Catching Up

Wow!  Hi, again!  Happy New Year!

Apologies for dropping out of rotation for December and January.  Things in my world were shaken up, in a pretty darn good way, so I needed some time to step back from blogging and focus on my transition.  (Hint:  The transition involves a new job, where I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to do good work.)

I hope that you enjoyed the holidays and time with your loved ones.  Did you stay home?  Travel to visit with family or to celebrate with friends?  I'd love to hear how you've been. 

xox
Emily

(Image of Nasir al Mulk tiles via The Art Minute.)

Quick Hello

Hi, there.  Just a very brief (too brief!) note to say hello.  It's been a busy return-to-normal for me after spending Thanksgiving with my family in Florida.  I hope that you had a lovely holiday, too, however you celebrated.  This is not a "real" post, I realize, but I hope to deliver one of those, or a Friday link update, at the very least, to you by the end of the week.

I leave you with a YouTube stream of Above & Beyond's studio album, Group Therapy.  It combines tendencies that are trance-y and club-worthy (which I happen to enjoy, but admit the obnoxio-value :) with those that are graceful and a little melancholic.  I've been listening non-stop for the last several days.

See you soon. xx

(Image of Albrecht Dürer's violets via WikiPaintings.)

The Very Best Turkey Advice and Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!  Whether you are celebrating or not, I want to wish you a happy day with people you love, a few quiet, reflective moments, and delicious food.  Two things that I am always thankful for are food (Surprise!) and comic relief.  This brilliant video by Mary Risley, of Tante Marie's Cooking School, combines food and humor with a healthy dose of practicality.  Mary's message for those who are experiencing turkey-induced stress:  Relax!  And grab the pinot noir.  :)

Mary says that one way to approach the turkey is to put it in the oven and go for a walk.  If you'd like to follow more detailed instructions, though, she also provides those here.

Have a fantastic few days, friends.  I'll see you back here next week.  xoxo

(Image by Tante Marie's Cooking School via YouTube.)

Fresh Cranberry Relish

With Thanksgiving sneaking right up on us (Tomorrow!), I wanted to share with you a favorite family recipe that usually appears around this time of year.  It's a raw cranberry relish that combines tart cranberries with bright citrus and sweet apple.  All of the ingredients are chopped, so, with some electric assistance, you can prepare the recipe in a snap.

Until just yesterday, I'd always thought that this cranberry relish was one of my grandmother's recipes.  Turns out, the dish made its way to my family via my aunt's good friend, P.  See P.'s recipe and hilarious notes below.  I've added just one comment, in brackets.

OK - Here goes. It's better if it can sit overnight. Mine is already done and on the porch!

You need: 4 cups of fresh cranberries (two bags and you'll have leftover - feed the birds or decorate your wreath), two navel oranges, one large red apple (not Delicious), 1 1/2 cups of sugar. 

Grate peel of one orange into large bowl. Peel and remove pulp on both oranges. Cut into chunks. Core and quarter unpeeled apple; cut into half inch pieces. Wash and sort cranberries. Chop cranberries and oranges in food processor.* [Be sure to pulse the food processor, rather than running it continuously, to avoid ending up with a slurry.] Add to apple and grated orange rind. Mix in sugar and let set in refrigerator (or similar cold place) overnight.

*Before the Food Processor came into my life, a task that now takes 20 seconds, took a cup of scotch and 3 1/2 hours cutting up all those cranberries. By the time the scotch was gone, I couldn't even catch the little buggers. Happy Thanksgiving to you and all.

A nice alternative to jelly from the can, right?  :)  (Don't get me wrong, the jelly has its place.)  Enjoy!

(Image via Eliza Domestica.)

The Square

Last week, I was lucky to attend a screening of the critically-acclaimed documentary The Square.  The film, named for Cairo's Tahrir Square, captures pivotal moments in Egypt's revolution and modern history in an intelligent, emotional, and aesthetically beautiful way.  Director Jehane Noujaim and her team began filming in early 2011, just before the protests that toppled the Mubarak regime, and they continued filming through June of this year -- because the situation in Egypt continues to evolve, they weren't sure when to stop rolling.  In its very first frames, The Square made me feel nostalgic for Cairo, where I lived for three years before coming to D.C., and for my dear friends there.  Whether or not you have a personal connection to Egypt, though, the film is a captivating must-see.

The Square will arrive in select U.S. theatres in January, so mark your 2014 calendars, please, and plan to see the film if it plays near you.  Otherwise, you can request or organize a screening (Details appear when you hover over "Screenings" on the website.) or find it on Netflix, also beginning in January. 

(Image by Noujaim Films via the Los Angeles Times.)

Yousuf Karsh at the National Portrait Gallery

Select works from Armenian-Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh are now on view at the National Portrait Gallery, following a gift of 109 photographs from Karsh's widow, Estrellita, to the museum. The Gallery will show the Karsh gift in two installations.  The first, Yousuf Karsh: American Portraits, includes photographs of notable Americans.

I wanted to share with you some of Karsh's work, including pieces that don't appear in the current Portrait Gallery exhibit. (Like the one immediately above. Disclaimer!)  Karsh's portraits focus on notable figures in society, including entertainers and policy-makers, so you may recognize some of these images.  See more after the jump.

Le weekend est arrivé!

It's been a super busy, fly-by week here.  One highlight was seeing the excellent documentary The Square, which I'll tell you more about next week. (Bottom line: See it as soon as you can.)  What will the weekend hold for you?  I hope it's a good one! xox

* * *

I really loved this Newshour piece featuring poet Naomi Shihab Nye.

Hand-etched wooden spoons would make a great cold-weather craft or holiday gift.  I can just imagine them sticking out of the tops of stockings at my house.

A kind of awesome foray into green lipstick, including tips for wearing an emerald pucker.

Gorge metallic leather coasters, maybe as a hostess gift?  Or house-warming?  Or for yourself, just because?

Have you ever made potato roasties?  This Middle East-inspired recipe calls for the addition of tart sumac.

Nicholas Nixon's beautiful series of annual photos capturing four sisters over nearly forty years. 

This Facebook status generator is hilariously accurate. 

Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé!  Taste it tonight at the Embassy of France.

Kitties and cute men together are as great as you think they will be.

A list of D.C. bars and restaurants with fireplaces.  They left out the Georgetown Ritz-Carlton lobby, which serves s'mores on weekend evenings around 6. 

(Image via Design Sponge; lipstick link via The Cut; Beaujolais tip via Eater DC.)