Busy Fall Weekend

It is only Wednesday, but it feels as though Blue and I have lived a hundred different lives in the past 7 days. Around this time last week I was shopping in the quaint town of Mason, Michigan while Blue was working. The snow was falling hard and fast making me feel as though for just a moment in time, that my life existed in a snow globe.

In a modern 5 & 10 store, I found the most adorable vintage looking snowman. I could not resist buying him and he quickly set the theme for my kitchen and dining room this year. I had the best time in Mason’s antique district searching for vintage ornaments and other ephemera to complete the vintage holiday look I had envisioned…

This past weekend was busier than normal as we prepared to head out of town for 3 weeks. Spur of the moment; I decided to decorate my kitchen and dining room for the holidays. I just could not leave that snowman sitting wrapped and tucked away in a dark and gloomy shopping bag for long. We will also be gone until after Thanksgiving, so I thought it might be nice to come home to a little bit of a head start on our own merry little Christmas. This is the earliest I have ever decorated and it is normally something I would not even consider, but I am glad I did. Between decorating, packing, and baking a batch of an old family recipe for honey cookies, I was exhausted, but in a good way. I was the kind of exhaustion that brings you the sweetest and most glittery dreams as your head hits the pillow easily finding sleep at night.

On Sunday, Blue and I drove to Pittsburgh to spend time with a good friend “M”while on our way to West Chester, PA. So much has changed since the last time we saw her in the beginning of summer. M has moved from Morgantown, WV to the Outer Banks, to Charleston, SC where she was practically homeless for 3 weeks, to Parkersburg, WV to re-group, and then on to Pittsburgh.

I am not sure I have ever encountered someone quite as fun or free spirited. M, is so young, yet such an old soul, and truly bohemian at heart. I still can not believe she is not yet 21. Reminds me of myself and Blue at that age, only we were just a little less adventurous... Blue kept us grounded…

After a wild whirlwind of a summer, M has settled down to her very first apartment and real job. Blue and I feel so proud of her; she has come so far... still a wild child at heart... but strong now that she is holding/anchoring her own kite string. No longer running from everything including herself... It seems along the way she learned how to pair down and get rid of her extra baggage both tangible and that which she had carried within...

I want and wish the best for her... Wish I had my charcoals and sketch pad. I would like to sketch her as a sea turtle for Christmas... So many more years to go… yet already weathered and wise from the moons many cycles...

Glad we were able to splurge on her a bit… was never done for us at that age, but it made us feel really good to be the people we wished we would have had back then...
So many back home, believe she may fail, little do they know their cruelty will be one of her greatest drives. She doesn't see it yet, but we do... and know from experience that it can be nice to be the butterfly flying above those down below eating crow sometimes.

Pictures from the weekend:
http://picasaweb.google.com/redandblue2/BusyFallWeekend