Hugo ~ J'Adore

My family has a few Christmas Day traditions. We eat home-made cinnamon rolls for breakfast, we open gifts, we hang around in our pj's for most of the day, we eat MORE cinnamon rolls and then we go to a movie. It is pretty difficult to find a movie that everyone wants to see. There have been some years where we spent a lot of time apologizing for our choice of film to those family members who did not like it. Or being bummed out about someone else's choice. This year's family Christmas Day Movie ~ HUGO!!!! HUGO!!! My first 3D movie ever and I LOVED IT. EVERYBODY LOVED IT! Yay! What a nice gift from Martin Scorcese.
If you are like me, a Francophile and a cinephile and a 1930's fashionophile then this is the film for you. The Sandy Powell costumes are genius..all those cool shoes and socks...sigh...
The film is so yummy. It's the film version of a big French pastry.
Have you seen it? Did you like it?

(See if you can spot a few little cameos by Martin Scorcese as a photographer and Johnny Depp as a street artist.)

Merry Christmas Cakes to All!

T'was the day before Christmas and all through the store,
Not much was happening. A plain shopping bore.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear but...
Some AWESOME Polka Dot Christmas Cakes!!!!
At Vons! That dorky, uncool, regular old grocery store.
I love how sometimes the most amazing things pop up in the least likely places....

Big Hug to the anonymous grocery store baker!

Winter Solstice

The shortest day of the year. It feels so elemental.
~ J'adore ce petit jour ~

Twinkle Light Season

I am Ca-razy about twinkle lights. In fact, I keep them in my house all year round! But this time of year is especially wonderful for twinkle light lovers like myself.

Whenever things get a little too stressful, I take some time to bliss out on twinkle lights....

Looking for Snow In San Diego

The sun in shining. The birds are singing. The grass is green. Ahhhh....Winter in San Diego. But, I miss the Snow. So I went on a Snowflake search around town and this is what I found.

Chrismakkah Cookies

In our house we celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas. Heck, we'll celebrate anything that involves gifts, food and good will!
That is why I like to make CHRISMAKKAH COOKIES:
Classic Shortbread Christmas Cookies cut into shape of a Star of David decorated with Blue Sugar Sprinkles.

note: Martha Stewart makes the most beautiful subtly colored Sanding Sugar. Go Martha!

Dance of the Snowflakes

I have decided to call this blog: "snow in the air" because...well...my name is SNOW and...because One Thing that I LOVE and that I miss most now that I live in Southern California is the Feeling that I get right before it starts to snow.   ~   I can sense it. The light changes to bright and dark at the same time. The temperature changes. I can smell that clean, cold, metallic smell. I can almost taste it. Sounds become muffled. I get that tingly sensation that something Magical is about to happen. Then it does. I look up and here they*** come**Snowflakes**in the air*dancing***down from**the sky*********http://youtu.be/qcxixZjeulE

Love Love Love Mistral

I am seriously addicted to Mistral soap. The packaging is gorgeous and there are so many different scents. They are ALL NATURAL and subtle and so FRENCH. Mais oui! So, of course, I am a member of the Soap Club. They even have a "soap of the day." And the shop in Solana Beach, California is adorable. A wonderful respite from all of the bath chain stores everywhere else around town.

Things that make me smile

One way to get those healthy endorphins flowing is to seek out the things in your life that guarantee a smile.

Down By Law - Buzz Off

A Sad & Beautiful World

The past couple of years have been kinda crummy. I won't go into details but...I spent a lot of my free time looking for ways to cheer myself up. And I discovered some lovely blogs that really lifted my spirits. Now, I can barely send an email. I am a complete technology-phobe. It's amazing that I can even turn on a computer. But, hey, I like a challenge. And since my son is going off to college next year, I had better figure this stuff out for myself. like NOW. So here goes:

In spite of all the recent crumminess, I actually have a really wonderful life.

It is truly a sad and beautiful world.

walking the dog

One way to stay fit is to own a very energetic dog that needs to be walked every day. EVERY DAY! Several times a day. Of course, you don't need to own a dog to take a walk but there is nothing like those sad doggy eyes to get you off the couch and out the door.
As you probably guessed, I own an energetic dog.

Here are some of the things my dog, Pancake, and I see on our walks EVERY DAY.

A cool ceramic bird house.

Watch out for bees!

Back home again. The bougainvillea at our front gate.
What a nice walk.