Look, it's starting to thaw out!

Spring must be right around the corner...

see you in the spring!

This might seem a little abrupt, but I've got some

scheming/planning/learning/thinking/rearranging-of-life to do...

therefore,

I have designated February as my official Hibernation Month.

(Hibernation in this sense, of course, being an active endeavor... no sleeping here! More of a 'holed-up-inside' definition, know what I mean?)

I'll be back on March 1st.

...and who knows?

I have a sneaking suspicion that a few things might be changing around here... :)

Happiest of Februaries to you all.

xoxoxoxo

Ms. Rose Calfo

Once upon a time there lived a sweet little chicken named Rose.

She had glossy black feathers and such a bright ruby-red comb that roosters from miles around would hold daily crowing contests in her honor, in hopes of seeing the tiny smile Rose kept neatly hidden at the corner of her beak.

But that smile, and Rose, belonged solely to one Mr. Calfo, and Mr. Calfo loved his pet chicken.

One day, Mr. Calfo's dear girlfriend asked me to paint a portrait of Rose as a Christmas present for him. I was honored and did my best to recreate Rose's charming looks, especially her tiny secret smile.

To my relief, Mr. Calfo and his girlfriend deemed it a success!

Everyone lived happily ever after, even the roosters, although they still won't give up.

oh, and I love watercolors more + more.

days 23-25

(yummy lavender-scented wooden beads)

(a really beautiful piece of printed cotton cloth... it's so lovely I feel like I should frame it!)

And for the grand finale...

after all the other sweet, beautiful, lovely presents I knew the 25th one would be very special,

but I was expecting something like a kawaii letter set....

but no,

it was

TA DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

Words cannot accurately describe how surprised and utterly thrilled I was to receive this.

For someone who treasures Studio Ghibli films close to her heart (as I know many others do), who sees them as beacons of fresh air in the often-moldy world of popular cinema, who proudly identifies herself with Kiki's struggles and cries along with Chihiro and Haku as they fall from the sky, it was a true joy to devote my Boxing Day afternoon to this wonderful concert commemorating the dynamic collaboration between Joe Hisaishi and Hayao Miyazaki.

I laughed, I cried, I sang along.

The following picture doesn't do it much justice, but yes, that is a 400-person chorus and 200-piece orchestra.

I think my favorite part (besides the music, of course) was when Miyazaki walked down and grinningly (is that a word?) handed Hisaishi a bouquet of roses.

So let's all hear it for Shinz and her gift-giving skills!

♥ Thank you again, Shinz!!! ♥

it's a little while after Christmas, but...

...I didn't want to keep you guys stranded any longer. :)

I decided to take advantage of this incredibly delightful, beautifully warm hint-of-spring weather and have a little photo shoot with the rest of the presents!

Of course Christmas has come and gone and I really should've shown you these about ...oh, er, a month ago, but nonetheless... here they are:

*********

(day 21 was an adorable little Christmas-themed snowglobe, but alas, it is already packed away in the big plastic Christmas Box. This giant one is pretty cool, though!)

*********

You can't really see it very well, but the pretty blue ribbon from Day 18 has sparkly silver edges. Also, the purple star windchime has a suction cup at the top so I can stick on a window, and I haven't tried out the spiral-drawing set but it looks so exciting (I remember playing with one when I was younger!), and hurray for glow-in-the-dark stars!

I hope you had a truly marvelous Christmas + New Year.

How was it? Were any new traditions or adventures created?

(my sweet little tree)

I'll be back tomorrow with Days 23, 24, & 25, I promise! :)

once upon a time...

...there was a beautiful fairy princess and a handsome snowman.

The fairy princess liked to sit outside in the wide, green world and swing her legs and gather berries and interesting leaves,

while the snowman liked to stay inside by the warm stove, perched on the kettle, anticipating the next cup of tea.

They never actually met, but they're both so cheerful-looking, I bet they would've become splendid friends.

And seeing them reminded me of this old Pixar short... which is pretty amazing for having been made in 1989.

Wow, computer-generated animation has come such a long, long way in such a short amount of time... I wonder where it will go from here?

xoxo,

Tab

sorry for the absence...

...I was over in lovely Wilmington, NC to watch one my dear friends graduate college!

Since I've known this person for 5 years and they've been in college that whole time (they had to switch schools mid-way), it seemed extra momentous + exciting.

Congratulations, Nolan!!!

Needless to say, I have some catching up to do on the present-front!

Here we have a kawaii memo pad,

little deer keychain,

bento box picks,

star-shaped mini mirror,

and my favorite-- quail egg molds!

If you click on the picture you will be able to see the happy animal imprints in the molds. They work something like this... adorable, huh?

I am so excited to now own two bento-related items.

Bento-making is way up there in my list of things to try (it was actually #1 on my list of "25 things to do before I turn 26" ... I'm 26 now... oops). Now I am that much closer to fulfilling my dream... I just need to buy a bento box now. Soon!

Hope everyone had a splendid weekend, and I'll see you tomorrow!

twinkle toes

Hello and Happy Thursday!!!

