wading through winter

and when your strife strikes at your sleep,
remember spring swaps snow for leaves.

-mumford + sons

february may be the shortest month, but it sure does take forever to get through. waiting for march 1 right now feels like i'm six years old all over again waiting for santa clause to come.

this warmer weekend we've been promised is much needed. as the piles of snow begin to slow.ly. melt, the sidewalks + streets flood with water and my selection of suitable shoes is limited even more.

this being my third year up here, i'm well aware that the turn into spring is much further away than march 1. but a gal can dream for sure.

warm love.

valentine's day has always been a favorite of mine. i love pink. i love red. i love hearts. and, i'm a huge fan of love. love for anything really: the husby, the friends, mac+cheese, designer shoes, the cat - WHATever.

some people may argue that i use "love" too much, as i'm always loving one thing or another - OK, maybe it does go a little overboard when i go on + on about the little old man who lives next door... but i personally think that we don't use love enough.

a few days before this one, you can normally find me preparing some home-made valentine's for all my peeps. i glitter them up nice + pretty with some sweet messages + send them on down the coast or across the country to be opened - fingers crossed i'll make it on a fridge. but this year, i failed. between work, traveling and just getting caught up in my daily life in general, i didn't make those lovie dovie hellos. and i feel worse for it. i know that those things bring a smile to those who receive them. and the thoughts of those smiles make me all warm + fuzzy inside. and isn't that the best feeling of all? isn't that what this love thing's all about?

e + i have a rather nice, simple valentine's tradition. we exchange cards + make the same dinner. every year. when we first started, it was early in our relationship + i didn't want to make a big fuss about it all. plus, it was important to me to have not just this day stand out + be filled with love, but all the days in between. he couldn't have agreed more which is what has helped make us so fantastic these many years later.

whatever you do today, i hope you see some love. the warm, fuzzy kind. send it on out there too, cause it will always - in some way, shape or form - come back to you.

and for my ladies who normally get one of those sparkly beauts: this one's for you:
happy valentine's day!

beginning, again.

for the new years that e + i have been together, we've had this tradition on december 31. we'll write a list of all our highlights from the past year + then we'll write a list of our resolutions for the year to come. the highlights part is especially fun, as you'll be amazed at how many things you tend to remember once you get going (e.g. that really tasty meal you had at that road stand on the cape, or the ultra-long card game you played that one rainy day...) and you can imagine that over the years, it's been quite cool to look back on our memories and resolutions.

this year, over a bottle of wine + a croque madame, we noted that we've been very good about our resolutions of the past, which made us excited to create new ones for 2011. however, i couldn't help but notice as we tapped the pen to our thoughts, the list of resolutions this year was shorter than previous. and i thought, (while our highlights portion grew from page, to page, to page) do the number of ways we vow to better ourselves with each passing year decrease as, well...each year passes?

i seem to always write a slew of words that inspire me to get up, get out + get something immediately out of the brand new year's arrival. after all, it is a refreshing, clean slate that you can do anything with if you choose. my sister put it best when she said, "for the rest of the year, there is no 12:01 like this one." and i agree. it is an end + a beginning all at once and i find excitement in that fact.

last year i made a commitment to stop thinking by way of, "new year, new you," simply because i like myself just fine + therefore only wanted to change a few things. and not to toot my own horn but, i once again did an admirable job sticking to my resolutions (tooot, toooo!). so i'm at it again this year - new year, same me (with more minor improvements!).

on the list for 2011, i resolve to:

• FINALLY get some wedding pictures up around the apt. it's been almost 2 years...
• lose the road rage.
• visit + experience (food, sights, sounds) at least three new cities.
• give my daily uniform (skinny jeans, v-neck shirt + cardigan, with boots) a rest at least twice a week. (side note: this will be a toughie. i mean, really hard. if you know me, you're probably asking what on this green earth will i wear...i'll keep you updated).
  
• slow down my schedule...just a teeny bit, to enjoy more "me" time.
• volunteer. it's about time i put this resolution (and some hours on my free weekends) to good use.
• be OK if one or none of these work. after all, in the first few days of a new year, how am i to know who i'll be, what i'll do, or where i'll go, for the next 11 months! ;)
  

happy new year to you + yours - cheers to making it the best one yet!

simply, having, a wonderful christmas time

it's true. i love christmas.

and what's not to love about it? strings of lights, bright + metallic-colored decorations, those all-to-familiar tunes on the radio, the hustle + bustle of stores...i could go on.
then there's that feeling. you know the one: excitement. not necessarily the same as when you were a kid - but i think it's better.

sure, it takes a bit longer for me to feel it (it normally kicks in when i arrive around my family in NC). and maybe it's about different things (i now prefer the breakfast before or the bourbon-laced eggnog after presents, over the actual opening of them). but there's an excitement there nonetheless.

i look for it in faces of strangers, my friends and to be honest, myself. i reach inside for the reminder that while i don't believe in santa claus, i do believe in christmas and all that it brings.

i believe there's no place like home (wherever that may be) for the holidays.
i believe that through the years we all will be together - if the fate's allowed.
i believe that we all need a little christmas, right this very minute.
i believe in the jingle bell rock.
i believe that christmas eve will find me - wherever i am.
and most of all, i believe it's the most wonderful time of the year.

so cheers to you + yours this season. enjoy this time with friends, family and, most importantly, yourself. listen to those tunes that never change from year to year. drive around to check out decorations in your neighborhood (you'll get quite a show in some places). go stand beside the christmas tree in the middle of town. maybe even make some cookies to leave for santa.

whatever you do, wherever you are, whoever you're with, just be sure to have yourself a merry little christmas.

merry christmas from the fletchers!