Month: April 2011

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on missing before you leave

We push open our creaky garden door, duck our heads to fit under the stone entrance, and step into the periwinkle smell of lilacs and the breeze of the neighbors' barbeque. Walker closes the gate and the robin that inhabits our compost heap flaps up in a rush. We are home for the next three and half weeks. Behind the everyday walks to the grocery, the moments when I lean over to smell the blossoms, there is always a tinge of loss, knowing we'll be leaving this place soon, knowing it is silly to…

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the wedding and the windows

As promised, I'm handing you shorter posts from here on out. Life is full. Everyday, I wake up and scoot over to Walker's side of the bed and make sure he's still real. I listen to the gossip girl gulls outside, I look to see if there are sun patterns on the stone wall, and if there are, I wake up an ounce faster. I go through my days gathering instants in a big wicker basket to share with you as we pass on the street. Here's what I'm handing out today, little instants I've loved. Blueberry Rhub…

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hotelsnooping

True story: I once called Walker ‘Walk-Dawg’ before we were dating. He took it well. I’m wrapping up our latest Europe trip here today, so I thought I'd throw a little snoop-dawg into our Europe trip. So, then. Here's something you don't know about me. I love hotels. I mean, I really love staying in hotels, reading about hotels, and wheeling my suitcase into a fresh hotel. I love the smell of the hallways, and pulling back crisp sheets. I love not making the bed and reading the flavors of soap c…

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chocolate and cows (hello, belgium)

After a four-hour train ride from Amsterdam, we pulled our suitcases off the platform in yet another new country, regretting our 6th hotel switch and 9th city of the trip. Into a taxi we went, and pulled onto a motorway as ordinary as peanut butter. In the words of Charlie Brown: good grief. But, we were wrong. We pulled into a city that I can’t wait to mosey around again here on the blog. For starters, we stayed in the historic house of a stained-glass artist. Around the corner, and just about…

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he's a rockstar

Really. (Walker, circa 2005). He's made the blog too cool for school. Check out the social media buttons chilling up there, the new contact page, and the joint-effort header. Rocker Walker strikes again, and I'm just proud as a mama hen that our blog is levitating, even if its little bloggy wings are from Walker. Which reminds me. I always wonder what the best antonym of levitate is? Sink and descend are just a let down;). I want to talk about ups and downs, so let's just say kitchen sink for t…

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the city with the famous airport

The word that strikes instant adrenaline into any traveler’s heart? Schipol. We’ve spent a fat-apple-pie-slice of our married life in the Amsterdam-Schipol Airport, the layover destination of choice for Delta. When Walker suggested that we stay in Amsterdam for a few days after his parents left from our Italy trip, I braced for a world that I only knew by the airport. Instead, we flew into an evening land of twinkling canals, copious windows, and stately canal homes. It's pretty! I actually lik…

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7,000,000 and storing

This place is seriously enchanted. My mom often reminds me that beauty, the most refreshing instants of life, can be stored up. When those times of routine and boredom and monotony seem to fill your days, that’s when you bring back the refreshing times. Remembering these is a form of renewal, enjoying the beauty in a fresh way, in light of new circumstances. The idea is similar to Wordsworth’s spots of time, moments that seem significant and monumental, that, coming back to, you appreciate in …

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When in Rome

We're being woken by birds and sunshine these days, and walking through weather almost as warm as Italy. Here it is, over a week since we've been back from our travels. No joke, we're only about halfway through the photos. If you've missed them, check out our latest travels here: Overview of all 9 cities Sorrento Pompeii Amalfi Coast Mozzarella factory Florence and Tuscany (and a couple in-betweeners here and here.) Rome is an epic destination, with pagan, Biblical and early Christian history…

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oh joy! the beach

Yesterday, my bare feet in the cool sand and sun filtering through the dunes, I learned against Walker and said I’d remember these hours as some of the best in Scotland. I’m telling you, I was giddy in the endless supply of sea air, the scent of warmed sand. Our faces are a little pinker, our shoes silted with sand, and our lungs a little tired today after the fullness of yesterday. When the sun is shining in St Andrews, there is only one place to go, and we were there. The beach. We’re talking …

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Blossoming

Here it's all pinks, magentas, yellows, and whites above, and I'm loving walking under the falling teardrop petals. I'm taking the rest of the weekend off blogging to enjoy this place. Enjoy yours, too!…