New @ 193A

New is the word of the week in our household. We got a new chair last Thursday. Stephen found it in Newark at a rarely seen Goodwill Store. Quel find huh? Its lovely vintage velvet makes it the perfect throne for Oli and he has taken up residence without hesitation.









Stephen finally got a new haircut. You can't really see it in these family portraits but he was really growing an ugly mullet and we took care of that on Sunday. For those of you who know him well - you should be happy to see that his signature curls remained intact this time.. the last time I tried to give him a trim they fell under the blade.



This is my new coat. I won it on eBay. I am not a very good eBay-er and I would love to be able to say that I won this for little or no money, got a crazy deal, and am really thrilled with my purchase. Instead I must admit that I got a little too competitive, won with a higher bid than I ever meant to enter, and am still getting used to the idea of having actually let myself get that out of control. At any rate - I think its cute. Its a vintage (seems to be a theme here) eskimo coat from the 60s (supposedly). I am inclined to agree that it looks(and smells) authentic. It has one of those heavy metal zippers that are typical of the time period. What does puzzle me is the incredible condition it is in! Must have been in someone's closet in the bag it came in or something. Anyway - its mine now and I can't wait to wear it walking in the Slope - it't just that kind of coat.



Last but not least - Wicked. I am not usually one to paint my fingernails on a regular basis. However, after seeing two of the chickies I work with wearing this new addition to the Essie collection, I couldn't resist. Ever since Chanel came out with their black polish - which now is apparently next to impossible to get - I have wanted to try it out. But who can wear black into the office?? Enter Essie and their genius color. It looks black but it also looks red and in some light purple (not a fan of the purple) so its not punky but it looks sorta punky.

We had a dinner party on Friday night for our building and some other friends. Chili and beer to ring in the weekend. It turned out to be a kicking good time. We got to know alot of our new neighbors and visited with some old friends that we have not seen recently. I forgot to take px but it was pretty cozy here with 11 people snuggled into the living room.

We are developing a new Sunday habit too. We have been going to CaraCas in the East Village after church every Sunday. They have KILLER empanadas (sp?) and I crave them all week until I get my fix!

Dr. Keller's sermon on Sunday has really stuck with me. He was talking about God being a just God. About the true meaning of hell. His thought process is so complex and intellectual that I really enjoy being there and following his message. But when it comes to trying to actually verbalize exactly what he said afterward I run into some trouble. What I really took away from it though is the true meaning of hell. Imagine the worst thing about your personality - like being selfish - continuing on into infinity. The way you feel when you realize you are being selfish magnified a thousand times and never ending. He was saying that when you base your identity on anything other than Christ, the devistation you feel when that something goes wrong is extremely powerful. Like, if you base your identity on your looks, and something happens to take those looks away, the loss is much more devistating to you than it would be to anyone else. The same goes for someone who bases their identity on their relationship or their children or their wealth. Anyone would have a hard time if they went broke or had a major problem with their marriage - but if that is where your identity lies - you don't just have a hard time - you are devistated. So that is why it is so important to base your identity on Christ. Let Him be the center of your life. We all know He should be there anyway but sometimes it's hard to keep Him there. Dr. Keller was saying we feel those flames coming up and we try to blow them out. We have to keep blowing them out - it's a lifelong process. I am not coming close to how he explained any of this. I guess my mind is still working it through. The bottom line is that He needs to be the center of your world. He needs to be where you find yourself. Where you discover the true you. Anything else...is pure hell.