14 December 2012

Adeste Fideles

Few things make me as proud of and happy with my Catholic heritage as the musical traditions that come with it. At Christmas particularly, traditional, Catholic hymns take me back to my youth and connect me with my family.


My favorite one is Adeste Fideles, especially when it's sung in Latin. Hearing a choir sing this song is one of the most exultant things there is. By the time the third time the refrain's repeated I'm reduced to a pool of tears and good intentions.


If you don't know the words, here they are:

Adeste Fideles,
Laeti triumphantes;
Venite, venite in Bethlehem;
Natum videte,
Regem Angelorum;

Refrain :
Venite adoremus
Venite adoremus,
Venite adoremus Dominum !

Deum de Deo,
Lumen de lumine,
Gestant puellae viscera;
Deum verum,
Genitum, non factum :

Refrain

Cantet nunc hymnos
Chorus angelorum,
Cantet nunc aula caelestium:
Gloria, gloria,
In excelsis Deo !

Refrain

Ergo qui natus
Die hodierna,
Jesu tibi sit gloria:
Patris aeterni
Verbum caro factum

Regardless of your religious traditions, or lack there of, I want to wish you a merry Christmas and a prosperous new year.

Creating a Bohemian bath

via


You have a free spirit and you want your home to reflect your inner passions. Whether you are a professional painter, dancer or an accountant with a love of creating gourmet meals for your friends and family, you want your true spirit to shine through in your living environment.

The beauty of having a bohemian inspired bathroom is that it is the ultimate in freedom of expression. While this style is known for rule breaking, there are two rules that apply: your furnishings cannot be perfectly matched and the space must be warm and relaxing. When all is said and done, yours must be the cool.

Steps to Achieving the Bohemian Look:

1. Determine what you like.

So you want your bathroom space to be a representation of you and who you are at your core. When you understand what makes you tick, creating your Bohemian look for your bathroom is simple because it is achieved by selecting the usual bathroom items with unique designs. Simply put, if you are dedicated to only bringing what you love into your environment, your selections will blend harmoniously as if magic.

There is a trick to this, however. We are all entranced with shiny, new things. But sometimes we fall out of love as quickly as we fall into it. These are the things you don’t want in your bathroom space.

So how do you know the difference? Think about styles you have consistently loved and enjoyed that is reminiscent of childhood days and out of town trips with the family. These are the things that represent your internal sense of beauty and will withstand the test of time. With that in mind, ask yourself these questions:

• What colors do I like?
• Where do I feel most comfortable?
• What makes me happy?

Set aside the fear that it won’t “work.” Try maintaining that clean, hygienic feel to the space. Look into elegant but beautiful bathroom light fixtures. Add up some toothbrush and soap holders that are embedded with earth colors. Asian lines on the bathroom tiles, ornately carved wood bathroom art pieces, perhaps turquoise and red shower curtains, and unique shower mats, and a vibrantly designed bathtub can be some most exquisite examples of those elements that you can afford into your bathroom. Or how about having your bathroom sink undergo a makeover by painting it with sand paint or placing a stone collage on it. Not only will it work, it will be interesting, bold and stunning.

2. Setting up your space.

A Bohemian feel is one that is indulgent to the point of bordering on hedonistic, not just in a living space but also in more private areas like bathrooms. Arrange your furnishings to create an area where . Just be careful to ensure the space is as functional as it is funky. This can be done by providing plenty of comfortable seating with small, interesting tables scattered throughout the area. There is nothing worse than inadvertently kicking over one’s drink as a result of overly-animated discourse.

3. Determining your budget.

The good thing is that a Bohemian style bathroom can be readily achieved even on tight budgets. If you know what you like and are committed to truly creating your something out of the ordinary on your bathroom, you can try and look at refinancing loans to compensate your recurring expenses to achieve this very original and satisfying look.

13 December 2012

Party planning for kids


Via: Party Pail

08 December 2012

Happy Hanukkah

Even though it's well past 10 o'clock, dusk today ushered in the first day of Hanukkah.


To my friends who are members of The Tribe, I wish you the happiest of holidays and I thank you for being a part of my life. Thank you too for making me part of yours. May God shower upon you the best he has to offer. Cling to your families and revel in this amazing time of the year.

The event commemorated over the next eight days is a testament to the human spirit and to the Almighty who'll intervene when he's asked to. Happy Hanukkah everybody, Jewish or not. All of us need to celebrate miracles. Happy Hanukkah!

More big news

This was the week for big announcements. I was on the road for most of the week and I missed out on the hoopla that attended each of these announcements so I'm going to generate some of my own hoopla now.


For the second time in two years, I'm headed back to Germany to attend IMM. IMM is one of the world's largest design trade shows and my experiences there two years ago opened up a universe to me I never knew existed.

I'll be in Cologne (and later, Amsterdam) as part of Modenus.com's latest iteration of BlogTour. I was on the original Blog Tour last year in London for the Design Festival and it is a thrill to be selected to participate in another of these storied events.

I am one of 15 design bloggers from the US, the UK and the EU selected to take in the sights and sounds of this massive trade show and to report back. It's an absolute honor to be counted among some of the most influential people in the design world.

We'll be meeting up with hordes of people I know and I cannot wait to see everybody again. I've met some of my best friends through this blog and the places its taken me over the years and our regular get togethers are legendary. I'll keep the self-indulgence to a minimum while I'm on the road and will instead concentrate on the cool, new stuff I'll find over there. All of which will be documented here.

Beyond turning Germany into my personal old home week while I connect from people who are usually far removed from me, I'll be in Cologne. A city founded by Julius Caesar and a city whose Roman origins are everywhere. I'll get the chance to go back to the Cathedral and marvel at the fact that it was built by human hands and minds. I'll light a candle while I'm there and in a way, hold hands with a thousand years of humanity.

If you've never been to a Gothic Cathedral, make it a point to, regardless of your religious sensibilities. Nothing helps me see my place in the continuum of human history like walking into a thousand-year-old building does.

Thank you to Modenus and the sponsors of our upcoming adventure. This jaunt to Cologne and Amsterdam promises to be the most successful BlogTour ever. To see a list of my fellow attendees, click on this link.