Back in Vermont

We're back in Vermont. Oversized fleece and Uggs. Hot chocolate in big white mugs. The snow plow at 5 a.m. Sunsets on Lake Champlain. Snowmen made by my daughter. Cozy afternoon naps. Chili at Sleepy Hollow after a good run. White steeples and snowy plains. Starry nights and silent mornings in our loft. Snow. Snow. Snow.

Remembering Benazir Bhutto

She was a strong, independent woman -- groomed to take power and encouraged by her father to read about other women leaders including Joan of Arc. What made her so amazing is her ability to take and keep political power in a Muslim country, one that has become increasingly more militant and frightening. I worried when she returned to her native country from exile in Dubai and London, as did all of those who watch Pakistan from afar, particularly when her first rally was met by violence and a suicide bomber that killed over 130. Today is a sad day for Pakistan, a tragic one in fact. It's a sad day for all of those that hope for democracy, but fear for something much less in Pakistan.

Jane Perlez's obituary is worth the read.

Some of my favorites for 2007

BRAC: This organization, founded in Bangladesh in 1972, is truly life transforming and helping millions escape poverty. With a focus on women, it makes the path to self-sufficiency a much easier one.

WORLD CHANGING: I've spent more time this year than ever thinking about the choices we make -- the car we drive, products we use, how much we recycle, what we read. This site is the one stop shop.

CENTER FOR U.S. GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT: For those of out there that care about our engagement and contribution to the world, this organization is making a difference; and Impact -08 is helping to ensure that the U.S. Presidential candidates focus some of their energies on foreign assistance and our humanitarian and development efforts from Iraq to India to Indonesia.

SMART POWER: First it was called "soft power" -- but now even Joseph Nye is using the term Smart Power to define a better way of engaging around the world and using our powers of persuasion. A smart combination of public diplomacy and engagement, including efforts to combat HIV/AIDS and reduce poverty, it just makes sense. Listen up Bush Administration.

THE BOTTOM BILLION: A must read, by Paul Collier, if you didn't do it in 2007 to help understand more about the world's poor, primarily in Africa, and how our actions impact them.

MINA AGOSSI: She is truly a chanteuse; saw this sexy French signer at Blues Alley in Washington, DC and was transported right to smoky Montmarte jazz club.

PANDORA.COM From Journey to Lauren Hill to Lizz Wright to Dixie Chicks, I love plugging into this free website for radio stations that I create.

SUNDANCE CATALOGUE: No matter that I live in the city and love my high heels, this catalogue always make me lust for mountain views and fresh air in Montana, Colorado or Idaho -- a life spent in kick ass boots with a big chunky sweater and a cup of jo' looking out over the horizon at my herd.

Old Saint Nick

Ho...ho...ho! Looking forward to Old Saint Nick's arrival! To all my family and friends in Kabul, Paris, Prague, Zagreb, Phnom Phen, Belgrade, Dili, Bangkok and beyond....have a very Merry Christmas and happy holiday!

Favorite Christmas Windows of the Season

Here are just a few of my favorite holiday windows I passed by this season!

Makin' My List..and Checkin' it Twice

I've been trying to make my list. No, I don't mean Christmas gifts. I mean Christmas cocktails. From the famous Bellini to the red wine cocktail , I'm trying to figure out what to serve some friends on New Year's Eve. My husband is making hot wine (glog) but I think a nice champagne cocktail may be in order!

As Winter Sets in Here

Travel and Leisure's "best of" issue is out and it always makes me salivate. The photo on the cover is a place I visited a few years back, La Casa Que Canta in Mexico -- only for dinner but I've always lusted to go there and stay in one of those beautiful adobe rooms overlooking the infinity pool as music floats up into the cool night air. I lived vicariously through some advice to my friends, Paula and Mark, as I recommended it as their honeymoon destination -- and they ultimately loved it.

Now I'm lusting after these African safari locations.

Vermont Awaits...

I've been bad, very bad. I haven't posted in days with any real focus. I've been over, over, overwhelmed with work. Presents are piling up to be wrapped. Cookies to be baked. A party to throw. I love it! I love this time of year and the joy in my daughter's voice as she tells me what she'll be asking Santa for -- a watch, bubbles in a jar and a doll. I think Santa can deliver!

Then, it's off to Vermont to ski and relax, including a spa day the Pitcher Inn. Doesn't it look exactly how Vermont should look that time of year?

....on Travel

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime."
~ Mark Twain

Another Day...Another Valley

Another thing I love about long weekends is the ability to explore so many different neighborhoods in a city. We started this morning at Le Zinc, a French bistro, in Noe Valley, a neighborhoods which reminds me in many ways of ours in Washington, D.C. So many shops...so little time, including the Urban Nest, which is what I'd want my store to look like, filled with funky stationary, old-fashioned Christmas ornaments and little treasures tucked into many nookes and crannies.

A Hayes Valley Day

Today we checked out Hayes Valley in San Francisco, a once "seedy" neighborhood which is now home to quaint boutiques and French-style bistros. This is what I love about a long vacation weekend -- lunch with a bellini in a sunlit cafe watching strangers walk by, discovering new, funky shops filled with handknit sweaters and assorted designers...and ultimately knowing we have nothing more significant to do than return to the hotel and....nap.