Vacation in the Desert

If you would have asked me a year ago where I would be for my February mid-winter break, I would have said "Hawaii! For my honeymoon!" When we planned our wedding last year, we decided to delay our tropical honeymoon. An escape during the cold, gray season in Seattle sounded like a better idea than leaving in July. But as winter drew closer, we realized that a trip this year was probably unlikely. I'm sure someday we'll go to Hawaii (we've both never been) but we chose Arizona instead.

Steve had been having dreams of driving through the desert, and I've always been a fan of cactus and sunshine. So that's what we did. We stayed with my grandparents in Mesa, and went to a spring training game. And even though the weather was unusually cool, it was warm enough to sit outside with t-shirts and sunglasses.


The ballpark hotdogs were especially good with jalapenos, so we each had two, and then I had a stomachache (luckily a quick nap on the lawn cured it).


The following day, we took a mini road trip to Tucson and stopped at Saguaro National Park. We picked out a hike that was described in the trail guide as "easy" (it's not like we couldn't have chosen "strenuous" but hey, we were on vacation) and I took a bunch of pictures of plants and cacti.







See? A lot of cacti.
And then I took some video. This is the first time I've used my new camera for capturing video, and it was pretty fun. I decided to edit the clips together because I realized-- these will become our family's home videos some day.
In some ways, this short trip was our delayed honeymoon. It was the first time we had traveled by plane together, just for fun, since we've been married. We ate good food, relaxed and slept, laughed at hair hats and wolf fleeces (only found in Arizona swap meets), and even wrote our initials in the sand. Overall, it was a great vacation.

10 on 10: March

Adjectives

I'm an adjectives girl. And when it comes to design (which I actually know very little about) I like to test my vocabulary and describe the "look" in 1-3 adjectives. When my sister's fiance, Josh came out for the holidays, I think he found this interest of mine a bit strange. Could it be because, as we surveyed wedding vendors, I was constantly trying to define the style I thought he and Robin wanted as "rustic modern" or "tuscan vintage chic?" Yep, I think he thought I was crazy.

But really, it's so easy to feel like a budding designer with all of the informative design blogs out there. Recently, I came across Inspired Design Daily and Linsi Brownson's online home store, Redefine Home. In particular, I find the "shop by style" category to be quite pleasing. Just look at those great adjectives: "casual coastal" "new traditional" and "steampunk lite." Here are some of my favorites (and my best attempt at adjectives) ;)

{industrial}

{farmhouse chic}

{vintage urban graphic? too many adjectives?}

Oh, and have you come across the blog, A Creative Mint? I'm not sure what I love so much about it.

Actually I do. Leslie posts beautiful photos of projects she's working on, designs, artwork...and lots of adjectives.

There's something calming about scrolling through her pretty color palettes and found objects around her home. Talk about finding beauty in everyday things.

Finally, if I lived in New York, I would visit Moomah every day.

From what I understand, Moomah is a cafe, a playspace, a crafting center, and a third place. It was started by Tracey Stewart (wife of Jon Stewart) who writes:
Moomah was created to give parents, children and caregivers an inviting space to nurture creative stimulation, not over-stimulation. The color palette was inspired by nature and the seasons. You won’t find wacky clowns with oversized eyes and primary colors and you won’t be forced to listen to “kids music”. Moomah is a space where both parents and kids can bond over a great song, a fun project or new treat. A place where you can just be together.

I love this idea. In fact, if I were to start a business, this is what I think I would do.

But alas, I'm not a business woman (nor a designer). I'm a teacher who needs to get to bed, so here I go. Wishing you a happy, inspiring, exhilarating, productive, peaceful, blessed day! ;)

Love Songs

It's been a great Valentine's Day. No big reason, except that it was just a great day. I received some cute store bought valentines, one chocolate monkey, and a card that read: To: Mrs. Turdle.

My husband made me dinner, and we drank wine while I forced him to listen to my favorite John Legend songs (inspired by the live performance I saw this weekend in DC). There are a lot of things swimming in my head these days, but I'm just thankful for a day to stop and think about all of the ways we love and are loved.

Because I'm kind of sappy, I've also been finishing my glass of wine while listening to my favorite love songs. I thought I'd share some of them with you. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

10 on 10: February

See tons of beautiful photos, taken by others on the 10th, here.

Reminders

I spent Saturday at Olympic Sculpture Park, jogging and taking photos while Steve-o worked. It was a gorgeous day, and I remembered right away how much I love being near the ocean. I don't see it that often though, since I usually choose nearby Green Lake for my [occasional] runs. Living near Green Lake is great, but the ocean is its own majesty.

My visit also reminded me that Seattle has so many pretty places like this, and that I don't spend enough time outside in them. I think it would be a great goal to revisit one park (preferably with an ocean view) each week. For some reason, I just think it would help me keep a perspective that I need in the midst of a busy work week. This Saturday I couldn't help but think about how large the ocean is, and how small I am (my worries included) in comparison.

This weekend I also happened to read a quote by C.S. Lewis: "We need to be reminded more often than we need to be instructed." I like this. Revelation is not only about learning new concepts or gaining new perspectives. It's sometimes about simply returning to the very things that we've always believed in. God can be found in creation is one of those beliefs for me.

So, I'm hoping that I can spend more time outside, enjoy God's creation, and breathe in some healthy doses of Pacific Ocean air. :)

Seahawks Sunday

It was a beautiful day to cheer for our team...

But all of the cheering in the world couldn't bring us a win. Oh well. Maybe next year?