mini break

January means interim or J-term at the school where Daniel and I work, and it's tiring and busy and endless.... until now!  It just ended!  Celebration is in order, so off we go to Chicago.  The new semester will start Monday, so we have to live it up while we can...
Generally when we take trips anywhere we try to do a lot while still allowing time for wandering (my favorite thing to do in life, really.  I wander through grocery stores, libraries, bookstores, books, knitting projects, recipes, blogs, my neighborhood, my workday... It's way better than charging through or power walking or stopping all-together).  Here's my list for this time:

• see brother Edward at his Hyde Park apt.
• Probably I'll hit TJ's
• Spend as much time and money as I'm allowed at the Chicago French Market.  Oo la la!  With vendors selling local grass-fed meat, cheeses, truffles, bread, wines... the list goes on! I won't be able to drag myself away.

• Ikram's annual sample sale... not that I afford anything anyways.  But I have an excuse to take a look!
• Maybe this movie at this theater.
• Try Longman and Eagle Gastropub (2657 North Kedzie Ave.) with it's 60 bourbons and daily menu based on local goods.

17 Degrees

17 degrees F is the "high" for today.  When I walked to my lunchtime yoga class all the way across campus, my face started hurting.  The very bright side of this is the sun is out and it's most welcome!  For today, I wish I was wearing these Plush tights...  They are fleece lined and look amazingly warm without being super bulky.

GReat City

I've lived in lots of different cities, and I have say, there's a lot to like about Grand Rapids.  And it just got better.  The lovely and creative Joy'l of Papernest Designs is planning an amazing event called GR Unveiled for this March 11th.  This is a local-artists/businesses wedding show that will be stunning.  I can't wait to go - and not just because my very very favorite Michigan company, Palazzolo's Gelato, will be there with samples.  The vendor list is amazing (and if you are local to Michigan and are interested in joining, please do so here!!), and it's connecting the dots for brides and grooms who want their special day to be rooted in a sense of place and celebration within the community here.

When Daniel and I married in 2006, I would have LOVED to have a resource like this show.  We wanted so much to have a personal wedding reflective of the place we call our home, and I think we did.  It took some work though.  When planning an event like a wedding, the possibilities are not only endless but mind-boggling.  Apart from finances, where do the limits begin?  All these ideas about perfection get thrown around in ways I'd never imagined.  This is why I love the idea of a "locavore" wedding.  Geographically limiting your options can be a great starting point, and imagine if even half the couples celebrating their unity did this this year... Michigan's economy would feel the difference!  Plus, a good place is like a good family: perfect in its imperfections.  Like, while I would have loved to have orchids all over for my flowers, the lavender my neighbor grew and let me buy in bulk was so lovely.  Now, the smell of lavender blooming every summer by my front door reminds me of the warm night air, the glowing lights, and the feel of Daniel's linen suit under my fingers as we danced at our wedding. 

(a VERY blurry picture - sorry!)

New year, new beauties, new mercies

Hi friends. It's been a while since I've blogged. I'm resolved to do this a LOT more. Here's my reason: I love blogs. I cannot tell you how many times a blog has made my day. My favorite blogs remind of the beauty of everyday life and the little tender mercies that await me at every turn. We all live our respective life just focused on what's in front of us... the prison on the urgent. But blogs allow me to see life through someone else's eyes for just a snapshot. So, I am committed to looking for the beautiful in my own life and sharing those finds with you via this space.

To start off...
Lonny Magazine may just begin to fill the Domino Magazine shaped-hole left in my brain... It's online only and WONDERFUL.
Two amazing etsy finds that I want to put on my walls as promises to myself...

This

And This

The winter blues are hitting hard around here - despite a little break in the cold (it was almost 40 yesterday!).  The grey skies, dark mornings and afternoons, lack of green scenery, cold corners in the house, salty pant-hems, dirty snow... I'm on the hunt for light, warmth, color, brightness, and shorter pants!