Photo Dump: Yule Times

Merry Christmas from the Mikeskas!!

(We may have done a little photoshoot with the Rotas)

So lucky to have them as part of the Christmas celebration!
Just look at those faces.

When I was little, Granny taught me O Tannenbaum in German.
How I wish I could remember it now.

Just John setting the tree on fire. No big.

Rockin' around the Christmas tree.

Because Santa's arrival is best awaited in flannel pjs, right?!

Roberto protested the lack of cookies on behalf of Santa.
Always thinking of others, that one.

Some smart gents hang around St. John The Divine

This guy is not one of them.
(though I do appreciate the tan-on-tan Walter White action
& his best Breaking Bad face)

Next year we're recreating this picture, so get ready.

Hope you had a Merry Little Christmas
(Love, Merry Little Me)
xo

If we were lucky enough to talk with each other yesterday, I'll just let you know, I loved it. If we missed each other, I hope you and yours had a lovely, lovely day together!! Hopefully, you're not like me, sitting at work, still listening to Christmas, looking at pictures, thinking how sad you are to take down your tree. (My apt just won't be the same!) Whom am I kidding, we all know the tree take-down will not happen for another week... and I won't stop listening to Christmas music until I think someone can hear through my headphones.

The Day Before Christmas

In case all of you are planning on getting me what I want... I just thought maybe it is a good idea to go in it together. I can't handle dozens of puppies running around my house. Just a thought.

Word to the That

Some Charming Gardeners

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. 
Marcel Proust

Twenty in Twenty-Thirteen

It’s often said that we learn more from our mistakes than our successes. This year I’ve experienced how so, so true this is.

I wanted to share the lessons I’ve learned for a couple reasons. Numero uno, it was really effing hard and I wanted to establish a reminder for myself. And two, the hope they might encourage someone else going through a difficult time. While I know sadly these lessons are often only learned through experience, it is the greatest desire of my heart that we may know and give real love, and live in it. The good, the bad, the ugly, and the extraordinary.

These are the lessons I’ve learned in 2013:

1. Love is a verb, and there is nothing better. It's inside you and all around you. So when you need it, pay attention.

2. The Universe is good, always. It never stops pursuing you to make sure you know how much you are loved.

3. Life is like the wind – it can change direction at any time, and is subject to forces beyond the eye can see. While we can plan, it’s God who determines our path. Our own plans are pretty meaningless unless they are in line with the wind, and they are the absolute best when they are. The best way to live is to trust in this (and quit trying to be a perfectionist control-freak already. Remember your hippie nature.)

4. Timing is everything. And the right song always comes at that time. And its everything.

5. There is always hope. Make sure you know where your hope lies.

6. There is no greater gift than unconditional love, especially when you feel like poop (and look like it). You do realize who your true friends are in difficult times. Be eternally grateful for friends, family and colleagues who love endlessly in different ways. And commit to being this for others.

7. Some people will betray you. The hardest part of betrayal is that by very nature it comes from someone close. Just walk away and remember that it has nothing to do with you. Most importantly, REMEMBER don’t let this hold you back from opening up to, and trusting, others who are trustworthy.

8. Grieve when something precious is lost. Don’t hold back, but don’t let it take over your ability to move forward when it’s time. Cry in the shower. At Duane Reade. And to your friends for the billionth time if you have to.

9. Hard times will come. And they can come again and again. And maybe again. They will change you. They will always reveal a healthy dose of reality. They will force honesty and promote growth. It can be in the form of heartbreak, illness, and even literally falling on your face. (You may have a scar to prove this bullet).

10. Hard work pays off. So does therapy. So does prayer.

11. Everyone is on their own journey. Be nice and open. 

12. Sometimes you will make mistakes; consciously or unconsciously. Either way, admit to them and their consequences. Learn from them. Commit to never doing them again. 

13. NYC is beautiful in the fall. So is Portugal.

14. Red wine will not love you back.

15. Don’t date until you’re ready and comfortable in yourself to share all of yourself. This is particularly difficult if you’ve been hurt before. However, only when you’re ready to be vulnerable can depth of relationship have the chance to be forged. Taking the risk to give them the opportunity to see and like the real you, is worth more than the fear of loosing them because you’re only able to share the non-broken parts of you. If you can’t do this, you’re just not ready yet.

16. In order to do #15, you have to love yourself. This can be a hard one. Even if by Divine nature, you're already pretty perfect. Try to believe this one... you don't need anything else.

17. Listening to music as you walk down the street adds a soundtrack to your life; choose that music wisely. And don't be afraid to strut it.

18. Travel. There’s a wide, beautiful, amazing world out there. There's always something to learn from it. And it reminds you... YOU ARE ALIVE.

19. Gratitude increases abundance. Write it, Think it, Say it. To your co-workers, your doctor, your friends, your apartment and even your fruit stand man. 

20. If at the end of a hard year you more honestly love than at the beginning, it hasn’t just been a hard year – it’s been a very good year.

Lovin' the Dickens Outta Some Christmas

The cutest in Tribeca

I wish I could wear it to work

Magic on 58th Street

I literally gasped with excitement when I woke up to this

Is anyone else like so stinking excited about Christmas? Like more than what is socially acceptable or normal? 

Personally, this year more than in the past, I can't wait for Christmas. My house is decorated, the green and red M&Ms are out, O Holy Night is on repeat. And, hopefully, we'll have another snow to cover the streets. (I feel like the roof tops really bring it with a blanket of white.) But, sadly, I'm already not wanting to let go of the feeling of Christmas.

There is just something about this time of year that is so special. I think its that people let themselves fall into happiness, love, and enjoyment. There's breaks, breath, and relaxation. There's no pushing, accomplishing, or achieving. There just is.

This year, my parents are coming here and I look forward to just being with them. Sure we have dinners planned and theater tickets purchased. But more than anything, I can't wait to play cards, stare at the tree and be together. (Mom, remind me that I wrote this when I'm getting cranky... Or dad is being spiteful and malicious/hoarding the good cards...)

So with Christmas day just being a week away, let's try to remember this...

“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!”
― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol 

xo

These are a Few of My Favorite Things

Photo Dump: Thanksgiving in Florida

Hello, Florida

Thanksgiving walk

A new tradition

My mother's dad (I think we look alike?)

Pools

Lakes

Sunsets

Puppies

Getting ready to fly!

Obligatory "I saw an alligator" photo