Lately.

Hello! I've been a negligent blogger (again). Summer is a busy season for me, in the best possible way. We've been out adventuring, playing, celebrating weddings, and traveling. Here's a glimpse.

Peony season. Is there anything so beautiful?

Date night in the Capital City. 

Captain Leeper on the sailboat.

Giggles with T.

Summer Evenings: Picnic and Swim.

The Golden Hour.

A summer splendor.

A sweet evening sail with my parents. 

Happy Fathers Day.

Whether playing in the snow, sailing on the lake, juggling for a furry audience, goofing with his friends on bikes and at concerts, or providing advice and wisdom to me (and many in Montpelier), I'm proud to have this guy as my dad. xoxo

Lately.

Lately I'm loving gorgeous spring days, playtime with friends, scheming fun surprises for friends, good music, summer planning, and the smell of flowering trees.

River adventures. Leave it to us to show up wearing identical outfits to our best friends. 

Mother's Day Lunch.

Lu supervises the first mow.

Dad. Anchor = Heart.

More friz please!

Sunday Brunch with a view.

My Grandparents' Generation by Faith Shearin

"They are taking so many things with them:
their sewing machines and fine china,

their ability to fold a newspaper
with one hand and swat a fly.

They are taking their rotary telephones,
and fat televisions, and knitting needles,

their cast iron frying pans, and Tupperware.
They are packing away the picnics

and perambulators, the wagons
and church socials. They are wrapped in

lipstick and big band music, dressed
in recipes. Buried with them: bathtubs 

with feet, front porches, dogs without leashes.
These are the people who raised me

and now I am left behind in
a world without paper letters,

a place where the phone 
has grown as eager as a weed.

I am going to miss their attics,
their ordinary coffee, their chicken

fried in lard. I would give anything
to be ten again, up late with them

in that cottage by the river, buying
Marvin Gardens and passing go,

collecting two hundred dollars."

From the Writers Almanac.

Morning in May by Rosalind Brackenbury

"Grass grows in the night
and early the mockingbirds begin
their fleet courtships over puddles,
upon wires, in the new green
of the Spanish limes.

Their white-striped wings flash
as they flirt and dive.
Wind in the chimes pulls music
from the air, the sky's cleared
of its vast complications. 

In the pause before summer,
the wild sprouting of absolutely
everything: hair, nails, the mango's
pale rose pennants, tongues of birds
singing daylong.

Words, even, and sudden embraces,
surprising dreams and things I'd never
imagined, in all these years of living,
one more astonished awakening."

From the Writer's Almanac.

The Stable Song.

I find music to be incredibly powerful, and certain songs I associate strongly with a particular emotion, place, or moment in time. Perhaps the single most powerful song for me in that regard is "The Stable Song" by Gregory Alan Isakov. This song is hauntingly beautiful, peaceful, and calming.

In my last couple years in Steamboat, I had a yoga routine that involved going to 6:30 am yoga classes a couple mornings a week. The Friday yoga teacher regularly played this song as the savasana song at the end of our yoga practice. This song resonated with me immediately and brought me into a sweet state of peace. For the past five or so years, every time I've heard it an immediate sense of peace and calm has washed over me, and nearly brought me to tears. It transforms me to a sweet, gentle place and also reminds me of the young oman I was in 2010: confident, strong, and eager.

Tonight I am going to see Gregory Alan Isakov in concert with my dear friend Kate. Here's to a night of deep breaths, peaceful moments, and sweet tunes!

The Best of Days.

One of the greatest blessings of our life in Vermont has been having the dearest of friends to share the big and little moments of each year. Jenna led the march back to Vermont five years ago, and I followed only 7 months later. We were, obviously, giddy to be neighbors again and to fall back into the routines of our shared youth, while also tackling adulthood side by side. The scary unknown was how well our boyfriends would get along, given that they had only met once before. We now joke that the dudes see even more of each other now than we do. It's literally been one of my biggest joys over the past few years. 

A few weeks ago the four of us got out for a ski day together. The last time all of us were on this lift together, B & I were freshly engaged, and Jenna and Al shared the news with us that they were having a baby (!!!). Life just keeps cruising by, with moments of joy as well as periods of stress and sadness. In every scene, I'm grateful for this crew by my side. xoxo

Progress.

Of Monsters & Men.

A new song from one of my favorite bands of the last couple years! Yahoo.

Lately.

Sunday skiing with Dad.

Teo, Uncle B has some big boots for you to fill!

Spring Sunsets. (thanks, daylight savings!)

Sunday Sessions.

Two nights out in Burlington in one week! Lily Tomlin with Mom, Sister Act Musical with J. 

Both were fabulous.

Bluebird ski day at Killington. Felt like the west!

Gran's amaryllis blooms beautifully. 

Mysteries, Yes by Mary Oliver

"Truly, we live with mysteries too marvelous
to be understood.

How grass can be nourishing in the
mouths of the lambs.
How rivers and stones are forever
in allegiance with gravity,
while we oursevles dream of rising.

How two hands touch and the bonds
will never be broken.
How people come, from delight or the
scars of damage,
to the comfort of a poem.

Let me keep my distance, always, from those
who think they have the answers.

Let me keep company always with those who say
"Look!" and laugh in astonishment,
and bow their heads."

Home Sweet Home.

Today we became homeowners! It still feels surreal, and incredibly exciting. We couldn't be happier with our little house and look forward to all the moments that will follow here. It was a long house hunt, and this was the fifth house we put an offer in on. Here's to the next chapter!

