Here we are, the last post of the year. It really is hard to believe that time can continue to speed ahead faster and faster with every passing year. 2013 flew by at light speed!
I hope all of you have a wonderful time bringing in the new year tonight! We took down all of the holiday decor earlier today so we can start the year off fresh tomorrow. Mark and I are going to take it easy tonight, just the two of us. Watch the ball drop on TV and have a few glasses of wine. We've had such a busy holiday season so it will be a nice way to start 2014.
Fourteen has been my lucky number since I was a young girl. I have really high hopes and aspirations for the coming year. I feel like I can do anything I set my mind to in the next twelve months!
New Year's Eve is a notoriously crazy night if you are out on the town. Please, stay safe and drink responsibly. Ladies, don't accept drinks from strangers and gentlemen...keep it classy! Everyone have a blast tonight and find someone to kiss when the clock strikes midnight!
My husband and I have a shared love for the paranormal, so when he surprised me with a weekend getaway to America's most haunted hotel, there was no question, I was in!
The Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas has passed through many owners since it was built in 1886. Sitting atop the highest hill in Eureka Springs, it is called the "Grand Old Lady of the Ozarks" - a gorgeous Victorian Era hotel. At the time of its opening, the local newspaper hailed it as "America's most luxurious resort hotel." For fifteen years after its doors opened, the Crescent Hotel would see its "Golden Age." People came from all over the country to ride horses on the breathtaking Ozarks trails, take tea at noon, and dance late into the night to the sounds of the in-house orchestra.
Our attic room on the 4th floor of the Crescent
In 1934, during the Depression, the Crescent was closed. Times were hard and even the busy seasons were too slow to make ends meet.
Our room chandelier
In 1937, a man named Norman Baker bought the hotel. Despite never having attended medical school, he made it into a cancer hospital, Baker Cancer Hospital. He ran the hospital for two years before he was shut down and arrested for fraud. During that time, many people died who may have otherwise survived had they received proper medical care.
The hotel changed hands a number of times after Norman Baker, and today is owned by Marty and Elise Roenigk, who purchased it in 1997. Since that time they have spent more than ten million dollars in restorations and remodeling.
Wallpaper in our room.
I must say that I felt very calm and comfortable in the hotel. I wasn't nervous or on the lookout. I thought it was funny that I had been so nervous when Mark and I had been to the hotel in February to have a drink at Dr. Baker's Sky Bar. I was really spooked that night, and then Mark reminded me about my encounter in the bathroom off the lobby and I decided maybe I did have a good reason for my fear on that February night.
Old wavy glass in the windows play tricks on the eyes
I will say that although I never felt scared, I did experience two odd things during my stay. On the first night, after I had been asleep for several hours, I woke up and went to use the restroom. When I walked in to the room, I noticed that it smelled of cigar smoke. I immediately thought it was a ghost. I don't know why I didn't assume people in a nearby room had been smoking. I just had a firm feeling that it was a ghost. Besides, we were the last room in our hallway and the room next to us was vacant. The room across the hall was occupied by a family with children but even if they had been smoking I wouldn't have been able to smell it in our bathroom.
Place where the fireplace used to be in our room
On the second night of our stay, after I had been sleeping for nearly four hours, I was jolted awake because I had been pulled from my side laying position onto my back. I rolled over toward Mark, who was peacefully sleeping, and woke him up to ask him if he had pulled me toward him or yanked on the blankets. He muttered a no and went back to sleep. I felt confused; one doesn't just fling themselves from their comfy fetal position onto their back with such force that they wake themselves...at least I don't. It was so late and I was so tired. I closed my eyes and was quickly back to sleep. If my cigar smoking ghost was responsible for waking me, I wasn't frightened.
The old elevator dial
The Gothic fireplace in the lobby
Heading out to the balcony to watch the sunset.
