Happy Pretty Things

Happy Monday!

Hi friends! I've moved to Blogger! Starting February 1st, Happy Pretty Things will no longer be on Typepad.  Please be sure to update your subscription feeds.  In the meantime, you can check out this post and many other posts here. 

Happy MLK Day!  2013 marks the 50th anniversary of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech.  Today in our nations' capitol, the very place where Dr. King made his iconic speech, we innaugurate our 1st African-American President for a second time.  

Today lets us all reflect on the works of the Dr. King.  It's amazing to see how far we have come as a nation but we still have a long way to go.  Let us always remember that whether you are a man or a woman, white or black, a christian or a muslim, gay or straight, we are ALL God's children and deserve the right to be equal.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

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Happy {Cyber} Monday!

Happy Holiday Links

My 2013 Bucket List

Hope everyone is having a happy new year so far.  Boy am I happy to see 2012 go - good riddance!  I always do better in odd number years and since it's 2013, I have a feeling that I will have a very lucky year!

I'm not a big fan of resolutions.  Resolutions put too much pressure on myself to be the kind of person that I'm not.  And around February, when I've broken most of my resolutions, I feel like a complete loser.  Why set yourself up for failure?  I think this is why I love bucket lists.  They encourage you to live in the moment and to help manifest what it is your really want out of your life.  Here are some of the things I would like to accomplish in 2013....

My Holiday Playlists

I must confess - I love Christmas music!  I've been listening to my holiday mix since Thanksgiving and I'm not tired of it yet.  I think it's because a) I like to listen to my holiday music in small doses - like when I'm cooking or going on an errand and b) I'm obsessed with curating my own playlists!

I've been hoarding my very own collection of holiday mp3s for almost five years. I tried to going the Pandora route this year but I'm very picky about what I like and there's only so many times I listen to that horrible rendition of Baby It's Cold Outside.  (By the way, is anyone else seriously creeped out by that song as much as I am?  It's like how many times does she have make it clear to you, Dean Martin, that she's not into you and wants to get the hell out of there!? No means NO! Ugh! I mean....)

I like to listen to different Christmas songs depending on my mood so I divided my playlists into three parts: Pop Christmas, Indie Christmas and Jazzy Christmas...

The Holidays at Bryant Park

One might say that Christmas at Bryant Park is like the red-headed stepchild of Christmas at Rockefellar Center.  Actually, no one would really compare city attractions to red-headed children (who in their own right, are actually very cute.)  But while everyone and their mother, brother, and accoutant are cramming themselves at 30 Rock to "Say the 'Tray," I prefer to saunter through the holiday festivities of Bryant Park.

The holidays at Bryant Park are extremely underrated.  I would even go as far to say it's the best kept secret if it weren't smacked right in the middle of Midtown - but in many ways, it really is! For starters there's FREE ice skating!  And FREE CIDER!  And holiday shops galore! And SPACE!  Yes!  You can have the quintessential Christmas-in-New-York-City experience and not have to feel like a packed sardine!  

The other day I found myself strolling through Bryant Park on my way to the subway and I thought to myself, "you know, I really don't appreciate this place enough!"  I'm looking forward to coming back when my family is in town - in the meantime, I hope you enjoy these delightful moments I caught a long the way...

Holiday Bucket List

It's Christmastime in New York City!  It's around this time of year that I grow heavily resentful of the tourists that arrive to New York City.  And it has nothing to do with their cameras snapping pics of my dog in the park, or jamming the line at my local Starbucks wearing their Ugg boots, sweatshirts and fanny packs. It's because I'm JEALOUS!  I'm jealous that they get to play and have fun in my backyard while I'm running around getting caught up in the holiday madness!

This year, things are gonna be different, yes sir-ee!  I am making a promise to myself to have the BEST holiday season that this lovely city of mine has to offer.  This holiday season, I will not fight with my husband whether we should buy the overpriced evergreen sold by the crooks on the street corner.  I will not waste my Saturdays on shopping lines at Best Buy or Williams and Sonoma. And I will certainly not scour at tourists as I suffer from a severe case of Holiday FOMO (Fear of Missing Out.)  I WILL make the most of December and be sure to check off everything on my Holiday Bucket List!

Happy {Cyber} Monday!

Nerd Love Holiday Cards available at Etsy

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!  On Wednesday, aka Thanksgiving Eve, I carelessly placed my laptop on top of a couple of books on my coffee table.  It slipped and crashed and started making loud scary beeping noises.  I shrieked, cried and panicked.  Luckily, all of my illustration work was backed up to another hard drive and for that I am grateful. I am also grateful that I live in walking distance to a 24-hour Apple Store which was opened on Turkey Day. (Did you know that any Apple employee who worked on Thanksgiving received double the pay-rate, was given dinner AND left with a free ipad Mini? How cool is that?!)  And I'm extremely grateful to have a best friend who is letting me borrow her Mac while my baby gets fixed - THANKS BETSY!

Happy Monday!

Here's to a great week - keep it happy! xo ~ n

Holiday Cards for Hurricane Relief

Autumn and Thanksgiving Cards

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  I would like to express my gratitude to those who had left kind words of support and encouragement as my family and I - along with the rest of the Tri-State area - cope with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.  This past weekend, my husband and I went to help my sister-in-law in Staten Island and what I experienced was un-real.  I am forever changed - but in a good way, because now I have an overwhelming urge to help and raise awareness - and I don't think this feeling will ever fade away.

Holiday Couple Cards

Last week, Instead of Happy Pretty Links, I shared Hurricane Relief Links - but for me, sharing links is not enough.  So I've decided that this holiday season, with every sale that I make from my online card shop, Stuff by Nicole, I pledge to donate a portion of the proceeds to help my fellow New Yorkers and neighboring New Jersians!

Hurricane Relief Links

On Fridays, I usually like to share happy pretty links as a way to jump start the weekend.  However, there was nothing happy nor pretty surrounding the events that has happened to my beloved home this past week.  Words can not describe the pain, loss, heartbreak, frustration and devestation that I have experienced and witnessed over the past couple of days. People have lost their homes, millions are still without power, and gas and food are becoming scarce in certain parts, like Staten Island, Long Island, and Hoboken NJ.

Hurricane Sandy

(Fallen tree ripped from the concrete sidewalk on Third Ave and E. 73rd St.)

Oh man, what a mess.  I don't even know where to begin. I guess I should start by saying I'm fine, my family is fine, and my closest friends are ok - we're all just massively inconvenienced for the next couple of weeks, months, who knows...