and we thought portland had it bad . . .

this is the european lifestyle at its finest . . . taking everything in stride and with a glass of wine!

venice is recovering from aqua alta, the high water that is typical this time of year, however, this year's height is a record out of the last 30-ish years . . . being about 5 feet in some spots . . . 

(image found here via stream of consciousness blogging from {frolic!} to ink & peat to housemartin to black eiffel . . . and in the meantime, i found fun on these sites, too - more ways to waste time + whorange.)

it's hard to believe the weekend is gone!  and there's so much still to do and december is already whirring by . . . some progress has been made in that i've decided what goodies to make + create this year as part of my edible gifts . . . currently set to include some standbys - truffles, biscotti and marshmallows - and new recipe experimentation - peppermint patties + nougat + macaroons . . . tonight i made fondant from scratch - the sugar base that is used for peppermint patties and chocolate covered cherries - and boy did my arms get a workout!  so far, though, i think it turned out well!  it takes a boiling sugar syrup from the very warm (as in don't touch if you want to keep your fingertips) to an opaque solid lump via a marble slab and dough scraper . . . and oh, about 20 minutes of working with the goo . . . every time i work with sugar i become more fascinated with it!  sometimes i'm not sure if i prefer working with sugar or chocolate more, but regardless, i just love the entire process : )  hopefully during the evenings of the coming weeks i'll still have the energy to finish what i'm starting!

oh- and in regards to other updates- i'm hoping to compile that first {thirtysomething} list - which is looking to be blogs/websites i enjoy/frequently visit . . . in an effort to beef up my own blog with fun links that others might enjoy, too . . . and as far as wedding posts go - after reading posts on snippet & ink, and seeing the 'daily wedding' features, i'm hoping to create just 2 posts . . . one with my inspirations and the other documenting the big day : )  now all i have to do is find and transfer all the idea images from my hard drive (since i had to completely wipe my laptop) and pick my favs from vicki's pictures . . . maybe by next weekend . . . work-wise- we're building basswood models of a few projects - my job has been the assembly of tiny pieces using tweezers - and i'm loving it (for the most part) - and hopefully around the 15th- i'll have pics to post . . . oh- and that running goal?  well- sadly, only 5 miles down and 25 to go- but i'm hoping to go on my lunch tomorrow and 2x more this week- i can still hit 30 by 30 - but that whole  weight # probably won't change- esp with the holidays - and candy quality control ; )

happy monday to all . . . and stay tuned . . .