Down below is the Christmas tree garden
A gorgeous sunset
The balcony at night
It isn't just the 1886 Crescent Hotel that is rumored to be haunted. Several historic homes in town are said to be haunted and some say the town itself is haunted. Whether or not the town is full of ghosts, something otherworldly, magical...from another time and place, definitely permeates the air.
The last thing I will note about our visit is that Mark was feeling really crappy on Friday. He was coming down with a cold and was sick enough that I thought we might need to cancel the trip. He said he was fine and we went ahead. After settling in for the night I realized we hadn't brought any water with us to the room. Eureka is well known for its healing springs throughout town so we thought the tap water couldn't hurt us. After only one small glass, Mark said that he was feeling remarkably better...that his symptoms were all but gone. We joked that it must be the magic spring water, but I could tell he was shocked by how quickly he had seemed to feel better.
I left a lot of our adventure out of this post. I wanted to focus on the hotel and really emphasize how unique it is. If you are in the Ozarks area I can't recommend it enough. It is old. Very, very old. So the floors squeak, and the stairs are leaning, the paint is peeling in a few corners and some of the carpets are faded and...if you have any appreciation for history, architecture, or the beauty man contributes to this world, you will love the 1886 Crescent Hotel.
PS I hope all of you had a great holiday! And and AND Mark and I are headed off right now to spend the weekend in a haunted hotel! I'll be back on Monday. (I hope)
Exploration #22 from the book, How To Be An Explorer Of The World: Portable Art Life Museum by Keri Smith couldn't have come on a better day. I am feeling a little tired from the usual run around combined with all of the additional activity of the holidays. This task had me slow down and spend an hour quietly observing. It didn't hurt that I got to enjoy a latte' while I worked. :)
Exploration #22
PEOPLE WATCHING
Sit in a public location and document people you see for one hour. Take detailed notes. Make sketches of one item that stands out most about each person.
I chose to go to 2nd Street Coffee in downtown Oz to do my people watching. Unfortunately they didn't open until 10:00 am which I thought strange for a coffee house. I went around the corner and found that Ben's On The Square was open. Good enough for me. After ordering and obtaining my iced vanilla latte' I cozied up in a chunky wooden chair and opened my sketchbook.
My view inside the coffee shop.
I set the timer on my iphone for one hour and began documenting my observations. Click on the images below to enlarge.
Project People Watching pg. 1
Project People Watching pg. 2
Project People Watching pg. 3
Project People Watching pg. 4
Project People Watching pg. 5
I am one of those people who is usually 'in my head'. Often I won't remember what my server at a restaurant or the cashier that helps me at a store look like. Let's just say that my observation skills are usually lacking. I've often heard people say that they enjoy people watching and I never really got it. Even after this project I doubt I will dedicate time solely to watching people but I did realize that I could probably stand to pay better attention to my surroundings. With the exception of a few odd glances (I think a few folks caught me staring at them while I was writing) the task went smoothly. I felt a bit like Sherlock taking in the details around me, putting together the puzzle pieces to solve a mystery. All in all it was a fun exploration.
I probably won't have much time to blog in the next two days, so have a great Christmas! I'll be back soon.
"Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile, was famous for her beautiful skin and her penchant for milk baths which she attributed her beauty to." - Shakaya Leone
Now that winter is here and we have been living with the dry cold air for some weeks, it is good to take extra special care of our largest organ, our skin. A hot bath is a special treat on a bleak and stinging day. Combined with the skin softening ingredients of Cleopatra's bath, you will emerge feeling like a Queen. The following recipe is taken from Shakaya Leone's book Naked Beauty: Your Guide To Getting Gorgeous, Naturally.
CLEOPATRA'S MILK AND HONEY BATH
2 C coconut milk
4 T coconut oil
1/4 C honey
4 drops cardamom essential oil
4 drops bergamot essential oil
Coconut Milk from the can is perfect for this recipe. It is a blend of the water and flesh of the coconut, and is a convenient way to enjoy this treatment.
