Heart It

I'm always on the lookout for new ways to save images from around the web-- photos that I like, inspiring rooms, crafty ideas-- whatever catches my eye. I recently happened upon a handy image-bookmarking site. We Heart It lets you save images found on their site as well as elsewhere (this page explains how it works). Unlike saving photos in a folder on your desktop, We Heart It saves source information along with the image. You can see the images I've hearted here (you can tell I've been into photos of homes recently, eh? The transition to fall has that effect.) Let me know if you sign on- we can be contacts in yet another online space!

Update: I'm also trying Vi.sualize.us, which may prove to be better if only for the ease of searching bookmarked images. I'll let you know the verdict!

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photo by flickr user Carlos Porto

Recommended reading: Don't Talk With Your Mouth Full

My friend Holly, a fab cook, a mom to two cool girls, and a great Girl Scout co-leader, has started a food blog. It's witty and educational, and the recipes look tasty (I have yet to make any, but I plan to try the Rice-Stuffed Acorn Squash ASAP.) I've had Holly's food (and beverage) at various parties, and it's always creative and delicious.

Go read about Holly's kitchen conquests and feel inspired! Her blog is here.

evolution

A link floated by early this morning and led me into the world of old blogs- my own abandoned writing, and that of friends and former friends-- the stuff that seems to stick around on these here Internets. Reading just a few paragraphs was enough to remind me of just how different Now is from Then. It brought a wave of gratitude for the love and support in my life these days. The people we surround ourselves with make such an impact on the way we feel about life- I'm thankful to have so many fun, positive, caring people around me. I spent a couple years letting the wrong type of energy in- energy that made me feel insecure, anxious, and cut down. I have the ultimate control over how I feel, but part of that control is in who gets let in. I see that now, and I'm glad for the lessons that kept me moving towards the kind of energy that makes me feel empowered, happy, and loved. It's the kind I hope to create for others, energy that creates good.

My early-to-mid-20s were a time of growth and transition, of mistakes, of asking forgiveness and forgiving, of figuring out what I wanted and what I didn't. They were an important time, and there was plenty of fun among the tougher things, but I wouldn't want to go back. I've held on to the parts of those days that are worth keeping, and left the rest back there. In these late-20s I feel more confident, more grounded, more aware of where I want to go, what I want out of this life, and how I want to make those things happen.

I don't mind looking back and reflecting once in a while, but mostly I like this time and place right here.


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photo 1
photo 2

Farm Flowers

Thoughts on Marriage

With recent engagement announcements (exciting!), upcoming weddings to attend (also exciting!), and our first anniversary on the horizon (exciting and whoa nelly!), I've been thinking a lot about marriage.

We've been married for nearly 11 months. And after 10 years of unmarried togetherness (including 3 years of co-habitation), what's the difference?

Planning our wedding, getting married surrounded by our loved ones, and embarking on this journey has been for us about renewed and fortified commitment to our relationship-- this thing that is bigger than either of us. There is him, there is me, and there is The Marriage. It doesn't shout about it or take up room on the couch; it's a subtle thing, but it's ever-present. We've always been a strong team and we've worked hard at good communication, but by entering into this larger whole our relationship has grown up a bit. Things have shifted in subtle but important ways.

Marriage sometimes (ok, often) gets a bad rap. Ball-and-chain, giving up your freedom, entering a life of boredom, something like prison, blah blah blah. But I've found just the opposite. Marriage, in the way that we've entered it, is freeing. It has freed us to dream big, to plan concretely, to rise above little things that used to butt in. Being boyfriend-girlfriend, and then fiancés, I thought I was feeling the full joy of Us. But that was just a taste. This marriage has brought me a joyfulness I never felt before. Every morning I wake up and see his head next to mine and I am giddy (even if that head is snoring a bit). On top of the love and happiness we've always felt together, there is a new bliss and excitement and I-can't-believe-I-get-to-be-married-to-you joy in our lives. It's not something we take for granted- the marriage deserves our attention and nurturance and gratitude. Things aren't perfect, no way- that would be creepy. We have arguments and grumpy moments and I take bad moods out on him when I shouldn't (working on it...), but we get through to the other side. Above all of it, the little things and the bigger, is our Marriage, enveloping us and elevating us- as a couple and as individuals.

Yes, for us marriage is different. It is the most important thing I've ever been a part of.

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For some good thoughts on marriage:

Meg's Practical Wedding posts on the topic.
Laura Munson's thought-provoking New York Times article on her own marriage and a love that is strong, patient, and unconditional.
Cate's post on how marriage freed her.
Sara's Successful Relationship series is good as well as this post- It's about the Marriage Not the Wedding.

And on the lighter side, Real Simple's answers to "What is the Secret to a Good Marriage?"

p.s. Best wishes to Meg of A Practical Wedding who gets married on Sunday. Her blog brought sanity to my own wedding planning-- I can't wait to read about her wedding experience!



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photo 1 by flickr user h.koppdelaney
photo 2 by Upstate Photographers

Adirondack dreams

On this dreary, rainy, chilly June day at the office I'm dreaming about sunny days on the lake. Just over a month until we head north for sailing, swimming, laying on the beach, sitting by the fire, taking in the stars.

Shooting Stars

A few months ago I had one of those websurfing days where one link led me to another led me to another. I mean, I have those days all the time, but I'm telling you about this one particular time when a friend's Facebook page linked to a memorial page for one of her high school teachers. Something made me click it, which led me to a speech given at SUNY Potsdam by this teacher, Kathleen Sipher. I never knew her, but the text of that speech has stayed with me. You can read the whole thing, entitled A Survivor's Story, here (I recommend it, for sure).

The following bit in particular has popped into my head more than once recently, when I've had to make similar choices (and don't we all, everyday?):

"My husband is a morning person – he gets up promptly every day at 4 am. No alarm clock, no struggle to wake up. I’m definitely not a morning person – I was voted off the breakfast table by my family long before the show Survivor. Anyway, this morning at 4:30, my husband woke me up to tell me about this great meteor show going on. He said he’d seen dozens of meteors and did I want to get up and see it? Well, that bed was so warm and cozy and I was so happily sleeping that I told him to go watch it and tell me about it later. So he went away and I tried to go back to sleep. Then it hit me. I had to pee! Damn! I tried to put it off, to ignore it, but I finally just had to get out of bed to go to the bathroom. And while I was up, I looked out the picture window and saw him sitting in the hot tub and I then I noticed several shooting stars. So, I just gave in, put on my suit, and ran out in the 20-degree cold air to jump into the hot tub. We sat back in the warm water and counted the shooting stars we saw – in 45 minutes we saw over 500. It was absolutely awesome – better than the 4th of July.

So I guess the lesson from this little story is again that you shouldn’t give up happiness for pleasure. Being in that bed was so warm and pleasurable. And I almost gave in to it. But I would have missed an opportunity that is once in a lifetime."
-Kathleen Sipher