Happy Happy Holidays!

{I'm dreaming of a tropical Christmas}

I'll be signing off and spending next week with family, but wishing you a Happy Happy Holiday and New Year's! May yours be filled with peace and wonderful moments among loved ones!

Take good care and can't wait to see you again in the new year!

{Santa and Mrs. Clause - tan and barefoot in Hawaii :)}

{Photos taken in Honolulu, Hawaii.}

Nightlight

A moment of calm in recent days. (Sorry! As you can see, I have no idea how to take lowlight photos - but I couldn't resist the moon through hazy clouds.:))

Inside

Thanks so much for your lovely comments about our new place, made me feel better about our chaotic move!

You may also "visit" my new world at lovely Ren at Lady of the Arts and her amazing Around the World series, if you like. Meet bloggers worldwide as they interpret inside, outside, creative space, and wild card through photos.

Hope you're having a sweet weekend! :)

Find simplicity

{A moment of sweet sun in our new place}

Out of clutter, find simplicity.
From discord, find harmony.
In the middle of difficulty, lies opportunity.
-Albert Einstein

Although it's been a too-long workweek and I'm still finding new rhythms in a new town, we're sloowly creating order from chaos, forging new chapters. I wouldn't want it any other way.

~ Have a wonderful weekend, full of simple harmony! ~

P.S. Just for fun, has anyone seen Black Swan? I'm so intrigued!

(Black Swan image via FanPop.)

Sunrise in Florence, Italy

The Arno River, Florence

Digital cameras keep getting better, but there's something I find romantic about film. This fuzzy shot was from a disposable camera I toted through Italy and multiple Italian rainstorms (yet lasted!).

P.S. For the full effect, try this Puccini aria (used in A Room with a View), about throwing oneself into Florence's Arno River over tormented love. Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's voice makes me weepy.

A walk in the woods

Even in this bare-branch season, the great outdoors treats us to sweet, little surprises...

A sudden pile of pretty-shaped leaves, as we stepped outside...

The cool, rough pattern of an old tree trunk (I love old trees)...





Mother Nature's last splash of red, still hanging on...

A stone marking the route of George Washington's march by night to a battle against the British in 1777...

{I love that almost 250 years later, an American and a Brit would stumble on this American-British war site, during a peaceful walk in the woods, hand-in-hand, in love.} 

~ Wishing you a peaceful week ahead, full of sweet, little surprises! ~

Photo du jour: Palm trees

{Kakaako, Hawaii - a popular sunset-watching spot}

Just an injection of the tropics on this December day. :)

{Photographed on island of Oahu.}

Stuff that made my weekend

Finding this fuzzy photograph I took with a disposable camera, the view from my second-to-last apartment in New York City

Incredibly dense, moist chocolate babka

{Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows}

Hearing just British accents (and glimpsing London) again :)

{Isabel}

{Underligne by Doo.ri dress, SS/10}

More lovely photographs from Wai Lin Tse

Unpacking the last box from our latest move, yippee!

~ Wishing you an incredible week ahead! ~

(Top photograph was taken in Manhattan, of George Washington Bridge in the mist. Remaining images via Good Bread This, NY Daily News, Wai Lin Tse and GigPark.)

Some local island flavor

 {Honolulu photographed from Diamond Head volcano summit}

The blue, blue sea and skies around you

Tropical lei (men traditionally wear leafier leis)

Sharka the cuddly toy shark (very popular!) won't bite

Friendly monster at Kailua Beach :)

~ Wishing you a week filled with blue, blue skies (at least in spirit)! ~

{All photographs taken in Hawaii, of course. :) Friendly monster made by my brother.}

Photo du jour: Pale light

To celebrate the colder season, I challenged myself to find the most "wintery" looking photo of Hawaii I had. If you pretend that water is freezing, not tropical, couldn't it be an arctic seascape?:)

{Photographed in Honolulu, but let's say it's Helsinki. :)}

Kuli'ou'ou on phone-camera

My sister's 3-hour morning hike at Kuliouou Ridge Trail, Hawaii, last week. Sorry it's not the best, being a phone-camera, but I figured a shot of Hawaii never hurts. :) (Thanks sis!)

