when the museum was empty : a dance {photos by britt chudleigh}

there's only one thing to do in an empty room filled with light...dance.
sometimes i just can't help myself. my body starts moving, and i find
that i really don't care if the cameras come out and shutters start clicking.
i am completely awkward when someone is trying to take my portrait,
but oh how i don't mind at all if they snap a few photos of me if i am moving,
dancing, laughing, breathing, living.

when i was in elementary school i was quite the tomboy--
in fact, for years i mistook a picture of myself for a picture of my brother.
yep, turns out that was me in my chicago bulls hat, all black t-shirt and b-ball shorts
holding up my quilt (made by my sweet mom) standing near the garden.

i prided myself on the fact that i usually got picked at recess for the b-ball games before many of the boys.
i was good at basketball, and boy was i competitive. i was out there to prove i was stronger, better, faster.
after basketball my interests moved to soccer. and i worked hard at my halfback position, priding myself that i did the most running, the most assisting, and some goal-making as well.

then one day at recess i noticed all of my girlfriends practicing their tour jete's...
and i wanted in.

thankfully my mom agreed to sign me up for ballet lessons almost immediately.
so this 11-year-old tomboy began to try to catch up with her friends who had
been tendu-ing and pirouette-ing since the age of three or four.
perhaps this is when i first began to learn that you're never too old to start something.

however, i was well aware of my lack of skill, and tried hard to advance.
eventually i was placed in a class with some of the older girls
which was a joy to dance with them, and simultaneously agony as i tried to match their skill.

but one of my most favorite things about my dancing years was the atmosphere of the classroom:
our elegant, yet stern, teacher always wore a black leotard with a drapey sweater, and pale peach shoes.
her hair was long, and her movements were exact and graceful.
and then there was our pianist. he could play anything. his classical repertoire was impressive,
and i loved barre exercises thanks to his accompaniment.

nowadays i do wish i would have continued dancing after high school.
i try to find classes here and there to attend, and lately i've been enjoying a
"yoga at the barre" class every tuesday night. it feels good to be graceful and strong.


{photos by britt chudleigh}

traveling with voyage magazine : behind the scenes

things are busy over here as we're gearing up for our trip to england in a few weeks.
sheesh. busy now so we can relax and enjoy our journey together later.
can't wait to be traveling with britt and marte again. these women are solid travel companions.

as i was quickly browsing through the thousands of images from last year's voyage,
i came across these gems--the three of us had this small and lovely museum outside of oslo
almost entirely to ourselves...so what do we do? start playing with light and doing
silly things all in the name of portraits...

maybe tomorrow i'll show you the series of "portraits" britt took of me in this lil' museum.



{things are still under construction around here at age old tree. some day i'll have time to pull it together. thank you so much, as always, for visiting}

walking around a norwegian island | wandering in and out of forests and estates

just a thirty minute train ride outside of oslo is a beautiful little island {moss}
that is a wonderful little place laced with forests, farms, estates, and sea side walks.
we moseyed along all day, finding giddiness in small paths, hidden cafes, and
magical forests carpteted with green and blossoming flowers. norway is basically
a magical place. i definitely will have to return to head up to the highlands.

{still enjoying the shores in hawaii, nursing away my poison ivy. happy to report i finally had a good night's rest last night with minimal itching. hooray!}

oslo : getting there

the first day is always a blur, and, of course, this first day came faster than i could prepare for.

i started talking with marte about coming out to visit her a year ago when she came to visit me, and we had lots of lovely fall picnics. as we talked about traveling the world together i tried to really believe that we would actually do it, and i made a promise to myself to find absolutely no excuses...

a month went by and i started to panic about the cost of a plane ticket. so i went around applying for holiday retail jobs that i really didn't have any time for. luckily, i didn't get hired; but that meant that i didn't have any extra cash either. boo. no excuses...so i just kept talking about the trip like it was really going to happen.

meanwhile, i met britt for tea one morning. i'd only met her once before, but she was easy to talk to, and tea sounded great. as we were talking i mentioned our trip, and she was in. no hesitation. oh man. now it was getting real. i had to get that plane ticket somehow.

i had so many good excuses: no extra money, life was getting busier at home, and i really didn't want to take a full three weeks off of work. that was just too much. but, i kept "pretending" it was really going to happen. so my brain decided to finally kick in, and i resolved to work hard to overcome some annoying inconveniences.

lucky for me, i was able to use some of cj's frequent flyer miles. plane ticket problem solved. i bought the ticket. i was committed. which meant i had to let all of my students and their parents know i was going to be gone an extra three weeks in the spring. lucky again! no one complained.

then, the inevitable hit. what was i doing planning a trip where i would be away from cj for two weeks when i already had to be away from him all summer long. dummy. that's what i thought. but i was in.

thank goodness.

oh ya. and by the way, we decided to move right before my trip. so things got insanely busy, and i really knew i was crazy trying to go on this trip. absolutely looney.

and the final complication: i got incredibly sick days before my departure and had to stay in bed. nothing got done. packing was a joke. ceej definitely packed for me. bless his heart.

we got to the airport. i cried. a lot. it's so hard for me to be away. but off i went.

i had a pretty eventless flight, and an easy layover in amsterdam. but no sleep on the plane for me.

i found britt at the baggage claim in oslo, and we ventured out into a completely foreign world together...luckily we weren't alone for long. marte was almost immediately by our sides.

we locked up our luggage at the train station, and went straight into the heart of the city.
we admired architecture, the port, and a lovely state building (or was it a church? jetlag.).

after roaming the city for a few hours we rode the train out to marte's country home
where we were greeted by her generous family who took us out to the bay to watch the sunset.
we were there. we made it. exhausted. but happy.

i was so relieved to be in a new place with familiar people. what a beautiful combination.

voyage magazine : travel edition

finally. our first edition is here. i'm so proud to be friends and traveling companions with these two women, britt and marte.
their photographs and images are phenomenal. you'll love them.

amongst all the photos are our thoughts on travel, and some
of our favorite travel tips and must-have's.

throughout the week i'll be sharing some outtakes here on my blog. i'll show you more of my photos from norway and italy,
and talk about more travel details. i'm getting a bit wanderlusty
just thinking about it all.

i hope you enjoy it. would love to hear what you think of our first edition.

{there will be two more editions released soon, and they only get better!}

our bellies are happy

i cannot tell you enough of how much i am enjoying spending so much time with marte & britt.
we wander around the forest, the island, and the city taking photographs as we plan
big plans, and encourage each other to be brave and face the dreams that scare us to death.

we have been so well nourished. body and soul. marte and her beautiful mother know
how to keep a belly happy and a heart full. their homes are havens of profound simplicity.
i think marte and yvonne must open up a bed & breakfast together. dreamy indeed.

this has felt like such a home. it will be hard to leave, but i think we will find solace in our
journey to rome tomorrow. there's so much to show you. but, first, i must digest it all.

oslo

we're finally in norway together. this place is beautiful, and full of lovely sites.
it's been incredibly good for my heart to be able to spend so much time with
marte and britt--two very creative, passionate, insightful, and kind women.
how lucky i am to know these two.

our days have been filled with walking, photographing, talking, and eating.
i think i have found my traveling kindred spirits. love these strong women so much.

will try to stop by with more photos now and then.
if you'd like you can stop by our instagram collections here, here, and here.