gwendolyn faith is not a crayon.

Such a sweet Memphis Saturday.

Kendall and I headed downtown bright and early for a visit to the Memphis Farmer’s Market, a walk on South Main, a mocha at Bluff City Coffee and a quick trip to Lit Restaurant Supply for kitchen tools at wholesale prices on our way home.

My mom took me to lunch in Cooper-Young at the Beauty Shop, an adorable spot where the hairdryer chairs, the booths tucked into old salon stalls and the hair-washing sinks at the bar hark back to the restaurant’s former days as a beauty parlor.

I ordered the Thai Cobb Salad: hacked crispy duck, Ripley tomatoes, grated eggs, green beans, homemade jerky, avocado, mango and Gouda goat cheese on a bed of shredded lettuce with mint green goddess dressing on the side.

After a pit stop at the new Urban Outfitters, Mum and I spent an hour or two at the Pink Palace Museum, where we saw exhibits on the healthcare history of the Memphis area and the mighty buffalo of the Great Plains.

My family and I squeezed a little culture into my last full week at home for break.

My parents took me to the Opera Memphis Preview Party for Die Fledermaus, which runs January 21 and 24 at the Germantown Performing Arts Center. Memphians, please see Die Fledermaus! I’m really encouraged by the fun, innovative outreach efforts of Opera Memphis’ new director.

Mom, who volunteers as a docent at the Dixon Gallery, gave me a personal mini-tour of From Houdini to Hugo, an exhibit that presents over 100 pencil illustrations, pen and ink drawings, acrylics and models by the award-winning children’s author and illustrator Brian Selznick. (Unfortunately the exhibit ends today; I was lucky to see it just in time!)

happy birthday, kenn! we celebrated kendall’s 23rd at mollie fontaine lounge, the bar with the coolest atmosphere in memphis. ((photos via via via via))

my last week of 2011.

We — Lauren, Kendall, Bethany, Holly and I — celebrated Beth’s 23rd birthday with dinner at Local and drinks at South of Beale, two gastropubs in downtown Memphis.

We — Lauren, Kendall, Bethany, Denise and I — made Mushroom & Lentil Pot Pie with Gouda Biscuit Topping for dinner, which somehow became a three-hour endeavor and one of my favorite nights of winter break. (We also taught Dee to peel and chop carrots and potatoes, which she’d never done before.) I’d add an herb to the biscuit topping if I made the recipe again.

We — my parents, my brother and I — spent the day at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, where we learned about the origins of soul and the rise and fall of Stax Records, and lunched at Sweet Grass Next Door. I’ll take another pimento cheese burger, please!

I read The Death and Life of the Great American School System, Mennonite in a Little Black Dress and The Meanest Doll in the World, the second book in an adorable children’s series about dolls who walk and talk like the rest of us. I also started The Devil All the Time. (I’m a fast reader.)

Mummy and I [re]watched Downton Abbey. Get caught up before the second season premieres!

The entire fam shed tears at War Horse.

Bethany introduced us to her boyfriend Chad, who seems like a keeper to me.

I spent several hours at the Justine office, where I wrote an article on money management, among other things.

(I’m currently fighting the temptation to buy Tory Burch flats, Sorel snowboots, a Patagonia vest, a faux fur vest, a Calphalon pan, a Le Creuset Dutch oven and/or a Burberry coat with my Christmas money. Am I really the one to write an article on money management?)

here’s to a new year of small good things!

…and maybe a couple items off that wishlist, too.