some things last a long time.

after an eight month break, i figure we're due in for a return. hello, internet. how are you? very much has happened since easter time.

the cold has finally arrived in chicago, bringing some snowflakes along with it. while christmas time is my most favorite of times, i am looking forward to the freedom of hazy, dreamy, warm nights. the idea of summer has taken on a whole new meaning now that my first year of teaching is underway.

but for now, it is still december. i'll go to sleep tonight dreaming of a time when life will look exactly like this:

croquembouche

i've been obsessed with macarons lately. it stems from spring, passover, and, i must admit, a not-entirely-successful attempt at making them. i found this picture recently and i could just gaze at it foreeeeever. i've always kind of loved the idea of a croquembouche, and one made out of macarons is just so brilliant and pretty.

a good egg.

were i to go on an easter egg hunt this year, this is what i hope would end up in my basket. i took this photo outside one of the window displays at barney's new york on rush and oak. don't the colors remind you of those little plastic eggs nestled in the grass and behind flower pots, filled with jelly beans and waiting to be found?

i won't be decorating eggs this year-- but liza and i will be working on some special springtime treats! look for the post in the next few days. in the meantime, i'll post a picture of one of my favorite easter projects from two years ago. i went a little egg crazy, and blew out a dozen or two. halfway into the dyeing, my old roommate walked in, grabed a wax crayon, and voila, we had little egg heads depicting the likenesses of our favorite pals:

bagels.

we made bagels. they looked, tasted, and smelled like bagels. GLORIOUS.

i can't wait till i have kids, i can't wait till they're old enough to have sleepovers, and i can't wait until i'm the cool mom who always has the best treats.

brighter days.

bursts of yellow spotted in chicago's roscoe village on a recent afternoon.
reminded me of easter pastels.

welcome home.

bluebells, cockleshells,
evie, ivie, over!

did you ever sing that jump rope song? or the one about cinderella dressed in yella? i did. maybe you've never picked up a jump rope in your life. maybe playing jacks was your thing.

whatever it was, and whatever it now is, we all have little bits and pieces of life that we pack into our bag of tricks and carry with us every day. things that offer a little bit of familiarity, a little bit of comfort, a little bit of home, wherever we find ourselves in life.

as my friends and i wade through our mid-twenties, more and more i find myself looking under rocks and in the backs of dusty cabinets for these lost relics-- capturing little bits of home wherever i can. this a time of transition; careers that are stop and go, love that overwhelms and slinks away, apartments that leave amenities to be desired.

this is a period in our lives, more than ever before, where the very notion of home has been turned on its head. what is home? where is it? and how do we make a home of our own?