from one adventure to the next : mt saint helen's this weekend

{images by dan peck}

three days after returning from the uk, i'm off on a plane with ceej to meet up with
my older brother and his wife to ski mount saint helen's in the northwest. feeling pretty positive
despite the fact that i recently spent ten days at sea level--my heart is feeling good.

these photos were taken by my brother, dan, when he and some friends recently
climbed and skied traverse mountain. pretty incredible...and we may find ourselves
in the same weather conditions as there is rain and snow in the forecast.

looking forward to this adventure!

exploring england | a voyage magazine journey

marte, britt, and i have been in england since wednesday, and we've seen some amazing places.
more importantly, we've met some amazing people.
we started in london, and are now in the magical seaside town of st ives, and tomorrow we'll be
on our way to the farmland of dorset...feeling lucky indeed.

if you'd like, you can follow me on instagram here, and follow all three of us #voyagemagazine

thank you for stopping by. i do love your company.

Morning Banana Bran Muffins...come for a visit

my recipe for my favorite breakfast muffins is up on the drifter and the gypsy today.
come on over for a visit!

when the museum was empty : a dance {photos by britt chudleigh}

there's only one thing to do in an empty room filled with light...dance.
sometimes i just can't help myself. my body starts moving, and i find
that i really don't care if the cameras come out and shutters start clicking.
i am completely awkward when someone is trying to take my portrait,
but oh how i don't mind at all if they snap a few photos of me if i am moving,
dancing, laughing, breathing, living.

when i was in elementary school i was quite the tomboy--
in fact, for years i mistook a picture of myself for a picture of my brother.
yep, turns out that was me in my chicago bulls hat, all black t-shirt and b-ball shorts
holding up my quilt (made by my sweet mom) standing near the garden.

i prided myself on the fact that i usually got picked at recess for the b-ball games before many of the boys.
i was good at basketball, and boy was i competitive. i was out there to prove i was stronger, better, faster.
after basketball my interests moved to soccer. and i worked hard at my halfback position, priding myself that i did the most running, the most assisting, and some goal-making as well.

then one day at recess i noticed all of my girlfriends practicing their tour jete's...
and i wanted in.

thankfully my mom agreed to sign me up for ballet lessons almost immediately.
so this 11-year-old tomboy began to try to catch up with her friends who had
been tendu-ing and pirouette-ing since the age of three or four.
perhaps this is when i first began to learn that you're never too old to start something.

however, i was well aware of my lack of skill, and tried hard to advance.
eventually i was placed in a class with some of the older girls
which was a joy to dance with them, and simultaneously agony as i tried to match their skill.

but one of my most favorite things about my dancing years was the atmosphere of the classroom:
our elegant, yet stern, teacher always wore a black leotard with a drapey sweater, and pale peach shoes.
her hair was long, and her movements were exact and graceful.
and then there was our pianist. he could play anything. his classical repertoire was impressive,
and i loved barre exercises thanks to his accompaniment.

nowadays i do wish i would have continued dancing after high school.
i try to find classes here and there to attend, and lately i've been enjoying a
"yoga at the barre" class every tuesday night. it feels good to be graceful and strong.


{photos by britt chudleigh}

manifesto monday : bonds

happy earth day! it is refreshing to at least think about the great outdoors while i sit here in my office in front of a computer all day.

i think the scariest thought in the world is the thought of being alone--especially when going through difficult experiences. i don't know about you, but despite my introverted personality, i could never go through life completely alone. the reality is, however, that sometimes i've had to go through things alone, but i have always found comfort in taking a walk outside among the trees, the flowers, the sky, the birds.

the other morning as i walked home from violin lessons i marveled at a conversation i overheard between two birds. one would call, her intonation up; and then he would answer, with intonation down.
pretty sweet little conversation to overhear. just a little "marco polo" to know they weren't alone.

and somehow, as the lucky passerby, i felt part of the conversation. and my heart lifted, and i was grateful.

and so we discover it for ourselves. that we are not alone.

this i believe.

traveling with voyage magazine : behind the scenes

things are busy over here as we're gearing up for our trip to england in a few weeks.
sheesh. busy now so we can relax and enjoy our journey together later.
can't wait to be traveling with britt and marte again. these women are solid travel companions.

as i was quickly browsing through the thousands of images from last year's voyage,
i came across these gems--the three of us had this small and lovely museum outside of oslo
almost entirely to ourselves...so what do we do? start playing with light and doing
silly things all in the name of portraits...

maybe tomorrow i'll show you the series of "portraits" britt took of me in this lil' museum.



{things are still under construction around here at age old tree. some day i'll have time to pull it together. thank you so much, as always, for visiting}

we hope you can join us for a picnic...in london!

The Voyage Magazine team is coming to London, and we want to meet you!
So we're having a picnic. We've got a few surprises for you at the picnic
that we want to share, and we're really looking forward to meeting you
and hearing all about you and your life-journeys.
Marte, Britt, and I have been dreaming and scheming. This. will. be. rad.

RSVP voyagemag2012{at}gmail{dot}com

May can't come soon enough!

Voyage Magazine Announcement : here we go...

everything is just about ready for our next voyage magazine adventure...

we're off to england next month, and i'm just starting to feel the reality and excitement of it all.
truly, britt and marte are the ideal travel companions, and this is one of my favorite
regions on the entire globe {granted there's many places i still haven't been}.

last year we explored norway and italy, and i'm still pinching myself that we had the opportunity to do it.

here's links to our travel issue and our food issue.
and a link to our website...come for a visit to see more images.

adventure ho!

