a weekend with houseguest

last weekend i had a house guest blogger and friend aran from canelle and vanille along with her beautiful oh so loveable little girl miren.  Aran had contacted me a week or so before christmas and asked if she could visit the farm, we had tried on several occasions to meet up this past year but life got in the way. I had met aran before and if i had xray vision i could say i met miren as well, since aran was four month pregnant on her last visit to new England.

Aran was coming to shoot some of the new england winter for her new book( we are so proud of you aran). thanks to all the snow that had recently fallen it made the farm even more welcoming. I picked up aran & miren from the airport  then made our way to bea's house from la tartine gourmand who had invited us for lunch. I was nervous since i had never met bea, well i just would like to say that she is the most charming person i have met in avery long time, her and her doll  like daughter lulu are so wonderful. her home stunning and the lunch the most delicious i have had in years! there i was sitting at the table between aran and bea, two amazing pasrty chefs  i was in awe! Thank you Bea and lulu for making me feel special!

Miren stole my heart from the very minute i met her. our house somehow felt blessed by her. her little feet and giggles all over our house!  we visited a winter farmers market, very small aran can attest to that, the sea side town, then historical town of newport, where  finally aran could have lunch,  finding a gluten/dairy/soy free restaurant worthy was difficult but finally we sat in a warm restaurant chatting away while watching miren. that night i finally concord my fear( i am totally awe of aran ability to cook and bake that i became to intimated at my own skills- do you guys know what i mean paralyzing fear). well somehow i did it, i prepared a meal and aran, miren and i sat at our farm table chatting about life, inspiration and her new book ( okay i must say a lot of time was devoted talking about cat litter :)) can i just say how lovely aran is, she is lovely.

the last morning while aran and k walked all around the farm taking pictures and  meeting the animals, miren and i played indoors. to see things through her eyes was a highlight, knowing that she was looking out the window at her very first snow made me think of how grand life can be when you are starting your life and how special it can be being part of one who is. she fell asleep on her stroll outside in k's arms-  my heart melted and so did his.

thank you for sharing some time with me aran and miren! i know it was somewhat hectic, maybe a little come ci, comme ca, but i hope memorable in a good way!

Tatte and conversation

last friday i posted that i was headed to meet a famous party chef, stylist and photographer and some of you guessed it was aran from canelle and vanille and you were right. I met Aran as she patiently waited for me on a bench in brookline. I have to tell you that she is lovely a glow to her that would be hard to describe. we walked on newbury street ate at a tapas( i realize now how silly a suggestion that must have been) but i enjoyed it. Her friend ariana joined us as we made our way to Tatte bakery. I came across tate bakery while visiting simplsongs blog and have been wanting to make my way there for a while now. How great that my first experience would be with aran, our cameras came out as we all took pictures of this beautiful bakery( just my style) then we each pointed to something delicious and continued our conversation about many things while we sipped our prepared drinks and nibbled on our treats. The night ended as ariana and i hopped the trolly then jumped into a cab realizing that we had only minutes to make ariana's ride back to ny -we ran to the station out of breath we made it and just like that the day came to a close. It was very nice meeting you both and aran is as wonderful as you would imagine her to be.

i celebrate you

aran you came into my life as delicately as your beautiful creations and have made it richer and so much more beautiful than i could have imagined. you are witty and smart. your kindness and compassion has been the light in my darkest of times. every thing you put forth is perfection. I am with no doubt a better person for knowing you. this year will be magical
i can feel it!

happy birthday aran

magical friend

somedays you wake up and you know that the day will be difficult, that you must do things that will scare you and your in it alone..but then someone says through their action of kindness, no, no your not and just like magic they make you feel happy and without a doubt you say to yourself how lucky you are to have such a wonderful and loving friend

Old world package

As you know i entered an autumn swap. I was so happy to see that package arrived par avion and realized it was from jeska of lobster and swan!! how excited i was specially when i had a sneak peek on her blog of what her swap partner would be getting( i secretely wanted it to be me) and it was!!

I can not begin to describe how beautiful all of it is. it arrived bundled in toile as i opened everything, i could not get over how i felt like i was somewhere back in time and was receiving a package from far far away from a friend..well that is kind of the way it really is. She made the loveliest flower brooch, it is beautiful! she sent rosemary salted caramel truffles- I know!! she included a bar that you melt in a cup for hot chocolate the bar is so beautiful, i wrote to her saying how is one supposed to unwrap such a lovely bar. she sent me two wonderful books that fit perfectly into my collection( i love these) and finally a beautiful yellow match box and when i opened it, i pulled out a ribbon garland of butterflies..do you know how that feels- it's magical what fairy tales are made of...

i have made to beautiful connection jennifer who recieved my parcel and jeska who sent me the loveliest package of goods their blogs are a gift to me..and in them i find a never ending well of beauty..

thank you for the loveliest parcel jeska!

her name is sara

everything was beautifuly wrapped, many beautiful bundles!!


