tollipop

it's january 1st and we're making bread

 It seems a lovely way to begin a new year, don't you think?

happy new year

 
Yesterday I took the girls out to this beautiful place for a moment of solitude and reflection.  And the chance to wear our silly winter hats.

 
As quickly as it seems time flies, it is also quite something to sift through one's memories of the outgoing year.  How many things have happened!  How many beautiful and happy and painful and bittersweet moments!  I will take them together and wonder at it all. 

 
I want to thank you for taking the time to visit Tollipop this year.  I love coming here myself and find your company to be one of the great sources of that pleasure.  Thank you for your kind words, for making me laugh, for spending a small part of your day in this cozy little corner.
 
 
I wish you the loveliest new year ever.  I hope it is filled with gratitude, confidence, faded yellow cardigans, French cafe music, smiles, pussywillows, adoring looks, dance cards that rarely have an opening, a bedtime story reader, a long, winding road, a fox, a feeling that you are home, a golden ticket, Mr. Darcy and his impossible smoldering gaze, a small hand that fits inside yours, a puppy, a garden, a reunion, and a perfectly comfortable chair. 

And that is just for the month of January!

Dear reader~be safe, be well, and be happy. 

Happy, happy New Year! 

how to make chocolates

 
1.  Think of the Christmases of your childhood, when your mom made the most amazing chocolates ever.

Those days are over now. 

If you want chocolates, you are going to have to make them yourself.  Well, your kid brother happens to be around but let's face it: that thought hardly brings with it much comfort.

 
2.  Let him be the brawn in this situation.  He is young and eager.  But don't leave him unattended.  The kid is in need of constant supervision.

 
3.  Remember how your mom loved the look of a pretty fondant.  Smile and feel happy.  There isn't a step of this process that does not take you back to some delightful and cherished memory.

 
4.  Set up a makeshift assembly operation outside at 10:00 in the evening.  Yes, it's cold but come on.  You're Canadian.  Supposedly your blood produces its own antifreeze.

5.  You roll the fondant.  Let your older brother dip the chocolates because it makes him feel special.  Keep an eye on your kid brother, who is trying to eat everything in sight.

6.  Talk about your mom.  Talk about the days when she was on a first name basis with Belgium's Minister of Chocolate.  Those were good days.

7.  Laugh your heads off. 

 
8.  And behold in wonder and awe:  you just made some chocolates.  You did!  Like the ones your mom used to make when you were kids.  And how good does it feel that you pulled it off with part of your old gang? 

Very good, indeed.

izzy lights up the strings

Dear reader, there have been a number of recitals, concerts, performances, appearances, and musical evenings this holiday season.  A number.  The only thing we didn't do was to set out a hat and play at the underground subway...and that's only because Las Vegas doesn't have one.

Here is little Miss Izzy and her incomparable teacher as accompanist, performing Sicilienne and Rigaudon by Fritz Kreisler.

I love this piece...it's quite new to Isabella, which is partly why I did not volunteer to accompany, so it was a great treat to sit in the audience and watch her take my breath away. 

Wishing you a lovely last few moments of December...

sleight of hand

 
A few days ago my annual expedition to harpoon a fond childhood memory once again met with failure. 

Yes, Grandma Frances, I am still the Captain Ahab to your great, white caramels...(sorry for that pathetic stretch, but I like to reference Moby Dick at least once per decade).

And this time around I'd say I was pretty careful to follow the recipe.  But a lack of readily available measuring equipment (who can't simulate the equivalent of a tablespoon??) plus the distracting crossfire of my brothers' candy making disputes may have contributed to the resulting consistency rivalling that of a very soft brie.

Whatever.  It was still great fun.

 
Caroline devised an intricate method for wrapping and twisting the goodies, one that dates back to the ancient Edo era of Japan.


 
It was part disciplined art form, part street hustler.  Half the time I couldn't tell which hand held the prize.

   

Remind me never to give that child three walnut shells.  And my wedding ring.

 
Ah, it was in the right hand all along! 

 
And this was how we spent the afternoon: wrapping failed yet delectable caramels, snuggling on the couch, watching Julie & Julia, talking about all the things we've made from her cookbook, and listening to my girls tell me how much they would love to live in France.

C'est la vie, indeed. 
 

peace

 
This is my wish to you, dear reader.  I hope you are feeling it, whatever else this day may bring.

