weekly gratitude // 10

i am grateful for:

that feeling i get when i look around our house and realize that it's turning into a home

spring flowers in abundance

secret projects for a dear friend's baby

solo nights watching movies of my choice

finally having a place to display my collection of vintage kitchen wares

day long cookouts in the boys' backyard

the excitement of my parents visiting

still being head over heals in love with the man of my dreams

succulents

text messages sent from my brother

a job that makes me happy

chambray shirts

dreaming big about traveling to europe in 5 years

a straight A semester

//

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buy something pretty.  keep your promises.  enjoy your glass of wine.

dear // amy butler

"i'm going to make a gross overstatement but you are the reason i ever started quilting."

-me to amy freaking butler 

every year for christmas my grandma has sewn every member of our family a pillow case.  i have a stack of them, each made specifically for me, on a shelf in my apartment.  one year my grandma paid tribute to our mutual love of paisley prints and picked out a beautiful orange and pink pattern for my pillow case.  i immediately had to know the designer of such beautiful fabric.  my grandma informed me that it was amy butler.  the rest, as they say, is history.  since that first pillow case fabric i've fallen deeper in love.  

//

thank you for being the sweetest and nicest lady i always imagined you to be.  thank you for sitting there and gabbing with me, signing a card for my mom, and taking a photo with me.  

my mom couldn't be more proud that i've chosen you as my hero.  you're the bees knees.

//

geek out.  allow yourself to be starstruck.  use your words. 

crying feels good sometimes

all week i've been on the verge of crying.  every time i look at the news, talk to a friend from boston or think about the memories i made while i lived there tears well up in my eyes.  

being productive at work this week has proven to be a difficult task.  attempting to keep my head in the right space is impossible when it's clearly somewhere else.  

tonight, jared went over to his sisters house to play some music with john, giving me the house all to myself.  now, i'm not shy.  i don't feel like i need to hide my tears from anyone, least of all j, but this just feels so internal.  so personal.  

it's so difficult to explain.  to process.  to detach from.  

when things go strikingly awry in other countries i feel sadness.  when those same things happen in my country i feel violated.  when those same things happen in a city that i am so familiar with i have found myself stricken with the heaviest heart i've ever known. 

i want to take every person in my arms for a hug.  shake the hand of every officer.  smile at every stranger.  

until i have the opportunity to do each of those things with true and honest conviction i will be practicing here in denver.

i've found it increasingly difficult to keep my chin up this week so last night j and i lay in bed telling one another what makes us happy, gives up hope, and fills us with gratitude.  it was a small practice in a lifelong pursuit of love, grace, and happiness.

tonight however, i've allowed every emotion of the week to wash over me.  

heartache. pain. disbelief. faith. vengeance. compassion. nervousness. love. 

crying feels good sometimes.

i sure do miss you.

//

"so, give me hope in the darkness that i will see the light.  cause oh they gave me such a fright.  cause i will hold as long as you like.  just promise me we'll be alright."  

//

hug one another.  let it go.  start over. 

boston i love you

for those of you who aren't familiar with my story:

nearly 6 years ago i met a guy, fell in love, and moved to boston (this of course is an oversimplification but for the sake of not reliving the past half a decade of my life it will work).

 i had dreamed of visiting boston for years.

the idea of finally not only visiting but making it my home was overwhelmingly intense but i graciously accepted the challenge.  

i instantly fell in love with the city.

i spent my afternoons wandering the streets, popping in and out of little shops, and eating lunch on the docks behind the intercontinental hotel.  

i found corners of that city that i felt were all mine.  places that no one else in all of boston could have found. could have loved half as much as i loved them.

i was in heaven. 

the first job i took was in copley square. a half a block away from the public library. around the corner from the boston marathon finish line.  

i think about boston nearly every day.  every single day.

i think about the decisions that i made to get there and the life that i lead while wandering around.

i wasn't happy with a lot of things about my life at the time but i found happiness in my love for the city.

ask those who visited me while i lived there and they will tell you that i loved showing off boston.  i could talk about the place for hours.  sometimes i still do.

right now all i can do is attempt to hold back tears while i stand in an empty salon and watch the news unfold about the explosions at the marathon finish line.

i will be the first to admit that my love affair with boston has never been smooth but i have never once spoken ill of her.  (the people that inhabit her; well that's another issue all together.)

 

 

boston my darling,

i hope you heal quickly. 

you really were my first big city love.

and, i cannot wait to visit you once again.  

i took these photos while i lived there.  

the second to last photo is of my mom sitting at my favorite place in the whole world, overlooking the bay. 

//

 

hug the city you love the most.  embrace the possibility.  remember it fondly. 

we went on a hike

//

we took a hike the other weekend while we were on our mini vacation.  hanging lake proved to be a silly little thing.  the hike started off dry, quite warm and manageable.  only a quarter of the way in and it got chilly, snow/slush covered and tricky.  we managed.  we conquered.  we got there.

colorado never fails to make me happy, even on the strangest of hikes.

thanks for trekking around with me j.  i'm glad you love this place as much as i do.

//

be the change.  put away your phone.  eat ice cream for dinner.

happiness celebration

nearly a year ago jared and i went on our first date. (woah!!)

to celebrate a year of being happy together we headed up to glenwood springs, co for a short weekend getaway.  we were only away for 50 hours but it proved to be just enough time to relax, laugh, and enjoy ourselves.


we had originally decided to go to glenwood springs because the train ride from denver to there is supposed to be one of the most beautiful in the country. but, when tickets for the train doubled in a matter of weeks we opted to keep planning a trip out west anyway.
the added bonus being that we were now able to makes stops at our favorite places along the way.

we left town late friday morning after much hemming hawing on both of our sides.  the drive west on i-70 is one of my favorites in the country (and i've driven across most of it).  the views that you get to experience are absolutely beautiful.  i didn't grow up in colorado but whenever i drive through the mountains i feel like i've come home.  the kind of home that you find later in life and never want to leave.  the mountains have always managed to wrap their big accepting arms so snuggly around me.

 we spent the afternoon in downtown glenwood springs meandering in and out of books shops, eating ice cream, and holding hands.

the weekend was full of happiness and love.  my favorite way to spend my weekends with him.

//

celebrate happiness.  buy some flowers.  bake a cake.

saturday dates

bridget and i had planned on a rainy afternoon loungin' on my couch but when it became clear that the clouds looming overhead were not going to produce any moisture we set out to explore our city.  

south broadway. humble pie. tattered cover. glass elevator rides. 

our afternoons never disappoint.

//

we found a great little spot on top of a parking garage.  standing at a new place in a city that i've been in for over 2 years was a neat experience.  taking in a different perspective of a place that's become so familiar felt magical.  

i've been lucky enough lately to see more of bridget than i have in a while.  there's just something about finding a friend that you can do anything with.  our conversations always seem to have a lightness about them even when we're talking about heavier things.  simply put bridget: i totally dig the ease of our friendship.