new rhythms

As the seasons change, we find ourselves settling into a different kind of rhythm.  The whole house is opened up to the fresh air, and the breeze carries with it the promise of colder months to come.  Leaves change colors, and I pull out sweaters, slippers, and quilts.  Time seems to move more slowly, and we find renewed appreciation for late evening meals filled with the flavors that only the earthiness of fall can bring.

With all this change, our love remains simple.  A board spread over two stools, layered with vintage tablecloths, lit with candles, becomes our table tonight, and hopefully, for many nights to come.  I am grateful for the ease of knowing a partner so well that even when the seasons change, our love stays.  It is an evolving love to be sure, and it feels new at every turn, but it is also so simple.  We eat, we laugh, we savor the moments over food.  We are ourselves, together.

while on a hike

playing with light (no photoshop!)

two tiger swallowtails resting on the moss midday

tree blossoms mid-morning

blossoms early afternoon

hydrangea at dusk

hydrangea at dusk, back-lit by porch light

blossoms at dusk

hydrangea up close at dusk

blossom caught in the rain, early evening

hydrangea in the rain, early evening

hydrangea in the rain, early evening

art show and etsy shop update

Last Wednesday, I had the privilege of participating in RAW Raleigh: Mixology, an art showcase hosted by the national non-profit organization RAW.  It was a fantastic event designed to help aspiring artists promote their work, and I was honored to be selected to participate.  After many long nights working, I was able to pull off the showcase, and update my Etsy shop as a result.  Please check out http://rawartists.org for more information about the showcase.

rediscovering

In the past few weeks, things have been tough around here.  Life is stressful and complicated, and it can be difficult to seek out and hold on to those moments that make it that much easier to wake up each morning.  So, in more recent days, I’ve tried capturing little snapshots of the peaceful moments of life currently: rediscovering my love of creating things and finding solace and tranquility in the simple act of making.

getting ready

I am gearing up for the I Made It Mine! craft fair in Pittsburgh in a few weeks.  As a result, many of my early mornings this weekend have been filled with creating….it’s nice to start off the day with a cup of coffee and sewing.

harvest dinner (or an alternative thanksgiving)

Because we’ll be traveling to Montreal this year for Thanksgiving, we decided to host a harvest dinner, or an alternative Thanksgiving feast before Thanksgiving so we could visit and eat delicious food with the other part of my family.  I spent much time at the farmers market selecting our food for the evening, and we all pitched in to set the table and cook the food.  Here was our menu: curried butternut squash soup—spinach, feta and Israeli couscous salad with red wine vinaigrette—homemade honey oatmeal bread—garlic mashed potatoes—roasted acorn squash with sage butter—steamed green beans—french silk chocolate pie—apple raspberry pie.

photos:

1 paper garland

2 place setting

3 found natural materials

4 table

5 pie crust weaving

6 couscous salad

7 full plates

in the fall

music: “the girl” by city and colour

We spent the past week in Indiana visiting my family, and although it was an adventure getting up there, we greatly appreciated the drop in temperatures, the changing colors of the leaves, and the time spent with loved ones.  After spending evenings outside on the porch drinking wine and eating delicious home-cooked, often locally produced food, I want to instill that sense of calm in our own home in the evenings: even with graduate school, working full time, and other stresses, we should strive to sit down and enjoy the cooler temperatures together, with nothing but our thoughts to keep each other company.  What is your resolution for this fall?

making things

from the week

I thought a lot this week about simplicity.  Given the recent stresses at work, I’ve tried my best to return to the small things in life that make each day memorable rather than another source of exasperation.  In a world surrounded by the new, the “must haves,” and the ever growing temptation to surround oneself with things, it can be difficult to wade in the sea and come up with a single, smooth rock, a piece of polished glass, or a white, unadorned shell.  And yet, in spite of all those voices seen and unseen encouraging me to give in to my desires for more, I find myself seeking the simplest things in life.  I look forward to those mornings when it’s time to start the next batch of bread: when I fit mixing the simple ingredients of salt, sugar, flour, yeast, and ice water into a bowl into my daily morning routine.

or when I find the tiniest tomato just ready to be plucked from the vine, after returning home from a busy day at work.

And then there are the amazingly beautiful things discovered, built by nature, that never cease to inspire: have you ever thought just how simple it is to build one’s home where you currently are, as the spider does, rather than moving along some imagined trajectory of success? As someone who moved nearly every 3 years growing up, I am finding the quiet joy in living in a place and letting myself settle into this life.

But I have found that no matter what each day brings, at the end of the day, there’s always a good book to curl up to, and that is just enough for me.