Pretty things that greet me when I get ready in the morning.

A sleepy, cuddly puppy that makes it so hard to get out of bed and ready for work.

A new dresser a sweet friend gifted to me to refinish. So excited about that pretty wood grain!

A christmas present to ourselves that we started this week. So far so good!

Pretty wedding anniversary gifts from my hubby.

and finally, inspiration for my runs this weekend

Visit next week for some new refinishing projects and design ideas around the house!

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)

i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)
~e.e cummings

Three years ago today I married my best friend and one of the most amazing men I have been blessed enough to know. I love you more today than I ever could have imagined I could on that day. Happy Anniversary my love.

Lemon’s growing on my lemon tree.

New candles making our home feel warm and cozy.

And a simple, comforting meal on Sunday night. (Recipe Below)

Lemon Garlic Spaghetti – serves 2

4 oz dry spaghetti
1/4 cup grated parmesan
2 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
1/2 lemon
2 tbsp pine nuts
5-6 basil leaves, chiffonaded

First, start your garlic oil. Pour in olive oil and chopped up garlic into a small frying pan and let it cook over low, until the garlic starts to brown on edges. Immediately remove from heat and reserve.

While that’s starting up, boil up some spaghetti.

Chiffonade some basil leaves and combine with cheese and pine nuts in bowl.

Compliment your Sous-Chef (because she is the cutest cook)

Cook your spaghetti to al dente and combine with the garlic oil (including all garlic chunks), cheese mixture and some freshly squeezed lemon juice. Top with freshly ground pepper and enjoy!

Cali certainly did!

(Candles from Target)

Stay tuned for new posts about home diy and art projects, my ever-growing love of cooking and food (and waistline?), fashion, fitness and love. Feels good to be back…

Her passing was very sudden. Very heartbreaking. And it shook me.

I don’t deal with death well. Although, I don’t really know if there is such a thing as dealing with it “well”. But it paralyzes me. I can’t think. It sort of rocks me to my core.

Every time I hear of a Marine being killed in Afghanistan I cry. Not just a few tears, I weep. I do my best to push the thoughts of those I hold dear being lost to the back of my mind. I weap over strangers…I can’t handle loved ones. And it’s not usually my loss that hurts, I just think of how much other people are hurting and I can’t take it.

Since Shirley’s passing all I can think about is Shirley’s husband Tom. They were married almost 50 years. My heart is breaking for this man. I felt the same way I did when my grandmother died, when all I could think about was my Pop-pop. I don’t have children yet, so I don’t fully understand that love. But for me, right now, I feel that the loss of a spouse, your perfect partner in life, is the most painful thing a person can go through. Morbid as it may seem I think about this a lot. John’s a marine…how can I not. I’m not naive.

I apologize. This post is very disjointed. But so are my thoughts.

I guess what I want to say is that there is absolutely no way to prepare for loss, and we all know that. And as mind numbingly painful as it is I think I’d rather have a reason to feel it, a person to feel it for, than to have missed out on the love that connects us so intensely.

We’ll miss you so very much Shirley. My thoughts and prayers are with your family. They, we, love you so.