Kelle, Author at Enjoying the Small Things

where i live.

February 16, 2009 By Kelle

oh, big sigh.
i love where i live.

i seriously just love it. and despite the fact that i get *erked* every now and then because i think people have it too easy here…and where has all the creativity gone…and everthing’s just too new…

…i am reminded…that it doesn’t get any more organic…more pure…more real than…the sea.

we visited that beautiful sea tonight. and every time i’m there it’s such a spiritual experience.

we sat on a blanket. we ate subs and kettle chips and poured wine into white plastic mugs. we donned hooded sweatshirts when it got chilly and pointed out the eerie clouds of sea fog that lurked over the grey water miles away. we played frisbee. we buried our toes into cold white sand and marveled at the kaleidoscope of colors in our own little canvas of local sunset.

we took turns snapping silouette pictures of each other throwing our little binkywinks into the salty sea air.

(and lest you think i have a manly profile, let me clarify that the first one is of daddy and the latter two of the pony-tailed mommy…and can you tell who’s the safety-patrol in the fam? bwah ha ha. daddy keeps her close…and mommy lets her catch some wind).

i wish every one of you could have seen her smile when she landed back in my arms tonight. the way the sunset light danced on her little face. the way her happiness seeped from every little cell of her body. oh…the joy.

we live by the sea. we live by the sea. i tell myself that over and over. and i never want to forget that it’s a beautiful thing.

and at the sea tonight…i felt this tug from my heart. i’m used to it now…this stretching…this ache…a little growth sting. just growing bigger and bigger every day for this blonde little thing i get to call mine. oh, the love. there are no words…but my heart is in the process of taking her in…more and more every day. and i watch her. at the sea. with her big mossy-green eyes and her milky skin. the thin blonde strands of hair that dance in the sea-wind. and i drink her in…the way her skin smells like cookies. the way her cheeks smoosh against mine like they were molded to fit there.

she is grand. and the sea tells me so.

and, p.s.
my little art-form man? (a.k.a.: javier) someone in this house seems to be enjoying positioning him into different forms every day. i walked up to my *nook* tonight and, to my delight, javier was leaping.

oh, javier, how you make me happy.

but not as much as my girl.

sharing my joy tonight. my girl has filled my heart with more than i can hold…so all the excess, i sprinkle throughout. take it. drink it. it’s lainey love…and i promise you…it can do great things.
do you feel the lainey-loveness?

oh, it’s grand.

~xoxo ….enjoying the she-could-be-a-very-marketable-perfume-things. ~k

and they shall wear hats.

February 15, 2009 By Kelle

along the shell-speckled sands of ‘our’ beach just a ways up the road lies one of naples greatest claims to fame…

it’s grand and fancy and, while we don’t frequent it very often, a venture in once and awhile for a drink is…well, lovely.

but today, it was more than lovely. clothed in a thick blanket of sea fog, our beautiful ritz carlton provided the perfect atmosphere for high tea this afternoon where a group of ladies–in hats, mind you –gathered together to wish our friend nicole congratulations on her upcoming nuptials.

high tea in big hats. just a sea of big, fabulous, feathery hats. and this hat lover was more than pleased.

oh, this beautiful, beautiful woman was 101. i want to sit and sip tea in a big hat among beautiful women when i’m 101 too.

and you can’t possibly think i’d escape this opulent bathroom without a self-portrait.

…and then this sweet butterball cheeks of a baby was just begging for some pictures at this, her first high tea. i couldn’t help myself.

congratulations, niki. may your new found happiness be as fabulous as your shower. *xoxo*

oh, valentine.

February 14, 2009 By Kelle

i gotta hand it to hallmark. creating a day all for love? genius.

and in that spirit…the spirit of love…i am loving…

~the return of running. repeated enough consecutive days now that i can call it somewhat consistent. and i have a blister to prove it. a blister, mind you, that could have been avoided had i found some socks. and i realized that blister was evolving at about the sixth repetition of let it rock, the only song which i was permitted to play being that i didn’t know austyn’s ipod passcode to change it. so, i let it rock alright, and from this day forth, i won’t be able to hear that song without thinking of the rhythmic pounding of my feet to the beat, a left toe blister and a very, very chafed right ankle. moral of the story: wear socks.

~the fact that i didn’t have a meltdown when i realized there was no half & half left for my coffee this morning, a discovery that would, under otherwise un-valentiney circumstances warrant a calamitous response…one that involves a crazy night-gowned lady knocking on neighbors’ doors. i’ve done it before. but today’s about love. and i love the ingenuity i brainstormed with some melted old whipped cream.

~watching my wedding reception dvd yesterday and feeling a bit of a throat-tightening…and the reassuring comfort that i married my best friend and that i love him very, very much.

~the interaction her new toddlerhood grants us–everything’s more animated, more thought-out and just so much more enjoyable. she is more than my girl…she’s my little friend.

~my nook. it’s just as good as it looks. my cozy spot i retreat to at the end of the night. such a happy place.

~getting older and all the little pieces of wisdom, of gratitude, of happiness i glean from every experience i’m blessed to call mine. seriously…i think about it all the time. just chiseling away every day to sculpt the best version of me i can.

~girls night last night with a trip to the theater for he’s just not that into you (splendid, by the way) and then retreating to the ale house for some soul cleansing womenfolk chat.

~her dimple which is magically finding more ways to reveal itself these days.

~free “love scroll” from world market which happened to make the most lovely canvas for brett’s valentine letter.

~watching her attempt to blow bubbles yesterday…

~getting valentine packages in the mail from my mom. she sends ’em every year. and, ever since we were little, she has made every little holiday oh so special.