Life I love you, all is groovy

Time for a photowalk, with images that caught my eye and made me happy today.

Gray morning, after a windy, rainy week, but a few leaves are still clinging on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fuzzies and bright leaves on one branch

 

Would you like an apple, little girl?

The WonderPup, although she makes me happy every day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why, yes, Bliss is spelled Cupcake! And the other sign…Books. Cats. Life is Good. Why, yes it is, especially when you have all those things!

 

I can not properly explain how much I love streets like this!

Top of a birdhouse. I would be pretty darn psyched if I was a bird.

Ha! A rather ineffective sign, it would appear

Free wireless with hookah session. Good to know.

The writing is on the wall. Even if it is a very small wall.

MUST. EAT.HERE.

Side of the wall of the above restaurant

Yes, please. Times 50,000.

Ha!!!!!! You want a piece of me? David’s ear, $29.99 Ha!(my father-in-law, shouldn’t that be van gogh? Double Ha!)

Fresh pita from local, organic ingredients. Just because I can’t eat this doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the awesomeness.

The sign is empty, but still so beautiful!

Thanks for coming on my happy trip today!

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Tales of a weekend getaway

Hubby and I needed a recharging weekend, he’s been very stressed at work, and I needed some relaxing, outdoor time.

I found Pilot Knob Inn, a charming B&B located about two hours away from home, out past Winston-Salem.

Before checking in, we went to Hanging Rock State Park, hiked up to the bouldering field and got to try our first attempt at outdoor bouldering. Now because we didn’t have any bouldering pads or anything, we stayed really low to the ground, so we wouldn’t get hurt if we fell. It was frustrating, because we very much wanted to climb higher and play on the rocks more, but we were suitably wary of broken bones or worse.

The bouldering field was incredible, I described it as a giant’s playground. Huge big rocks, climb a little path and find even more around the corner. We will definitely be going back!

Then we went to check in to our little log cabin!

Isn’t it darling? We completely fell in love with it. It was the honeymoon suite 🙂

Our front porch! We stood out here and watched an awesome thunderstorm.

There were four kittens who lived under our porch. They were happy to sit on the porch with us, but wouldn’t let us pet them. Their mom checked us out, and decided we were mostly harmless.

I love pink kitten feet

Kitten pile!!

Isn’t this peaceful and beautiful? I felt so relaxed staying here.

Our birdhouse at the cabin

Hubby and a pup who lived on the property, love at first sight for both.

A rare mermaid on a bridge sighting

Hubby on swinging bridge

Some of the  yummy fruit spread I had for breakfast today

Today, we drove up to Pilot Mountain.

Then went to a nearby vineyard

I didn’t know there were fast grapes and slow grapes

But even though they are slow grapes, they are hard workers

And they make lovely wines!

And that was our weekend! We came home feeling relaxed and that we had a chance to unwind, and really get away from everything, even though we were only gone for two days.

Hooray for mini getaways!

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Scenes from a Saturday

Lovely day yesterday, wandering around in Wake Forest. We both needed to get out, and away from the house, and not think about wedding stuff or work stuff, and just be back in our lives for a bit.

Lovely flowers at the farmers’ market

More flower love

We stopped at this lovely little coffee shop, that had this fabulous ceiling moose (deer?)

Although he seems a little frazzled, confused and overwhelmed. Kind of like me lately.

COFFEE!!

Fun, cheery walkway up to a fun, cheery studio co-op we visited.

How swoony is this?? This is the classroom in the studio, and they have painting parties once a month. I am definitely going to go to one next month!

In this awesome little bookstore we found. Seriously, a cat in the hat that plays piano and trombone? It might be the one of the best bookstores ever.

Some more happiness from the bookstore.

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Some photos from the Raleigh Flea market

On Saturday, B and I went to the flea market held every weekend on the state fairgrounds to look for furniture and other things for the house. We weren’t looking to buy then, just getting an idea of what we could find there. I brought along my camera, and realized I haven’t been shooting just for fun and the joy of capturing the neat things I see for a long time. Here are some of my favorites from our trip.

Can you lend me a hand?

I might have lost my marbles

The curious case of buttons

I would love to know these boots’ story

The glass one on the left feels like it would open doors to magic worlds

I was so fascinated by these old knobs. And even though I am pretty sure these were all haphazard placements, to me, they said art and beauty.

Guaranteed to never wilt, although they will likely rust

Isn’t that a great truck?

Thanks for looking at the beauty and magic I found at the flea market (and we did find some furniture we fell in love with, too!)

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Laugh till you cry

Friday, B and I went to support our friend Torin, who was performing improv comedy at a local comedy theater in Carrboro. Torin is this wonderfully passionate person, who is always up for learning new things and pushing himself to grow. He had taken an introduction to improvisation class and his class and another introductory level class had their first performances on Friday.

It was amazing watching the different people perform, and cheering on people who were trying something new and scary (in a very public way).

After the first two student performances, there were performances by more advanced students, and then finally, a performance by the owner and some of the other regulars at the theater. The performances were all excellent, the kind where you are laughing so hard, you start crying and your belly aches with it. One of the more advanced students created this awesome evil mastermind — The Evil Doctor of Minor Inconvenience. One of his goals is to raise the water on streets one inch above the drain grates. These people were all seriously talented and hilarious.

