April 5, 2019

around here. february & march

Claudia around here Asheville, family, home, life, Winter 4 Comments

friends, it is finally april

i have been anxiously waiting for this month for so long

not just because spring is usually in full bloom in april but also because our spring break will finally take place

which means miami

yes we are going back

forth year in a row

this time we are staying the whole week and i am so looking forward to beach time, pool time, sunshine, palm trees, old friends, old hang outs…. i am looking forward to going home

yes, home

after living in miami for almost fifteen years (the longest i have ever lived anywhere), i still consider miami my home

i cannot wait

just one more week…

happy friday friends!

february

all the pretty cardinals

i photographed a small intimate wedding and this was the super sweet bride

walks in the sunshine

these tiny blooms that Lily gave me lasted over a month

afternoon light

march

strawberry crepes in the making

glimpses of light

and rainbows

winter red

this guy we found on the streets of miami six years ago

mirror laughs

an owl by Lily

and an anime mona lisa also by Lily

i started painting a mural in our dining room wall

daffodils from our garden

sunshine

there are now fun things to do in our backyard

i have taken the rainbow makers onto necklace levels. the shop is now open

after school banana/strawberry smoothie, tiger straw and new reading glasses

looking at the cardinals feeding at our feeder

happy april!!!!!

March 8, 2019

around here. january

Claudia around here Asheville, family, home, life, Winter 4 Comments

i once heard that it takes half the time of a relationship to get over that said relationship once it’s over

if that’s true, which i sort of found it to be after my divorce to my first husband, i still have four more years left to get over our break up with miami

i am not going to lie, it has been a struggle

especially during this eternal winter (and the previous ones)

there is still not a lot that sparks joy for me in this town surrounded by mountains

there are days when i curse ever having moved here and i miss everything about miami (minus the humidity and the roaches)

since living in ashveille for the past three years, i have never felt so lonely and depressed (and angry)

sure there are good days

but it truly feels like they don’t outweigh the bad days

regardless, i try to push through and i function

i smile, i parent, i get house chores done…. i do like i’m supposed to and expected to

some days better than others (like all of us i suppose)

that sad feeling deep within me of not being where i want to be never leaves me though

sunny days help lift my mood

but i have realized that i am a tropical girl at heart (regardless of complaining about the humidity when living in miami)

i like tropical greens best

and tropical fruits and foods to go with it

i prefer summer layers to winter layers

i am inspired by (and more motivated by) bright colors rather than the sad browns and greys that surround me for far too long every single year living here

when i visit past miami posts, i am reminded of how full of color and friends our lives were there

family life aside, everything here takes so much effort for me

i am of course the only one who feels this way

both William and Lily are thriving here

and because they are thriving the way they are, it makes the thought of moving selfish and impossible

in the meanwhile i am going to keep trying to just do

and to look forward to those tropical greens and sunshine which are coming for spring break

happy friday friends