Happy Holidays!

Some friends in the more suburban reaches of Greater London invited us for a glorious Christmas weekend. We spent three days in the company of dear friends and revelled in eating, drinking, playing 'auntie' to our friends' children, and enjoying time with people we love but don't seem to see often enough.

Picture courtesy of Jamie Kurihara, via Facebook

festive feasts

Keeping to our December theme of food and celebration wonder | wander | women had our final family get together at the end of Hanukkah before flying off to different parts to celebrate Christmas separately this year.

On December 12 we came together for dinner on the eve before the last day of Hanukkah. For a day that started out blanketed in a thick soupy fog, by the time we went out for a five mile walk in the early afternoon it had thinned enough for us to capture some of these beautiful images.

Christmas Party at the Natural History Museum!

Back when wonder | wander | women visited the American Museum of Natural History in New York, we thought nothing could match the joy of such a visit (read about it here!). This year, one thing may have come close: a grand private party in the Natural History Museum in London.

food for the mind & body

Last April wonder | wander | women introduced our followers to one of our fave pet projects, the SEO Scholarship Program in NYC.

As we approach the coming holidays and the end of yet another semester of purposely applied learning, our gifted and attentive SEO staff decided to give us all a fun break.

Mentors with our mentees and our tower.

Instead of the usual mentor-mentee work review sessions, this Saturday had us working in smaller groups on a team building exercise.

Building a tower of power with our limited supply of plastic straws, scissors, and blue gum. Luckily we had an unlimited supply of ingenuity and gumption among the four of us!

Drink your fruits: blender benders

We wonder | wander | women love our walks and our workouts, but like any other human being we get hungry, and sometimes we crave a scoop of peanut butter and a scoop of chocolate in a glass of almond milk, or goopy strawberry bits in yogurt.

Happy Thanksgiving

Each year on the fourth Thursday in November, Americans gather for a day of feasting, football and family.

Thanksgiving Centerpiece

As strangers and loved ones gather around for Thanksgiving, we recall all the wonderful times spent and shared together. 

Counting our blessings for the gift of love and companionship. Sharing happy thoughts, optimistic plans, and developing dreams with our loved ones. 

oddments and curiosities at Dover Street Market

Dover Street Market is famous among fashionistas. The brainchild of Comme des Garcons designer Rei Kawakubo, the very modern five-story building on Dover Street is nothing like the city's free-for-all markets - it's the most exclusive retail centre for high-end designs fresh off the runway. Comme des Garcons, Alaia, Alexander McQueen and other Fashion Week brands line the racks and shelves.

A sample of the brands available. 

Our friends enjoyed their shopping, but wonder | wander | women ended up doing what we often do - wandering off in a new direction, completely distracted by the charm of Dover Street Market's decor.

Bryant Park NYC

Around the world this week we celebrate Veteran's Day, Diwali, and 11/11/11. Whatever each occasion signifies for each individual wonder | wander | women are happy to celebrate them with you.

Bryant Park, Summer 2015

The end of October also marked the opening of the Bryant Park Winter Village. This New York City midtown winter wonderland includes The Rink, the holiday shops, the artists walks, Celsius, Le Carrousel, and more.

The latest bunch of photos we took was late this summer as we cut through the park on our way home.

travel on a plate: culture & cuisine

This past week wonder | wander | women were lucky enough to get family and friends in for a week-long visit, and we were busy tearing up London! One of our favourite things to do here is sample the local cuisine - which, like many large cities, often turns out to be international.

171 years of celebrating Sarah Bernhardt

Depending on which part of the world you live, October 22 or 23 would be the day to celebrate the birth of Sarah Bernhardt and all she contributed to the arts and our lives since.

Bernhardt photographed by Félix Nadar, 1865

wonder | wander | women raise a torch in acknowledgement of this woman of substance.

The French actress, named by her fans the “Divine Sarah,” is recognized as the first international stage star and referred to as the most famous actress the world has ever known. 

Sarah Bernhardt in a 1911 film adaptation of Camille (La Dame aux camélias)

birds of London, part 2: working girls

Here in the UK, even as new buildings are springing up and globalisation takes root, city councils are finding that old ways can provide new solutions. As London sheds its industrial past and gets shinier and cleaner, flocks of pigeons can create a messy problem. The solution: hawks.

Will wonders never cease?

wonder | wander | women love to stargaze and this October gives us much to gaze upon!

This coming weekend, Saturday morning October 17, and Sunday the 18th, we will all be treated to a tight grouping of Jupiter, Venus and Mars in the eastern sky before sunrise. 

InkTober: taking a line for a walk.

It's October and artists everywhere, even digital and 3D masters, are digging out their pens and paper.  Every year hundreds of illustrators and animators join the InkTober Initiative, created by illustrator and teacher Jake Parker. Mr Parker says he started InkTober in 2009 to strengthen his inking skills and develop positive drawing habits.

Digital sketch, Photoshop

Mooncake Festival : Asia's Mid-Autumn Feast

In the Orient it is the moon that rules, with special occasions plotted on the lunar calendar. Thus the Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the fifteenth day of the eighth moon. For 2015 this translates to September 27 or 28 in the solar or western calendar.