Coconut Oil on the skin is pure luxury; it has a delicate aroma and very small molecules so it can easily penetrate the skin. Honey is an effective anti-microbial agent and natural humectant that attracts and maintains moisture in the skin.
Cardamom Essential Oil comes from seeds that were chewed by the Egyptians to whiten teeth. The highly aromatic oil is sweet and balsamic, and comes from a wild herb that is a relative of the ginger family. Romans used it as a carminative when they over-indulged and had stomach issues, and the Arabians ground the seeds into their coffee. Generally not used in skin care because it is a potential skin irritant, it smells divine and is safe for hair or bath treatments.
Bergamot Essential Oil has a fruity fragrance with a warm, spicy floral quality. It is native to Southeast Asia, is cultivated widely in Italy and is made from a tree with star-shaped aromatic flowers. It is used to flavor Earl Grey tea.
METHOD
Combine the milk, honey and oils. Then, pour into a running bath and sprinkle with organic rose petals. Light a candle, turn on some relaxing music and let yourself go...
Cleopatra, the famously alluring Queen of Egypt has become known throughout history less for her leadership than for her beguiling ways, which she used in an attempt to keep Egypt free from Roman domination. Among those whom she charmed was Julius Caesar. She had herself wrapped in an oriental rug and had the rug offered as a gift to Caesar. When the rug was unrolled, she tumbled out. Though she is regarded to have been a great beauty, she actually wasn't. But her charm overtook the powerful Caesar, and it was love at first sight. - Shakaya Leone, Naked Beauty
Shakaya Leone
If you have a hard time finding the essential oils or the rose petals, the bath is still as effective using just the coconut milk, coconut oil, and the honey. And, although this bath will make you feel like a Queen, it has the power to make a man feel like a King as well. In my experience, it is a more difficult to convince a man to take time to reward his body for its hard work. Men tend to pride themselves on being tough and rugged and shy away from things as luxurious as a hot bath. My suggestion would be to convince your honey to take a nice hot soak (you might have to join him to get him in there), offer to draw the bath for him and go ahead and add the ingredients. He will be surprised and happy that you did. After all, it was his lady that made the nice milky bath for him. He enjoyed it, and would like to do it again sometime but he would never have taken a fancy bath had she not set it up. ;)
Below is some nice relaxing music perfect for a luxurious soak.
Today is the first day of winter and the longest night of the year, the Winter Solstice. Tomorrow we begin to see an increase in light, the rebirth of the sun. The following description of the solstices was taken from the Spelwerxs website.
"The seasons of the year are caused by the 23.5º tilt of the earth's axis. Because the earth is rotating like a top, it points in a fixed direction continuously - towards a point in space near the North Star. But the earth is also revolving around the sun. During half of the year, the southern hemisphere is more exposed to the sun than is the northern hemisphere. During the rest of the year, the reverse is true. At noontime in the northern hemisphere the sun appears high in the sky during summertime and low in the sky during the winter. The time of the year when the sun reaches its maximum elevation occurs on the day with the greatest number of daylight hours. This is called the summer solstice, and is typically on June 21st. the first day of summer. "Solstice" is derived from two Latin words: "sol" meaning sun, and "sistere," to cause to stand still. The lowest elevation occurs about December 21st and is the winter solstice - the first day of winter, when the night time hours are maximum.
In pre-historic times, winter was a very difficult time for Aboriginal people in the northern lattitudes. The growing season had ended and the tribe had to live off of stored food and whatever animals they could catch. The people would be troubled as the life-giving sun sank lower in the sky each noon. They feared that it would eventually disappear and leave them in permanent darkness and extreme cold. After the winter solstice, they would have reason to celebrate as they saw the sun rising and strengthening once more. Although many months of cold weather remained before spring, they took heart that the return of the warm season was inevitable. The concept of birth and or death/rebirth became associated with the winter solstice. The Aboriginal people had no elaborate instruments to detect the solstice. But they were able to notice a slight elevation of the sun's path within a few days after the solstice - perhaps by December 25th. Celebrations were often timed for around the 25th."