I'll be traveling all day and offline, but can't wait to see you when I have internet again!

Photos du jour: Leaves are fading

How time flies! Photographed in Central Park (previous autumn) and Hudson Valley, NY (this autumn).

P.S. The Leaves are Fading is also a lovely ballet - a reflection on passing time & past loves as one enters the autumn of life - this bit is danced by husband/wife Amanda McKerrow & John Gardner (dance starts @ 55 seconds).

(From the American Ballet Theatre, YouTube clip here.)

Change is in the air

Hope everyone had a wonderful fall weekend! Thank you for all your sweet comments Friday - I've been off the grid, but can't wait to catch up on your blogs. :)

I'm excited. For 4 years, I've been living a nomadic life in London, Cambridge, DC (with stints in Hawaii, of course :))... All for work and love. But as of this fall, our jobs are going to let my significant other and I spend more months together in the States each year!

We still have to go between the East Coast and London sometimes, but I'm psyched to not face another London winter (3pm sunsets are un-fun!) and to be less footloose.

The first side effect? We took a trip out on the lovely East Coast to celebrate and soak in fall color. I could get used to this. :)

~ Wishing you a lovely fall week ahead! ~

{Photographs of changing fall foliage taken in Hudson Valley, NY.}

Photo du jour: Moonshine

A calm, still night in Honolulu.

{Photographed in Hawaii, of course :)}

City diary: Honolulu

A teeny sampling of everyday moments...

Surfboards

Lifeguard hut

Mystery orchid

Jump for joy!

~ Wishing you a joyful week ahead! ~

{All photographs taken on the teeny island of Oahu.}

Photo du jour: Sunset surfers

{Surfers in the distance, off Magic Island, Hawaii}

Just a sun-filled photo to start a new week :)...

~ Have a sun-filled week ahead (at least in spirit)! ~

{Photographed in Honolulu.}

Weekend of pictures {+ French chocolate boat}

{Mitch Epstein, Madison Avenue, New York City, 1973}

{Stephen Shore, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, August 13, 1974}

{Jan Groover, untitled, 1978}

{William Eggleston (an old fave), untitled, from Los Alamos, 1965-68}

Fun fact: Until the 1970s, only black & white photography got respect, color was "vulgar"! These vivid pictures from a weekend exhibit caught my eye - artists who made color photos an art.

~ Wishing you a colorful week! ~

P.S. And, oh my, this also caught my eye: Leave it to the French to make a sea-worthy boat out of chocolate (see BBC news clip).

(Images via Starburst (#1-3), the larkey experiments and TalkTalk. This post mysteriously disappeared, but is back now - with the chocolate update).

Photo du jour: A beach by any other name

Small beach near Ko Olina, Hawaii...

As a fun contrast, this is also a beach...but in London (where my significant other is from). I like to wind him up (tease him) about it. ;)

{An August Break Continued post: Top photo taken on island of Oahu. Bottom photo of Bankside Beach taken in London, UK.}

Mom's camera in Beijing

{Forbidden City, Beijing, China}

{Rescued baby pandas, Beijing Zoo}

Did I ever mention we procrastinate a lot in my family? (Well, mainly me.) We finally organized photos from my mom's Beijing trip 2 summers ago! I remember being stuck in London, envious.

Although I think my mom had more fun meeting people than seeing sites: Like this Swedish couple who were celebrating the Olympics & home team love. Go sports fan style! :)

~ Have a fun and lovely weekend! ~

(Thanks Mom!)

Photo du jour: Dawn

Near Hanauma Bay, Hawaii. Afterwards, you can go snorkeling in the Bay with tropical fish (you see more fish early in the day :)).

{An August Break Continued Post: Photographed on Oahu.}

P.S. I'd rather be behind the camera than in front, but here's a hazy photo of me in this location, after dawn - I was watching waves and saw whales by chance! (Sadly hard to photo)
P.P.S. Why am I always soo overdue for a haircut?