An assortment of moon cakes laid out prettily.

An important part of the festival celebration is moon worship.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as the Mooncake Festival. For millions of Chinese across Asia and around the world the Mid-Autumn Festival is a big deal and second only to Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations. 

Houyi helplessly looking at his wife Chang'e 

flying off to the moon after she drank the elixir.

September eclipses & Autumn equinox

September marks several dates of import that impact us on a variety of levels - cosmic, global, national, local and personal - stirring us to the core. 

Solar Eclipse - NASA/Getty image

On September 12 and 13 a partial solar eclipse occurred - the center of the moon's shadow missed the earth, partly obscuring our view of the sun.

The Royal Academy of Arts, London

This week wonder | wander | women paid The Royal Academy of Arts a visit and were greeted by a massive Ai Weiwei installation in the courtyard - an installation funded not by the British government or the artist himself but by Kickstarter.

 

our yellow brick road : NYC with friends

Last night was spent in the company of childhood friends - catching up on each others' lives, forging current connections, leaving lasting memories.

Happy well fed us!

What a gift and blessing it is to get to a place in life where the thread that runs through it shows up with clarity. Better even when we have the experience of how it interweaves in and out of each other's lives.

In sharing and exchanging our stories last night this was made manifest with great joy and delight.

birthday reflections

It was my birthday yesterday and I celebrated by taking myself on a date: walking, shopping, eating. Spending time alone after a hectic few months.

Limehouse Cut Canal

Reflecting back on the past year made me think of New Year traditions in different cultures: looking at our previous actions with wiser and kinder thoughts, learning our lessons and moving past our obstacles. Especially when we stand in our own way.

celebrating women's equality day : 26 August 2015

Rep. Bella Abzug (D-NY), a leader in the women’s rights movement, introduced a Congressional Resolution in 1971 designating August 26 as Women’s Equality Day. 

Facebook Greeting

The day celebrates women’s on-going pursuit of equality. The date was symbolically selected as the anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution. 

Happy Independence Day, India and Pakistan!

Last week the streets of London rang with the celebrations that marked the separation of India and Pakistan and their declaration of independence from the British Empire.

The Indian national flag raised over the Red Fort in Agra
image from Wikipedia 

summer sendoff

After a hard night’s rain wonder | wander | women woke up to a summer washed away.  The light has changed - with the sun rising later and setting sooner.

"Hard Rain's Gonna Fall"

The air is crisp and clear and the nights have a nip now - leaving our skin prickly and cool to the touch. 

With no buildings to block our view and the breeze cooled by the expanse of water it blows across it sure feels like fall is here. 

And so we bid summer goodbye with one final hurrah!

under an expansive sky

This August finds us relocating to a new home. In the midst of a bustling satellite community - one of many that spill out and surround the periphery of New York City - wonder | wander | women have found a pocket haven with room that breathes new life in an uncommonly rare expansive space.

The Township of Weehawken is perched atop the Palisades on the Hudson River and offers magnificent views of the world famous city skyline. Along with the island of Manhattan, it was originally purchased for "80 fathoms of wampum, 20 fathoms of cloth, 12 brass kettles, 6 guns, one double brass kettle, 2 blankets, and one half barrel of strong beer." 

Phone Photography: shooting from the hip

Both the wonder | wander | women have jobs that require a lot of pictures. Often we're lucky enough to have a professional photographer or experienced Instagrammer on site to provide pictures for our copy. Increasingly though, we're becoming used to just pulling out our standard smartphones and taking the pictures ourselves.

We look at so many selfies and unpracticed 'foodstagrams' that we might forget we're living in a great democratic age for amateur photography. It's never been easier to create a visual record.

But a casual snapshot does not make a good story. A photograph needs drama and dynamism, especially when illustrating a blog post or company tweet. We picked up some good tips from our experience and from helpful colleagues and wanted to share them here.

art therapy

Art throughout the ages captures and captivates varied creative expression and emotional communication from both its creator and its viewer.

Today more than ever we seek individual and personal avenues to express our creativity in any number of ways.

on top of the world

Because my sister thought I was turning 60 we ended up booking my birthday dinner at Asiate - Mandarin Hotel's fine dining flagship restaurant in New York City - overlooking Central Park and Columbus Circle.

At times a mistake turns out to be the very best thing!

The birds of London, part 1: wetlands

London has a thriving wildlife population for such a busy city. Many birds especially are adaptable enough to thrive even in areas thickly populated by human residents. 

Walking along the canals of East London this spring, we saw ducks, swans, moorhens and other water-loving birds enjoying themselves in the spring sunshine.

London's Canal and River Trust recently turned a stretch of the Limehouse Cut, lined with apartment blocks and industrial buildings, into a rich ecology by planting reed beds along the sides of the canal to protect nests and seasonal insect populations.

#lovewins

On June 26, 2015 the Supreme Court ruled that the US Constitution provides same-sex couples in all 50 states the right to marry. 