Today's present reminded me a bit of something I've always wanted to own, and that is Sparkly Shoes.

Specifically red sparkly shoes (a la Dorothy), although unfortunately they usually only come in little girls' sizes, and even though I can in fact squeeze my foot into a size 4, it is very, very uncomfortable.

So I'm still dreaming.

But yes, this little key-chain shoe isn't red, but it is sparkly and pink, and pink is very close to red!

Perhaps this is the shoe Dorothy's first child wore?

(by the way, yes, there are women's-sized red glitter shoes... but they usually look something like this... which is why I don't own any)

(Maybe I will make my own someday.)

monsters oh my!

I'm not really a huge fan of plushies, but this little reversible monster (monsterS?) is just too, too perfect.

I squealed when I opened the package this morning! They are so adorable!

(shinz, did you make these???)

I'm not 100% sure where I want to display them (I've decided they are monster siamese twins...) but for now they're hanging out on my kitchen counter with my Starbucks monster mug.

There's something about little fangs that gets me every time... even my favorite tote bag has a bitey cat on it.

see you tomorrow!

xoxo

lovely little papers

I'm pretty sure one can never have too many lovely little papers, and if they happen to come with tiny animal-making instructions, so much the better!

It's hard to read the writing down there in the corner, but yes, this was day 8's present.

I think it's so funny how Japanese octopuses are always depicted with a little tube-shaped mouth.

When I see a picture of one, they don't seem especially tubed-shaped, so it must be one of those cultural things...

(photo courtesy of www.seaotter.com)

It's awfully gloomy and rainy around here today.

Even listening to my Múm and Joe Hisaishi channels on Pandora isn't cheering me up...

time for some drawing!

My apologies for the delay in present-recording!

I was working an overnight babysitting job this weekend and was away from my computer... and all my lovely little presents. Now I am back!

The 25-days-of-Christmas window is clearing away awfully quickly... I have so much to do before I open the last present!

I enjoyed opening all these gifts, especially the tea. Having a foreign language on the teabag makes it seem so much more fancy, don't you think?

To recover from my babysitting job I spent yesterday watching Peter Pan and writing in my journal. I found myself wanting to return to Neverland several times afterward and even this morning... it's so lovely!

Hmm... this might end up in a trip to the library to re-read the original and explore a bit more about Mr. J. M. Barrie...

see you tomorrow with gift #8!

it's gray and rainy today,

...but that won't stop me from having a splendid morning as I unwrap present #2!

Once again I am very impressed + happy with such a lovely surprise: coffee, tea, and hot chocolate mixes!

I've put them in a little cup by my kettle so I can choose a treat whenever I feel like it.

Hurray for warm mugs!

it arrived!!!

Several months ago, I signed up to participate in this swap.

The idea behind it seemed utterly fantastic... how charming to open a tiny surprise each day of December until Christmas, like a personalized advent calendar!

I was a little bit afraid I wouldn't receive my package by December as it was coming all the way from Malaysia, but my partner timed it perfectly, and to my delight it arrived in the mail today, December 1st.

I don't have a Christmas tree yet (that'll happen later this week, hopefully), so I decided to turn my kitchen windows into a little present-display area. (Sorry the lighting is terrible, it's a very gray sort afternoon over here.)

I swapped the usually green-print curtain for a piece of red fabric and added a few Christmas ornaments to make it a bit more festive.

25 sweet little presents, eagerly awaiting discovery!

Oh, and I also decided I'd take a picture of each gift as soon as I open it... so you can follow along in my discoveries if you'd like. :)

I love it already.

Happy December, everybody!

See you tomorrow with Present #2!

xoxo

starry-toed

There are few lovelier ways to begin the weekend than by sitting in a massage chair getting your toenails painted lilac, and when the little Vietnamese lady offers to add magical stars, how can you refuse?

Happy weekend! :)

May you have a beautiful and magically-lilac one!

I'm off to see Camera Obscura tonight in Atlanta!

adventure!

The other day I felt like I just couldn't take it anymore, so I went on an adventure.

First, I ate a delicious meal on my favorite plate.

(There are grumpy clouds on the background, but of course they're hiding behind the food.)

I jumped in the car (my car's name is Rudy, by the way) and drove up to Asheville, where Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was playing at a dollar theatre. I hadn't seen it yet but really wanted to, even though I feel like the last several Harry Potter movies have been a disappointment... but that's another story for another time.

The leaves were just starting to change and it was a beautiful day!

Once I arrived in Asheville I had some time before the movie began, so I found a little coffee shop and made myself at home with an almond-milk hot chocolate.

I sat outside and enjoyed the fresh air whilst attempting to re-create a circular design I had made in church that morning.

It turned out fairly well, but the most lovely thing is that sometimes patterns can be so, so soothing to draw. It's a great way to relax.

After that I explored the surrounding neighborhoods and found many treasures!

Finally it was time to see the movie!

Thanks, Asheville Pizza & Brewing Company.

You're the best with your little red booths and pizza-filled interior.

Full, happy, and brimming with inspiration,

I headed home beneath the gently graying sky.

Thank you, Asheville, for a wonderful adventure.