Michel's first snow!

lately grammies - May 2013 w/ my love!

Could things be more wonderful? The love of my life has finally arrived and we have no more tearful goodbyes awaiting is in the near future! My heart is so full of joy and gratitude and peace. 

A few happy moments from the past week...

Honey and Michel's first encounter! :)

Adorable little turtles sunbathing on my early morn walk.

  Michel's first Starbucks!

  THIS FACE MAKES ME MELT! 

 A happy happy family.

NYC leopard scarf - new Jcrew pants I got on sale - golden sparkles & Starbucks in hand :)

Balance.

One thing I love about getting older is learning about myself. My strengths and weaknesses, what I truly value in life, what drives and motivates me during the day, what truly interests me other than what I think I "should" be interested in, and the list goes on an on. One little lesson I've learned is that I thrive on being busy! I crave and long for a vacation, but once it is given to me I need to be active and find things throughout the day to do to keep me from going insane. But, it is all a balancing act. Filling your days with work that challenges and motivates you, can only be sustainable if you balance it with a certain chunk of time during the day to relax, or do something mindless that brings your joy. For me this includes mugs of hot and steamy black tea w/ honey, snuggles with my little puppy, reading a book, good  conversations w/ inspiring people over soy lattes, weekend trips once in a while to DC/B-MORE/NYC since they are close by, and TONS of other wonderful things. Make sure you find a balance between working your booty off and doing thing sweet little relaxing things that bring you joy. Watching TV doesn't count. If it is hard for you to find time try penciling in your planner just 20 mins of pure FUN. Be kind to yourself and make it a priority. You deserve it. 

Few of my favorite pastimes:

(Laughs w/ beautiful people.)

 (Cozy little tea parties.)

(Honey snuggles.)

Laughter.

My favourite thing to capture in a photograph is laughter. Laughter is honest. I was talking with some friends a few days ago about how pure of an act laughing is. My friend brought up that he finds laughter to be a form of prayer. When we laugh we are so detached from the physical world we live in and our ego. If only we could maintain this sense of detachment every time we prayed. 

1. Riz on a hot summer day in Akka.
2. N during 10-10.
3. Beautiful people at Uri Buri one evening in September.
4. My sister and the pub toils.
5. Ned having tea on one of our first nights together as flatmates.
6. My radiant Palauan friend retelling a story on hillel stairs.