“Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.” John Milton I have found that the antidote to most things is gratitude. That is why I love Thanksgiving more than any other holiday, as the loveliest reminder. This year especially,… Continue reading Thoughts on Thankfulness

“Learn the shape of yourself.” -Mary Karr This year, on a personal level, I’ve been thinking about feminism, femininity, women’s rights (human rights), and my identity as a woman (human) in a way I never have before. Many voices, stories, and inspirations–podcasts like Fresh Air, Call Your Girlfriend; interviews with rad ladies like Gloria Steinem,… Continue reading Dear Hillary, Dear America (with Love)

I am a list maker. An avid list maker. I pen lists of everyday tasks, lists of dreams, of things to do, write, learn, read, become. This practice has become an almost involuntary penchant. These catalogs of images and possibilities are like beads on a bracelet, so familiar they seem part of me, like wedding… Continue reading Fragments: Summertime

“You can choose to be there for it. You can put yourself in the way of beauty.” – Cheryl Strayed Last Saturday, I had the privilege of hosting a wedding shower for my sister-in-law (read: sister), Julianna. The space enveloping us was rustic and lovely — burlap and lace lining the tables; chandeliers casting a… Continue reading Cadence

Love turns work into rest. – Teresa of Avila On Saturday, between drying clean dishes and making the windows shine, freshening a vase of flowers and fluffing bed pillows to life in the nearly springtime(!) afternoon light, a phrase entered my mind, and got stuck. Tiny empire. Setting a collection of dusty damp paper towels aside, I leaned down… Continue reading Tiny Empire, at Rest

“You don’t always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go and see what happens.” – Mandy Hale This weekend, our tiny family–boy, girl, pup–took a road trip to Zanesville and came back with a new darling: Rae, a red and white husky, two years and old and in need of a… Continue reading On Dogs and Plans

“When I look back, I am so inspired again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young.” – Maya Angelou When I was in eighth… Continue reading The Unfolding