all is calm, all is bright

Christmas this year felt really significant and special.
Part of this was the 12 Days of Christmas we did, which I documented pretty throughly on Twitter. And part was this video that Cameron made for me and showed me on Christmas morning. He took some of the video clips we've shot over the years on hikes, day trips, road trips, and vacations and compiled them into the perfect time capsule of some of our best memories. It means so much to me. I hope you might enjoy it too.

(*Update: the link was broken yesterday because the video was private. It should be fixed now above, or click here to watch.)

Adventures featured in the video include:
Palm Springs, CA
The Ace Hotel & Swim Club, Palm Springs, CA
Timpanogos Cave National Monument, UT
Zion National Park, UT
Bryce Canyon National Park, UT
Goblin Valley State Park, UT
Las Vegas, NV

Everybody's Well. Everybody's Busy. Best Regards.

Well, friends. It's been awhile.

The thing is, I miss blogging. I miss journaling in some form that is not 140 characters - though admittedly, I am fond of no website more than I am fond of my Twitter.

Here's what's happened since we last gathered here. I moved to Tacoma and just became overwhelmed. My life became a whole lot of lot...more lot than I knew what to do with! More than I still know what to do with. More lot than I know how to blog. More amazing, and more exciting, and more anxiety inducing, and more taxing, and more heartbreaking, and more get-me-out-into-this-world-because-it's-so-beautiful-I-can-hardly-stand-it!!! There's been a lot of that.

These two postcards from the Tacoma Public Library historical archives have been on my mind a lot as I have thought about returning to this blog. There are no two truer sentiments I can offer you:
"You'll Like Tacoma"
You will. Cameron and I love it here. We can't wait to show it off. So often, we are giddy over what we get to see and do on a daily basis. It feels like just the right place for us at the right time.
"Everybody's Well. Everybody's Busy. Best Regards."
Doesn't that just hit the nail right on the head?
(The back of this postcard just kills me. From the archived transcript: "Dear Friend, You might think I'm dead but not yet. I felt awfully sorry when I got your card that you whir [sic] not coming in that I waited so long it is hard for me to come out on account of the men. Hattie went home Friday write soon. Emma (? written on top upside down)")

I'm going to try to start blogging again, and may be tinkering with format and content over the next few weeks to find what works. Today I revisited this post that I wrote at the beginning of 2011. This was a big year for me! I accomplished some significant goals that I had been working toward for years. I spent more time thinking about and working on self improvement than I ever have before. Those New Years resolutions? Most of them, I worked on year round, continuously setting goals for myself and refining them. What better time than the close of this life-changing year, when I have time off work and am spending all my days in celebration and reflection as it is, to revisit all of 2011's adventures and blog about them?

My posts might not be chronological, they might be wordless, they might be in the form of lists, they might be themed. I might be the world's biggest fan of the Internet, so I'd hope for this to be one of the places I can share my loves with you and you, too, can be surprised and delighted by all of the wonders the World Wide Web can spin. One thing that does feel right to me is that I'd like to focus on finishing a few posts on my pre-Washington life before I dive into my Washington life. In my head, I'm thinking of it as a wrap-up in these last few weeks of 2011 and a re-launch at the beginning of 2012. I've even been toying with the idea of a redesign or an entirely new blog to symbolize this transition. How fancy!

it's not goodbye, it's just goodbye

I suppose it's high time to make the official announcement (even though if you read this blog, you probably already know it) - Cameron and I are moving to Tacoma, Washington in June! We are so thrilled to take on this new adventure. We've been plotting for a big change of some sort for several years, and the way all of the little details have so easily and seamlessly come together for this opportunity has been almost uncanny. It's involved a lot of luck, but when I really think about it, it's also the result of years and years of planning. (For example, my friend Juli pointed out this blog post to me yesterday that I wrote in June 2009. It actually freaked me out a little bit how much of that post foretold the future, and how I've been subconsciously gathering little bits of life plans through my addiction to the internet and squirreling them away for future use. Yes, it was written at a time when I had my sights on Nashville, not Tacoma; I'm not a fortune teller!)

Thus, a slow and steady goodbye to Salt Lake City has been taking place in my mental and physical space for awhile now. I've taken it in small doses and little moments, really drinking it up. Soaking in the mountain vistas from any point in the city, particularly on my drive to work. Visiting treasured neighborhoods from my recent past (read: Sugarhouse.) Eating out at favorite restaurants as often as I can, and accumulating last bites and last looks.

