windows down, music up.

 we took a sunday drive along the river and met sun, sand, and quaint, 

weather-worn cottages, but more on that tomorrow. 

today, the drive itself. windows down, music up, nowhere to be, and

 a riverbank wearing its summer colors. bliss.

the weekend.

hello from virginia!

i've had the most relaxing and indulgent weekend visiting with emory and travis. we've been so lazy, napping a few times each day and venturing out only for a walk to the farmer's market and the cheese shop, and a sunday drive down to york town. all of our energy has been poured into the kitchen and floating from one recipe in em's french cookbook to the next. 

  i don't know if it's the fresh air and wide open spaces, my return to the south, or the comfort of being in the company of my best friend, but something about this weekend has really done me good. 

the people, the food, the feel of life in slow motion--oh, it's been good. so good. 

a postcard

from the reward side of patience.

i've been waiting and waiting for this to bloom. it finally did, just this morning.

...

i'm off to virginia for the holiday weekend. there will be friends, there will be food, there will be laughing until the tears come. and i'll tell you all about it next week.

 happy long weekend!

xo

celebrating.

thursday (because from here i can see the holiday weekend). the opening of sprinkles (because another cupcake shop is just what we need around here). friendship (because a good friend is good to have). wanderlust (because there is so much to see and do in this world). and contentment, too (because here is a good place to be). 

*photos from last night's celebration of friend lindsey's move to spain. goodbyes are never fun, but cupcakes always are.


 

cause for swooning.

one look at what's happening down my street, a little to the right, and just around the bend, and all that rain was worth it.  those flowers (or are they jewels?), that rustic brick path, that worn and well-loved blue watering can...swoon with me, won't you?

better.

for me, glass-bottled coke will always taste like the summer i was nine. i went to work with my dad a lot that summer and we often ate lunch at the hot dog stand down the road. over hot dogs and bottled cokes, we would talk about the day, about my soon-to-be-born baby brother, about how coke tastes better from a glass bottle. 

it's not often that i see coke in a glass bottle anymore, so i buy one whenever i do. i like to see if it still tastes better that way. 

it does. 




...

and what about you? what taste is a memory for you?

the weekend.

this weekend smelled like earth. do you know the smell i mean? the one that follows a long rain and makes the earth smell new again. like fresh dirt and leaves and dew. 

 

    

it was a weekend of renewal. blue sky returned after a week away. my shoulders saw the sun for the first time since summer. the freckles on my nose showed themselves. and i saw a butterfly for the first time this year.

a postcard

from my week's end to yours. 

some familiar faces from around the neighborhood. just for fun. 

down by the river.

the rain is here to stay, it seems, but i don't really mind. rainfall does wonderful things...it freshens 

the air and makes the flowers pop, and i sleep best to the sound of raindrops on my window.

 a walk down by the hudson during the one afternoon this week that the rain let up revealed to 

me riverside park in the spring. with curvy paths, stone steps, and lush gardens, it just might be

 the city's best kept secret.