Tuesday, April 29, 2014

memories...

i am not a big perfume changer.  i find something i love and i will wear it for years.  i read today that scent and memory are tied together.  i must say i certainly have always felt that way.
when i was a young girl  i wore a scent called sweet honesty.   i remember smelling it many years later and it brought me right back to my locker in high school.
this very week last year my husband and i were on vacation in italy.   while in venice i bought some perfume that i absolutely loved.  it is incredible to me how every time i spray it,  i can honestly close my eyes and feel like i am right back in that city, in that moment.  it has had a profound effect on me,  but that vacation itself had such a profound effect on me.  we had postponed that trip for years and while we were there i truly believe there was some divine intervention where all the stars lined up to make for the most incredible time of our life.  this morning when i sprayed that perfume it truly helped me relive all of the beautiful moments from
one year ago.





we are excited to be planning a new vacation where we will make new memories and i will remember to buy a scent i love that can be tied to new moments.



love sent, xo

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

lists...

i keep lists.  some in notebooks, some on scrap paper, some on old envelopes and some in my head.
there are lists of ingredients for recipes i want to make, list of books i want to read, lists of music i
want to hear.  it goes on and on.  lately i have been making lists of things i am grateful for. i,  of course read that it was a way to be reminded that we always have so much to be grateful for.

my list today was:

1. these early spring days that have been absolutely heavenly.
2.  whispering in bed before falling asleep.
3.  the kindness of my children.
4.  the pots on my windowsill filled with plants for our garden.
all of these things truly make me smile.

last years garden was such a success that i am really looking forward to having one again.  it brought me great pleasure to plant something, watch it grow, and then cook up something spectacular with what we have grown, it brings completeness.  stealing time away from a busy schedule to work in the garden brings peace.  my garden is simple,  it brings me joy. the most prolific vegetable last year was cucumbers.  we ate them by the dozens and they allowed me the joy of making many, many,  jars of pickles to share with my friends.  they will most definitely make it into the garden this year.
i have also now been gifted some blueberry and strawberry plants, we will see how the fruit goes.

the garden reminds me my pleasure of food goes way beyond the plate.

looking forward to another season...



love sent, xo

coffee + love = a great way to start the day.

happy tuesday morning and happy earth day!




love sent, xo

love each step...

our kitchen is the center of our home. the place where food and drink can turn a new lens on some day to day challenges.  i always  appreciate sharing a meal with friends and family.  i enjoy the holiday rituals and getting family together to share the experiences of everyday life.  i especially love  inviting  people into my kitchen to share stories, i believe stories challenge us to remain attentive to the many delights that compliment life's hardships.  hope everyone had a great weekend and a nice easter.


 
 
 
 

best family ever...  i love you guys.  xoxo





love sent, xo

Thursday, April 17, 2014

we have this life...

we have some happy days and some unhappy days, some great loves and barren spaces.  we have this life, this instantaneous blossoming.  will i ever learn not to choose among its moments, will i ever learn to walk both its hollow and hilly lands?

- Ellen Gilchrist, Starcarbon

it’s all connected, all of it: the delight and the sorrow, the experience and the memory, the difficulty fading into the background as the joyful center of an experience moves to the front.  you can’t have one without the other, of that i’m sure.  it’s a bittersweet thing to be reminded of this, it’s something i'm always learning.
we all have a choice in how we face life's challenges, we can see adversity as a brick wall or we can find a way to climb over it. 

i'll keep climbing.


happy thursday.....


love sent, xo

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Friday, April 11, 2014

always trying...

to adapt...

if you scratch the surface of normal everyday,  i am told you can find something richer and more meaningful in everything.  this has been such a long and difficult winter.  i am very much looking forward to brighter days.  i am looking forward to healthier versions of everyone.  i don't regret a single moment of what i am doing it's just that sometimes i feel so alone in it.
then i think of some of the struggles of my super upbeat friend and if she can be fierce,  i can be at least
complaint free.  i look at her and her amazing attitude and i know that is what has kept her going through all of this.  as she comes off her (i have lost count) 8th maybe 9th surgery she still remains positive and grateful. each one of us is always one day closer to the end, some of us may have more information than others but that should never keep us from living.  finding something meaningful in every day even when we are tired and cranky and life seems so unfair, isn't always easy. i like to blog about happy things but you know that life gets in the way and there isn't always just happy. i have been contemplating giving the blog up for a while and the jury is still out. it's especially hard when i have so little time for it. part of me is sure it's time to move on and part of me wants to continue to document the journey. i have certainly been writing less these days, perhaps i will keep thinking on it for a little while longer. in the meantime. i send all my love to my sweet christine - here's to being brave and continuing the fight.




and love sent, xo

Thursday, April 3, 2014

photographer exhibits tribute to wife of 67 years

this was so touching, it will make you cry. a beautiful tribute and a beautiful way to capture a life.





love sent, xo