Um, how freaky is this?

A lifesize poster of a max look-alike.

Feliz 2009!

New years resolutions to come tomorrow. Till then, hoping 2009 brings
every single one of you the most happiness, best health and endless love.
I'm sending tons of hugs to you.

Happy in Argentina

This license plate was one of the very first things I saw when I
arrived. I knew it was a sign as to what would come for me.
I am happy.
And feel so lucky to be where I am.

Tricks of the trade

No I don't go tanning. This is my truest pleasure - a bottle will last
6 months or more.

Aww sh*t

I'm in the midst of a pedicure and kicked the poor girl in the face as
she tried to grate the bottom of my feet with that damn pumice stone.
I must be the only person in the world that is so ticklish that
pedicures = pure torture.
What is it about ticklish laughter though? Love it.

To Tallulah

Can someone please read this to Taloo for me? I know she's genius, but her reading skills aren't so good. Don't hold it against her.

Baby Taloo,
I love you and I'm sorry I had to leave you again. I promise you're in good hands and Club Med Armonk is a much better place than a 12 hour flight to Argentina.
Do not disrespect grandma, grandpa or Emily - they are the ones that love you most, even with a stinky toosh and crooked teeth.
I will be home soon and we can play in the snow or 65 degree weather (if it's another day like today). Wear your sweater if it's cold, drink plenty of water and take a shower, you'll feel better.
Love you.
Give kisses all around for me.

i hate goodbyes

Sad I'm going to miss Audrey, T and Lori's last days here in NY, but Argentina is calling my name.
Thank you all for making me happy, and despite what you may think, I truly am happy. Some time away to relax and breathe and take in a new city might be all I need to get back on track.
I don't want any of you (mom) to worry about me, I'll be taking this time to take in the beauty of life and live fully.
It was a true pleasure being with all of you, if only it could have been longer.
I'm going to make a list of new years resolutions along the way down south, i'll be sure to post them and you can all hold me to them as 2009 rolls on.
If I don't get to talk to any of you, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I'm certain this is the year of all years, for ALL of us.
The biggest hugs all around.
LOVE YOU.

But I'm working hard to get her back in my life....

Sleeping beauty

WTF

So we all know those iconic LL Bean totes that have a lifetime
warranty, where you can get your initials in any font, any size, any
color. No matter how long you live, this tote, in all it's glory, can
live along with you - carrying everything from beach towels to newborn
children to dirt from the early 80s along the way.
Unfortunately as time goes on, lexicons develop and abbreviations
become part of every day life. For example WTF. For those of you with
virgin ears, I do apologize but "WTF", is a relatively new, overly
used computer/text message acronym for "what the fuck."
Well, last week my assistant walked into our work elevator with a
lovely older woman, dressed conservatively, carrying 2 satchels: 1. a
well mantained black leather handbag and 2. an extremely worn-in white
canvas LL Bean tote with the unfortunate initals of - yup, you guessed
it - "WTF" embroidered smack in the middle.
What are the chances that sweet Wendy, Wonda, Whitney or whatever Ms
WTF's first name is, knows that she's walking around with the most
used acronym of 2008 on her beloved tote?
Or better yet, what are the chances she knows how many laughs that
thing is providing to the world as she makes her way to and from work
each day?

Selene, the girl 3rd to left

The most hilarious moment of my recent life happened a few weeks ago
in brazil, at a friends wedding.
One of my dearest friends, Selene, was peacefully holding a 4 year in one
arm while the bouquet was thrown. As you can see in this photo she
wasn't letting anything or anyone minimize her chances of being the
next bride-to-be. With the grace of a prima ballerina and the speed of
a cheetah, Selene leapt into the air, child and all, caught the
fateful arrangement and was back in place before a single participant
or onlooker could blink an eye.
Selene tried - with all her might - to convince me (& others) this was
all just a figment of my imagination. But ahhh...the beauty of a
photograph...

F train, uptown

I wasn't very discreet when taking this photo. The little girls big
Russian grandmother didn't seem to mind at all - she even cracked a
wee smile when she spotted me snapping away. I get the feeling it was
her first smile in almost a century.

As I get older...

I realize more and more each day how true this really is.
Every moment counts.

