The turn of a new year is a time for introspection, fresh resolutions, and hopes for the future. (Also, massive, brain-splitting hangovers.) As you hatch new plans, know that the mistakes and failures of the last year are not to be regretted: they’re opportunities to learn and try harder.

On today, and all days, I defer to the wise words of Emerson:

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”

Thanks so much for reading my little slice of the Internet. It means so much to me. Here’s to a happy and productive 2013.

Photo by Wolfgang Tillmans.

We’ve reached the time of year where reflection runs high — Thanksgiving, the holidays, the cusp of a new year. In all honesty (and I’m about to get personal here), I’m pretty rough on myself most days, putting on the metaphorical hair shirt and just running with it: “You should go to the gym more, stop buying ice cream sandwiches, update this blog more often, call your grandma, curb your taxi addiction, volunteer at the animal shelter, take a class, quit being a flake on plans, stop letting the kale go bad and actually make those grand salads you’re always planning, investigate the merits of various anti-aging face creams, and why haven’t you gone to the MoMA this year? Or last year? And shouldn’t you be running a marathon or something?”

There are a lot of things I could do, it’s true. But there are a lot of things that are good now, today, and they need to be enjoyed without ruinous worries about the future or what I could be doing alternatively. “Don’t ruin the cake mix,” as they say.

I’m so grateful for my always supportive and awesome husband (still getting used to that word!), my family, purring cats, my health, handmade socks, Pendleton blankets, libraries, candles that smell like woodsmoke, oysters, a creative career where I get paid to do stuff I actually enjoy, custard pie, bonfires, The New Yorker, homemade pasta, aimless drives down country roads, and fresh fallen snow. And I feel so lucky to be in New York; it’s not the easiest place to live, but somehow that makes me value it even more.

Now, to surround myself with all of these ideas (like a cashmere sweater!) the next time I am tempted to put on the hair shirt. Be gentle with yourself. That’s the best advice.

Henry David Thoreau once said, “Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.”

That’s an aspiration I think we all can agree on: wouldn’t you agree?

Looking back on the year that’s passed, I have so many things for which to be thankful: my JB; Paris!; constant intellectual stimulation (so many books, magazines, and meta-yards of Internet to trawl!); New York City; the cuteness of cats and dogs; and of course, my ever-supportive family and friends. It’s an amazing time to be alive. I’ve got a wedding to plan, new professional challenges, and of course, this blog. So much potential! So many opportunities.

I’m not much for resolutions, but here a few (probably cliched!) things on my list.

Be less stressed. Nothing is ever as serious as it seems.

Appreciate the details. Take more photos. Invest in film.

Dance more! Exercise. Stretch these lazy, computer-loving bones.

Visit more New York institutions. Take advantage of the magical place I’m blessed to call home.

Drink good wine.

Volunteer.

Make time for a book club.

Meet more Internet friends in real life. Hang out with new friends. Quality time with the old.

Happy new year, folks. Let’s face it with optimism and good humor.

What I wouldn’t give for a real summer vacation — lazy days, no work and endless ham sandwiches on a slightly inclined creek bed. We’d pick possibly poisonous berries, work on our tans and maybe hit up some casinos on the way home, listening to Queen with the windows rolled all the way down. A girl can dream, right?

Did I mention we’d be wearing cut-offs? Because that’s essential to the experience.

[Image by Nathaniel Russell]

After a rejuvenating vacation with family in Iowa (and tons of thrifting and Amish adventures — more on that later), I’m back in New York. It’s been pretty slow around here this summer, but I’m hoping to come out swingin’ now that I’ve spent some time away from the Internet. (But not Instragram!) Check out this abandoned, collapsed stone farm house my mom and I found deep in the country. It was so small, and there were some ancient appliances from the ’40s in the back. Poking around on gravel roads is my new favorite pastime.

Today I’m pleased as punch to share some moments from my weekend on For Me, For You. It’s full of Cheers reruns, cat ogling and party time. Livin’ the dream!

I was so honored to do a collection of things I’m into for the lovely Miss Moss (one of my favorite blogs). From Neil Diamond to red couches to bone chandeliers, it’s all there! Check it out.

I am having surgery on my broken wrist today. Once completed, I will officially be bionic. (Metal plate and all that.) All will be quiet until I’m back up to speed.

Send good thoughts and cat links.

I write to you, one-handed, from the discomfort of a sling. It holds my broken wrist, encased in a swollen, itchy cast. It’s not good, but at least it wasn’t my right hand.

I always bragged that I’d never broken a bone, despite my clumsiness and frequent accidents. I fell the other night on a patch of ice on my way to the train. The combination of platform clogs and winter weather resulted in a fall that made me question my tolerance for pain. And needles. And resetting bones. (The ER experience was pretty awful. New York hospitals? I don’t recommend them.) I’m now laid up, heavily medicated and trying to gain speed with my henpecking. However, until that happens, things will slow down around these parts. One thing I can promise is anecdotes about my inability to open a pill bottle, pull on pants, put my hair in a ponytail or take a shower (try to wash your hair one-handed; I dare you). Thank dog for JB and kitten snuggles!

Until then,
Alison

P.S. Had to share this.

Happy New Year!

I started this blog as a new year’s resolution. One year later, I’m continually blown away by the response from readers and the exquisite pleasure I gain from blogging. Talking about the things that delight and intrigue is an ideal antidote to boredom, I’ll say that much.

Thanks for reading, and here’s to another amazing year.

Thanks for reading! You don’t know how much it means to me.

Photo by Jerry Hsu

We’re home! Iowa was tons of delicious food, ridiculously cheap bowling ($2 a game, as it should be), Apples to Apples, lots of thrifting and meeting my new extended family. It was so fun to hang out with my sisters (Jasmine and Justine are with me in the photo above — aren’t they cute?) and chase around my 3-year-old twin step-nieces, who were obsessed with my mom — they continually clutched her legs, called her “mah-maw” and started bawling every time she left the room, much to her chagrin. (Mom was indignant about the fact that she could be old enough to be a grandmother: “I’m nobody’s mah-maw!”) It was just so nice to ride bikes in the quiet, wear sweaters and be around my loved ones.

And to those who sent well wishes for little miss Bug, thank you. She’s doing splendidly (running amuck as we speak, actually) and seems pretty much back to normal. Need to take some photos of her, as a matter of fact! (Speaking of which, all photos above are by the talented JB.)

Now back to business as usual!

JB and I took a much needed trip to Massachusetts this weekend. Our wanderings led us to fill an entire truck with garage saled furniture and knick knacks (including a table and chair set from the 1930s), venture through the forest to this abandoned dam and eat endless barbeque and bowls of seafood bisque. (I’m drooling just thinking about it. Lobster hunks!)

Now that we’re home again, we spent the majority of yesterday hugging our cats and cleaning/arranging all of our new stuff. Photos to come…

Twenty-seven years ago today, I came screaming into the world, only to be photographed, Olan Mills style, with my beautiful momma several months later. I treasure this photo. So happy, I am!

Thanks to all who celebrated with me this weekend; it was a great one. I’m so thankful for my favorite mang, friends, family, kittens and pie. Bless!