Yesterday was seventy and sunny and could not have been a more perfect day to make a symbolic farewell. I started the day with a walk around my neighborhood, a location I have not taken for granted and have stuck with for a shocking four years on what I had intended to be a six month lease. My undying love for this southwesterly corner of the Avenues and bordering Temple Square and downtown Salt Lake City is deeply ingrained.








All photos within a block of my apartment: Some favorite apartments across the street; Said apartments in view of Temple Square; Continuing down the street; Favorite red apartment building; Neighborhood Market on corner of 1st and State; Neighborhood Market in view of Temple; park on corner of 2nd and State; view up 1st with our apartment in center (and peek of mountains); 2nd Ave with view of Capitol; downtown view from park on 2nd; view of Temple Square from our apartment lot; back view of our building.

Cameron and I then picked up lunch to go at Caputo's and had a picnic on the Capitol lawn, drove out to the Great Saltair, then spent hours and hours at the Great Salt Lake marina and on the beaches of the desert lake. I waded out into the water and just stood there alone watching the sailboats, and the sunset, and the Oquirrh Mountains, then Antelope Island, then the Wasatch Mountains, then Cameron sitting on the sand doing Sudoku with the Saltair behind him, and repeat. I probably looked like a nut, but it was so peaceful, and so perfect.

I'd like to post pictures on this here blog as often as I can leading up to the move, but I will probably be light on the words, heavy on the photos and keep my thoughts to myself. It's so important to me to close personal chapters with inner gratitude and grace, and that's always too much to express with words.

(In a nice bit of symmetry, the bulk of the next couple of weeks will be spent in my true home state, Virginia, visiting with new eyes and celebrating the wedding of my sister! So I hope to share photos not just of my current-but-soon-to-be-former home, but also my childhood-and-in-many-ways-heart home, as well as my couldn't-be-more-excited-for-the-future home, Washington!)

spring awakening

Knowing full well that this would be my last weekend in many, many weeks (more accurately, months) to spend at home without being frantically busy, I milked this weekend for all the relaxation and restoration I could get. I found it is not difficult to find inspiration for this in a cat household where the glorious spring sunlight is just beginning to stream through your windows. Cats know exactly what to do with a patch of sunlight and a warm bed. So we lounged around a lot together, I read books and magazines, the internet, and watched a marathon of Parks and Recreation. I also got my hair trimmed, bought myself an indulgent two bouquets of ranunculus to spruce up the apartment, made an amazing Easter brunch, and downloaded Instagram.

I went to the gym at my alma mater just as the sun was setting, and it was so beautiful it almost made my little heart burst. I've been feeling so much gratitude and happiness for the life I've made, and just about elation for what's to come! I'll pop in here and share the little bits as much as I can in the coming months, but if I'm unable to very often or at all, I wanted to put this out there so I can remember what it was like to feel rested and restored.

p.s. If you know the details of the upcoming events of which I speak, please use discretion when speaking of them until I am able to make an "official" announcement on the world wide web. I know I am being overly cautious, but the internet is searchable :)

27 candles

I celebrated my 27th birthday this week. Being 27 has a nice, slow, adult rhythm to it that I appreciate. It feels like a year that holds all the possibility and rewards of 27 years of well-laid plans. And boy, do I have plans.

Ingredients for a simply lovely birthday:
-breakfast with Cameron at The Bakery (me: breakfast croissant, him: cinnamon bread french toast)
-a very special workday, attending a luncheon and conference with the president of the foundation I work for. This woman is an inspiration, and it was an honor to meet her and hear her speak.
-flowers artfully delivered to my office during the one hour I happened to be there in between said luncheon and conference (well played, Cameron)
-dinner at Caffe Molise (me: polpette di melanzane (eggplant "meatballs," asparagus, polenta), him: seafood special)
-treats from Hatch Family Chocolates, the neighborhood confectioners (who apparently have a TV show, The Little Chocolatiers? Who knew?)

Cameron made me a map to illustrate my birthday gift: a kayaking and camping trip on the Great Salt Lake. If that sounds like deja vu, it's because this little plan has been cooking since birthday 2009. It remains postponed but realistic. It has continued to snow every single day this week, but at the first sign of sunny skies, we are setting forth on our little lake adventure. I could not be more excited!

Activities to wrap up birthday weekend:
-dinner with my mom at The Tin Angel Cafe (me: quinoa timbal (veggies, swiss chard, quinoa, feta cheese, bulgar wheat pilaf), her: Moroccan spiced shrimp with farfalle pasta)
-full-on popcorn movie treatment at the megaplex to see Hanna!
-attending the How To Train Your Dragon birthday party of one of my favorite four-year-olds