Some mornings almost make me believe I'm a morning person...

This was one of those mornings.

For me...

This justifies everything.

"The last time of anything has the poignancy of death itself.  This that I see now, she thought, to see no more this way.  Oh, the last time how clearly you see everything; as though a magnifying light had been turned on it.  And you grieve because you hadn't held it tighter when you had it every day."

               -Betty Smith (A Tree Grows In Brooklyn)

Lately, I'm finding that it's these moments that I cherish more than anything else.  In the midst of my generally hectic life, I sincerely appreciate these rare moments of quiet.  My apartment in the morning.  A strong cup of coffee.  A good book.  A hot bath. 

Puppy schnuggles. 

Nothing like making a Christmas ::wish:: list to help with a cold, dreary Monday...

A girl can dream, right?

It simply would not feel right to let my favorite season pass without some recognition...hence, my yearly homage to all things fall <3

Football and pumpkins and cold foggy mornings

Pea coats and rain boots and puppies in sweaters...

Lattes and baking, and all that the holidays bring....  

These are a few of my favorite things.

Seasons .Change.

I sat down for quite a while this afternoon, trying to find a way to put the last few months into words.  I'm the type of girl who craves meaning in even the most mundane situations,  and always like to have something to "show" for my experiences.  

The organized, highly neurotic part of me reasoned that I should make a list of things I had learned this summer.  This way, I could quickly and easily reference my life lessons in a pinch if necessary.  This task proved to be much harder than anticipated.  After much typing and deleting, I was ultimately left with a blank screen.  I finally surrendered to the fact that some things in life aren't that clear-cut (aka list material).  

Not ready to give up entirely, as I simply could not stand the thought of not having anything to show for the past three months of my life, I found that one thought kept swirling around in my head...

I was constantly being distracted by my surroundings. A rainy Sunday afternoon; my boyfriend putting together a new bookcase in our ridiculously cozy apartment; our puppy quietly napping on the couch. It finally hit me that these were the moments that I've longed for all summer. I was finally home. So, ultimately, I gave up on my lists, and this is what I came up with...

Sometimes what begins as complete life chaos and a lengthy series of uphill battles, can end in the realization that you're exactly where you're supposed to be. 

So there you have it folks...the silver lining.

Lesson learned.