It reminded me how much I miss theater. It reminded me that you are never too old to try something new and push yourself in a new direction (there were two people in the introductory classes who were easily 60).

And it reminded me of the cleansing, healing power of deep laughter.

Find something that provokes some laugh-till-you-cry moments this week. You’ll feel better for it.

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Proof that I live in the South now

From the NC State Fair this weekend — where deep frying could be an official sport, I think

I think my arteries clogged and my blood pressure shot up just by taking these pictures and being near so much deep fried-ness.

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photos from my birthday weekend

In a few hours from now, I will turn 31 (at 7:31 a.m. to be specific)

B came down for the weekend and it was such a fun birthday weekend. We went to Wet N Wild water park, we went to play laser tag and go on go-karts with some of my friends, and we went out to the North Carolina coast, played in the waves (water is MUCH warmer than Massachusetts water!) and stayed over in Wilmington, where we wandered the boardwalk and watched the moon from our balcony.

Here are some photos from the weekend, and there will be more posts coming I’m sure, with reflections from 30, things I am looking forward to with 31, and more thoughts on my trip. I didn’t even photo-edit any of these, it was a long, busy weekend, but I wanted to get the pics posted

Me at almost 31

I made a birthday cake. Brian and Mikki decided I need to be frosted as well.

Me and Mikki being silly before going to play laser tag. And because I fully expect B will post this in the comments if I don’t post this here…we played girls vs. boys, and Mikki and I loudly declared that we would kick the boys’ butts. Technically our team won, but B scored almost three times as many points as I did…although I maintain that he cheated…

Me and Mik — one of my very bestest friends. I heart her.

View from the Wilmington river walk

This is Rick, he makes roses from palmetto fronds — they never die, he said. B bought me one and I took pictures of Rick making one.

A door to a bar in Wilmington. I think their warning before you enter is just brilliant.

Sitting on the balcony, on a gorgeous Southern night, enjoying the moon and music filtering up to us from the street below

The Intercoastal Waterway

A drip castle. B had never made one, and for that matter,  he didn’t know what one was. We didn’t make this one, but it was so pretty and perfect, I had to get a picture.

Scenes from the beach

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A visit to the state farmers’ market

Mikki and I went to the state farmers’ market yesterday, what a neat place. The first building we were in had all sorts of antiques and furniture and home decorations and lawn decorations.

If you look closely, you can see me reflected in the ball

Large ornaments for really large christmas trees?

A really big watering can, for really big lawns, perhaps? Oh, and a metal alligator

A really large, and really happy, lawn turtle. I want him.

The biggest c*ck Mikki has seen….

Swoon. I love bottles.

Sad little cherubs

*****

The next building had vendors selling homemade goat cheese, preserves, pies, all sorts of cool things

Mmm coffee

“If it ain’t caffeinated, it ain’t coffee.” Damn straight!

Lovely farm-fresh eggs

Pickled eggs. Don’t know why they are pink…

Acres of fresh strawberries, the kind where the juice just dribbles over your fingers when you take a bite

Gourd art

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I’m here!

Yes, I know, I’ve been a horrible bloggy girl lately. But I think life should be returning a bit more to normal  now, which means more time for bloggly happiness.

I had my mom’s 60th birthday over the weekend and flew up there to celebrate. Leading up to that, I was working tirelessly on a scrapbook for her, which was so much fun. I saw pictures I had never seen before and really enjoyed putting together a visual story of her life. And when I gave her the scrapbook (which she loved!), she told stories that went with the photos, so it was a great bit of her history that I got to hear and learn.

Flying up north for the weekend also meant I got to see B (yay!) and got to play on my beach. How I miss the ocean. I was out for a run, running down streets I have run down for years, breathing in the tangy-salty-cleansing air of the ocean, breathing in life. The ocean is life and breath to me. I felt calm and revitalized just being near it, I felt my brain begin to spin in new creative directions, and words and images began to dance in my head.

Now that I am done with the scrapbook and won’t be traveling for a few weeks, I need to focus my energy on writing and photography and break out my paints and get colorful. A lot of my energy and time has been spent outwardly, giving my creativity and time (willingly, of course) to others, but now I need to do things for me. A good sign that my creativity needs to come out of my head — my dreams have been getting more intense, and I’ve been having more nightmares. It always seems when I stifle the words and images in my head, my nightmares become more frequent and more vivid. I need to make me a priority, make creating for me a priority again.

I have some cool shots from my beach, I will post those later.

Happy Thursday!

Love

The Flying Mermaid

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The feeling inside

Do you have days where you feel like this? Really simple days where you are just walking around, doing things that bring you joy, being silly, going wherever your feet take you? Days where you find an empty swing set just calling to you, days in early February when the sun is shining and the day is warm and filled with fun breezes, days so different from the wintery blustery dreary February days you were used to in New England that it just makes you love where you live? Days where your life feels exactly as it should?

I hope so. And I hope when you have these days, you stop and appreciate them. And I hope you make the time to swing just because it is there and you can feel like  you are flying if you tilt your head all the way back.

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