Friday, December 28, 2007

a loss on a day of giving

christmas has always been my favorite holiday. unfortunately, for this year, a shadow has been cast over the season.

my grandfather passed away on christmas eve.

my husband and i picked up my grandparents for the festivities. as usual, they were bickering in the car on the way over -- a favorite pastime for this couple, married an amazing 63 years. i made a point of saying to them that no matter how much they argue, we all knew how much they loved each other.

our whole family was together at my mother's house that night, having a great time. grandpa ate tons of food, which was somewhat unlike him, from the moment he walked in the door until dessert was over. he had two glasses of wine and his espresso. he laughed a lot and enjoyed everyone's company, especially his grandchildren. he lived for us, and out of the 7 grandkids he had, 5 of us were there that night, plus my husband, his newest grandchild.

at almost 1 a.m., he said he was tired and he wanted to go home. so we began to walk my grandparents out to the car, so that dave and i could take him home. he had his walker, and was waiting for us to walk around the car to the other side to get him in. while we were walking over, he collapsed suddenly, though in very slow motion. he didn't even hit his head on the ground. we all rushed over to him, and saw that he was having trouble focusing. we were trying to get him to focus, and we brought blankets outside to keep him warm. we called the ambulance, which came right away. though the paramedics did their best, i think we knew as soon as we saw his eyes.

my grandfather was one of the most important people in my life. he was everything a grandpa should be -- giving, loving, comforting, and fun. he was oddly emotional, crying at the drop of a hat whenever he was touched by his family, and let us know often how much he loved all of us. he taught me a lot about how i should treat my family, being the first to call any of us out if we didn't keep in touch enough or didn't act politely at a family dinner. and he was a stubborn mule that didn't take care of himself enough at times, and eating cookies by the pound even though it wasn't good for him. he truly enjoyed his 87 years on this earth.

as sad as i am now -- heartbroken being a better term -- i can only tell you how proud i am that this man was in my life. and i know that the holidays from here on out can't be in mourning, but in celebration of his life. he loved his family and enjoyed us so much, he wouldn't want to be the cause of sadness.

i put together the collages of photos of him to use at the wake, and so i wanted to add a few to this post. this way everyone that reads this can see this man as i will always remember him -- full of life and loving his days with us.

make sure you tell the people you love how much you cherish them. and say it often. i know that my grandfather knew this that night, and he left this earth having spent his last moments with the food and family he loved so much. i can only be grateful for that.

EDIT: i say in the caption to the photos below that one of them is at my christening. so sorry, i should have said communion.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

WE'RE HOMEOWNERS!!


i just returned from our apartment closing. we have keys and everything! we're homeowners!!!

i'm so happy.

we will be moving for the next few days, so i'll be away for a little while. enjoy the rest of the week!

Sunday, December 16, 2007

art on tv

i feel as though television and cinema sometimes forget the beauty of the hand-created work. everything these days are digitally output and CG frames. but every once in a while you get a nice surprise.

as some know, i'm a HUGE "dexter" fan. tonight, season 2's finale, was absolutely insane!!! (no spoilers, i promise.) well, during the early part of the episode, i got some extra eye candy besides michael c. hall in his cute little killing outfit... lila's newest creation was this amazing painting of dexter -- intense and angry, and incredibly beautiful.


i'd love to know who actually painted this piece. if anyone finds out, let me in on the secret!

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Tagged again!

Well, I guess it's going around again! This time I'm on time... The Bridal Wishlist tagged me yesterday. So, in the spirit of good blogging... Here we go:

1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random and/or weird things about yourself.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So here goes:

1. I'm afraid of dolls. I think it's Poltergeist's fault.
2. I struggled with which I wanted to be more: an artist or an actress. I think I made the right choice.
3. I've always yo-yo'd with my weight.
4. I'm slightly obsessed with home design/repair shows. It's a sickness.
5. I just started getting daily migraines over a year ago, and now I can't have red wine or chocolate. My two favorite things!!!
6. I'm also slightly obsessed with anything involving serial killers (read: Dexter, Silence of the Lambs). It kind of spooks my husband. LOL
7. A beautiful painting can bring tears to my eyes. Then again, almost anything can. =D
Bonus: I LOVE the holidays. I'm a Christmas-a-holic.

Ok, I've tagged the following people:
1. Rachel at Black Eiffel.
2. Parsiri at Parsiri Blog.
3. Candis at Paper Shop Ink.
4. Vane at Brooklyn Bride.
5. Jennifer at Hostess with the Mostess.
6. Chelsea at {frolic!}.
7. Jeff at bLog-oMotives.

Happy Holidays!

Friday, December 7, 2007

making progress!

well, as the countdown to our move continues, we've needed to make some fast decisions concerning our apartment decor. mainly, our rugs. since we need to cover 75-80% of the new apartment with rugs, we decided to get them as quickly as possible -- so that we don't disturb those below us.

so, we've made some great decisions on the fly! with the help of my amazing interior designer/best friend, loren fox-dunne, and some serious blog searching for good ideas (thanks designsponge and absolutely beautiful things!), i've found some great stuff. and they're not budget-breaking either.

we've decided on the nimes ticking rug from dash & albert for the living room... we think it will go great with our couch and the master plan for recovered fun chairs...


i bought a jute and chenille rug the other day at lowe's for the bedroom, but then changed my mind and was going to bring it back. but i've realized it will probably work great for our dining/foyer area. it's neutral but brings in some color (with the chenille), and can deal with high-traffic. sorry, no pics yet, but i promise to get them soon...

i've always wanted a shag rug! and dave actually loved the idea -- much to my surprise... so we decided to get a flokati for the bedroom, from overstock.com.

and so, now we have more direction for the rest of the space. i think i'll bring in some green or orange in the living room, as a nice accent to the yellow/blue/white color scheme. and our bedroom is starting to become funky but sexy at the same time -- and i really think we need a sexy bedroom.

yay for decorating!

Thursday, December 6, 2007

aaarrggghhh....

so sorry i haven't been around this week. life is INSANE!!! i have to pack and move, i have to hit some major deadlines, and now i've had my main computer crash! suddenly, last night... fun!

anyway, in the spirit of denial, i've been doing some shopping for the apartment. we need to get certain things for it -- area rugs, a tv, etc. -- right away, and i don't want to be missing this stuff.

my main concern right now is area rugs. we need to cover 75-80% of the apartment with rugs. i think i've figured out a few of them, but not the one for my office. i don't want to overspend -- in fact, i'd rather underspend. but i want something fun and funky. also fairly disposable if necessary...

so far, i've found the below rugs from urban outfitters that i really like -- definitely fun and the right price point. but the color schemes available in a 5x7 rug -- the size i need -- are not exactly perfect.


sooo.... anyone have any other ideas on where to look for something similar? if you do, please comment below or email me! i need the help.

thanks!