{pink christmas}

Last year I contemplated about getting a pink Christmas tree. I ended up running out of time and as I spent Christmas in Mexico, I didn't end up getting a tree. This year, I decided to go for pink.
Here are some pictures of my pink Christmas tree:

{look at these darling decorations I bought at a market in Mexico}

{I love this Cath Kidston can--I filled it up with candy canes, since the colours go so well together}

{snowflake cookies}

{I bought this darling nascimento scene in a Mexican market in Zihuatanejo with money given to me as a gift from my sister Christina}

{I also got these Virgin of Guadalupe banners there too}

{my front porch decked out in lights & snow}

Happy Holidays & happy pink Christmas!
xo
L

{quotable thursdays}

Busy day & I almost forgot to post a quote! Finished teaching for the semester today--yipee! Welcome Christmas!
Here's a quote about working and trying hard to obtain your goals. The things that mean most in life are often the things you have to work the hardest at. Dreams are obtainable, but you have to be willing to work really really hard sometimes:

"for of what is valuable and excellent, the gods grant nothing to mankind without labor and care; [...] if you seek to be beloved by your friends, you must serve your friends; if you desire to be honored by any city, you must benefit that city; [...] if you are anxious that the earth should yield you abundance of fruit, you must cultivate the earth; if you think that you should enrich yourself from herds of cattle, you must bestow care upon herds of cattle; [...] or if you wish to be vigorous in body, you must accustom your body to obey your mind, and exercise it with toil and exertion."
                                           --Xenophon, Memorabilia of Socrates

In other words, if you really want to achieve your goals, don't lounge about:

{via terrier & lobster}

get to work...whatever that means: 

{practising}

{studying}

{reading}

{working long hours}

{creating}

{researching}

xo, 

L

{birthday girls in boston}

Time to play catch-up! Just got back from the UK, but before I flew there, I spent the weekend in Boston with my besty, celebrating both our birthdays. The pics say it all--we had a blast, ate yummy food, drank yummy wine, and did what we do best--talk, talk & talk:)
Stay: Hotel Commonwealth--lovely hotel overlooking Fenway Park

{view from our hotel room}

Eat: We had a lovely dinner at Gaslight Bistro--French charm with excellent food (I had the mussels) and their charcuterie plate is to die for.

We also had a quick light breakfast at Tatte, simply the cutest little bakery/cafe E.V.E.R: 

{can it get any more lovely than a chandelier in a cafe? love!}

Drink: Top of the Hub is a famous landmark with breathtaking views of Boston & live jazz, but expensive drinks (or expensive minimum) to pay for the view and it can be flooded with tourists.

See: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is a serious gem. My Courtauld connection got us in free:) Plenty of amazing paintings--too many to list, but the gorgeous Venetian palazzo-inspired space is filled with works by Giotto, Cosme Tura (my personal favourite), Titian, Botticelli, Veronese to name only a few. Isabella was also quite the character and simply a fascinating historical figure. You're not allowed to take photos inside, but here are a few I've found on the web: 

{from the Gardner's website}

{this & the image below via stylewise trendfoolish}

{breathtaking courtyard, via tumblr}

& my own photos of  the exterior façade: 

Shop: Newbury Street. Lovely old brownstones and at the end, a gorgeous park.

& finally...us having fun: 

thanks for such a fun weekend kbk!! (& a special thanks to my friend's sister, Laura, for giving us a long list of fun places to check out).

oxxo

L

{quotable thursdays}

While I was in the UK, I watched Skyfall with my cousins. I hope this doesn't spoil the film (& I don't think it does-otherwise, I wouldn't post it here), but there's a moment when M (Judi Dench) recites the following lines from a Tennyson poem (last lines of Ulysses):


"Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."

I think this is a brilliant quote. No matter how old we are, and even when we may be weaker physically--or even mentally--it is our will that carries us through. Personally, this can't mean more to me than right now--the idea of perseverance is so important and so relevant. If I lost the ability to strive, to seek, to find, I think I'd lose the ability to live. Hold on to your dreams. They will develop, but in their own sweet time, so just have patience and perseverance... & you might just find it's the unexpected that is what you were looking for all the while. Keep trying, don't give up, hold on, & wait!

{Judi Dench}

{via pentaluma}

{via inside movies}

{via  the telegraph}

some inspiration from 007:

{classic connery from ryan jones}

{shaken not stirred, via zsazsa bellagio}

{via coco+kelley}

{007}

{Bond girl, via swagger NY}

{follow your dreams! via julie leah}

{persevere but try to enjoy life while you're doing it--via dust jacket}

{blow those bubbles & follow your dreams! via zsa zsa bellagio}

xoxo
L