{beautiful illustration by our very own britt...seriously talented artist in every way}

manifesto monday : this deliberate pace

i have to be. i must find ways to be slow and deliberate about my days.
when i walk upstairs i watch my feet...because i'm running from
task to chore to work to dreams to beauty to frustration to exhaustion.

today my body felt it. exhaustion. i felt it coming on last night after
an intense week and an emotional weekend. so much good is filling my cup...
and it's overflowing. sometimes i really don't know what to do with it,
and it feels strange to have so much at my fingertips--to be so close
to what dreams are becoming.

today my body felt it. today it reminded me that even dreams need to
take deep breaths. even opportunities need deliberate attention.
time is on my side. truly. take a step back. honor it all. stand in awe.
because, this, all of it, is kind of amazing--discomfort and all.

today my body reminded me to celebrate all this goodness slowly,
to cultivate it, to give it the patience it deserves, to watch
and pay attention.

deep breaths. eyes closed. deep breaths. eyes wide. deep breaths.

today my body felt it.

PARDON THE MESS...

just trying to do yet another clean up around here.
it always seems to be a work in progress...

hope to have everything up and running again by the end of the weekend.

spring veggie sandwiches : the drifter and the gypsy

come on over to visit me on the drifter and the gypsy to find out how to put together
my favorite fresh spring sandwiches--lots of veggie goodness involved.

i'll be dancing all day...and working on the next voyage mag project

kinda obsessed with LP. have you heard her? i'm also in love love love with this song.
feeling lots of optimism and excitement for what's ahead after i had my last day
in my poor grey cublicle yesterday.

ceej and i celebrated by going out to breakfast this morning...

and here i am, working again. happily. on our next voyage magazine adventure.

big things are in store.

feeling like i'm walking on clouds--levitating.

thank you for stopping by. always.

{p.s. i hope one of my future kids wants to be a rockstar}

introducing : project mt saint helens

after climbing the grand teton last year...and a couple months later,

i decided i wanted to try another peak.

so, come may i'll be skiing/climbing mount saint helens with ceej

and my older brother. 

i've definitely ramped up my running routine, and have actually

started doing some weight training--yikes. i thought i'd never say that.

i'm mostly excited about it. every now and then a little doubt creeps up,

but i've decided if i bring enough chocolate everything will work out fine.

may is going to be an adventurous month for sure.

Photograph by Diane Cook and Len Jenshel

manifesto : i've looked fear in the face...every day

i've never been one to seek an adrenaline rush...i like to mosey, to walk, to watch, to breathe.

however, i can't tell you how much gratification and joy i receive when i look a fear
right in the face and charge right through it with forcefulness, grace, and wisdom.
i love the way it gets my heart beating, and the way it makes me want to dance (mostly to this).
forget simply leaning in--i want to jump, dance, shout, sing in.

what have i been afraid of?
::graduate school--but i'll be graduating this summer at oxford. dancing about that one.
::playing the violin--started two years ago and love every scratchy note as they become more clear and pure.
::buying a house--we move in at the end of may
::starting a business--i'm quitting the cubicle (yay!) and starting two businesses
::telling people what i think--turns out people like what i think, and if they don't, oh well.
::laughing and talking too loud--CAN YOU HEAR ME?!
::authority figures--not anymore. i was born to push back, to question, to want something better.
::setting boundaries--i've got some pretty good ones in place, and am about to set some more.
::climbing mountains--climbed the grand teton last fall, and will be announcing a new goal to climb another mountain.

if you didn't catch that, i'm lookin' at my last couple of days in a cubicle...
this has been so hard for me. i've always thought to be valued i needed a "real" job--whatever that means.
the cubicle was not for me, friends. and it never will be.

i've decided to own the fact that i do things differently and like to make new paths...
so here i go. two businesses to wrangle down and get going.


would love to hear what fears you've looked straight in the face. would love to hear about your strengths, confidence, and courage.

onward.

(p.s. after i looked another fear in the face last night i was full of dancing--ceej was supposedly "playing solitaire on his phone...turns out he was filming me "bust da move". pray the gods don't ever let that out in the public)

life via this lens | vignettes

         

these days are lovely...filled with good memories:

:: many walks through our tree-canopied neighborhood, enjoying the spring weather
:: lots of lunch dates with friends and ceej {my fave with ceej celebrating our first kiss}
:: dreaming of dream houses
:: practicing the violin any free moment i get
:: enjoying new cook books and eating fresh veggies
:: new baby in the family--so sweet
:: walks in the desert to our spring to throw rocks
:: new summer hats {hip, hip!}
:: loving these spring days: snow in the morning, sunshine in the afternoon.
:: keats almost all day every day


life is good. sometimes i wonder if it's all going to work out--and somehow things come and go
and i would say it all works out indeed.

happy weekend!


{follow me on instagram to see more images}

paris : watching the sun go down while sitting on the siene

the last night of our european adventure was spent on the siene watching the sun go down.
it was nice to have no real plan other than sitting idly by this iconic lover's river.
and that's all we did. we just sat and watched the sun go down--
and did a little people watching too. we watched the other lovers and the other groups of friends
enjoy a night of pure idle nothingness. just lots of deep breaths, coy smiles, and leaning heads on shoulders.

in love.

ten years ago ceej and i kissed for the first time. what kids we were. what bliss.

it's a good spring day to be thinking about love.

happy weekend everyone!

paris : notre dame's magnificent interior

lucky for us, notre dame was just a short walk from our paris apartment--
which meant we walked by this incredible cathedral often.
since we were on "mosey-tourist" mode we were repeatedly detered
from entering by the long, long line to enter...

but one afternoon we decided to risk the wait.
to our surprise, the line moved rather quickly, and we
were soon under her vaulted ceilings.

twelve years ago i sat in my high school art history class
dreaming of the day i would see these monumental vaults
and the flying buttresses outside. it lived up to all the hype.


{see exterior photos here}

{see more paris photos here}

{see more france photos here}