and she will make you laugh, she will also make you cry and sometimes she makes you yell out-loud "you go girl" but the other day she had me speechless. waiting at my door was a package, i was sure it was my autumn swap package, but when i turned it around i saw happy birthday nadia what? then i saw her name. Sara and i met while blogging more specifically we both signed up for garden swap(till this day i don't know who sent me mine) i had never entered one before and was new to blogging. i was excited to put things together and i started to visit her blog. very soon after i new it was kismet. Sara's blog immediately drew me in. sara is the kind of friend that would cry with you and make you laugh through your tears(do you know what i mean) her post are heartfelt, funny-no they are darn right hilarious, she often has me laughing so loud, most of the time i think she should be woman/mother/ funniest person of the year you don't believe me read this.

Sara is also the busiest person i know yet it is apparent that if i was to ask her family, friends, neighbors they would all say the same thing she is the center, the glue the heartbeat. while visiting her blog you realize how big her family is and how much fun they have together and if i was blond i am pretty sure i could sneak right in and what a blast that would be! oh and the coolest thing about being part of her family is, her postings about there birthdays-best ever she creates the perfect day for each of them! I am also addicted to her "five sense fridays" even though sometimes they happen on sunday!

Sara and i are friends that is how i feel, we have never met in person, we don't agree on certain issues but i respect her a whole lot!i also love's how she is not afraid of being different OKAY our friendship is based on her cool sense of style and the fact that she wears red shoes:) So how she found time to not only send this birthday wish but create was inside is mind boggling specially that i have a feeling this is the busiest time of her life am i right sara?. I will just let the pictures speak for themselves, but a few things that you will not see so i will mention them is a knitted bracelet, chocolate from Utah!! a window ornament in my favorite colors.. a birdie. I have never received anything with my initials on it so this is extra special because she made it!! don't you just love the ribbon!!!my colors!! a card with a peacock feather( now that is what i meant by kismet) i have a chapter in my life i call a "peacock feather"-she did not know this and there, in a card lay a peacock feather!!! and finally a cd, she made it for me i have played it at least three dozen times, it is in my car, download in my computer and in my ipod...sara every time i play it - i thank goodness you sent it-it has truly been a must this week! and the title says play it loud speaker and i have and outloud i would like to say

merci chere sara!!!

your listening to cibelle singing grass one of the songs on the cd

"more perfect"

burnt milk ice cream by canelle & vanille

in the first lines of the prelam of the united states contitutions
there is an error in grammar

"we the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union..."

untill now

more perfect that is what this is aran....

friendship and an affair with a neckalce

deb click on the one bellow








I would like to take a moment to talk about blogging, friends and women. You see for as long i can remember friends that have been woman did not come easy, don't get me wrong i believe that i make a very good friend..but my willing to give, put things aside for others and my generosity for some reason ends up getting questioned..this has happened since i was a young girl. therefore i have always had friends that have been men in fact my best friends have always been boys. It took me a long while to understand. I have never been competive with woman, i actually don't understand it- i have been known to give my best ideas to woman saying to myself i will just come up with new ones...

okay so why i am writing this? it's because something is happening and it is because of blogging. i spoke about it before here, but more and more i realize what an amazing group of women i am getting to know. i am overwhelmed with happiness when i read comments of personal nature- the openness and generosity of time, advice and stories. Is it just me or something major has happened... somehow in the safety of our homes, studios, offices we are able to open up, listen and get inspired. I have met in amazing group of women yes that is you i am talking about.

one such person is Deb from Bon Bon Oiseau from the second she said hello on a comment i could not help but to take notice of how whole she lives her life, not only does she create beautiful things but she sees them, takes note of them, translates them in her daily life and then shares them with us. whether it is her comments or noticing a piece of laporte on her blog or an e-mail letting me in on her wonderful insights and thoughts or the lovely package i received last week..so lovely i could not open it right away. I am truly blessed to have her in my life- yes i can say that because what is amazing about this place, is that it is different ...outhere we cross each other in the street maybe or not we say hello but were stuck behind the physical..but here we start from the inside out..we almost immediately get to see the within then the rest follows...even with the last post about what makes you glow i thought that I would get some names of products but instead it was filled with the most beautiful inner beauty secrets of spirit, laughter, accomplishments and generosity! see how special you guys are!!!

the photographs above are from the lovely surprise package i recieved from deb.... I am in love with everything from the card(shoes), book( drooling), postcards and the necklace that is so beautiful( i have to admit i have wanted to take pictures of one her creations for along while) and now i have one of my own....


i want you to know how lucky i am to have you all in my life,
please know this always...

if it is raining where you are look here for the sun

A birthday wish

Welcome to your thirties, here you will find the same ingredients as your twenties but different portions of it- therefore creating something new yet still relying sometimes on some thing tried and true! These ten years are like no other enjoy them as you continue to sculpt the sculpture that will one day be the most perfect portrait of you.

Happy Birthday Joetta