it rained today.
the good kind where the afternoon sky dims gray and the steady pour of serenading torrents transform our house into a very peaceful state. the power even flickered twice…a tease, of course, because there is nothing better than good afternoon darkness and being forced to stop everything and just be.
just be is where we are this week.
taking some time off to catch up, prepare for my girl’s two-year bash this weekend, clean, rediscover some lost passions, dig up some creative inspiration…because i’ve been so busy.
and while all that busy has been so fulfilling and satisfying–expanding opportunities & experiences to add beautiful notches on the what-i’ve-done-in-life belt–i still need my cozy days to balance it out.
a cozy day it was.
cozy and productive.
the house smells good & clean, its carpets smiling with perfect vacuum lines and all its candle cups replinished with new wax. new wax that flickers as i type. because everything seems better with candles.
and, this is random and totally stream-of-consciousness, but in these past few days of slowing down and reorganizing priorities, i’ve thought a lot about what i want to do this summer. because making lists of what i plan to do completely inspires me.
and, well…what i really want to say is…
i want to paint my bedroom a crazy new color and find new projects in our home.
i want to learn to love a good mint julep because it sounds cool to order a mint julep.
i want to go fishing with brett and impress him with how i can bait a hook like a man.
i want to be one of those people who do laundry on the same days every week and actually follow a load through to putting it away in appropriate spots that don’t include the top of the dryer or a pile on the side of the bed.
i want to go to michigan for a cousin reunion and stay up all night crying and laughing with my soul equivalents.
i want to draw again.
i want to bake. like really bake.
i want to sleep under the stars.
i want to have neighborhood barbeques and block parties.
i want to see a symphony at the philharmonic. and i want my mom to be there with me.
i want to wake up early on a sunday morning and go to the downtown farmer’s market…and bring home good corn and green peppers and ripe tomatoes.
i want to go to a cubs game with my in-laws. oh wait…we are. in july…and i cannot wait to be with them in my favorite city in the world.
i want to make a fresh flower wreath for lainey’s hair.
i want to wear french braids more. and straw hats. and dresses.
i want to get all my friends together, have a huge dress-up beautiful getting-fabulous party and then take them all out to photograph.
i want to host the best lemonade stand this side of the mason dixon line. with fresh-squeezed lemonade. and baked goods. and hand-painted signs.
i want to do karaoke.
i want to repeat our first date…down to every last detail.
see, now i’m inspired already.
i shall save this list, add to it and cross it off one by one.
and i’ll leave it at that, except to say…
two is almost here. and, while i have much on my heart to write about this love a little later…i shall say she is just evolving so beautifully lately into crazy little layers…to the point where i am numbed with adoration and love for this little life i call mine.
(oh adding to the list: i want to stop leaving my lipstick out.)
and i’m so excited to see her and her littles interact this weekend. 1500 ladybugs arrived today…they are sleeping in our refrigerator until saturday when they will awake to join the birthday fun.
our girl is almost two.
be still my ever-growing heart.
~k
Love the music…unfamiliar to me, but like a song my spirit has heard before. Love the vintage look photos of Lainey…soft, subdued, splendid! Can’t wait to see her this weekend.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Lainey love!
xo, Bug’s Gram
I wondered who the first picture was on this post because I thought the legs looked too old. Not wrinkly old, but of like a 5 year old. Then I saw that it was the 2 year old to be! Happy Birthday Sweet LL!! I still can’t believe it!!
I see the lipstick has taken the place of your coffee cups . . . hilarious. Happy happy birthday Lainey – wish I was there . . .
I adore her knees. They are big girl knees..and legs. Sad…but awesome at the same time! I love “little girl” legs about as much as I love “teeny baby legs”.
Happy Birthday Lainey Love! I LOVE your name!
LOVE the list!!1 i know you will be crossing things off that list all summer long…because, you don’t just write what you want to do (like me), you actually do it! love that ’bout you!
so with ya on the candle’s making everything seem a little…better, special.
these pics of lainey are soooooo beautiful. soooo much. love them. can’t wait for the party of the summer this weekend.
I love your list. Are there really people who do laundry on a schedule and put it away afterwards? shit. I unpacked my suitcase on Monday. From my trip that I arrived home from on April 12. Four weeks is actually not the longest amount of time I have lived out of a suitcase post-vacation. Anyway. Um, yeah, I will never be that person. But am totally jealous of them.
Happy happy day, sweet girl.
Love, Montana Auntie
okay. laughing hard on the suitcase. oh, you have no idea how long we leave suitcases out. sometimes i actually pull out clothes from the dryer and PUT them in the suitcase. just to hide them. and, in case you wanted to know, i found a red mitten in my laundry basket today. a mitten. in florida. which means i have not seen the bottom of that laundry basket since december 18th when we went to michigan and i actually used that mitten. and who washes mittens? the laundry basket in our house is a place to put whatever you don’t feel like putting away. and, for the record, roberta…the coffee cups still lurk in all corners. it’s just that lipstick now joins them. one day, i promise, i’m going to become a grown-up.
Your cousins are waiting for you. Please come!!!
Awww, Lainey’s getting so big! I love her boots too!
Happy
Happy
Life
🙂
I did ladybugs one year for middle child — forgot all about that!
Fun
Fun
I like your list! The suitcase is cracking me up. Do you sit on it to try to make it shut so you can put more things into???
Can’t wait to see Lainey on Saturday.
Oh please don’t ever grow up . . .
Now that is what I call setting some goals for yourself…I am very inspired by these and need to do the same…..it is the simple things that matter most.