morning walk on the cliff walk

it feels like spring!the birds are chirping, the crocuses are popping, and i have extra energy that has suddenly appeared in my body and mind.  i took my camera along on my biweekly walk on the cliff walk. boy, it is a great day to be alive.

my favorite house in the whole wide world

it's the house of my parents, pete and pam lubs in chagrin falls, ohio.  i was raised in this house. stayed up late on sunday nights typing my english essays in this house. had my feet massaged by my grandmother during track season in this house. listened to my mom read "little house on the prairie" before i went to bed in this house. let my brother cry on my shoulder after a rough breakup in this house. had my big hair prom pictures taken in this house. sat down for pasta meals as a family the night before basketball games in this house. studied with my dad the night before biology exams by the fireplace in this house. smelled my  mother's herb garden every summer in this house. kissed my husband on one of our first dates in this house. hope you enjoy looking at the pictures as much as i do.

eye candy

 

here are some images that will hopefully jumpstart your creativity this tuesday.

image sources: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

travelogue. arles, france. church of st. trophime.

while josh and i were in arles, france last october on our spain and france trip we stopped by the church of st. trophime. it is a roman catholic church and former cathedral built between the 12th century and the 15th century. it was a beautiful example of romanesque architecture. i found myself tiptoeing around and whispering because it's such a sacred and spiritual place.

eye swoon

after cleaning my car out for 3 hours this morning for our rental inspection i was quite smitten when i came inside and spotted this lovely house. you should have seen all the stuff that collected under the two car seats. yuck! needless to say, i was very happy to look at this artful house instead of pieces and particles of snacks from the last three years. the home of athena calderone is what dreams are made of. that lady really does have style!

images from tales of endearment via joslyn at simple lovely.

house of athena calderone of eye swoon.

the roving home stylebook

be sure to check out the roving home's february stylebook in collaboration with photographer esther mathieu. sarah, my friend, who is the creator of the roving home has an online shop with beautiful vintage pieces as well as a blog.  i bought my very first vintage globe from her. she is a fabulous writer, fellow design enthusiast, and lives in my most favorite new england town, rockport, massachusetts. can you tell that i think she is really rad?

lake farmpark

some pics from our visit to lake metroparks farmpark in kirtland, ohio. we got to see baby lambs that were only three days old, make bird feeders and see a quilt show. oh the patience of those quilters. 

and my prayers go out to the community of chardon, ohio, where the recent school shooting occurred. this is the town right next to lake farmpark. the town where my in-laws live. such a sad, sad turn of events. my heart goes out to everyone that is experiencing pain and loss.

the cleveland museum of art

i wish i could say that the girls favorite part of the cleveland museum of art was the new rembrandt in america exhibit or the breathtaking architecture by rafael vinoly in the new portion of the museum or seeing the painting titled, "in the waves" by paul gauguin in person. but no, it was the pierre's ice cream  freezer. i swear they were ready to lick the strawberry crunchies right off the crunch bars on the picture painted on the side. hah!

hello from ohio

hello from ohio! the girls are off from preschool next week so we decided to take a road trip to visit family. i feel like i'm pulling up to the love station instead of the gas station to get my fill of warm, sincere hugs and kisses. my heart is overflowing with love seeing all our family and friends. i love the midwest and love showing my girls the area i grew up in. we are heading to the cleveland museum of art and the cleveland botanical garden today. and can't wait to visit jeni's ice cream shop and take the girls for their first ski lesson at alpine valley. won't be posting next week, but will be back the week of feb. 27th. hope you have a great week!!

image from molly mattin's etsy shop.OHIO State of Ohio Digital Illustration Print with Cities Listed.

handmade valentines

it's the first year the girls have made valentine's for their friends at school. love that tradition! i wanted to get them involved so i cut out heart shapes from parchment paper and then they used watercolors to decorate them. i then taped them to some cards i had in my stationary stockpile and wrote happy valentine's day messages on the back.

josh's birthday cake

josh's birthday was january 28th. his sweet parents were able to come and celebrate with us. we went out to eat one night and then we stayed in the following night and i made a standing rib roast, yorkshire pudding, garlic mashed potatoes, ginger carrots and a yellow cake with lemon frosting. the frosting was more like a glaze and the tartness was refreshing for a winter cake.

here is the recipe for the classic white cake. 

and here is the recipe for the lemon frosting.