for dad...

one more day... how can it possibly be that a year has past? a year since i heard your laugh. a year since i felt your hugs. a thanksgiving without you, a christmas, a birthday, an anniversary, a fathers day. so many days i wished we could have shared one more moment.  my heart over flows, i fill my pockets, i fill my memory, i fill my journal, there is simply not enough space to hold all the goodness.  all the stories, all the connections - all the laughter. i miss your laughter so much. the silence deafens.   this is life.  it is all part of life. always counter balancing the good and the bad. how lucky we were to have you for so long but how BIG the void is now that you are gone.  i look for your light when i am fumbling in the dark.  i know you can see us shinning even tho we can't see eachother.   i know you are watching over us helping us through the next chapter.  every single day i miss you. as we get older peoples presence gain importance, family has always been important but it becomes very clear that each day is a gift, a very special gift.  there were so many things i still needed to say. so many things i still needed to ask you.
i miss you the most at unexpected times. like a random tuesday. it surprises me how quickly the emotion wells up.

i still need you.
i still miss you.
and i hope somehow you know that...



love forever, xo

weekending...

                                               images that move me... have a great weekend...

love sent, xo

everydayness...

i woke this morning and remembered i have a lot to do before the end of the week.  i walk through the
house and it's chilly this morning.  just a short time ago a warm breeze was blowing through the open
windows. i worry about my to do list and whether it will all get done.

i stop in the kitchen and look over at some dishes in the sink,  then i walk upstairs and look at the messy bed.   i remind myself - those dishes?  they are evidence of a long savored monday night family dinnner.  and that messy bed ? a reminder that i didn't have to rush today. that i got to savour that extra cup of coffee. it will all get done - eventually.
this house?  people live here.  people who laugh, people who makes messes, people who leave their clothes around. people who are imperfect.   it might be an upside down day but those are good too.

as i look to the immediate future, i remind myself i have a date with a plane in a few short days. a short trip to the sunshine state to hug mom and remind her how amazing and brave she has been this past year. thats where i will focus my energy.   i checked the forecast and it reads sunny and 75 -  i'll take it.


love sent, xo

remember to do nothing...

well, i don't really mean nothing...  i mean avoid anything that has to do with work, or stress, etc..  weekends should be for that.  i think i ate myself through the weekend.   but there are just so many restaurants i need to try and so much food i need to sample... everyone that knows me knows that food is a big deal. i love to cook it, i love to eat it, i love to photograph it.  so, a lot of my free time is involved in those three  things.  saturday morning i decided to make some pumpkin pull apart bread with buttery vanilla glaze.   cinammony, pumpkiny,  heaven.  and  your house will smell amazing.    find the recipe here

after a busy day saturday and being close enough to the peterborough, n.h.  area ... we had to go back to
this restaurant  the web site is lame compared to the place.
a guy at work had told me about it. of all the restaurants i have gone to (and there are a lot) this has to be in the top five, without a doubt.  it is a hidden gem. if you find yourself in the peterborough nh area - try it, you will be glad you did.  of course, minus the red wine bath i got from the poor gentleman seated next to me whose wine went into the air and all over me.  you know it's funny how things happen and he turned out to be the sweetest guy ever.  i felt so bad that he was so upset.  paths cross, people meet, sometimes things fall into your lap, sometimes things fall apart, sometimes things fall together. fall. fall. fall. 

this was my dinner. chiliean crusted swordfish, truly amazing.

and you might have to try dessert.

apple cinnamon creme brulee with caramel apple slices.




the menu changes often.







love sent, xo

more fall..

Source: thehighheeledhostess.com via Trisha on Pinterest

i still love you more than anything in the world....

love, your baby girl.

sugarland was amazing. i have to say tho they missed a few
songs that i wished they had played. but jennifer nettles spirit
is contagious. i love everything about her.. major girl crush here.

love sent, xxoo

smell the crisp air and evening bonfires....

i love fall.... today is already almost half way through my favorite month. there is a change in the air. the transition between summer and fall seems full of possibility. the changing angle of the sun's passage across the sky sheds a new light on everything. a promise of hope...

i'm here now.

car lights illuminate the street before i've figured out what to have for dinner.  it's dark so early.   i pull on a hooded sweatshirt to ward off chills, i take a sip of pumpkin spice and remind myself: i believe in the change of seasons, and the changes in life.

for my friends who love a spicy life.  a perfect simple chili recipe for fall.

debdoozies blue ribbon chili

with 1,300 - 5 star reviews it must be good.

ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt                        
2 1/2 cups tomato sauce
1 (8 ounce) jar salsa  (hot) 
4 tablespoons chili seasoning mix
1 (15 ounce) can light red kidney beans
1 (15 ounce) can dark red kidney beans

directions

1. in a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the ground beef and the onion and saute for 10 minutes, or until meat is browned and onion is tender. drain grease, if desired.

2. add the ground black pepper, garlic salt, tomato sauce, salsa, chili seasoning mix and kidney beans. mix well, reduce heat to low and simmer for at least an hour.

simple.

love sent, xxoo

goals...

i am not a runner.  i am not a gym enthusiast.  but..this summer  i decided to try to be more aware of my exercise regimen, or lack of...
so i signed up for a health miles program at work, and... i have to say that it made me more competitive,
made me want to walk more and encouraged me to be more  aware of my lack of exercise.  so....(big drum roll here) TODAY..  i have to  say that i am as surprised, as most of you will be that... since the beginning of the program which started on July something  --- i have walked 5,000 miles. YES 5,000 miles. 5,000.  come on that is worth a cheer... and for those of you who REALLY know me, you  know this is a HUGE accomplishment...   it has gotten me through some really rough days,  times when i really needed to clear my head... and some times when i really needed to beat the pavement out of frustration.... i  loved it... now i need a new passion for the coming season... cooking???

weekends are for catching...

congratulations michaela !!!!

as exciting as it was for michaela to make keene states lacrosse team.... yeah michaela!!  it meant she had to go back to school early.  but... we managed to enjoy a little bit of time together... a sushi dinner at karma, which is always a big hit.  a shopping  adventure that resulted in a skirt purchase. a teeney tiny skirt.  a couple of great hugs. a visit from katie and tay.  a really, really, happy dog.   it was fleeting,  but we squeezed in a lot.  the weather was so amazing.  we enjoyed warm sunshine.   honey crisp apples. pumpkin ice cream.  fresh flowers. a spontaneous picnic. no jackets.
life is best when it's most surprising.  so happy for you mic.

can't wait to go to your games.

love sent, xo

why it's worth it to keep on hoping... for jpm...

hello friday...

mornings are so dark now. it feels like the middle of the night when i get up.  5:30 is early but light always comes.  the promise of a new day is here.  the weekend is promising to be summerlike.  soak it all up before it's gone.  this weekend i want to crunch leaves, plant bulbs, eat outside, ride my bike and wear flip flops one more time.  i hope the most pressing decision i have to make is which pumpkin to pick.  it wont be long before the colors move in and wrap their arms around us and pull us in closer for winter.  so enjoy this summer like weekend.

love sent, xo

steve jobs dies at 56...

amazing guy...such a huge loss


The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it.   - Steve Jobs -

remember...

there are people who need what you have.  there are things only you can do. words only you can say, comfort only you can offer, art only you can make, worlds only you can change.  the question is... will you?  we all get caught up in "who would think what i have to offer is important" ?  but what we all have to offer is so important.  world changers are ordinary people.  remember, world changers aren't robots, or superheros, or genetically altered humans,  they are people, just like you and me.   xoxo

written by the wonderful
 emily freeman

i want to start every day like this...

via pinterest

i love this photo...

it, alone, would make a man drink...

some of my favorite things...

1.     seriously go to sallys and buy this product.  proclaim professional spray on glosser.  i put it in my hair every day it has a yummy vanilla scent, it makes my day start off right.
2.     the best coffee maker ever- go to walmart and get one.  program your coffee so you wake up to the fresh coffee smell = heaven.
3.     go buy this issue of martha stewart magazine, it has some great ideas and recipes for this wonderful season.
4.     while you are at walmart buying the coffee maker which is really inexpensive,  pick up a composition notebook and some new sharpie pens, they are smooth writing,  no bleed through...
write down all your secret thoughts. write a letter to the one you love.  there are many things that can change a life, a letter is one of them. they are "new"
5.     always a favorite of mine.
6.     my new favorite bra.  it's beautiful and feels so comfortable. VS does it again. buy one here.
7.     daisy - my favorite perfume.  even when i try others,  i always come back to this. my favorite.  maybe you even have free shipping.
8.     my favorite season.

love sent, xxoo

wishing you this kind of a day...