and, a happy alabama football 1st-game-of-the-season day to you!

i'm headed home...

to the home of cracker barrel, chick-fil-a, and waffle house. the home of iguana grill, silver coin, and urban standard. the home of "ya'll" and sweet potato casserole with marshmallows!

and of course, to a home filled with family, friends, and alabama football!

oh, and it feels good to be done with quarter # 2 (only 5 more to go!).

birmingham.

Sometimes I feel the more that I live away from Birmingham, the more I want to connect with it, understand it, remember it. It's an interesting sentiment to grasp given my many years of separation desperation. However, each time I come back here I get to see new places I've never been to. I get to experience not just the trashy sprawl, but the revamping efforts (gentrification) in downtown (a place of much lived history). I see a completely different city than what I grew up in, there's stores I like, art galleries, and coffee places I want to go back to. There's quirky people and hipsters, it feels oddly familiar, but not.

So yesterday, I got to be a tourist and lovely SarahMargaret was my tour guide.

First, she showed me her gorgeous house. (Maybe she can come decorate for Micah and I??)


scout, her roommate's cat


millie, sm's cat



Then she showed me around her area and a little of downtown.




SM, thank you for being my tour guide and showing me bits and pieces of home. Oh, and don't be surprised if I start emailing you constantly asking for design advice!



p.s. Happy 2-month anniversary Micah! I miss you and love you so much!

onward & upward.

I'm leaving for Alabama. In fact, as I type this I find myself in the Denver airport enjoying free wireless, while I sip my dazbog vanilla latte. It may be early and I may want to curl up next to the woman on the end of my row to keep from freezing to death, but it's not so bad.

I'm spending four days (sans husband) in the sunny south hanging out with a dear friend. I'll of course get to see family and catch up with other friends, but my trip is distinctly purposeful. Purposeful not in the sense that I'm going with an agenda (other than maybe to convince said friend to move to denver!), but purposeful in the sense of going, of spending much needed friendship time! And for that purpose, I can't wait.