"Hello, sun in my face.
Hello, you who make the morning
and spread it over the fields
and into the faces of the tulips
and the nodding morning glories,
and into the windows of, even, the
miserable and crotchety–

best preacher that ever was,
dear star, that just happens
to be where you are in the universe
to keep us from ever-darkness,
to ease us with warm touching,
to hold us in the great hands of light–
good morning, good morning, good morning.

Watch, now, how I start the day
in happiness, in kindness."

--Mary Oliver, Why I Wake Early

Murder in the City.

Brandi Carlile covering one of my favorite Avett Brothers songs? Yes Please. 

We remember them well.

The first week of March holds significant emotional history for me. I was blessed to have strong and lengthy relationships with each of my grandparents. We shared many sweet memories and moments. My grandparents (all 5 of them!) were each icons, and my grandmothers were dear, dear friends of mine. And in March, I toast to them. 

Five years ago on March 6, Grandmommy passed away.

One year ago on March 7, Gran passed away.

March 8 was Grandaddy's birthday.

I'm filled with love & gratitude for my family.

Say Yes.

At the start of 2015, I set out two "intentions" for the year ahead. First, to do more yoga. My yoga practice has been on and off for the past 10 years or so. In 2014, I did not have a regular practice and I noticed a significant difference in my emotional and physical well being. So this year I want to bring it back into my life. So far, I'd say I've only been partly successful, but it's still helped dramatically.

My second intention: more couponing. Yep, you heard that right. I'm always a big fan of cost savings, through coupons, deal sites, etc. There's an inherent satisfaction to saving money, and it seems like with a little additional effort, we could do some real savings. So far, that's also been a moderate success this year.

A third "intention" has surfaced as the year as evolved, and it's making a dramatic difference in my life. This intention is to "say yes" to everything [or as much as possible]. It's so easy to come up with excuses for things. For opportunities, invitations, adventures, and ideas. To decline an invitation from a friend because the introvert in me wants to have quiet time on the couch, or to decide not to go to a concert because it means staying up late on a weeknight, or to decide not to go on a trip because it will cost too much. Within reason, I'm doing my best to accept the invitations as they come. Let's be clear, I've also had plenty of quiet couch time watching Scandal or reading a book so far this year. But if someone invites me for a night ski, a yoga class, or to meet up after work, I'm trying to be quick to say yes. Because the satisfaction that comes from that will likely greatly outweigh the satisfaction of staying home. And here's the thing. When you say yes to an invite, you are so much more likely to receive another one. A friend who is slow to commit or rare to offer an invite creates a friendship that is harder to maintain. Yes people breed yes people.

It's not just about saying yes to people, either. So far this year, I've said "yes" to a few awesome local concerts. I've said "yes" to the Newport Folk Festival when I saw tickets were selling out fast. I bit the bullet, bought tickets and booked us a bed & breakfast for it. It cost a fortune (see above, bring on the couponing), but the excitement I'm having over crossing a huge item off my life bucket list is worth it ten times over. I've said "yes" to a conference in Austin, to a friends trip in Portland, and to an invitation to stay in a yurt in Big Sur, California. In February I said yes to skiing almost every time the question (self-imposed or friend-imposed or Brett-imposed) arose, and the number of adventures I had on skis that month rivaled the number of days in the month. When the right house presented itself to us, we said a huge yes and put in an offer two days later.

Despite the regular obstacles and challenges that life holds, I feel more powerful, happy and enthusiastic this year than I have perhaps ever before. Am I tired from all this yes-ing? No. I feel invigorated and content. I can't wait to see what other opportunities and invitations present themselves this year for me to "say yes" to soon.

Dawn Revisited by Rita Dove

Imagine you wake up

with a second chance: The blue jay

hawks his pretty wares

and the oak still stands, spreading

glorious shade. If you don't look back,

the future never happens.

How good to rise in sunlight,

in the prodigal smell of biscuits-

eggs and sausage on the grill. 

The whole sky is yours

to write on, blown open

to a blank page. Come on,

shake a leg! You'll never know

who's down there, frying those eggs,

if you don't get up and see. 

Follow up on instagram fun!

As I mentioned recently, I've found a few ways to bring some instagram photos to life around the house. I thought I'd share a few photos of the final products. 

Fun little magnets for me & for gifts

The cover of T's book

the insides!

hi baby t!

The Lone Bellow.

In the deep freeze of February, the Lone Bellow warmed up Burlington big time at Arts Riot last night. They had the audience stomping, singing, laughing & dancing all night long. 

I first heard of the Lone Bellow about 2 years ago thanks to my ever-well-tuned father. At that point, they'd just quit their "real jobs" to pursue their music career in Brooklyn. They made headlines in the NY Times and the radio started picking them up quickly. Always looking to be one step ahead of the curve, I started spreading the word about this new band. When they played a tiny pub at Sugarbush on a Friday afternoon, I missed out but sent my folks and friends to see them there.

Fast forward almost exactly two years, and this band is about to break through big time. They just released their second album, played hits from it on David Letterman and CBS This Morning, and are kicking off their already mostly sold-out tour. I caught them last night at a small venue and brought along my dear friend Kate. They lured us in with their lyrics, made us foot stomp with their beats, and made us laugh with their outrageous impromptu 90s hip hop covers. 

If you have the chance to catch them, enjoy! In the meantime, enjoy the videos posted below and check their album out.

Summer Girl.

This article about the many ways summer camp has  lifelong effect resonated with me big time. It's a bit cheesy but full of "yep" and "me too!" moments. I'm grateful for the many impacts that my summer camp years had on my development, and the dear friends it brought into my life.