who else has started planning their spring and summer break?
it’s that time of year for me
not just because summer camp schedules are out and fill up fast but also because by the end of january, i need to start looking forward to warmth and sunshine
there are a few destinations being tossed around for both breaks
we might actually go on spring break as a family of three instead of just Lily and i but there is also a possibility of it just being Lily and i in miami like we have done for the past four years
and summer is a bit trickier this year with Lily wanting to do a month long summer intensive program at her ballet school in order to make it to a pre professional level (she really wants to get into those pointe shoes)
we will see how it all goes
plans are in the works so that is the important part
happy friday friends!
still learning how to play the guitar on her own
i’ve been trying to make art every day
sunday’s rainbows
there are have been a lot of gloomy days. but at least they start off with some sunshine
we have a big house. but this is where i spend most of my time/days. i could probably just live in this room
meal planning for the week on a sunday morning
speaking of sunday… she slept until 10:45
she also grew almost four inches again this year. third year in a row
although i can’t complain too much about winter due to the warm weather we had this week, i’m still going to because we are in the thick of it aren’t we?
and well, winter just depresses me
it’s cold, dark, the trees are bare, there are no flowers, no color… it’s the total opposite of who i am and what i love
but you all know this already
no need to rant about it
happy friday friends!
this past holiday season was a busy one. there was the nutcracker
a girls night out
a little party to put together the music list for new year’s eve
christmas in west virginia
sadly as of three years ago his passing is also part of christmas (and as of this past christmas, his sister’s passing as well)
a trip to st pete florida
new year’s eve
new year’s day
a playdate with an old friend
naps
a visit to winter lights at the arboretum and a farewell to the holiday season
we went to see the movie cats
new year cleansing
back to school
back to ballet
what our wednesdays look like post school, pre gymnastics
my high school friend sent me books he no longer wanted but knew i would love and cherish
new green baby hanging
where i spend most of my days
the beginning of a new art adventure and the sick chronicles
already cheering for spring (sorry not sorry winter)
two years ago (now three years ago) i decided to spend my birthday in los angeles california with one of my oldest girlfriends Connie
this year (now last year) i decided to spend it in st pete florida with my other oldest girlfriend K
sometimes the mom guilt still tries to take over and keep me from doing and going places without my family but when it comes to birthday, spending it somewhere warm, tropical, in the sunshine, with palm trees and near the ocean is my preferred way to spend it
it’s not surprising
i was born in angola, luanda
a warm and tropical place by the sea
happy friday friends!
ps- i’ve been sick all week. sicker than i have been since i had the flu three years ago. so much so that i was convinced that i had the flu again. or pneumonia. so i went to the doctor yesterday. i have neither. i have a nasty virus that is going around that is taking forever to leave. stay healthy!
arrival cocktails
my kind of wall. and floors
the best breakfast i could have asked for on my last day as a 46 year old
we are so close to the end of twenty nineteen and the beginning of twenty twenty
twenty twenty
it seemed like a date that was so futuristic and so far to reach and now here we are
december has become a bit of a crazy month for us since Lily joined the nutcracker with her ballet school a few years ago
extra ballet classes (even on some weekends), nutcracker itself (two performances the week before christmas) and for the second year in a row, she will be participating in the big crafty (this saturday and sunday)
we are busy, busy, busy in december and before we know it, we are in west virginia and it is christmas
although i am always in awe (and complaining) of how quickly time goes by these days, once november comes, i always want to just fast forward to january when everything feels calm once again
everything just feels so overwhelming this time of year
maybe that’s another reason why i love summer so much
happy friday friends!
we spent thanksgiving cooking. just the three of us for the most part. it was great
how we spent black friday
Lily made a delicious mixed berry cobbler mostly all on her own and it was the best i have ever had
she flew in on thanksgiving night and for that we were all thankful. it had been a while
the best mirror is an old friend. twenty eight years and going
a beautiful sunday out and about in town
i was sick and spent a lot of time at home this week. there were rewards though. sunrise
it’s wednesday morning and thanksgiving break has officially begun
it is just a little after 8am, rainy and gloomy, William and Lily went to the gym (she likes to think she can run on the treadmill) and i am just sitting here with a hot cup of coffee brought to me in bed
this hardly ever happens
i am usually the first one up and about but today i decided to just stay in bed, give up control and let them do
it feels good
thanksgiving is tomorrow
we are staying in, cooking, eating and then at night we will be picking up one of my oldest girlfriends from the airport
we have a fun filled weekend planned with her and other friends
i am looking forward to and thankful for all of it
happy thanksgiving friends!
autumn sunrises have been winning lately
autumn inspired home cooked meals
Lily’s birthday celebration continued two weeks after the day
a beautiful and delicious bowl of ramen
more birthday celebrations. this time a one year old’s
keeping up with staying blonde. it had been over six months
autumn colors on an autumn day
decisions, decisions
always finding the sunny spots
what sundays are for
early morning marvel discussions
visiting our friends’ shop downtown and finding new work by one of her favorite local artists
friends, thanksgiving is next week and november is almost over
how? how? how?
too fast, too fast, too fast
this year for the first time ever i think we are spending thanksgiving on our own
this has never happened before since Lily was born
in miami we were always the ones hosting it and since we have lived here, we have gone to west virginia once and spent the others at a neighbor’s house
although a bit strange of a feeling just spending it on our own, we are welcoming the change and the day spent home cooking, watching the parade and best in show
happy friday friends!!
a sleepover with four of her besties
green spaces are my favorite spaces
we found foxy on Lily’s third birthday. which means he has been with us for seven years now
i feel like Lily had the shortest school week ever this week
no school monday (national holiday), no school tuesday (no snow snow day), delayed opening wednesday (weather happened)… good for her but it definitely threw me off my routine a bit
it’s all good though
a whole new week will start in just a few days
tomorrow four of Lily’s closest school friends will come over for a birthday sleepover
it’s part of Lily’s birthday present from us and the last of her birthday celebration
i look forward to having these five girls who have been friends for four years now run around the house
i like to call them “the fab five”
happy friday and happy weekend friends!
my brother turned 39 and i wish i had been with him
took a couple of tries but we finally got the color she wanted
tired morning after our neighborhood halloween party
a halloween double rainbow
halloween twenty fifteen
pretending i still live in florida in my florida room
him too
we’ve had some frosty mornings and these are all gone now
i washed my hair, put on lipstick, a sequined jacket and went out. at night
all the paintings
Lily’s first visit to the orthodontist. looks like braces at twelve years old