Happy Holidays!

The casually (crazily) decorated tree in our town square. I'm taking a break for the holidays - enjoy yours! Happy 2014!

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Below, to make up for my holiday hiatus, a glance back at 2013...

Spring springing...

A mostly-London summer...

...(with a touch of Paris)...

...(and Norway)...

Autumn gold...

Let it snow!

Last-minute holiday shopping

In our town square. My favorite cheesemongers and jewelry shop (both on left) helped take the edge off:)

Postcard from Washington, DC: Deck the halls II

Somehow, I neglected to show the actual decked halls from DC's Union Station yesterday. Here they are!

Postcard from Washington, DC: Deck the halls

To end my work travels, sunset glow at the capitol and GIANT wreath in the halls outside Union Station.

Man in moon

Taken the night before I left for work travel. I kind of see a face, a melted-snowman-face. Perhaps it's that elusive man in the moon.

The first dusting

Like icing on a cake. (I feel I've shown this street before, but cannot find the post now.) I'm taking a short break for work travel. Be well, see you soon!

Winter wonderland and really wet nose

Lunch yesterday, Princeton's (and Kona's) first big snow! (Kona enjoyed extra pets from the sledding kids:)

Frozen and liquid

At the Princeton policy school, feels like winter! Today is also Human Rights Day - the school is hosting a panel discussion and exhibit of photos from "Justice: Faces of the Human Rights Evolution."

Weekend explorations: Shakespeare on Broadway

What's more English than fish and chips? Maybe a double bill of Richard III and Twelfth Night? Starring the incredible Mark Rylance, these Broadway productions recreate the originals: all-male cast, onstage seats, the pre-show ritual of actors getting dressed onstage. Here's the Richard III set (pardon my pocket camera).

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Below, the cast gets dressed for Twelfth Night. The last shot is too far, but I enjoyed catching Stephen Fry - in black to the right of the table - being dressed as Malvolio:)

Rest in peace

Nelson Mandela, 1918-2013. A moving reaction to the New York Times obituary:

"I can't explain how sad this makes me feel. I grew up in apartheid South Africa, 15 years old standing in a long line watching my mother vote for the first time in her 44 years. She was jailed twice for curfew, her brother, an anti-apartheid activist is still missing to this day. South Africa was more than blessed to have a leader such as this man where a country could transition peacefully.
Because of him and those like my uncle, I am free today."
-Rosalie, NY, December 5, 2013

Recent weeks VII: Color

It was T-shirt weather yesterday, go figure! So I'll move back in time too, with glimpses of our November color and last November rose.

Mistral

Peeking into the kitchens of multi-cultural Mistral, a recent arrival on Princeton's restaurant scene. (The New York Times gave it a very good rating.) The grilled octopus with papas bravas was delicious.

War relic {+Churchill randoms}

Did you know Winston Churchill has a Princeton connection? Churchill's maternal grandpa, Leonard Jerome, attended Princeton University and led the 1838 effort to return this Revolutionary War cannon to Princeton. (The cannon was left in Princeton by Washington's army after a Revolutionary battle, but relocated to nearby New Brunswick during the War of 1812 to again ward off the British - more here).

The cannon now fronts a Princeton eating club (this one). Churchill was an iconic 'war relic' too - and the first honorary citizen of the U.S.!

Recent weeks VI: Saying goodbye to autumn

Princeton University's "front lawn" and historic Nassau Hall. Autumn leaves were already fading in this November shot, but I love the season so and can't resist the colors.

Recent weeks V: Vanderbilt Mansion, New York

How the other half lives: Gilded Age "summer cottage" of one of America's richest families. Enjoy your weekend!

Recent Weeks IV: Future chefs + Happy Thanksgiving!

 

I couldn't let Thanksgiving pass without mentioning food! Spotted these future chefs at the Culinary Institute of America. This day is about gratitude for a good harvest and other blessings - Happy Thanksgiving!

