Tag Archives: home

we bought a house

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on a windy monday

at the end of september

we all shook hands

and signed legal tender

 

with shiny new keys

and dusty cake toppers

turning box after box

into cardboard door stoppers

 

surrounded by trees

and a block all our own

in a little blue place

called fourteen gorton

 

we’re hanging our shirts

and stacking our glasses

making plans to stay home

while this autumn rain passes

 

gooey pumpkin loaf

in our fancy new oven

and a purring dishwasher

keeping all of the suds in

 

we’re warming the hearth

and decorating the rest

two birds flew the coop

now we have our own nest.

nesting

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DSC08248.jpgIt’s nesting season!  Christmas gifts nestle into their nooks, scatter onto shelves and exhale renewal.  I’ve been cleaning out, rearranging, and savoring that fresh feeling of a new view.  A few peeks into the nest, if you’re interested…

these spiky friends and a new cookbook in the kitchen.DSC08234.jpg

a few sunny corners with new crates, cacti and collages.

 

three soft bells, the sweetest Christmas surprise, which will hang on my bar cart year round.DSC08209.jpg

this gorgeous interactive edition of one of my favorite stories, gifted by a best friend, lending its beauty to the sunroom.DSC08224.jpg

…and on that note, Wendy Darling’s dream boat above marshmallow Sunday sheets.  An oldie but goodie.dsc08236

july

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My mind comes tumbling down slowly.  Released from the delicate weave of dreams, it descends back down to my skull with a floaty, Alice-down-the-rabbithole, intentional nonchalance.

I’m still between the ceiling and my brain, so my eyes have not yet realized the option to open.  This is a good thing.  It forces my ears to place me somewhere, and I hear the vague breakfast chatting of early birds from the window to my left.  The deepened voice of a mother says something vaguely pirate(or is it beanstalk giant?)-esque and the familiar screech-giggle of my young next door neighbors erupts on cue.  Audible evidence of the existence of innocence in an otherwise increasingly jaded world.  My tired face thanks them for this with a slow raising of heavy eyelids.

Blinking eyes drink in the summer morning sun, at once anchoring and elevating me.  After a weekend of salt and sun in my happy place, home and a morning ballet class feel refreshing.  As much as I love a few days away, I find my daily routine most therapeutic.

life on lewis

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Moving my entire life from a 2 bedroom apartment to a 4 bedroom house has kept me quite busy, to say the least.  It seems there is always something to be done here, and just when I feel like I’ve accomplished something, another task swoops down in my face, announcing its incompleteness like a half-eaten donut just waiting to be devoured.  But, like a good donut, these tasks are more sweet than laborious.  Hanging art, stringing lights, potting plants…the sweets of summertime moving.

The most exciting bit about this move, though, is that I have a new roommate: my boyfriend!  He hasn’t moved in quite yet, but give it a few weeks and we’ll be en route to the blissful, difficult, just-moved-in-together life that is waking up next to your favorite person every day.  That, my friends, is what I’m really looking forward to.  Beyond excited.

In the meantime, le boyfriend and I have been antiquing, flea marketing, and DIY-ing up a storm, determined to make this place feel homey and like “us”.  One of my favorite projects so far was spray painting that blue shelf in the first photo.  It was a hand-me-down from Kevin’s mom, a gorgeous piece whose chipping white paint needed a bit of TLC.  It was Kevin’s idea to paint it blue, my first time attempting a spray paint, and now one of our most prized transformation pieces thus far!  I think it pairs really well with that J.M. Barrie print, a gift from a dear friend on the opening night of Peter Pan.

I’ll share more photos as our decorating process continues.  That’s all for now.  Happy Monday, cats.

clarity

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If you’ve never stayed up late at night emptying every orifice of your home, tossing out old things and rearranging the new, you don’t know what you’re missing.

