I found one! A teapot, that is. And it was just $5 from a local thrift store.
The title of this post is one of my favorite quotes from my favorite childhood book, Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye. It alludes to the unifying power of tea across cultures. It’s a sweet sentiment, I think.
I found this photo on Tumblr and traced it back to here. I just love it. I can’t stop looking at it. It encompasses everything I’ve been trying to achieve lately.
Peace.
Serenity.
Quiet.
Calm.
Minimalism.
Introspection.
Clarity.
The tones, the colors, the setting. The mix of industrial and natural textures. The framing, how the wall is blocking part of the table and the viewer doesn’t know who or what is around the corner.
The teapot. I love that damn teapot. I’ve been indulging in a lot of tea lately and it’s seriously been helping me balance my life. And I’m not much of a New Age-y person (not that there’s anything wrong with that, I’m just much more of a skeptic) but the ritual of making, drinking and savoring tea has profoundly impacted my day-to-day life.
Places like these keep popping up in my imagination and then I find actual photos of real places and I know it’s possible to make this kind of space for myself.
I’ve never really understood the whole Tumblr and Pinterest phenomenons until recently. I didn’t really get how saving these images and GIFs from around the web were important. But both resources have been monumental in helping me see the potential for quality of life–improving it in simple ways, like putting a pretty teapot on a pretty table. It’s inspiring in a straight-forward, no-nonsense way, like, you’ll either find this beautiful or you won’t. I love going back to my profiles to find themes and connections between the images I find moving. Sometimes I don’t remember finding certain things and it’s like a nice note to myself. This image is one of those–I’d completely forgotten about it until this week. I love the internet and I love the many ways it inspires me often.
Took a walk with Andrew yesterday to the park across the street to clear my head. It worked, for a little bit at least. Lately I’ve been living a week at a time. Once this week is over I can recenter–catch up on my NaNoWriMo project, finish some books I started reading, watch some movies, make some things I’ve been putting off. I’m looking forward to relaxing.
The first snow day is always exciting. It’s like the whole city takes a deep breath. It’s all quiet, calm, clean, new. To me, winter isn’t winter without snow. I’ve lived in Nevada for ten years so I guess now I’m spoiled.
Right now I have a sleeping kitty on my lap and I’m trying to catch up on my NaNoWriMo book. I’m listening to Sucre and Vanessa Carlton. Andrew got me breakfast. It’s been a nice morning. 
It was a cold, blustery day here in Northern Nevada. It seemed like everyone was appreciating the visible change in season. I love when the atmosphere changes. I can feel it in my bones.
I used the coldness as an excuse to wear my favorite scarf, which marks it as the first scarf day of the year–almost as good as the day I get to pull my boots out of the back of my closet. When the sky is grey out, I tend to get up earlier so I can enjoy the cold weather. I also put my hair up in a bun and forgo wearing lots of makeup since I like the way cold air makes my skin feel.
Storms make me feel like change is on the horizon, and not just in the clouds.
We went to Apple Hill this weekend for the third year in a row, which I guess solidifies it as our fall tradition. We like to pick out our pumpkins to carve, as well as some of the famous apples (can’t go to Apple Hill without getting apples, right?) I also picked up some squash to bake sometime in the next few weeks, and we splurged and got some apple donuts, which are delicious! On the way home, we stopped by FiftyFifty, a brewery in Truckee, and picked up a growler of their Imperial Stout. I guess we were feeling like our Skyrim characters. We also went to dinner at the Sasquatch Tavern in Verdi, and got the Sasquatch Coffee, which was similar to Irish coffee. It was a fun and very autumn-themed day!
And now it’s my birthday, so here’s to being 24!
I went out to Golden Valley last week as part of a “waste stream tour,” where I visited different trash and recycling facilities. The Golden Valley stop was intended to showcase illegal dump sites, where people haul their trash out to the middle of nowhere. It’s quite upsetting, really, but in any case, Golden Valley is very pretty. I used to hate sagebrush, but after being a Nevadan for 10 years (wow, already?!) I’ve come to love it. It is our state flower, after all. I guess that speaks for itself. 
Fall is, without a doubt, my favorite season of the year. Part of this is because my birthday happens in the fall, so the season always holds a bit of magic and anticipation. I love that the weather is finally cooler, and I enjoy the sites and smells that accompany the fall holidays. It always seems to be my busiest time of year, but it’s usually the happiest, too. This is the first weekend in weeks where I’ve been finally able to relax and enjoy it!
From top:
I’m spending the rest of my evening playing the new Skyrim DLC, Hearthfire! Have a great weekend.
Whew. I’ve been really busy lately and I haven’t had a lot of time to myself. During these kinds of times I find myself retreating into myself, which sounds odd, but somehow I manage to be more aware and in tune with myself when I’m busy than when I have an abundance of free time. I think it’s because when the rare quiet moment does come along, I savor it more than I usually would. I start looking for things to revel in rather than taking peace for granted. I also tend to appreciate my ability to persevere even when I get overwhelmed. Once I get to these times, I usually end them feeling triumphant and relieved, but I can’t go very long not being busy. I think it’s in my blood to keep going, going, going.
One of my favorite musicians is Vanessa Carlton and I just found out that she’s had a new music video out for a while and I somehow hadn’t seen it yet. It’s of her song “Hear the Bells” from her most recent album, Rabbits on the Run, which is a beautiful album. I love this video, too, because even though it’s simple, I think she looks so beautiful in it and I like the flashbacks from her childhood. It also gets me in the mood for the darkness of the fall and winter.
Floating on the sea, stars are watching me
Current takes me out, what will be will be
She says:
“Hear the Bells” is about clarity, enlightenment. It is song map about the journey of someone who is seeking out a remedy. But remedies lie within us. That is powerful and true but not always obvious. I hope the song is a reminder. In society the sound of a bell marks an important time, whether from a church tower or a chime in a garden, it is always a sort of mystical alarm.
What time are we upon and where do I belong?
