a note to self:

that life is good.

lately things have been a bit nutsy. mister got a new job that required him to learn everything there is to know about fancy food and wine, so this past week he was studying every second that he was not working. (but he did pass his test!) and my work schedule is always pretty insane, so we only saw each other in passing and really late at night. that on top of the fact that pretty much everyone i know is going through something really difficult right now... it's all given me a heavy heart and (i hate to say it) a cynical taste in my mouth this past week. (and i really dislike cynicism.)

but today i woke up, made my coffee, opened all of the windows and was flooded with thankfulness. life is hard, yes. but it is also good. how many times must i learn the lesson that pain and joy can coexist? hard doesn't always mean bad. we were never promised a easy life. in fact, let's be honest... an easy life sounds kind of dull.

so today, in the face of difficulty and ambiguity, i am thankful for:

my education. (and the beauties who i got it with.)

a husband who can handle my crazy and bring me back to sanity.

iron & wine and their new album.

modern family.

that i get to work here, in this cute little cottage, and not in some cubicle or office building somewhere.

the idea that i get to fly back to swaziland and hug on these little beauties this summer.

double-stuffed oreos and peanut-butter.

french-pressed coffee.

the sunshine.

and the grace of a God who doesn't expect me to be perfect, just loving.

ciao bella.

this is my baby sister leah.

she is tall and gorgeous. she has style to kill. she is smart and incredibly driven. she's a fantastic story teller. she is a fantastic photographer. she is hilarious (always has been.)

and today she leaves to study abroad in florence for the semester.

my jealously is only curbed by my excitement for her and the adventures she is going to have and the people she is going to meet and the beauty she is going to take in and the food she is going to consume.

follow her blog postcards from italy to live vicariously through her. i know that's what i'll be doing.

this weekend.

it's thursday, which is my friday.

since last thursday i've gotten to spend a considerable amount of time with a good handful of my girlfriends. that was so needed. (thank you allie, amy, marina, marissa, elyse and leah.)

the sun is shining again and it's reminiscent of summer and feels oh so good.

and i'm diggin' my outfit today, which feels shallow to say but hey! it's adding to my good mood.

this weekend will include (but is not limited to):

• wine and grey's anatomy with the crew.
• getting my nails done with my baby sister.
• attending an "all-american" themed bbq for her, since she leaves for a semester in florence on monday.
• husband leading worship at my church. (i still swoon when i hear him sing.)
• laying in the sun and reading "the girl who played with fire."
• a breakfast burrito picnic at the park with my love.
• cleaning. finally. (this is not a chore, i love to clean.)

dear weekend, thank you for coming so quickly and being filled with so much potential loveliness. ready or not, here i come.

p.s. last weekend i rode bikes with allie. it was the first time i'd gotten on a bike since a very traumatic mountain biking experience a few years ago (husband would say i'm being dramatic) so needless to say i was petrified. turns out, riding bikes might be the best thing in the world. i've been obsessed with building my own with urban outfitters. click here to spend hours making every color combo of cute bikes imaginable. so fun. now i've definitely got something to save my pennies for... (that, and a coachella ticket... mmm..)

mlk jr.

‎"I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word." -MLK, Jr.

preach it.

living with a boy.

thanks to my dear college roommates i have a constant stream of "friends" quotes running through my head at pretty much all times. i seem to be able to conjure up one for every situation in life.

today i'm thinking about when monica and chandler are moving in together and it's rachel's last night in the apartment. she's all packed up and about to move out and they are all crying and monica says "and now you have to leave, and i have to live with a boy!"

well friends, i've lived with a plethora of beautiful ladies in my life. from living and sharing a bathroom with 30+ girls in the dorms, to an apartment we called the womb with my 4 soulmates. one summer i lived with 7 other girls for two months in a tent made out old sailboat sails on the shores of catalina island, and another time i lived with 3 other girls in a trailer that the university tastefully called a "mod." i've lived in vietnam with vietnamese women and in pink vietnamese hotels with girl teammates. even growing up my poor father was outnumber by my mother, sister and i.

some of the girls on 5th south, circa 2005.

my wombies. photo circa 2008

my hotel roomie the summer of '08, miss erica.

the little pearl, my vietnamese host sister.

baby sister leah and i, circa 1994.

miss marina, one of my catalina tent roomies summer of '07.

(photo by promise tangeman.)

i've lived with amazing girls, smart girls, creative girls, super clean girls, messier girls, funny girls, responsible girls, loud girls, quiet girls, silly girls, serious girls... yet none of that prepared me for having to live with a boy for the rest of my life.

while we really are having great fun getting to know each other as roommates and figuring out how to live together, here's a fun little list of some of the differences i've observed.

• the change piles. for a while it would really perplex me why i'd find little piles of coins placed around the house, or loose change scattered on the floor in front of the closet. then one day i realized! boys don't carry purses and their wallets don't have change compartments, so they just put it in their pockets only to be set out on the counter or the coffee table later.
• everything is a musical instrument. this may not be a boy thing as much as it's a chad thing, but let me tell you... that boy can make some sort of rhythm on anything.
• xbox. living with girls all my life i've never really experienced the xbox. sure we had a wii (that actually belonged to chad) and we played freetetris.org like no one's business, but never shoot-em-up kind of games. now, however, it is not uncommon for me to go to bed to the sounds of gunfire against zombies.
• this conversation. erin: "what are you thinking right now?" chad: "nothing." erin: "seriously? you can't be thinking nothing." chad: "honestly, i'm nothing thinking about anything." erin: "then what are you feeling?" chad: "nothing" erin: "oh good grief."
• the tivo list. in addition to modern family, cougar town, mad men and glee (our favorites) our tivo is also full of csi type shows and modern marvels and tnt dramas.
• oh, and this conversation! erin: "i'm really craving something sweet! let's go get ice cream or chocolate or make cookies!" chad: "eh, i don't really like dessert." erin: "that doesn't make any sense."

and so on and so forth. oh he may be a strange creature to live with, but boy do i love the mystery that is living with my husband.

yes he is a boy and his ways may be foreign to me, but at least i like to look at him.

goodbye twenty-ten, you were so good to us.

twenty-ten was quite possibly the most eventful year that i've lived in my 24 years.

honestly, last january i thought that i might end the year engaged. i would have never thought that i would ring in twenty-eleven having been married for 3.5 months already.

i'm a big resolutions person, i make them all year long. so when new years comes around i just have a field day. last year i resolved to learn to play the guitar, which lasted all of two community center guitar classes. woops. good thing i married a fantastic musician, maybe i can finally get him to teach me... (pretty please husband, i promise not to whine... too much.)

but this year i am resolving to learn to cook, among other more personal things.

which means being the picky eater that i am, i will also be resolving to eat better.

i gladly welcome any suggestions, recipes, tips, websites, classes, cookbooks... basically any resources that will turn me into rachel ray. bring it!

maybe all i need is a pretty kitchen to inspire me...

(source)

(source)

here goes nothing...

(just as long as i don't accidentally poison my husband.)