home | that's where i belong

i woke up this morning thinking of home with paul simon's that's where i belong swimming in my head.
i'm ready to return to autumn: leaves vivid with color and swishing under my every step, pumpkin-spice everything, warm cups of tea, cozy sweaters, practical leather boots.
i'm ready to trade in sunblock, sunburns, and humidity for cool mornings and perfect afternoons.
i'm ready to cool down. i'm ready for routine. i'm ready for home.

i'll miss the sea. that's for sure. am hoping to visit the sea again soon...hopefully in the northwest
where the sea is stormy, moody, cold, and cozy.

tomorrow i'll be home. can't wait.

happy weekend everyone!

i finally took an entire day to clean, and how there are really awesome women in this world

i knew this would happen. i knew that if i started cleaning, really truly cleaning,

that i wouldn't do anything else today. yup. no homework even attempted. 

but i'm sure those pages will eventually get read this weekend.

ceej has been gone a week...i swear i am getting to be a big wimp when it comes to his traveling.

i think one thing i realized this time around is that i'm more of a loner than i thought. true.

thank goodness for women friends across the globe.

this morning i awoke to a lovely and generous email from this ambitious woman who is off to italy today to find beautiful fabric for her amazing clothing line. i swoon for such classy simplicity.

i found comfort in little facebook comments from this brilliant woman who has just returned 

to her second home in england.

and i was quite happy to receive an email from this visionary woman who sees the value and the

beauty of the past.

i just want to have you all over for tea. all of you. because you're all so lovely.

so now my lonely heart isn't so alone anymore, and lucky me,

ceej returns home tonight and we're headed straight to hear beethoven's fifth and faure's pavane.

it should be just what this lonely heart needs (especially now that i have peace of mind that

the house is clean!)

have a happy weekend, dear readers.

christmas is here and how i can't wait for dark to come

we wasted no time getting out the christmas decorations this year.

last year i didn't get to decorate as we were right in the middle

of our move from california to utah...so it's been two years

since i've seen my favorite christmas decorations.

i loved having boxes scattered about, ella singing silent night in the background,

ceej helping me fix my insufficient hanging jobs, and then finally

sitting on the couch together admiring how festive this little home has become.

i really can't wait for evening to come and for the sun to set so we

can turn on all of our pretty little twinkle lights. 

ceej gets to go to europe tomorrow for a week of business meetings in lovely countries...

jealous indeed. but at least i have my pretty little christmas house to console me.

a quiet weekend : a new knitting project to begin

we'll be sticking close to home this weekend. it's nice not to worry about packing anything:

no stuffing sleeping bags into teeny-tiny bags, no figuring out if i'm packing my warm jacket

or my huge puffy coat, no driving in circles trying to find the trailhead...don't get me wrong,

i love all of our adventures, but i'm looking forward to a weekend at home.

lucky for us we can still spend time in the mountains since they're just in our back yard!

this weekend there will be a hike, starting a new knitting project {a sweater!}, 

going to the last farmer's market of the year,

working around the house and yard, and attending friends' wedding {yipee!}

what does your weekend look like?

home and already overwhelmed with how much i love this place

in so many ways i am missing oxford. but for now i am swooning in my mountain desert.

the wild flowers are out like never before thanks to a wet spring and summer,

the farmers' markets are overflowing with heirloom tomatoes and fresh honey butter,

our calendar is quickly filling up with hiking, camping, and cabin-going,

we are thrilled to see friends and family and want a dinner party every night

and a lunch date every afternoon to catch up with everyone.

can't wait to start teaching yoga, teaching piano {yay! more on that later}, and reading and writing

whatever and whenever i feel like it {which is kind of all the time}.

this will always be home, and what a comfort it is.

i'll be spending some time sorting through the hundreds of photos we took

over the past couple of weeks as we traveled through the english countryside

and explored the big city of london. 

very excited to show you what we've been up to, starting tomorrow.

{if you'd like an idea of one of the areas we visited check out marte's fabulous posts here and here}

where i've been : enjoying my new work space and writing to my heart's content

hello there. i've been away taking a little vacation from blogging.
i've been enjoying writing in this workspace that ceej helped me put together...
he built the table, made the pin board and the chalk board...
and there's more furniture he built to show, and there's more on the list to build.

i've been writing and working with photographs.
our writing group's first meeting was this last sunday,
and it's exactly what i needed : inspiration and motivation and support.
i've been going through old polaroids...seriously, remind me why they stopped making this film again?

we go back and forth between winter and spring here.
at the moment winter is sending us her lightest snowy flakes.
hope your week is going well.

pink tile & spring flowers

it's almost been three months since we moved here and into our little home...
i guess this snow-storm we're currently having makes it feel like it's still january.
but i am happy for snow...happy that summer isn't quite here yet.
i am quite in love with our home.
the pink tile in the bathroom is one of my favorite things about it.

i'm off for a date with my mom...watching movies and sipping soup.
happy weekend!

how my picture window and i are quickly falling in love

with all the whirling of settling in a new place,

starting new jobs, learning to play the violin,

beginning piano lessons again, and taking on

the spanish language

i am quickly finding out how much my little picture window

has to offer me...so much beauty...and so much peace.

when i feel my brain start to overflow with

to-do lists, i wander into our living room

and sit myself down on the sofa

(usually with some hot spiced milk)

and i watch the sky change...just as celia jane

used to do out her picture window.

i love it most when there are snowflakes falling

steadily and quietly...hushing my thoughts

and slowing my heart.

i love it too when blue skies reign

and the sun makes rain of the snow on

my roof.

here, i sit and watch the beauties of january,

the snowy and the sunny...the bitter cold,

and the cozy warm.

i think i'll go there now...

i am mightily content with our new home...

i am definitely in love with our new home in utah.

though our home is bare

i have enjoyed drinking tea with friends who have come to say hello

and we have found a strange comfort in hearing the dryer hum

as it warms our bed sheets.

i'm trying to completely embrace the peace in all its simplicity...

as the move has yet to happen.

we are back in california for our last week.

am hoping to head out to the coast

one last time

as the hills are erupting with a spring green.

a holly jolly week full of tiny christmas trees, little anniversary parties, family, friends, gifts, and camping out in our new house

so far, our holiday season has been absolutely lovely.

we celebrated our seventh (yes, seven years!) wedding anniversary with

family, food, a museum, and a little cake and gelato.

mmmm.

christmas was wonderfully busy, hopping from one family to the next...

everyone has been so generous and creative this year.

our little old home has been cozy,

though we have been basically camping out

with all of our things still back in california.

we were quite pleased with our little christmas tree,

hanging by twinkle lights as we do not have a stand for it,

and we adored our one little babushka nesting doll ornament.

today our new washer & dryer arrived...we are finally grown-ups.

slowly, our home will come together

and soon we'll be resting on the couch with a familiar book

and watching the sunlight hit the piano keys.

can't wait!

the snow is falling...i never tire of its wonder.

i love it here.

how have the holidays been in your little world?

hoping you are warm and cozy and spending your days with loved ones.