Thank you!

As usual, it was perfectly yummy, fun and full of love. xoxo

I have proof

There's no backing out now.

Audrey's first word

"vajayjay!"

Mom, please take a moment to look at the blog

Please!!!!!!!
I'll post all the worst photos of you until you look. Get to it!!!

The happiest

Deer in the yard, snow on the ground, little audy dancing. Perfect.

Merry Christmas!

And to all, a good night

Christmas will be here in 14 minutes. I haven't been this excited
since I was 7.
Sleep tight.

My kind of tree

In case you haven't figured it out

I love you all.

TOMORROW!

Obviously there are some key players missing from this photo, but soon! We'll be together again! Thank you Lynda for hosting all of us again, I'm anxiously awaiting the meatballs, stuffed potatoes and the amazing company.

I wish I had a crystal ball

Sometimes life is so tricky. If only I could see into the future, or even better than that, have a little person on my shoulder to make all my decisions for me. Any takers? The job doesn't pay much, but it's a whole lot of fun.

ONE DAY TIL XMAS!

I'm choosing today to be emotional and show pictures of all of those I wish were here to enjoy this Christmas with us. Because tomorrow I refuse to waste even a single second being sad - I know they are all looking down at us and sending us the happiest of energy and the deepest of love.

The saddest day of the year to move on

Waiting for me when I got home today

feels like forever ago

Funny how fast time flies by. Actually, not so funny, quite unnerving. When I saw this photo I was instantly reminded of those first years when you, Lori, entered all of our lives. Oddly enough I can picture the very first time we met - seated in my parents kitchen, your hair was long and you had a blue t-shirt on. I remember thinking how peaceful you were and when T entered the room you started to glow. It was nothing compared to the way he lit up years later when we all danced to "goin' to the chapel and we're gonna get mar-ar-aried, goin' to the chapel and we're gonna get mar-ar-aried. ooooh i really love you and we're gonna get mar-ar-aried, goin' to the chapel of love..." at Stacie and Jim's wedding. It was then, at that very moment, I knew how lucky we all were that you entered our lives. Thank you for bringing so much to all of us.

dear dad, merry christmas

I know a sweater is always nice, but a sexy girl lasts just as long. you're welcome.

merry christmas!

first snowfall

from outside my office window

by the fire

In the start of November I was in Jamaica for a photo shoot, it was spectacular. I stayed at a remote plantation called Good Hope. The hotel is situated on 2,000 acres of "green" land where everything from oranges to wine to roses are grown and packaged. The land looks and feels like a combo of Africa and Paris - the best of both places.
On our final shoot day, the whole staff at the plantation surprised us with a giant bon fire after dinner. A little piece of heaven.

check out: http://www.goodhopejamaica.com/

'tis the season

Love.

This one's for Audrey

Hi little one,
So excited to finally see you tomorrow. You probably don't know this, but I talk about you ALL THE TIME - to anyone & everyone. You're somewhat of a superstar angel to all those around me. It makes me sadder than I care to admit that you live so far from New York City. Don't get me wrong, I don't blame you. It's way more fun to have a house instead of an apartment & I know Tilly-dog loves telling her canine friends she lives in Columbus. Plus, you have Ruth & Leo to give you love.
But it does make me cry sometimes, because I wish so badly that we could all have random evenings making dinner, playing games, taking walks & cuddling on the couch. Oh what i'd give to tell you a bedtime story once a week...to teach you about the world & help you along the way. The world is so big & so fun, I hope your life is filled with as much excitement, joy, love, laughter & peace as i've been blessed with.
Ok, so that being said, I think this is the perfect place to tell you my most favorite stories - then, your mom and dad can pass them along to you at bedtime. At the end, you can blow a kiss up to the stars & I'll see it, grab it & put it under my pillow for a safe, good night's sleep. xx

things I do in my spare time

I know you all have had your own moments of wonder: "why hasn't nicole come to see me? what could she possibly be doing that's more important than family?" Well, aside from taking photos of random hearts, I also go to cat shows. Or at least I went to one. Yes, Alan and I spent a lovely Saturday cruising Madison Square Garden's feline show. If you've never done it yourself, don't. Trust me.
I don't know if the photos really do it justice but you truly go through 4,028 different emotions as your brain registers all the sights around you. Jealousy (those cats are stunning & so well groomed!), anger (how could there be so many foul-dressed people in this world?), confusion (is it a cat or a panther?), shock (why is that owner licking her cats ass?), sadness (that owner is licking her cats ass), joy (for the winner, obviously).
So next time you want to complain (mom) about me not being around the house more, just think, I'm more than likely doing something very important.

