Inspiration

I needed some positive inspiration today. That desk and that window delivered some of my best writings. I'm trying to recapture that feeling. Or at least recreate it in some form for today.

My grandpa made that desk for my 13th birthday. It's heavier than heavy, is cracked on the side, has a little pull-out writing board, 3 drawers and little bar to rest your feet. The top drawer still has the little label that he made with the date and a "Love Grandpa" It now sits upstairs, in it's original home, with Kira as it's new owner. It still houses random pens, papers, notes, junk. It still does it's job. Maybe I need to actually sit down at that desk itself, pull it's creative powers from within.

And that window... that was my first apartment that was all mine. No roommates, no boyfriend, no mom, just me. And I loved it. It was a place that I could just be. I sat in that chair and stared out that window with complex thoughts or nothing at all at time. It really was a haven for me.

I am itching to recall that feeling. I'm wanting to create something. I'm needing some movement of some form in my life. Maybe I'll start by sitting at that desk and looking out the window...

Lucky in Love

I re-did the photos on our fridge today for under $3!! Thank you Target and your easy peasy photo printing!

In deciding what I wanted up there I realized how lucky in love and friendship I am. It made me a bit teary putting them up there, I just love my life so much. And there are more photos that, after the fact, I realized I want up there. I need a bigger fridge. :)

The upper right corner was in Paris. And while we were there, for many reasons, I fell for Chuck all over again.
The upper left corner was the 4 of us at the Fair last summer. Lily kissed me on the cheek without any prompt.
There are 2 photos one year apart of Chuck and his best and oldest friends from Tucson.
There is what I affectionately call "The 3 Amigos", me, my BFF Ryan and Chuck. Hilarity ensues whenever we are together.
There is a photo from 2 years ago at my friend Laura's wedding with my closest friends from college.
There are some great photos of the girls, the are just growing into such beautiful people.

I need a photo from my mama's wedding, I need a photo of one of my best girls, Lynn, I need a photo from my trip to Costa Rica. I love photos on the fridge, we look at it every day, it should be filled with joy.

A Space

With this gloomy weather, I'm really itching to be in this spot. With a good cup of coffee and all the time in the world to sit and write and think and create.

This was taken in Paris at the Shakespeare and Company Bookstore. One of my favorite stops of the trip. Maybe I just want to be in Paris again (who wouldn't??) Maybe I'm itching to travel, maybe I'm just wanting a creative space to call my own. But this picture brings back such a good feeling to me. Some day, I'll go back there and really will spend a day at that desk and write. It's now on my Life List.

World Traveler

So I went to Paris over the new year.

And then went to Coast Rica 3 days after I got home from Paris.

How is that my life?

Many many uncountable thanks to my mama for the tickets to Paris! It was a trip of a life time! So much delicious wine, so many sights, such a calm city with enough bistros to fill the streets of Minneapolis 3 times over. We did the Louvre, the Arc de Triumphe, saw Jim Morrison's grave (which was lame but the cemetery itself was pretty sweet,) saw the Eiffel Tower which is much cooler at night, found a quaint little bookstore that was stacked in every nook and cranny with books, went into Notre Dame with enough time to get a few photos before it closed, put a lock on the Lovers Bridge which was one of my favorite moments, went into the Catacombs, napped, drank, wandered the streets, even watched the last Viking's game in a Canadian bar. It was truly an awesome trip!

And Costa Rica! I won the trip with my company last June and in terms of my career, it was life changing. I was in the heart of our business and saw the whole process. I picked coffee cherries right off the plant, saw the whole process at the mill, met the workers, it was an amazing experience. The spirit that is on that mountain is something that I will hold in my heart for a very long time. It felt so honest and real and long, like a sense of accomplishment and hard work and pride is in the soil and it gets deep in the bones of those that live there. I took so much of that trip to heart and back into my work ethic. I am forever grateful for that opportunity.

And ever since those 2 trips, my life seems lame. Ha, not really. But what a way to start off 2014! I am quite lucky.