Aug 5, 2015

you always dreamed of being adventurous // yosemite 2015

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There is a season for wildness
and a season for settledness, and this is neither.
This is about becoming.
>> Shauna Niequist << 
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these are the days of early mornings, river swims, woods drenched in sticky sunlight, painting the dusk, wind combing through the pines, and the brooks chattering about the comings and goings of the seasons. 
standing in the valley floor, surrounded by stone cathedrals carved with ice and wind and rain, i swear there is granite dust in my bones. these walls of stone are time capsules, echoing of childhood memories i recollect only when i'm sitting on boulders that have been carried by the river underfoot. 

these past two weeks have been spent road tripping the whole of CA with my wonderful family and my dear Johanna from the rolling hills of my hometown to the spiring cliffs of the sierra nevadas to the mountains of Lake Arrowhead back down to the sunny corner of SoCal. in yosemite, mornings were spent clutching the warmth of coffee as the sun gently warmed the sweet-pine air; afternoons were for swims in the river; and evenings around a red and white checkered table cloth revealed hearts and chiseled laughter into the night over summer watermelons from the farmer's market. i'm spending the rest of the week at johanna's, adventuring, laughing, teasing, taylor-swift and avicci singing car tripping, and relishing the feeling of being alive in the summertime as the season slowly dwindles. five years since meeting her through the blogging world seems like a forever time ago. 
this is the season for learning to allow it to wash over you like summer rain, learning to live and let go in the process.  

happy august, lovelies!
xx
listen: "valentina" 

Jul 22, 2015

on journaling // chavalah

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She may have looked normal on the outside, but once you had seen her handwriting you knew she was deliciously complicated inside.
// Jeffrey Eugenides //
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Chavalah {ha-vah-lah or chava for short} 
chava is the youngest daughter of the milkman teyve, the protagonist, in the iconic play fiddler on the roof. this summer journal's name is inspired by the character who acted out one of my favorite characters in the story + my lovely friend who played sweet chavalah's part. :) 

every night, the windows are flung open to allow the delicious night air in, and i snatch from my shelf my summer journal. i wonder if i could someday write anything as extraordinary as a melody that the crickets sing. odd to think five years ago, i couldn't quite grasp the concept of documenting one's life in a journal — and now, it would be unthinkable to slip into bed without so much as a glance at my shelf lined with them. chava is already half way full with meandering thoughts on love, life, and those little adventures that make summers so unforgettable. 
also, i'm thrilled and quite honored that some of my journalistic work + a bit on why i journal has been featured on the lovely new website that emphasizes the community in the blogger world. 
won't you be a dear and check it out? 
xx 
listening to // roo panes "home from home" + the delicious thunderstorms that have been coming through. 
postscript // what are your favorite pens? 

Jul 16, 2015

i like you a latte // lavender lattes

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if you know me, you know i'm a lavender addict. i mean, since harvesting and drying it at a young age, i have lived up to my nickname of "the lavender girl." one of the best things we ever did when we landscaped our backyard {when i was like five?} was plant a lavendula grosso bush.

as much as i adore the scent {that makes me dream of adventuring in France}, i have always been a bit hesitant when working with culinary lavender. because of its strong, pungent aroma, using too much in recipes can result in a rather soapy, perfume-y taste. trust me, lavender cupcakes didn't turn out too well {got carried away by my lavender frenzy}. but when i saw this recipe for lavender lattes on pinterest, i knew i had to try my hand at it. i was delighted to discover that lavender syrup is ridiculously easy to make {it's fantastic in homemade lemonade too} and the lavender-ness can be adjusted to your liking.

our town's annual lavender festival was this past weekend. while everyone's spending $5 on lavender lemonades, i was content perusing the booths with my mason jar filled with this sweet coffee lavender loveliness. :) 

starbucks, i love ya, but i'd take a homemade lavender latte any day. 
xx || the lavender girl