2019 Goodreads Challenge

Follow me on Goodreads “We are readers. Books grace our shelves and fill our homes with beauty; they dwell in our minds and occupy our thoughts. Books prompt us to spend pleasant hours alone and connect us with fellow readers. They invite us to escape into their pages for an afternoon, and they inspire us to reimagine our lives.” - Anne Bogel, I’d Rather Be Reading

• Goal: 40 books

• Books Read: 50 books

• Books Set in Paris/France: 18

• Books Set in Wisconsin: 1

• Books Borrowed from the Library: 40

• Books for Professional Development: 5

• Biographies | Historical Fiction: 27

• Favorite Book(s): Forever Paris, A Paris Year, The Paris Wife

• Least Favorite(s): Girl Wash Your Face, The Friend

Sleepy

“Let sleeping dogs lie.” - Robert Walpole

Piper had company all weekend. Now, she’s all tuckered out.

Week 51 - Inspiration: Foods

“There are only four great arts: music, painting, sculpture, and ornamental pastry — architecture being perhaps the least banal derivative of the latter.” - Julia Child

Week 51: Inspiration - Food: Be inspired by food. Yes, it really is that easy this week. You made it this far you deserve the break — a sweet, delicious break. #dogwoodweek51 #dogwood52 #2019dogwood52 #pastry #ladurée

Links I Love • December 2019

“By people getting together and celebrating this idea of togetherness, great things can happen.” - Edward Enninful

• Remember When Audrey Hepburn Defined Elegance in a Little Black Dress?

• Galeries Lafayette Christmas Windows and Tree

• Paris Arrondissement Guide

• Purchase History: The Oldest Shops in Paris

• The Best Gifts for Bookworms (That Aren’t Books)

• 11 tech gifts you should probably just buy for yourself already | Holiday Tech Guide 2019

• Travel from Venice to London Gatsby-style in this 1920's-themed Luxury Train

• The Best Paint Colors for 2020

• Tiffany Is More Than a Store

• Airfare Predicted to Be Under $300 to These Top Trending Destinations in 2020 - On y va!

• A Rare Look at Restoration of Paris' Notre-Dame Cathedral

• The Von Trapp Great-Grandkids Sing Edelweiss

2019 Holiday Bucket List

“[S]he’s making a list…” - Auntie Claus is Coming to Town

It’s a bit of a late posting, so I’ve already accomplished a lot of this list:

• Deck the halls with snowy and icy ornaments ✓

• Drive downtown to see the Christmas lights on Wisconsin Avenue, in Cathedral Square, and at the Pfister Hotel ✓

• See the Modern Vision exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum ✓

• Shop for gifts and send Christmas cards to friends and family ✓

• Lovingly wrap packages like Mom and Grandma Dodo always did ✓

• Enjoy my personal Christmas Playlist from Band-Aid to Bing ✓

• Make paper snowflakes ✓

• Burn candles that smell like Christmas trees and peppermint ✓

• Chaperone the PHS Dance Fitness field trip to the Milwaukee Ballet’s presentation of The Nutcracker on December 11th ✓

• Enjoy December Ladies’ Night in Delafield on December 12th Chaperone the PHS Dance Fitness field trip to the Milwaukee Ballet’s presentation of The Nutcracker on December 11th ✓

• Cuddle with Piper by the fire (I should probably put several ✓ after this one!)

• Watch White Christmas, Love Actually, and It's a Wonderful Life (Cry when General Waverly inspects the troops at the Inn and when Harry Bailey toasts, "To my big brother, George, the richest man in town!")  ✓

• Eat lefse and Norwegian cookies ✓

• Drink egg nog, hot cocoa with marshmallows, and Champagne ✓

• Host the Larsons on December 21st ✓

• Go to Christmas Mass and put baby Jesus in the crèche at home ✓

• Light the candles on Jesus' birthday cake and sing Happy Birthday  ✓

• Christmas Day with Eric’s family (changed to Christmas Eve ✓)

• Share Linus' rendition of the Gospel of St. Luke ("That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.") ✓

Week 50 - Composition: Patterns - Macro Photography

“Nature is full of genius, full of the divinity; so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand.” - Henry David Thoreau

Week 50 - Composition: Patterns- Patterns/Repetition are another well known compositional rule, try it in Macro Photography (Without a macro lens and without much snow, the is the best I could do.) #dogwoodweek50 #dogwood52 #2019dogwood52 #snowflake