my love seat.

there were not many things that i "had to have" from her house when my grandma beale passed away. i had plenty of great memories in my mind + frankly i preferred to have her instead. there was plenty that family members threw my way - literally - perhaps feeling too guilty to give it away to strangers so soon but not wanting to take it themselves. i took most of this stuff - pots, pans, picture frames - that i knew i'd never use, because maybe even i too felt guilty not to take them all in that moment. however, there were two items that were left over that i gladly claimed - a wardrobe that stood in grandma's bedroom + a beautifully worn, cut-velvet, mustard-colored chair. i don't know how i got lucky with these two pieces + i couldn't have been happier that they were overlooked.

i have the best memories of my grandmother in that chair, sitting in the corner of her room, putting on her stockings + shoes every morning, taking them off before bed each night. the sides, much darker than the seat + back cushions, which have permanent imprints of where she sat each time. until i got that chair, i don't think anyone else ever sat in it and i'm comforted to know they're her marks only.

despite the small corner that my cat has made his own (insert eye-roll here) and the unique fabric color + print that some find dated. i am in love with this chair. if i can help it, it will simply be mended over the years, not replaced or recovered. and when the time is right in my life, i will move it from our living area to our bedroom where i can sit in it each morning + each night. putting on, taking off, reading, crying, laughing. remembering her.

winter soul-stace.

my mind, body + soul are in need of some inspiration this monday. it's not particularly cold outside, but it's gray. and wet. and windy. which has me remembering that january is no fun for anyone. nor is february. after the build-up that october, november + december seem to bring me, i can never quite prepare for the hard fall i experience after all the holiday hype.

so i transfer my gloom to spring fever which technically is right around the corner since january is almost over + february's a short month. so i mean, in a blink of my eye it will be march 1. we're practically done with winter people!

so, in celebration of this revelation, i'm bypassing the gym today in favor of a glass of wine pre-dinner. i'll turn to my journal this evening as i jot down my agenda of summer activities including trips to nc, dc + nyc, a best friend's wedding and days on new england beaches with good friends.

ushering in twenty ten

christmas has come + gone and i can't believe it's been weeks since i've jotted down recent happenings + random thoughts. one week of sickness followed by two weeks of a whirlwind tour through the southeast didn't exactly make it easy for me to organize my words.

but what a great christmas it was. filled with family, friends, four birthday celebrations + one rockin' NYE concert, i escorted 2009 out as one big holiday. ready for a change, a new beginning + a general blank slate, i welcomed 2010 with my hubby (of seven months now) and some great friends that always warm my heart. i looked back (but not for long) on the year (and decade) gone + thought of all the things that happened. above all, marrying eric topped the list (duh), but each month/year had held something fun + exciting, and i made a quick vow for that to happen in the year/decade to come. i measured where i began my journey to where i have arrived so far and i realized that while i've always loved looking forward to the new beginnings + start that jan. 1 never fails to bring, it's the ability to tack the current year's accomplishments, events, laughs, tears + all the times in between, to the last, that makes the holiday so amazing. it's actually looking back that makes looking ahead so exciting.

i've shortened my resolution list this year. i want some that matter + that i can keep. i hope you've given yourself some great goals as well. here's to 2010, a new year, a new decade + the SAME you - with minor improvements.

Happy New Year!