Two days later hundreds of thousands of people on Sunday [June 28] packed gay pride events from Chicago to New York City, Seattle to San Francisco, Sao Paolo to Belgrade with overall attendance swollen to millions in celebration of a freshly endorsed right to marry. 

Graduate Show at the Slade

This past week an artist friend invited wonder | wander | women to the MFA degree show at the Slade School of Fine Art.

NATALIA JANULA, MFA

new logo joint collaboration

Fourteen years later I decided to opt for a new logo. It took wonder | wander | women two years to get it done. Not because we were taking our time but because it was important to us.

The change from the former logo to this one was a journey that took us from our former life into this current one. We were in need of a logo that captured this as well as the potential yet to unfold.

open city | open heart

Living on the fringes of big cities as the wonder | wander | women do, we often get friends passing through. But after hitting the big tourist attractions, taking in a couple of shows, and having tea at the Savoy or drinks under the King Cole mural at the St Regis, our friends can tire of the crowds and famous sights. So we take them to places beloved by locals.

Image courtesy of Lola Abrera

a great find : the school of life

Here at wonder | wander | women and wonder | wander | world we are on a roll. Discovering curated sites and think tanks that entertain, educate and enhance us in a variety of ways and on many different levels.

From the most unlikely to the most prolific. From the absurd to the profane. From superficial kitsch to profound collections.

As our appetite to absorb and expand grows and draws more to us so too does our desire to not just accumulate but to understand and better yet, to experiment with and put into application. 

Comicon: costumes, cupcakes and camaraderie

The London MCM Comicon blew by last bank holiday weekend. London HQ of wonder | wander | women exchanged our usual Saturday shift at the museum to go meet some artists and enjoy the atmosphere of pure geekery.

Sonia Leong and Shazleen Khan of Sweatdrop Studios

CHINA at the Met Museum NYC

wonder | wander | women continues a recent post commissioned for Kate's Paperie because [1] it is a fine topic, [2] there is always more to be said and covered, and [3] it is a discussion dear to our palpitating hearts.

Every fine story has many facets to it and its own Rashomon effect and we are retelling this from yet another perspective.

Most of the coverage for this event has been from the Westerner's enthralled enchantment of orientalia and chinoiserie.

In Retrospect: our year in review

On April 10, wonder | wander | women launched our first post, touching down and reaching out. A little over a year later and over 100,000 readers, we take a look back on our favourites, our most popular posts, and tributes to our inspirations.

a day to celebrate women

wonder | wander | women need no excuse to celebrate women and our greatness and yet we do not do so often enough.

Today would be the 151st birthday of Nellie Bly, who must be pretty special. There's an animated Google Doodle by artist Katy Wu commemorating the occasion. Indie rocker and lead singer of Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O wrote "Oh Nellie," singing her high praises. CNN ran a special story on the whole shebang. There's even a begonia named after her. 

Yet who of us recognize or remember Nellie Bly?

blossom time: spring in NYC

In response to Mahala's London Spring blossom time blog last week, wonder | wander | women blogs this week on Spring blossoms here in the US, mainly in New Jersey and New York.

As the days warm up we are out and about enjoying spring's return in a landscape of flowers and bright greens. 

blossom time: spring in the city

It's an unusually sunny spring in London and people are flocking to the...beaches? Not exactly; Londoners prefer to sun themselves by the calm waters of the Thames and its tributary canals instead of going east to the still-freezing waters of the English Channel.

Flowering trees by Limehouse Docks

SEO Scholars NYC - a dream program

wonder | wander | women would like to introduce our viewers to one of our pet projects - The Sponsors for Edu­ca­tional Oppor­tu­nity (SEO) Scholars Program.

SEO Scholars is a free eight-year academic program that gets low-income public high school students through college with a 95% college graduation rate. Thousands of applicants from New York City and San Francisco public schools vie for a few hundred seats in the SEO Program.

Pembroke, Wales: kingdom by the pond

Spring blows its announcing trumpets! The wonder | wander | women had our first sunny days and are ready for more. Right now we're all a little too busy for the wandering part though, so here's a look back to a trip to Pembroke, Wales some time back.

bitter sweet land of sugar

A land divided (literally and figuratively), Negros Island stands separate and at odds with the rest of the country and maybe even the world. 

Local 'panganod' clouds are just like sails full of wind.

In geography and linguistics, history and politics - there is much more than the mountain range at its center that divides the island and cuts itself off from the rest of today.

canterbury tales

Weather is no obstacle to the wonder | wander | women : even the wettest seasons won't stop us from going on adventures.

So when a friend invited our London contingent to come along to Canterbury for a day trip, this Chaucer fan didn't hesitate to say yes.

clear blue

As today's clear blue sky makes the promise of Spring more definite, wonder | wander | women sift through images of azure happiness.

The Dumaguete Promenade

It's still too chilly for our tropical bones. Much as we love Game of Thrones and John Snow, their iconic warning - "Winter is coming!" - elicits shivers that are far from delightful.