a spring picnic in mom's secret garden...and a recipe

before i left for our voyage magazine england extravaganza i had to take time
to enjoy the apple blossoms in my mom's little orchard...
those apples have provided snacks and brotherly-teasing-ammo for years.
this place is one of my most favorite peaceful refuges.

i wanted a simple little treat to enjoy to take advantage of all the great berries at the market...
so i returned to an old staple: almond cake. click here to get the recipe.

we hope you can join us for a picnic...in london!

The Voyage Magazine team is coming to London, and we want to meet you!
So we're having a picnic. We've got a few surprises for you at the picnic
that we want to share, and we're really looking forward to meeting you
and hearing all about you and your life-journeys.
Marte, Britt, and I have been dreaming and scheming. This. will. be. rad.

RSVP voyagemag2012{at}gmail{dot}com

May can't come soon enough!

what else could you need in life than an autumn picnic, whitman, and good bread?

we finally found a little window to go up to the mountains for a quick little picnic.
i'm working on trimming down my to-do list, trying to liberate myself from things
i think i have to do--like learn a second language. i'd rather have time with ceej in
the autumn mountains. and i'd rather have more time to really work on projects i
truly care about. some day i might have time to learn a second language. but not today.

i'm feeling in a very poetic mood these days: whitman and dickinson in particular.
it's sort of a little tragedy that i never had a course studying either of these poets
while i've been in graduate school...and it doesn't look like it's going to happen
my last summer while i'm in oxford. i'll just have to keep my eyes peeled for the rest
of my life for whitman and/or dickinson classes i can audit some day. some day.

how is autumn where you live? i am quite surprised at how vibrant the colors have
been after a summer of drought. who knew these lovely trees had such a surprise for us?
i'm currently trying to find another day in the remainder of the week to head up for
another picnic lunch. it's just the thing to clear a crowded mind.

when the mountains were too dangerous we headed to the lake for a picnic {part one}

what a dreamy weekend we had. lots of snow fell, which made for cozy nights with friends,

but made for a dangerous backcountry...so no skiing for us. avalanches were too sensitive for our liking.

so we headed out to the great salt lake for an afternoon picnic.

it's amazing how much contrast there is in our landscape:

one minute you can be in the aspens and pines of the snowy mountains,

and the next minute you can be on a desert island surrounded by a salty lake and open skies.

i don't think i'll ever tire of a yellow landscape nudging a blue sky...

nor will i ever tire of the quiet that resides on this island.

for all we knew we were the only ones there enjoying the sun and a good meal together.

you can't beat good bread, good soup, and hot cocoa on a crisp day.

i love little "getaways" like this...escapes into what is real in this world.

food, magic, & hearts

last friday we {marte, mercedes, and i} got together for a little photo shoot

in my wild backyard. after a few hours of working we noticed that 

our brains were slowing down, and our energy was dipping...

so we brought out lunch: bread, cheese, honeycomb, balsamic vinegar, apples, and pears.

i could have this meal all day every day. it never gets old.

we spoke to each other from the heart once

our bellies had some food in them, and our blood sugar was up again.

there were intentions of getting back to work, but the afternoon

was so lovely that we never got around to all of the other fabulous

ideas that had been flowing earlier. it's nice to take advantage

of a lovely fall afternoon with dear friends. 

i will never forget this meal. ever.

this morning i am thinking of magic, and how my heart often aches

for a bit of magic...some days i'm better at creating a magical world

than other days. today is one of those down days

where i ask myself so many questions, trying to get at what is

keeping me from experiencing the hopes and dreams that are in my heart.

i keep listening to interviews with and speeches by this woman. 

she really is quite amazing...and quite inspiring.

so today i'll keep digging into my heart and soul to find a way

to bring a little more magic into my life.

{see marte's post about our picnic here}