There is something about a clean and simple living space that can alter your mood entirely.   As the calendar days roll by, our lives become cluttered physically and mentally, stuffing our closets and our minds with baggage better suited for Logan Airport’s endless luggage claim.  With the new year approaching in what seems to be a swifter pace each December, time can begin to feel like a big snowball, rolling closer and larger and faster towards our backs every second.  January 1st is our chance to clear all slates, both environmental and metaphoric, and head into a new calendar with the excess behind us and only the essentials in our keeping.  So here’s to cleaning it out, calming the soul, and raising a glass to 2014.  Let’s make this the best year yet.

taste of october

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hummus

For the second annual company “Pumpkin Party” this weekend, T and I made some exceptionally delicious hummus.  But not just any old hummus.  Roasted garlic, rosemary, pumpkin hummus.  Yes, yes, yes.  It was as amazing as it sounds, we will be making it again by the end of the week, and you can have the recipe.  You’re welcome.

via cyclovia

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If you’ve been reading this blog for a while now, you know how much I love Providence and its neighborhood events.  Providence is one of those cities that pretends to not be hipster, but then hosts things like Cyclovia, shutting down main streets to grant bikers a car-free passage.  I mean, not every city cares about things like allowing the biking community to grow and encouraging the youngest of cyclists to hone their skills in a safe environment…pretty cool of you, Pvd.  And what better way to spread the earthy crunchy granola go-green mission of our lovely little community than with a Sunday celebration?  Live music, arts and crafts, food trucks (Alex’s bacon-wrapped meatloaf sandwich from the Wurst Kitchen, I love you), and free DIY trail mix stations courtesy of our local Whole Foods…I couldn’t keep myself away if I tried.  Seriously, if you like random weekend block parties and you’ve never visited Providence, you should proooobably get your priorities in order.

Ps- how adorable are my niece’s little ballerina socks?!  I can’t even handle it.

PPs- the fact that the live music included what appeared to be an elderly Jewish man singing songs in Hebrew and accompanying himself on some sort of ukelele, and a band of seriously rocking 40-somethings just makes me love this town that much more.

keeks in the kitchen: kale salad edition

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As a dancer, being injured poses a lovely little collection of daily frustrations (3 consecutive months out of the studio really does a number on your psyche…whenever I hear classical music it’s an odd battle between tendu-ing and crying).  Hailing from the same genus as preserving those temporarily useless toe calluses and sleeping in the frog stretch several nights a week to remind your hips what torture turn out feels like, staying fit is one of the most important concerns an injured dancer can have.

Without the intense cardio that comes with 6 hours of rehearsal, maintaining that strong dancer’s bod is often even tougher than anticipated- and believe me, no one was expecting it to be easy over here!  With just a few short weeks left before the start of the season (who’s excited?!), I’m vowing to stick to a diet of healthy greens and protein.

So here’s my recipe for a delicious kale salad, packed with essential vitamins, proteins, and fiber to keep you feeling and looking good…

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Start with some greens.  For this salad I chopped up some romaine and mixed it with kale, my new favorite superfood.DSC02760

Next I added a little steamed, shelled edamame.  These low-calorie little green soybeans are the perfect punch of protein!DSC02763

Chickpeas, aka garbanzo beans, are always a good addition to any salad, loading it up with their fiber, protein and healthy fats. DSC02765

To top it off, I added some juicy golden raisins, chopped walnuts and a bit of shredded carrot.DSC02768

Bon appétit!

keeks in the kitchen: quinoa salad improvisation

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Last night, I decided to make quinoa salad, as part of my continued effort to develop skills other than pirouetting while I am on my ballet hiatus.  I didn’t have a particular line up of ingredients in mind, just a plastic cup full of uncooked quinoa and a fridge full of veggies!  So I got to work, and here’s what I came up with…

1 cup of quinoa (I used this cooking tutorial)

1/3 cup shredded carrots

1/2 can black beans

1/2 chopped red bell pepper

1/2 chopped red onion

1/2 cup chopped baby spinach

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

For the dressing, I used this amazing recipe (also where the inspiration for the salad itself came from), omitting the ginger and using agave instead of honey.  This dressing is AMAZING you guys, and I’m not the biggest fan of peanuts or anything remotely tahini-flavored.  This quinoa came out delicious!  Can’t wait to eat a little bowl of it for lunch today!

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Bon appétit!

spring things

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It’s feeling wonderfully springy around here…tulips blooming, hot pink scalloped shorts arriving in the mail, and house cleaning under way!  Just one more Up Close performance tonight, two shows of Little Red tomorrow and it’s time for the weekend to begin (yes having Monday and Tuesday off can still count as a weekend when you’re this desperate…#ballerinaprobs).  My “weekend” will consist of a good friend’s 21st birthday celebrations, brunch at Julian’s, warm weather appreciation in the park and hopefully a little relaxation too.  Happy Saturday!