 
I've been reminded lately that life is hardly carefree.  I suppose it's not always meant to be so.

 
Which makes me more grateful than ever for those rejuvenating moments of joy, such as when Caroline lost her front tooth and herald angels sang. 

Too bad our deadbeat tooth fairy could not be so punctual.

 
And the time my brothers could not agree on how to beat the fondant.  That was also good for a laugh.

 
There are times when I cling to my belief that peace may be found, even in moments of sorrow and distress.

 
Along with my feeling that as long as we must pass through such moments, we may as well also savor every peal of laughter that pops up along the way.

....................

Dear reader, I'm not sharing these thoughts to be cryptic or mysterious...just to express a feeling that has been weighing on my heart lately as I watch loved ones so dear to me pass through some extraordinary challenges.  It has made my celebration of this Christmas season more serious and reflective, though at the same time filled with love, gratitude and hope.

I'll be back soon with my usual silly stories, though I will be hard pressed to top the evening wherein my two self-proclaimed candy making expert brothers disputed the finer details of a well turned chocolate. 
   

merry christmas

Dear reader, I hope you are having a wonderful day filled with peace, happiness, loved ones and, if it is not too much to ask, your two front teeth. 

xoxo,

k.

anthropologie

 
I know I am pretty careful to insist I'm not a voracious consumer of things, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying the occasional visit to this lovely place. 

 
I love how it is arranged, like some slightly musty attic of a mysterious great aunt, filled with treasures and curiosities in every corner...

 
Pretty, fanciful, a place for the imagination to wander...

 
And oh, such darling dishes!

 
I mean, I truly wish you are home surrounded by loved ones, stringing popcorn for the tree...  

 
But I also hope your inner dreamer takes a moment to float up here to this sea of whispering lanterns where I'm quite sure, if you listen, something beautiful will be spoken just for you.  

and the winner is...

 
Petit Filoux!  Congratulations, dear Petit Filoux!  You are the winner of the Tollipop kokeshi ornament giveaway!  C'est magnifique!  C'est formidable!  C'est la vie en rose!  We are simply over the moon with delight.

Do let's get in touch soon to discuss mailing addresses, French lessons and the like.  Oh dear, did I say French lessons when I only meant mailing addresses?  Quel erreur!  

To everyone else, thank you for playing along.  How I wish I could send a little doll home with each guest!  How I wish I could make you each a cup of hot chocolate and settle down for a nice cozy chat.  I wonder what we would talk about?  Some serious stuff, some sad stuff, something hypothetical, something funny, something about you, something about me.  Those are always such lovely conversations.

I wouldn't be me if I didn't also wish you a romantic engagement with Mr. Darcy and a bat-sized Toblerone chocolate bar to beat off the competition, should some brazen, conniving snippet dare to chance by. 

xoxo

K.

this weekend

 
There was a sweet birthday girl (I know it looks like we just gave her a car, but in reality she got a handmade doll).

 
There was an acknowledgement that the deadline for the advent calendar project will be extended another year.  Deadline isn't a nice word, anyway.

 
There were more recitals, more performances, more singing of lovely Christmas music.  I will try to share some of these moments captured on video in the next little while.  The one where Izzy lights up her violin due to friction of the bow is quite memorable. 

And copious amounts of tree gazing.  Yet another indicator of the high times enjoyed chez Tollipop.

Dear reader it was a lovely weekend, involving celebrations, sushi, a dear brother-in-law, an apple pie project, and an early morning bike ride wherein I raced an unsuspecting cyclist around a circular course out in the desert.  I beat him on every climb, but he would sail past me on every downhill.  It was maddening.  We passed each other a total of six times.  And even though not a word was exchanged, I know we were sending each other the most ferocious thoughts.

My girls are on school break for the next two weeks.  Hooray!  And my little brother will be spending the vacation with us as well.  I am looking forward to some happy times together.  But I'm also feeling a little worn out.  I mention this only because I think I may set Tollipop somewhat aside during the holidays.  Whatever energy I have will be spent enjoying the family that is near and wishing my other brother and sisters could be with us, as well.

Of course, I will be back later today to announce the winner of the kokeshi doll giveaway.  There's still time to enter, dear reader!  You never know when it will be your lucky day.  Trust me.  I am presently reeling with delight over winning one of Beata's dreamy pillowcases. 

If you would like to enter the kokeshi doll giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post.

Wishing you a lovely Monday...