{a new year}

To a new year:

May it be one of learning, and of bringing our new experiences home.

May we stop trying so hard to be cool, 

and start just being good - to ourselves, and to others.

May we realize the light around us, 

but not feel so bad when we let the storm clouds linger a while.

And, may we spend time loving those people and places we already have, 

but also take time to open our hearts to those new ones just around the corner.

To the next 365 days,

may they, and we, be the best yet.

xo.

welcome!

Huh.

It seems even December has an iphone 

these days...

Welcome back, old friend.

xo. B.

tunes-day. {the band}

It makes no difference how many times or in what context I hear this song; it always conjures memories of being slow danced in circles around my university boyfriend's living room. He told me it was the most romantic song ever written - and I believed him.  '

And, you know what? I still do.

It's been more than five years since our last waltz, but each time I hear this chorus I think of him with a smile on my lips and a warm glow in my nostalgic heart.

This is for you, D.

xo. B.

{a sweetslice of my new city.}

It's been just over two months since I landed in the big smoke. I've found a job and an apartment. I've met new friends and reconnected with old ones. And, each and every day I learn something new and surprising - not only about the city, but often about myself. I try not to look at the city as a whole, but as a collection of neighborhoods. Feel like something new on a Monday? Hop on the streetcar for twenty minutes and upon disembarking find yourself in a whole new city. Bored on a Thursday? New adventures are just a subway ride away!

See? It's not so scary here!

xo. B.

{day off - pay off: a day for me.}

Finally. A day off that didn't involve mile long to-do lists, the spending of money I'm only starting to make, and the organizing of a somewhat still in-transition life. This would be a day for me. For eating and walking, for seeing and smelling. A day for making friends with my new neighborhood.

So I ate, and I walked. I saw, and I smelled.

Breakfast. My one true love. Here it comes with giant bottles of water, cinnamon laced coffee, mountains of fresh fruit, and yogurt so creamy it melts on your tongue.

The Market. The bustling yet somehow calming streets where cars bow down to bicycles, and the pedestrian reigns. I fill my canvas bags with fruits and veggies, fresh bagels and cheese. I smile at the eccentrics on the corner and tuck a new vintage scarf into my purse.

Yes, that is indeed the light of the cheese gods shining down on Mendel's Creamery.
$2 wheel of brie, anybody?

The park. Green grass and leaves of orange and yellow. Children squealing with laughter while dogs run circles around them. I ride my bike along the paths and breathe in the crisp fall air, wondering if the city has indeed melted away outside the borders of this place.

I'm not sure I could have asked for a more perfect day.

You hear that, Sunday? That's a challenge.

xo. B.

{sweet slice... in the city.}

Ok. I'm back.

This time for reals.

xo. B.

{thanking you.}

Hey.

It's been awhile, I know.

But, today seemed like a good day to check in and say thank you.

For family, for friends, for good food and for this new adventure before me.

For the sweet slices.

{here}

Be back soon.

xo. B.