fall.

In case you don't find the flowers you want here...

You can find them here.

Varshava

That's kinda what it sounds like when the Poles say Warsaw. Things I've learned about the Polish language:

V=w
W=v
Sc=sh
Sz=zh
L with a slash through it=w
Et al.

Incredibly crafted parquet floors.

Hanging in Old Town, which was actually rebuilt after WWII.

After finding this wall of keys, I've seen many of these "skeleton keys" in action.

A beautiful restaurant that felt like an old mansion.

Beautiful church, one of many.

U Fukiera

Our Polish colleague recommended an amazing and magical restaurant in the old town called U Fukiera. The food was delicious and mostly authentic with notes of Spain and Hungary.

The ambiance was unreal. Candlelight, roses, old photos, vaulted ceilings, and pumpkins. As it says on the business card about the owner and founder, Magda Gessler, "she's cooking, decorating, but not singing." The menu copy was just as charming.

I had to get the Soup of Nothing. It was definitely something.

Soup of nothing.

Even the bathroom was awesome!

Guess Where I Am

Cloud Eavesdropping

Up in the sky thinking of Mr. and baby SevPrez and their morning dance party.

Postcards From Bucharest

My traveling companions in front of a fancy military building.

Mysterious public art.

Excellent graffiti.

Walking the streets of the old city.

Some sort of big fancy building. Does it really matter?

Morning view from the hotel.

A hidden outdoor watering hole in the old city.

Beautiful manholes.

Stumbling upon a magical shop. 

Ground zero of the Romanian revolution.

Further Elaboration

This is for my "anonymous" commenter. The sweats and the sneaks. The sweater doesn't photograph well and the Ts don't look like much.

Bershka And Other Foreign Wonders

You guys. Bershka. Check it out. My brother and I almost cleaned the store out while shopping in Bucharest. They were playing crazy European house music and I caught myself thinking, just for a moment, that I might never leave. Bershka, Bucharest, Europe. I felt my identity shifting.

Alas I am back home in beautiful New Jersey but I have been googling half-remembered lyrics of some crazy Eastern European club anthem to no avail. Maybe I'll always be an American girl, but I'd still like to be able to call up my crazy European alter-ego while out for a run.

To further my inner European identity I also picked up some awesome European sneakers. And a scarf (even their men wear  cotton scarves.) I got some "fancy sweats" that defy category -- two pairs. Three perfect t-shirts for $6 each and a slouchy cardigan at a store called, ironically, New Yorker. My travelling companions had to pull me out of a massive Zara before I blew my life savings (Zara Home and Baby!).

But seriously guys. I left my heart in Bucharest. It is such a beautiful city, with a vibrant life, and humble, open people. I felt enriched. I felt safe. I felt stimulated. It reminded me of my time in Madrid. It's a city that's not trying to be anything else than what it is. It is too consumed with it's national identity and it's own experience to worry about comparing itself to someplace else. Where else would you want to be?

I have a few more pictures, but I am struggling. They won't get it across. This city doesn't want to be reduced to 2D.

Guess Where I Am

Hint: I had to take two airplanes to get here.

Bonus: I am traveling for work but I am with my brother!