Dear Friends,

I’m writing from a local Starbucks, mooching off their wi-fi. My usual home-connection where I do most of my blogging/email replies is currently down (and my ISP is dragging their feet about fixing the problem!), which is putting a huge damper on my posts planned for this week. I’m going to try to get up what I can this week when I’m able to connect, but my sincere apologies if there is a lag in postings and email replies. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!

I’m going to schedule the supplies post for the sew-along to go up shortly—so hopefully that will slightly keep things on track there! I feel so awful that once again there is a monkey wrench thrown in the works (didn’t this happen during the last sew-along? Hmm… Maybe someone is trying to tell me something. lol.). Hopefully I’ll be back soon!

Dear Friends,

I’m keeping this post short just to let you know I’m taking a day off today. Some events in the wider world and my lack of Friday-post preparation have me a little distracted this morning, and I don’t feel I can fully put myself in the “job” of a post today. I’ll be back on Sunday both with the usual links roundup (always a favorite to put together!) as well as an update on my progress in the 30 for 30 challenge (and some wild pattern mixing in my outfits). Until then, I would so like to open this post up to you and ask you: what is one thing you’re intensely thankful for today? It doesn’t have to be profound, just something that you truly feel grateful for at this moment.

Me? It may sound cliché, but at this very moment I am intensely thankful for my husband, family and friends–and you. Wishing you all the best of days and a happy weekend!

Hello! Thank you all so, so much for your thoughts and prayers, comments and emails over the past couple weeks. I can hardly believe it’s been over two weeks since I last chatted with you all. Sadly, the cause for my short post was due to a death in my husband’s family; we had to travel on short notice to southern California for a week to be with family and attend the funeral. It was a bittersweet return to California for us both, and a sad time. Now we’re safely back home, my sister just arrived for her summer visit (three weeks!), and I’m catching up on sleep and with the blogworld (though at an utter snail’s pace!).

Posting shall resume very shortly, now that I’ve mostly recovered from the jet lag and can put two thoughts together. lol. Thank you all so much again; we have been so touched by all your comments.

Just a quick note to let you all know there will be no posts due to a family emergency. I won’t be able to answer emails either. Be back to normal posting soon! Have a lovely week, friends!

[ bounty at the farmer's market. ]

Happy Monday, friends! I feel like I’ve been gone from the blogging world for ages, but it’s only been a few short days. lol. Even though we didn’t go anywhere terribly “vacation-like” last week while Sailor Husband was on leave, we had a great time: a couple trips to the beach (including hunting for shark teeth at one!), spontaneous outings around town, and late evening runs for ice cream.

Thursday, for Earth Day, Anthropologie was offering a free container gardening event. Now, I am by far not the most adept gardener–despite being fascinated by the idea of growing flowers and vegetables from an early age (and having many mishaps with trying to grow things!). But, I figured perhaps I could pick up some tips and such. The event didn’t end up quite like I thought it would–it was more of the sort of thing were you got to claim your own seedling and try some yummy vegan food. Which was fun anyway. I brought home a darling little chamomile seedling I picked out, as well as some of the neat seed bombs that Anthropologie is selling right now. I just need to find some big containers and try planting a couple on our porch…

[ organic carrots. ]

[ beets! yum... ]

The plant fascination continued over the weekend with our trip to the local farmer’s market. I’d only been once–before the weather warmed up–and was delighted by the amount of goodies on display (both food and otherwise). We got some organic vegetables (including a bunch of organic carrots–dubbed “Peter Rabbit carrots” by Sailor Husband because of their squat appearance), had some fantastic organic coffee, I drooled over fair trade bracelets that came in a rainbow of colors, and generally took in the atmosphere. I think this might become a regular weekend jaunt for us this summer–although I need to make a mental note to bring my parasol next time–the Florida sunshine just isn’t kind to my skin!

[ Sailor Husband's iced green tea smoothie--very sweet! ]

I was wondering… do any of you garden? I’m really hoping to perhaps cultivate my gardening skills (or lack thereof) a bit more this year and plant a few things in small containers for our porch. We really have quite limited space, but I know that hasn’t stopped a whole movement for container gardening in tiny spaces from springing up! If you have any green thumb resources (books or websites) that you could recommend, I’d love to hear about them!

Have a lovely Monday!