Done! And on its way.

By the time you read this, the pictured quilt will have been pressed and stuffed very tightly into a carry-on compression bag. The cat will have been dethroned, too, and I will be in an airplane.

I am feeling strangely trepidatious for this trip. For one, it's been quite awhile since I've flown (2006), and even longer since I've flown alone (2000). I keep having this weird feeling that I've forgotten how to fly. Of course, that's ridiculous. Flying isn't something you forget how to do, any more than you could forget how to hear or see or breathe.

Also, this is longest I'll be away from Patrick since the crazy nearly-month-long trip to Greece I took the first year we were together. That was with my friend Alexis, the same Alexis who's now earning her grad degree. Best friends since Freshman year, Greece was something we'd always talked about doing together. In the fall of 2006, we both found ourselves between jobs, and it was Alexis who was making the extra push for it to happen: "Before you're married, Kristina, we need to go to Greece."

So we went. It was a month of empty beaches and wind-whipped hair, bright sparkling white marble and octopi strung on wires along the grotto. Fresh fish at nearly every meal, spanakopita for breakfast, and a mad romance with Fanta orangeade. But in between, on planes or ferries or buses or cabs, I'd look out at that wide selfless ocean, and I would miss Patrick with a crushing, lovesick intensity.

Of course, it was our first year together. Things were like that: crushing, and lovesick, and intense. (Soaring, too, a lot of that.) We weren't living together, though that changed as soon as I came home. In the time since, I've made myself so completely his wife, I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do without him. Not in a hopeless sort of way, but in a, "My goodness, there's no one to cook dinner for!" sort of way. No one to turn to for a surefire laugh or tease or anecdote or hug, either, though Alexis is pretty good at all of those. I'm expecting it will give me something to think about: either I've changed a lot or I haven't. It can be so hard to tell.

Anyway, friends. Wish me happy hours of gazing out the airplane window, three days of celebrating and carrying on with my bestest, and lots of strappy sundress wearing. I'll be back here on Monday.

What I'm Wearing: Little flowers

Cardigan: L.L Bean (taken in by me)

Dress: Modcloth

Jeans: JC Penney

Shoes: Thrifted

Earrings: Etsy, Strands of Light

Necklace: Etsy, The Black Apple

The first time I wore this dress and earrings together, I received the sweetest of compliments: It looks like the flowers on your earrings leapt up off of your dress. I haven't worn them apart since.

I have this week off from my usual job, and I have some errands to run (and fabric to buy!) so I wanted a little something easy. A short dress over comfy jeans has to be the best pretty and easy outfit there is-- and this long-legged gal has plenty of short dresses to fit the bill.

I took these at my house (as opposed to at work, where I usually take them,) in front of our romantically decrepit garage. I never realized what a good photo backdrop it would make.

Going deep

This was a very exciting weekend for us.

All I can say here is, We are one step closer. It might be the right direction. It might not. It might not even be a direction at all, just a little side road, a tangent to the course our life is taking. It could be a dead end-- that possibility is out there, too. But, the only way to find out the answers to all those "could be"s is to get a little closer.

One little step at a time.

I have a hard time standing still. Life is going on, birthdays are encroaching. Dreams are out there, too, but where? Over the next hill, or the next one? Are we getting closer? It's been hard knowing the answers to those questions lately. It's been hard to stay satisfied with what can sometimes feel like stagnation.

Anyone else? The whole dreams vs. reality thing comes up in everyone's life, I would imagine.

The reconciling. The questions. Things are seldom what they seem.

For now, it feels so thrillingly unbelievably good to be moving, even if it's in the wrong direction. Even if this turns out to be a red herring, we may find ourselves closer anyway. Closer, maybe, then we thought.

Glimpses

A new Friday series: a few snatches of beauty from my week, and few words.

Happy Friday, everyone!

What I'm Wearing: In the fiddleheads

Top: Anthropologie

Skirt: Thrifted

Shoes: Urban Outfitters

Necklace: Gift from Patrick

Matching my skirt to the foliage was not intentional, I swear. Neither was matching my shirt to the apple blossoms.

I will never get tired of green and white. Green and white is new leaves and damp petals, old farmhouses and maple trees, snow and spruces. Also: the perfect wedding colors.


This is my favorite of swishy skirts.

I have a new wardrobe manifesto, born of necessity and too many untouched patterns/project books/bundles of fabric in the craft room. And that is: Don't buy anything you can make. I have so many stacks of waiting-in-the-wings skirts and dresses, and I fully intend to make all of them. At least, once the quilt is finished. Anyway, this explains why I've been buying lots of shoes lately-- it scratches my itch to shop, and there's no way you'll catch me making my own footwear anytime soon.

Anyway, stay tuned for some flouncy homemades popping up in the next couple of weeks!

Mezze

This has to be the best way to eat. A big bowl of toasted pita wedges, a big bowl of green grapes, a cucumber salad, and things for dipping. If you ever want to turn Sunday dinner into a party, just add dips.

The party attendees were just Patrick and myself, but why not? Who says parties have to be invitation-only? Sunday night, as you look back on the sweet and laughter-filled weekend, and groan ahead at the coming week, is the perfect time for a slightly-festive evening meal.

This was my take on a Middle Eastern mezze spread-- similar to Spanish tapas, with different spices and maybe not so much grease. It started as a way to employ the leftover hummus in my freezer, and quickly snowballed with the addition of a little homemade caponata and a yogurt-cucumber salad.

If you're inspired to try your own, some pointers:

1) Pitas can be turned into "chips" by cutting into wedges and baking for about fifteen minutes at 400 degrees. Give them a few stirs so they cook evenly.

2) Cucumbers + plain yogurt + lemon juice + a few pinches of minced fresh dill + garlic, salt, and pepper = fool proof.

3) There is no wrong addition to a mezze menu.

Just one.

I spent a lot of time working on my quilt this weekend. But don't worry, I had help.

Does it get better than breezy porch time, spending quiet time with a needle and thread while my husband plays gentle Blackberry Blossom on his guitar? I think not.