{ road trip america }

The Colorado Rocky Mountains

Palm Trees in Mesquite, Nevada

Mark and I drove from Detroit to New Jersey, spent some time in Manhattan and Brooklyn, visited the Bowerbirds in North Carolina, spent two days in Kentucky with my grandma, spent a night in Denver with a friend of Mark's and are now in Mesquite, Nevada with my parents before our final move to the San Francisco Bay Area.

Phew, right?

{ happy mother's day! }

My mom and dad moved to Mesquite, Nevada two years ago, so Mother's Day these past few years has been bittersweet for me. While I love celebrating with my new family (my mother-in-law is one of my favorite people ever), it's tough not being with my own mom. Skyping with her just isn't as good as being able to give her a hug, hold her hand, make her breakfast, bring her flowers.

When I was little I went through a phase where I was terrified of dying. It's all I thought about every night before I fell asleep. Most nights the worrying would keep me awake for hours.

Mom would tuck us in each night and most times sit by our beds until we fell asleep. One night I finally told her all about my fears and she said not to worry. She promised me that she would wait for me at the end of the tunnel before going to heaven. I wouldn't have to be alone, and that calmed me right down. So every night after that I would ask her, "Will you wait for me"? And she would always reply, "I will wait for you". Still, to this day, I find comfort in that.

XOXO

{ good times in springtime }

Spring has finally arrived in Michigan, guys. 

Source: http://ohsobeautifulpaper.com

We've been celebrating by grilling on the patio, taking the puppy for multiple walks each day, sleeping with the windows open and generally just being sock-less! 

I love this weather. It makes me feel alive. I think at the beginning of Spring I get what most people feel during the new year. I feel like a whole new person. I begin to set goals, I organize, I plan. I start to eat better, start to move around a little more. I'm warm and happy, so I appreciate my surroundings and the people I'm with just a little bit more than I do during the winter. 

I totally get the winter blues. I can be a serious crab-apple November through April.

But now it's Springtime. The sun is out, the birds are chirping and the flowers are blooming.

And I'm happy.