busboys & poets.

last weekend was almost too nice to me.

i had a whole saturday with cassie and a whole morning with kimmy. and i had grits. i haven't had those since i moved north. 

over sunday brunch at busboys & poets, we discussed the best lines from forrest gump (sometimes there just aren't enough rocks, anyone?), told funny grandparent stories, and reenacted a photoshoot we had the first time we went to b & p two years ago. 

sweet time with old friends + southern food that i have been missing = just like old times.

lights and lanterns and dragons.

chinatown in dc was exactly how i imagined chinatown in nyc would be. 

...bright lights, red lanterns, maybe even a dragon...

saturday.

a morning walk around capitol hill, 

lunch at eastern market,

 and 

time with friends i love so much.

 

cherry blossoms.

a weekend away took me to the d.c. cherry blossom festival. the blossoms were so puffy and dainty and perfectly pink; i wanted to scoop them up and hold them like snow. be still my heart...

 

rain, sleet, and snow (where'd spring go?)

just when i thought it was time to put my parka away, winter came back. rain, sleet, snow; you name it and it fell from the sky. 

i'm actually pretty happy about this. february is supposedly the snowy month and yet it hardly snowed at all past january, so i never really got closure over winter's end. today i got to say goodbye.

now it can be spring. 

i love

that some books just get better and better every time i read them.  

that i can walk all the way home from work and it will still be daylight.

sending care packages as much as i love receiving them. 

pretty foam on my cappuccino, courtesy of my favorite coffeehouse. 

counting down the days until i get to see the people i am missing so muchly.

knowing that my dad will call me at 8:11 am to wish me a happy day. 

...

and i hope you have a happy day!

xo

happy spring!

springtime has come to new york! here's to long walks in the sunshine, picnics in the park, and leaving home with wet hair that dries in the breeze.

happy spring!

the weekend.

  a saturday spent reading, as much time outside as possible, and lots of good conversations
with friends in between. i have a feeling that this weekend is a preview of others to come.

i close my eyes and think of ireland.

When my mind is heavy and wants to get away for a little while, it goes back to Ireland. That thin, crisp air unlike any I'd ever breathed before....all those shades of green that I didn't know existed....the feeling of time suspended....It was one of those moments in my life that I wished I could bottle, put in my pocket, and bring out whenever I want for the rest of my life. 

sausage, lemon, and chard lasagna.

swiss chard is one of those veggies that i know is good for me (vitamins a, c, and k!), but never know what to do with. however, i recently came across a recipe for sausage, lemon, and chard lasagna, and i will wonder no more. 

it's filling like traditional lasagna, yet lighter thanks to the lemons, and it sort of mirrors where we are in the season right now: it's no longer winter, but it's not quite spring. 

the only thing i'll do differently next time is invite people over to share it. 

fire escapes.

so beautiful and quite functional, too.