4th of july adventures

Fourth of July was Adam's and my first whole day together since New Years Day. We made the most of it, waking up early to bike to our favorite brunch spot. Afterward we made our way out toward Reading, PA and explored French Creek State Park. The long hike worked up our appetite, and we ended up at an adorable ice cream parlor in the middle of nowhere for dinner. The adventure kept rolling into the next as we explored the rural area full of beautiful farms, old homes, and expansive spaces. God bless America, it was a day well spent. :)

i must have flowers

Hanging out on the Free People blog today as the Monday quote. I find it very appropriate to be modeling for a Monet quote. After all, he's my main man and favorite painter. It's also very true, I must always have flowers. Jana couldn't have picked a better quote to pair me with! Even if you can't see my face :).

memorial day at francis slocum

I always say that people are their at their realist around a campfire. Something about the woods entices the swapping of honesty. We gut out our fears, skin things down to the truth in a way that can't happen elsewhere. 

This past Memorial Day I traveled with a longtime friend to Francis Slocum State Park near Wilkes Barre, PA for just that kind of escape. In the middle of the forest, it was just us two. Cooking up meals, wearing flowers in our hair (and hands). We were just here to see what beautiful things nature had to send our way. The one-on-one time, us and nature, left no room for facades. It was all real. It was all authentic. 

It's rare that you find the right person and situation for such sentiments. There's nothing like some good ole camping with the best friends who get you through life. With all the hectic moving weighing on my mind, lord knows I needed it. Thanks Dani for getting me out of the city and reminding me why I love camping (and you) so much!

untamed

Back from vacation & loving these washed out snaps from Threadsence's spring lookbook, Untamed.

Promise to share photos from the amazing trip soon. So many to wade through!

wissackon hike #2

I went on a hike to Wissackon with my friends Liz & Ellen a couple of Sundays ago. It was just a bit after I had been there with Adam, but between the two visits I saw stark differences in the landscape. It's amazing to see with your own two eyes nature adapting to spring. It happens so fast. Brown turns to green, flowers burst open, and where there was once a dead, dormant feeling, you can again feel life and happiness. Lord knows Marley enjoyed it. After playing in the stream, running up hills, and climbing on fallen trees, we finished things off with some soft serve and boy was it perfect. I.Love.Spring.

recognition, loss, and butterflies

You wouldn't think that there could be so many butterflies in the world. You wouldn't think everything could change in an instant. But there are, and it does. 

At the heart of his paper was the notion that fairy tales relieved us of our need for order and allowed us impossible, irrational desires. Magic was real, that was his thesis. This thesis was at the very center of chaos theory - if the tiniest of actions reverberated throughout the universe in invisible and unexpected ways, changing the weather and the climate, then anything was possible. The girl who sleeps for a hundred years does so because of a single choice to thread a needle. The golden ball that falls down the well rattles the world, changing everything. The bird that drops a feather, the butterfly that moves its wings, all of it drifts across the universe, through the woods, to the other side of the mountain. The dust you breathe in was once breathed out. The person you are, the weather around you, all of it a spell you can't understand or explain. 

I thought about how the familiar imprinted itself on you...I had questioned how it was possible for this man to love me all along, but I had finally begun to understand the reason: I knew him. If he came to me as a bear or a deer, I would still know him. If I were blind, if it was dusk, if a hundred years had passed, I'd still know. That couldn't be taken away, despite ruin, despite time.

If someone had told me of her plan, I could have chased after the car for miles. But it wouldn't have mattered. She had already decided. She took one last moment of care to make certain we wouldn't be hungry when we woke. When she saw the ice she probably felt she was lucky. Maybe that was her final wish. Some luck for once in her life. The life she'd had enough of. When she leaned down to kiss me good-bye maybe I heard it in her voice. She said, Good-bye, my darling girl. It may have been easier to blame myself than to think she would leave us that way. If she came back now, I do think she would know me; she'd still recognize me.

To think, I used to be afraid. I used to run and hide. Now I look upward...I hope what I'm seeing is the ever after. I hope it's you.

--

Above: beautiful excerpts from Alice Hoffman's novel, The Ice Queen, and compositions by me

ridley creek state park: new years day

New Years morning I shot up at 8am. SHIT! I didn't set an alarm. Why did I do that? What did I do last night? Oh that's right, last night was New Years Eve. You partied your heart out and didn't set an alarm because, today, you don't have work. Hell yes. Today is golden.

I rolled back over, and snuggled into my man. We slept for another bit until it was time to pull ourselves out to Broad Street for the Philadelphia Mummer's Day parade. The adventure started there, and it couldn't have been a better day. Every moment was satiating - perfect and meant to be. The type of day where you're so distracted by what you're experiencing that you forget hunger. When food finally hits your lips, your starving and nothing has ever tasted so good. You end the night satisfied and full of joy from a long, well-lived day.

What made New Years Day even better was the fact that I got a whole day with Adam. With his restaurant work schedule, extended time together is a rarity. But part of what makes him my best friend and match is that we enjoy doing the same things. A hike was in order. I wanted to go on a nature adventure, and he found the perfect spot: Ridley Creek State Park.

Ridley Creek State Park

Not only is this park huge, but it's also within reasonable distance of Philadelphia. An easy drive outside the city to Media, PA, and you have a whole day's worth of naturing at your hands. The park boasts over 12 miles of hiking trails, a mansion, plantation, arboretum, creek, running trails, gardens and more.

Minutes from Center City Philadelphia: 35

Be Sure to Check Out: the mansion and it's outdoor areas. It's like stepping into the secret garden!

Favorite Park Characteristic: the size. I've been to state parks where you don't feel far from civilization. Hiking around in this park you felt removed and in the middle of nature.

Hidden Gem: a decrepit building in the middle of the arboretum. Tree's and Hercules-size vines have taken over. A sign of warning reads, "these old building ruins have early American charm, they also have 20th century hazard. Look from a distance, reminisce if you will. But please, stay out, for your own safety."

I would go back for: the plantation. It was closed on New Years day but it looked very peaceful. From afar I could see a beautiful barn with pastures up on a hill. 

Visit Ridley Creek State Park!