Morning, v.4

I received the new issue of Kinfolk on Wednesday! It's been resting safely on my coffee table, waiting for the weekend to arrive. This morning, I am curled up on the couch in my pajamas to enjoy this magazine properly with a fresh cup of joe. I am in my happy place.

Did you know that Volume 7 is an ode to ice cream? Yeah. I love these people.

What's makin' me smile...

Fresh coffee in the morning. This music. Sitting on a grassy, sunny lawn during my lunch breaks. Josh's delicious smoothies and a little too much TV. Cooking dinner with our friends. Brave. Quiet days at work and the excitement of an upcoming vacation.

Today I am quiet and content. This summer is promising to be the best summer yet.

Good morning

We overslept today.  I stumbled to the bathroom to mend my matted, pillow-dried hair.  He went straight to the kitchen to brew fresh coffee.  He's my hero.

Here is what I'm listening to this morning:

Aren't they magical?

Blogging to remember.

Have you ever wandered back to your older blog entries?  I read the text and gaze at the photographs, and I remember.  This virtual journal is protecting my otherwise undistinguished memories from slipping away.  That quiet weekend, that sweet storefront, that afternoon coffee with a friend.  Without words, I am prone to forget.  Without photography, those unsung moments begin to lose their color.

A forgotten snow day.

An amazing cup of coffee.

 

Memories of home (and my first ever blog post... yikes!).

Blossoming love for this city.

What do you blog to remember?

Coffee Date

I am home for eight days.  Eight days... is not very long!  The visit is packed with various appointments, some related to wedding planning, some related to health check-ups, and the to-d0 list is extensive!

Today I was able to meet with my best friend, Bethany!  We have been friends since fourth grade!  Though we parted ways after high school, I moving to Illinois and she to Virginia, we still get together over breaks.  We talk for hours while enjoying delicious food.  Delicious food... like the Andes cheesecake we split this afternoon:

Amazing, eh?  Check out this menu!  It took us awhile to choose a drink!

Bethany and I talked for over two and half hours.  It was just what I needed.  She is a phenomenal young woman, a true encouragement, and I treasure her friendship!

 

Here's to friends!

Weekend Snippet

I had a fun weekend, blogging friends.  Friday evening brought scrumptious desserts with my fiance and two friends at the Grand Luxe.  I dedicated Saturday morning to my second-ever photo spree with a rented Nikon D70!  (I took pictures at this adorable, local bookstore.  I will post the rest of the photos soon!)

Before tromping to work on Saturday, I enjoyed this latte and chocolate chip cookie indulgence at Joe's.  And, finally, Sunday afternoon was spent relaxing with my fiance and friends.  We spent nearly the entire day at my fiance's apartment, eating pizza, rearranging furniture, half-heartedly completing minimal amounts of homework, attempting to install Linux on my laptop, and fixedly watching Minority Report.

Life is good.

For once, good Starbucks!

My friend Chloé recently recommended the caramel salted hot chocolate from Starbucks.  Now, I hate Starbucks, but this particular drink sounded too scrumptious to pass up.

I moseyed over to the closest [bad] coffee establishment for some quality homework time.  I read about the pitfalls of "deadly theatre" and the basics of photography, all the while listening to First Aid Kit and sipping my decadent drink.

I devoured the assigned chapters, for I know absolutely nothing about photography!  (All of my photos are taken with a 7.2 Mega pixel, Sony Cyber-shot.)  Tomorrow I am renting a digital SLR from my school.  I can hardly wait to get my hands on it!

To my photographer friends in the blogging world, do you have any advice for me as I fiddle with my first SLR?

Coffee Helps

Another week has come and gone.  Honestly, it all blurs into a state of emotional heaviness.  The classes, chapels, hectic shifts at Panera, walks up and down Chicago Avenue, and occasional naps... processing and grieving the death of a friend is a surreal experience.

A high point of my week was Thursday afternoon.  Josh and I escaped to the Borders on Michigan Avenue for some much-needed time together.

We snatched some travel guides and headed upstairs to the Seattle's Best coffee shop.  Josh ordered an Izze, but I was in desperate need of comfort food.  A caramel latte and a white chocolate, macadamia, toffee cookie (warmed) did the trick!

As I sipped my drink and watched the busyness of the world outside our window, I relished the rest.  Talking, laughing, and planning with Josh is an unspeakable blessing.  We are best friends in the best sense, and I am grateful for his presence in my life.

"When my world is shaking
"Heaven stands
"When my heart is breaking
"I never leave your hands"

This song by J.J. Heller has been a comfort during this trial.  Though plagued by confusion, sorrow, and fear, there is a Rock higher than I, a Savior who loves, a Lion who is victorious.

"We blossom and flourish as leaves on a tree, and wither and perish, but naught changeth Thee."