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Pinterest Holiday Boards

December 14, 2011 by Renee Claire

I had planned on doing a Winter Holiday special here, similar to Halloween Week, but…eh. I’m feeling stressed and Grinch-y this year. Christmas shopping & prep, the luminary ceremony at my grandmother’s grave, a major home clean out, and one big end-of-the-year freelance project (which I’m still working on) consumed the last few weeks, and I have miles to go before I sleep.

I did save up lots of great holiday post ideas at Pinterest, though, in anticipation of that holiday special, and it would be a waste not to share them with you. Here are a few favorite finds, from my Winter Holidays board:

Source: refinery29.com via Renee on Pinterest

Source: amazon.com via Renee on Pinterest

Source: myrecipes.com via Renee on Pinterest

Source: trissalicious.com via Renee on Pinterest

Source: us.asos.com via Renee on Pinterest

Clockwise from top left (click images for links):

  • a peppermint-inspired manicure from Refinery 29
  • a chewy turrón recipe
  • plaid tights
  • a peppermint martini
  • Bachelor Mother, a classic comedy set during the holiday season

There are a lot more goodies (over 300 pins) on my two Pinterest holiday boards, Winter Holidays and Holiday Gifts & Wrapping Ideas, and I hope you’ll click over. I also hope to do more holiday posting next week, once my big project wraps up.

Filed Under: Christmas, Festivus

Colonial Williamsburg Christmas Decoration Inspiration

December 7, 2011 by Renee Claire

My family and I spent Thanksgiving week in Williamsburg, VA. It was a great trip, and since the Christmas season apparently starts in late November, Colonial Williamsburg was already decked with holiday wreaths and garlands. Below are some of my favorites:

Williamsburg christmas wreath

A stunning apple wreath & garland…

Williamsburg christmas garland

…a simple doorway garland with rope & leather wreaths… 

Williamsburg christmas

…and another eye-catching garland bunch, which includes a pineapple and a hedge apple.

Aren't they lovely? It's amazing to me how festive and Christmas-y they look, all without ornaments, ribbons, or lights. Hope you find them as inspiring as I do!

Filed Under: Christmas, Festivus, Travel Tagged With: TBD

Fashion Finds: Kenzo Spring 2011 & Tsumori Chisato Tights

November 7, 2011 by Renee Claire

Kenzo Spring 2011 & Tsumori Chisato TightsCredits from left: Outfit detail from Kenzo’s Spring 2011 runway show, photo by Elle Magazine; Tsumori Chisato tights (sold out), photo from Koshka.

Filed Under: Fashion

Recipe: Black Bean Soup

November 4, 2011 by Renee Claire

Black Bean Stoup

I’ve been looking to add more stew recipes to my arsenal, and recently had success with this modified Rachel Ray black bean soup recipe. It’s simple & hearty, and can easily be vegetarian.

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra- virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 bay leaf
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3 (15-ounce) cans black beans (I like Goya brand)
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 1/2 tsps ancho chili powder (optional)
salt and pepper
2 to 3 tablespoons hot sauce (I recommend Tapatío or Cholula)
3 1/2 cups less-sodium, low-fat chicken or vegetable broth
1 (15-ounce) can diced stewed tomatoes
1/2 lime, juiced
2 to 3 scallions, chopped

Preparation

Heat a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add olive oil to the pot, then add the onion, garlic, jalapeno, and bay leaf. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, then add the red pepper. Drain 2 cans of black beans and the can of pinto beans, and add them. Mash the remaining, undrained can of black beans with a fork, and add to the pot along with the coriander, ancho chili powder, salt and pepper, hot sauce, broth, and tomatoes. Bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes over low heat. Add the lime juice, and remove and discard the bay leaf. Serve with scallions and sliced crusty bread.

Black Bean Stoup

Filed Under: Food, Recipes

NaNoWriMo 2011: Are You Doing It?

November 2, 2011 by Renee Claire

Coffee and notes
Photo by Rainer Tenhunen.

For those who’ve never heard of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), it’s simple: NaNoWriMo is a free event where participants try to complete 50,000 words of a novel in one calendar month (November).

I’m doing it this year, and I’m excited. Even though I already write professionally, it’s too easy to get swept up in immediately gratifying projects like paying freelance work and blogging, and thus avoid the long-term slog of writing a book. In the words of Tom Spurgeon:

There is, however, a distressing trend culture-wide for a lot of people to aim low, to be perfectly satisfied with delighting the 40 people that follow you closely on Facebook with your clever remarks as opposed to finishing that novel. (link)

Pretty much.

My personal goal for NaNoWriMo is 1000 words a day, for a final word count of 30,000. If I hit 50,000, so much the better, but I’ll be satisfied with the lower number (I’m not a wordy writer, and have a Thanksgiving road trip and other paying & side writing projects coming up). Also, while blogging here will continue as usual, and I won’t bore you with novel updates, I will be posting writing inspiration & advice each Monday.

So…are you doing NaNoWriMo this year?

Filed Under: Books, Career, Writing Advice

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