advice, from one toddler to another

This is my friend Laura's little lady, Lillia. She was born a few months after Audrey. She found out the hard way that peas in the belly button don't equal fun. Audrey, take note. Peas in the mouth, only.

you can check out Lillia's adorable blog (updated endlessly) at www.lilliapants.blogspot.com

My all-time favorite

I remember everyone always saying how much we look alike here.

2 more days!

I have a confession

This clown on the wall really freaks me out. Always has. Can someone explain to me why you'd put this in a household with children?
And where is that thing now? If I recall correctly, it was painted on velvet, assuming for a more luxurious effect. I was tempted to retouch it out of the photo but I knew T would fully enjoy seeing it.

I was thinking of calling this blog Barnaby

He deserves to be immortalized, maybe i'll start another one just for the dogs of our lives: barnaby.blogspot.com

T, at little A's age

Merry 3 days till Christmas!

Looking through old photos got me super excited for Christmas. I'm so happy we're all going to be together to celebrate this year.

photo: christmas card 1979

an up-close photo

headboard hearts

...and sometimes they come in the smallest of sizes, in the most random places. This indent in my wall, next to my pillow, is smaller than little Audrey's thumbnail (not as beautiful as her thumbnail, of course) but is worth pondering - why, in a rental in the west village, did I happen to lay my head here and look up as I did to see it? And how many people have spent time in that same room only never to have discovered it?

*sidenote: the author is fully aware that it's quite possible she needs a child to concentrate on rather than exploring sheet-rock for specks of dust in the shape of hearts....

Peppermint Pattie finds true love

As most of you know, my best friend Alan and I have taken to photographing the world, one heart at a time. Starting in NYC, we've managed to fill endless memory cards with everything from hand drawn declarations of love to the most organic, salt of the earth (literally) creations that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. These hearts make my day, each day. Because they don't show up once in a while, they're infinite and multiply with every ounce of passion I develop for them. They all have a story, like Peppermint Patty.

yum...latkes

It's Monday morning, I had a more eventful Sunday evening (ahem, too much wine) than I anticipated, and am now paying for it with daydreams of food while I sit at my desk and attempt to work.
For some reason my palate of choice is a potato latkes - what are the chances of Lynda or Aunt Palma serving these come Christmas? I presume quite minimal. If only we were lighting menorah's instead of a tree....
Well in case we have some extra time (and spare potatoes) over the holidays, here's the recipe:

You peel and grate a bunch of potatoes. Then grate in some onions, too. It?s good to do it in small batches with onions in each so the potatoes don?t have a chance to discolor. Add an egg or two and some matzo meal and salt, and fry lumps of the batter in oil. Make sure the oil?s hot when you put them in (a drop of water should sizzle when dropped in) so that they don?t soak up too much oil.

This is very undefinitive, although I'm not really a cook, so maybe it's not.

Hey, Tony

I'm in love with this animal skin rug, the colorway is spectacular.
Have any connections to one like it? Or ideas where I can get it for a
reasonable price?

NYC tree

I couldn't bear to drag a whimpy Christmas tree up 3 flights, only to
have it shed needles all over for the few days I'm here to enjoy it.
So I decided a tree of lights would be enough spirit to keep myself
from feeling too bah humbug.
Maybe one day I'll be grown up enough to have a real one again. Till
then, I'm pretty stoked with this beauty.

City hearts

I saw this beautiful heart, made from melted snow, on my walk home
yesterday. These hearts are everywhere, just open your eyes.

And so it begins!

My first post!
I'm setting up this amazing blog so we, the Fasolino clan, can stay on
top of one anothers lives as we navigate through 2009 and on.
I'll be posting from all over the world - photos, stories, emails,
whatever I can to keep us all a little closer together.
Happy holidays! Love you all!