franz mohr

I went to hear this 80-year old firecracker of a man speak at Steinway Hall this week.

Herr Mohr's hometown was destroyed by the Americans in World War II. He dreamt of being a violinist, but a wrist condition cut the dream off short. Still, his life would be in music. He became a leading piano technician working on the finest pianos in the world for some of the finest pianists of the 20th century.



We could have listened to his stories for hours, and he was bursting with them: smuggling Bibles into Russia, regular visits to the White House, being asked by unbelieving legends whether he had prayed for the upcoming concert, sharing his faith with another who swore he had given up on God and the German language forever.

Who knows why God puts us where he puts us, when he puts us there? Who knows why some dreams get cut off short? Who knows what our unnoted acts of kindness and courage in this life will lead to in eternity?

After the stories and songs, we got to bang around on all the pianos in their showrooms!

staples: random silly girl fun

A few of my frou frou (except for the first one) favorite things...

My winter fruit addiction


Not as comfy as Danskos but enviromentally friendly and made in Canada!


Hue cable-knit tights: perfect for cold-weather cuteness.


It's fun to put on and holds well.



Everything they say is true about Shu.

Who ever thought I'd be adding more oil to my face? But it works!

Not quite a 'staple' but I'm very into the Bottega Veneta look.

Bottega Part 2: I was given 2 fakes for Christmas and it would be lying to say I refused them...

i don't know why you say goodbye

I say hello!

Goodbyes and hellos abound this season.

Hello, soon, to 3, no 4 (!) new babies (NONE ours, relax).

Goodbye to jobs that didn't quite seem to fit. Proud of the two Ds for
brave steps towards uncertainty.

Goodbye, too soon, to dear friends, who are also choosing uncertainty,
to live among people who do not know left from right--
their faithfulness (foolhardiness! aren't they one and the same?)
moves us to live faithfully.

We'll miss you, but we're 150% behind you!

for your consideration

"Not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die."

- Anne Lamott
Traveling Mercies

Very catchy.

catching up from the holidays

We spent 10 days in the East Bay over Christmas. One afternoon we drove out to Monterey, my most favorite place in the U.S of A and then to Carmel for dinner. We were really hoping to find this tiny French restaurant we had eaten at 4 years ago...and we did! We had three fabulous courses of rustic French food. Then at around 1 AM, we both threw it all up. There was a lot of plain congee in the days to follow. I was so sad.

Catch up soon!