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.

Date with Dad.

 Sweet fluffy ski turns at Burke Mountain, happy hour at the base, and Van Morrison on the stereo on the way home. When I imagined moving back to Vermont, it was for days like this one. 

friday funnies.

these posters made me laugh quite hard. hope you get a kick out of them, too. click here to see them.

How to make the most of your instagram feed.

It's no secret that my favorite social media is instagram. It feels more personal and "smaller" than the facebook world, and I love the artistic side of capturing/filtering/editing the perfect image. My instagram page captures the little and big moments in my days, and I love both sharing those with others and having them stashed away for myself.

But then what? How do we make the most of that little feed?

I want to share my two favorite ways, each of which comes with a little promo for you.

1. Magnets! What could be better than a little series of magnets on your fridge with some of your favorite snaps? I've been using Sticky9 (formerly stickygram) for a few years. I've only done the classic magnet series, but they've certainly expanded their offerings. You can use my code FRIENDNI49 to save 15% off your order.

2. Books! I discovered Chatbooks in December and have fallen madly in love. I subscribe to an "instagram series" which prints a book every time I hit 60 photos in my feed. You can edit to omit photos (I left out a ton of my early instagram-learning how to use it-photos), choose to include date or captions (or not), and choose your cover shot. I now have 10 books in my collection. They are perfect little books to stash on your shelf, and the best part is that they only cost $6 per book. You can also make a custom book by selecting the specific photos that you would like included- I made one for Teo's first year as well as our wedding as Christmas gifts this year. Plus you can add friends to be contributors and incorporate their photos! I can't say enough awesome things about Chatbooks- and it is incredibly easy to use. You can use my code A4H4Q6AX to get your first book free!

What else is out there that I should know about?

Lately.

recent themes: awesome snow for skiing, the best of friends, a great puppy & the very best husband. i am blessed.

Evening storytime, snuggles and selfies with this little man.

sweet, sweet snow.

birthday week powder skiing. foiled concert plans in boston = weekday morning skiing instead.

cold but awesome.

sunday morning chapel.

puppy love.

9 years of skiing with this guy = my happy place.

A Ski Filled Day.

The best kind of winter weekday is that which starts and ends on skis. Wednesdays are "dog day" at Morse Farm so it's a great day to get out for a ski. I got out for a quick lap before work. Lu came too, but she consistently picks Brett over me as he goes a bit faster with the groomer than I do on skis!

Trail Boss.

Lu leads the pack.

Last night we headed out for a second ski. Temps were warm, wind was mild, and the snow was falling fiercely. We had six people, four dogs, five headlamps, and some awesome fluffy snow. It was so fun to get out with friends for some winter fun. This isn't the best photo, but you get the idea.

the luckiest.

four years ago, i sat at a long long table filled with more than twenty friends who had gathered to celebrate my birthday. i remember thinking to myself, wow. i am loved, and i am so grateful for all of these friends. i may never have this experience again. 

last night we celebrated my birthday with a crew that rivaled this one. four years later, across the country, i was surrounded by more than twenty different friends for a night of skiing, laughing, and pizza & cake consumption. we combined three circles: high school friends, our crew of the past couple years, and several new couples we've met more recently. it was a fabulous success and i can honestly say that even when you think something may never happen again, it can-- in new and fun ways.