That's the only scenario I could come up with for these.

This street looked so beautiful in the fresh snow.

I tried to clear away what looked like powdery snow from my windowsill with a shampoo bottle. Instead of the snow falling away, it didn't really budge much, creating a pinhole camera of sorts. Happy accident.

My other thought: this snow is perfect for making igloos! I wish I were a kid again. I remember one snow where my friend Jean Ann and I succeeded in building a roof out of snow that did not collapse. It was one of the happiest kid days of my life. I think it was for her too.

The first toast from my new toaster! Breakfast is back.

Okay, so the most important appliance in my house -- the toaster -- went kaput the other day, and let me tell you, I slightly panicked. I mean, I've had this bottom-of-the-line Toastmaster toaster which I only paid $12.99 for at Economy Hardware on Mass Ave in Boston for 10 years. If I didn't find another chrome one that was similarly no-frills bottom-of-the-line and the same height, width, and depth as the Toastmaster, my Feng Shui toast mirror was going to be thrown all out of whack. And I wasn't going to mess up Double Toast; i.e., our riches. No way. Thankfully, there is Amazon for quickie research, and companies like Proctor-Silex who still believe in making a no-nonsense toaster for a good price ($15.99) that hearkens back to the 50s. Phew. Crisis averted.

Time to add the trees! Really, the pumpkins should totally drop out, but I love them, and they are still perfectly firm, so I am keeping them.

Seriously, who wouldn't want to sit on this lovely cushion and gossip while putting stuff away in drawers?


Claude Gossip Bench Set by Jonathan Adler, $1540 on jonathanadler.com

... nature's soft-sculpture? You fill in your own blank. In any event, Jonathan Adler does it again with a witty embroidered series of fruit pillows. Take your pick of the bunch. On the flip side of each pillow, more wittiness, and oh-so-pleasing design. Click here to view.