The winter solstice is a time for reflection, resolutions, and renewal. Fires are lit to give strength to the sun and encourage it to return. It is a time to celebrate with family and friends, cherishing the past and welcoming the future.
We hosted our family Christmas party last night and had a great time! I ran out of time to make the Chocolate-Dipped Ball Cookies but hope to make some for our family party at my mother's house this Christmas Eve. We still had more food and sweet treats than we could possibly eat and everyone was joyful and in good spirits. Phil made a very special gift for Mark and I as well. If you have never watched the TV series Lost, you might not understand but it is funny either way. :)
Framed photo of the Dharma Initiative 1977 (with a few additions)
Do you see what is going on here? What a fun gift! Thanks, Phil!
Enjoy your winter solstice evening, friends. Burn the Yule log, sip a hot beverage, and give thanks for the closing year and gratitude for the year to come.
Go to your favorite street. (If you can't go there physically, then you can visit it in your mind.) Map it out on a piece of paper. Then describe (or otherwise document) everything in detail: The shops, houses, street signs, trees, etc.
I am fond of many streets I've walked along on my travels. I have favorites in Taos, Portland, Eureka Springs, Boulder, and even Kansas City, to name a few. It was last year, while in London, that I fell in love with an unassuming little street where our apartment was located. Sure, we would trek all over London during our visit, seeing the sites and visiting exciting streets like Portobello Market st, but it is Hogarth Rd SW in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea that has a special place in my heart. Every night, Mark and I found ourselves strolling slowly, hand in hand, rehashing all that we had done and seen that day as we walked from the Tube to our apartment on Hogarth.
I've done my best to map out our little section of the street as best as I could by memory. I'll have to take my map along next time we visit to see how accurate I was. (click map image to enlarge).
Leanne's map of Hogarth Rd.
The below image is a view of our apartment from the street. We stood out there one night after a bit too much pub crawling and sang love ballads to the passers by.
Kensington Townhouse London
Let's take a look inside, shall we?
Where the magic happens
Desk, tea station, TV, and AC
The image below is the view of the Tube tracks and the building behind ours.
From that little window I watched a woman dye her hair, people smoking at the windows or doing any number of mundane activities. Excellent spot for people watching.
Watching the Tube from our window.
Next are a few shots I took on different evenings/days while we were walking back to the apartment. (the photos of the dry cleaners and Pinoy's are nabbed off the internet).
Hogarth Rd. during a full moon
The shops and restaurants on the street are very eclectic. Thai, Indian, and French food. Laundry mats, a tanning salon and different types of grocery markets, etc. One place that always made me smile was Fusion Fashion Accessories. There you could buy umbrellas, sunglasses, flip flops (hot pink seemed to be the color to have) and an assortment of cheap jewelry. It had it's charm though.
Fusion Fashion Accessories
During our stay a button came undone from my peacoat. We took it to Noble House Dry Cleaners just across the street to have it put back on. (yes, we can sew! It was vacation though).
Noble House Dry Cleaners
Our favorite market on Hogarth Rd. is called Pinoy Supermarket. I'm sure we preferred them because they were on our side of the street. We did stop in on several occasions to buy food, magazines, and snacks to take back to the apartment.
Pinoy Supermarket
The photo below was taken on the only day we had rain during our visit.
Hogarth Rd. at night
I don't have anymore photos of Hogarth Rd. to include in this post. I didn't think to take that many at the time, but now I wish I had. I know I'll get the chance again someday soon though. Looking at this post, I see that Hogarth probably doesn't look like the most amazing street, does it? It's funny the places the heart holds dear. Hogarth Rd. SW will always be the place I remember fondly as "our place" in London. When I think about the shops, restaurants, townhouses, and street signs there it will always be accompanied by a smile.
