With seconds to spare

Sorry for the internet silence in this little space. Work and home obligations completely overwhelmed me, and I didn't have a spare second for my little world here.

I hope all of you celebrating Thanksgiving had a lovely day. It was bitterly cold here in the city, so we didn't move far from our apartment, nipping out quickly here and there for supplies. We set the table with Christmas lights for a little extra sparkle, trailed pumpkins up and down the table, and ended up eating dinner by candlelight and twinkle light. 

Even though I wasn't here for two weeks, it didn't mean I wasn't looking at the blogs. Here are some of my favorite recent posts.

food

It could be that i have my eye on beginner kitchen stuff because I have a brother and sister recently in their own apartments, but I loved this starter kitchen gift guide from Big Girls Small Kitchen. I have to say, even though i have a well-established kitchen, I still want some of the items from this list. (Why don't I have a cast iron pan yet??)

Like Aran, I crave a different type of apple pie, and her apple cranberry custard tart would definitely hit the spot.

Winter is for soups, soups so thick and creamy that you barely need bread (although a hunk of buttered warm bread is the best). I'm adding this rice and smothered cabbage soup from Molly at Orangette.

interior design

No one does Christmas like the Scandinavians. No one. Check out how My ScandinavianHome decorated her gorgeous place in a minimalist holiday style ... so pretty.

Ah, the entryway bench. I haven't gotten it right yet, but this roundup from Kirsten at Simply Grove helps me on my way, I hope.

other links

I love this post from Sydney at The Daybook where she surprised her husband with a trip to a cabin in the wilderness of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I'm craving that kind of rustic experience at the moment.

Ok, it's true that in NYC we wear a lot of black. And I'm a book editor, so I feel I'm supposed to be in double black at all times. I don't, actually wear that much black, but this all-black ensemble from Creature Comforts has me scrambling to put together that kind of streamlined look.

It could be because I'm finally reading Dan Brown's Inferno, and now I've got Italy on the brain, but Nicole Franzen is only making me crave it more with the shots from her insane trip.

I'm so glad to be back here. I hope you'll come visit me here again, too. Leaving you with a shot of Central Park from my run this weekend. Just magical, that park. And the run wasn't so bad, either.