every day

the original intent of this blog was to post every day, or at least often, to keep searching and acknowledging beauty around me. but sometimes i go for ages without posting, and i think it's because i worry that it has to be something "big" enough. i want to impress you, make an impact with the profound beauty of whatever i'm posting. but that's a little silly, because it's all in the eye of the beholder, isn't it? even the tiniest, most fleeting moments can be breathtaking.

so in that spirit of simplicity, i came across this print today, and stopped. it's sort of perfect. it caught my eye in a moment where i was already filled with gratitude and an urge to explore and expand, and even though it's small, i want it to be the beautiful thing today.

j and i are leaving for belize on monday for two weeks, so i definitely won't be posting much (if at all) while we're gone, but when we come back, i'm getting back on the loveliness-blogging-wagon, even if occasionally my entries are just little tidbits.

love,
j

perspective

all day i've been feeling the dread creep up behind me; the realization that these lovely ten days are drawing to a close, and i'll be back at work tomorrow.

and then something shifted. i spent the day with family: j and i visited grandma g, then grandma lolo, and finally while he was at work i popped over to my parents' house, had a glass of wine, and played sorry. and driving home tonight, i made the very intentional decision to abandon that dread, and instead embrace gratitude.

we filled the break with lots of "to-do's" and appointments, working on ma's house with her, seeing family, spending time with friends in town, running errands. and it was splendid. it was like a mini honeymoon. i miss seeing my husband all the time, and i can enumerate all the benefits of our current schedule, but i had no idea how much i'd appreciate a week filled with mr. cafferty.

so, with only twenty-eight days (just about exactly) until we hop on a plane for our real honeymoon to belize, i'm giving thanks for the "just practicing" vacation we were given.

and i can even feel a little excitement to see my kids sneaking around the corners...

love,
j

ringing in the new year

 
happy new year!

after working for eight hours in the restaurant last night, we realized that there was no way we were going to make it to the new year's party we'd planned on attending. there wasn't a cab in sight, we weren't able to leave the restaurant until well after eleven, and my feet already ached from wearing sparkling enzo heels all night. so we hopped in the car, drove over to the park behind the reservoir, and watched the fireworks and kissed, all wrapped up in a blanket we found in the car. and although there wasn't any real glitz or glamour (other than in my shoes), it was absolutely perfect.

2011 was the best year of my life, but i'm realizing each year only gets better. this year, i've got three resolutions:

1. i want to be an even better wife. i want to learn to pick my battles, because almost none of them really matter fifteen minutes later. i want to be more patient. i want to live in love.
2. i want to finish making our condo feel like home. i want it to feel cohesive and put together, and i want to keep it cleaner and more organized all the time.
3. i want to always be working on a project of my own, whether a painting, or hopefully grad school, or another specific goal.

words don't begin to express how lucky i am. i'm married to my soulmate, surrounded by beautiful people, and live in my favorite city in the world. this year, i want to settle into my good fortune; really cherish it and begin to build in it. here's to the best year ever (yet)...

love,
j