Recent weeks III: The Hudson River, New York

I showed you the Culinary Institute of America yesterday - this was the view towards the Hudson River.

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{Explorer Henry Hudson is famed for his exploits in the area, but met a sticky end 400 years ago - his crew mutinied and set him, his son, and several men adrift at Canada's Hudson Bay. They were never seen again.}

Recent weeks II: Hudson Valley, New York

Luckily, I got one weekend off and enjoyed autumn sun at the CIA - the Culinary Institute of America. (It's probably a more pleasant destination than the other CIA.)

Recent weeks: Golden days

Well, that small break turned into a too-long month! The best-laid plans... Thanks to all who dropped a note. I had a month of unexpected long workdays and work weekends, but it was also a time of golden days.

Leafy carpet

An uneven season: Many trees are green, but others have already lost their golden leaves. I'll be taking a small break - be well, see you soon!

Ivy at an Ivy League

Traditions: Each year, Princeton University's graduating class adds a sprig of ivy to the walls of Nassau Hall (the former US capitol...and Revolutionary War target!).

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P.S. The term Ivy League evokes prestigious universities, but originally referred to an athletic league.

Delicately fading leaves

Our autumn colors are not yet in full glory, but some leaves have definitely and delicately faded...

Weekend explorations: The NoMad

The beautifully restored NoMad Hotel in Manhattan is full of lush interiors and moody lighting. Its airy atrium offers award-winning cocktails.

The Little Vintner of Colmar

"Replica of a work of Auguste Bartholdi. The city of Colmar France. Birthplace of the Creator of the Statue of Liberty. To her sister city the borough of Princeton." Iridescent in the bright lunchtime sun, the plaque for a (thirsty) replica statue at our borough hall. Princeton High School hosts a regular student exchange program with Colmar students. Enjoy your weekend!

The Newspaper Reader

By J. Seward Johnson, Jr., 1975, Princeton Borough Hall. Remember when most people read print news?

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(Some gossip: Johnson was an heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune...until his father married the maid and she inherited his money. Bitter battles ensued, but the former maid kept most of the fortune. She lived at the 140-acre Princeton family estate, now a fancy golf course, until her husband's death.)

Great blue heron

My point-and-shoot is too limited for wildlife, really, but I can't say no to a big bird. It soon caught a delectable frog.

Here's looking at you kid II

Kona is probably wondering why I pulled a camera out of my bag instead of a treat. I promise this won't become a pet blog - it's hard to get her to look at the camera:) 

Here's looking at you kid

Our groundhogs (woodchucks) are fattening up for winter hibernation (wish I could hibernate too!).

Princeton University's graduate college

Today, they are students strolling these halls full of dreams. Tomorrow, will they find a cure for cancer? Win a Nobel? Help shape nations' fates? (Like the brilliant Alan Turing, who lived here as a graduate student.) Enjoy your weekend.

Postcard from Manhattan: Little wedding scene {+wedding-themed summer farewell}

Gazebo wedding, Central Park lake. The lake is also a lovely place to rowboat. And below, since our summery autumn heatwave is finally ending, a farewell look at that most summery of scenes - weddings.

{Clockwise from bottom left - all Summer 2013: colorful-quirky Princeton, elegant Paris, Cinderella London horse-drawn carriage and its London bride outside St. Paul's Cathedral.}

Postcard from Manhattan: Central Park ballerina

Alas, I couldn't walk closer for a better shot, but she was a fun/sweet/unusual autumn sight. (Lincoln Center, home to two ballet companies and a ballet school, is nearby.)

Postcard from Philadelphia: Barnes Foundation

I'm not always good about mixing work travel and play, but got to visit the Barnes Foundation on Saturday. After much wrangling, its art collection opened last year in a new, modernist space. It is a heaven for Renoir and Cezanne lovers (Cezanne is of my favorite painters), although sadly I could not photograph the art!

{More on the museum's dramatic backstory and the eccentric art collector, Dr. Albert Barnes, here.}