happy halloween!

i hope your day is full of candy and treats, without too many tricks!

today i'm appreciating the festivities of halloween last year, when mol & i won a local costume dance-off as dr. seuss characters. no big costume plans this year- just looking forward to handing out candy!

"May you always be blessed with walls for the wind. A roof for the rain. A warm cup of tea by the fire. Laughter to cheer you. And all that your heart might desire." 

- Irish Blessing

puppylove.

hello there. i'm busy traveling for work this week, but i wanted to stop in and leave you with something to make you smile! i hope everyone is having a great week. xo

happy day, j.

happy birthday to miss jenna. for the first time in nearly a decade, i got to wish her a happy day in person! granted, it was at 6:30 this morning at the gym, so our celebrations were perhaps muted but i anticipate more festivities later.

to my fashion-saavy, magazine-loving, sweet-treat-eating, mountain-climbing, family-loving, zumba-shaking, recipe-finding, kindhearted sister: happy happy day.

here's to a wonderful year ahead [how can it not be, with a beautiful home & a wedding to plan!]. xoxo

sunday.

cozy day.

• coffee & pup time.
• double date brunch at kismet. hopefully a new frequent event.
• the beginning of our next endeavor: goat sitting.
• a bit of work, coupled with good tunes & ginger tea.
• phone time with a lonely pal.
• finally having both of my folks over for dinner!

Source: None via Eliza on Pinterest

hi friends.

sorry for such a quiet week-- i was busy at work, recovering from a cold, and dealing with a sick puppy. fortunately, i'm free from all three this weekend and enjoyed a quiet day. from cuddling the pup while drinking coffee and reading my book to walking in hubbard park to mending jeans with my mom and now getting ready for homemade chicken soup & biscuits with brett-- it's been a lovely saturday.

a few other things i've appreciated during this week--

• a cozy friday night enjoying pizza, cupcakes & finishing last season of grey's with my best girl.
• a 30th anniversary celebration/training at work this week. it was fun and informative, and made me proud to work for gmcr.
• dinner at the kidney house. the kidneys have been my second parents for decades, and kim sure puts together a lovely meal. it's so wonderful to be near them and spend time with them as well as my parents!
• some small yoga practices. there has not been enough yoga in my days lately.
• rainboots.

ilovermont.

home sweet home.

i took this pic on my morning walk with lu to share with some 

of my favorite vermont girls who live far away.

here's a series to follow.

sometimes.

a perfect sunday.

slept in til 9.

coffee & computer time.

a puppy stroll with brett to birchgrove bakery for delicious pastries.

continued walk into town for yoga.

organizing and vacuuming the apartment.

lulu's first hike--  stowe pinnacle with jenna and od!

a dark drive home with apples & chocolate for snacks and this american life in the background.

pulled pork sammies for dinner.

puppy bath.

curling up with a book and sleepytime tea. 

sleepy pup in the sun.

birthday walks.

last week mom & i went for a lovely little stroll up north street. 

meet lupita.

one of the conditions of brett agreeing to move to vermont was that he could get a dog. after a few months of settling into our apartment and forming routines with new jobs, we started looking. last week we brought home lupita (lulu or lupe for short). she's named after one of the guard dogs from the alpaca farm, who was an incredible dog. lulu is a german shorthaired pointer/lab mix. she's about 11 weeks old and weighs 12 pounds. she loves to eat, snuggle, and play. welcome home, lulu!

a visit from steamboat.

nick was one of our first, and best, friends in steamboat. b & i worked with him at the dude ranch where we met, and then we all lived in steamboat together after that. nick's a sweet southern boy with a serious passion for the outdoors. his latest adventure is riding his bike from maine to south carolina. fortunately, vermont happens to be between those two states, so he peddled his wonderful self to our house for a visit. he enjoyed staying dry during some seriously chilly and rainy days as we showed him around town, cooked up some good food (pizza, applesauce, muffins) and caught up on the past 6 months. he's back on his bike now and we hope things go smoothly all the way south!

thanks, steve. 

source.

Fall in Love.

"What you are in love with,
What seizes your imagination, will affect everything.
It will decide
what will get you out of bed in the mornings,
what you will do with your evenings,
how you spend your weekends,
what you read,
who you know,
what breaks your heart,
and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. 

Fall in love, stay in love,
and it will decide everything." 

- Pedro Arrupe

leaves aflutter.

i am loving vermont foliage- the glowing reds and oranges, the variety on the hillsides. 

but i sure do miss those aspen trees in steamboat. 

source.