I Miss Mexico

I recently discovered the fun of clicking backward on my friends' facebook photo tags, to see the original oldie-but-goodies. I found these of myself in Mexico, and they brought be back instantly. I do wish I had my own photos, but once upon a time I was anti-photography and the way it takes over a present moment. Yes, even while studying abroad. So here they are, all I have:

1. my short hair

2. the sun

tepotzlan:

3. a strange man asked us if we spoke spanish and if we wanted a photo with his daughter

4. walking to find the campground

5. setting up camp for my friends (I didn't stay. I had a weird feeling about the place and took a midnight bus home.)

6. setting up camp

7. dancing with chinelos

8. horchata in our school cafe

9. field trip

10. field trip

11. the walk from school to the bus stop

12. a view of Cuernavaca, where we stayed and studied

13. a chapel we visited in D.F.

PS: Thank you friends for your facebook photos.


Now, the trouble with falling in love with one country is that it prevents you from seeing other places. I was in Mexico twice in 2009 and I missed it a lot these past two years. Jake and I are saving for another trip elsewhere but it's taking some self control to not redirect our travels south.

The Road Home

Fall colors, sailboats, family.

Autumn in Chicago: guest post by Paper Armour

I love Chicago.

I love autumn.

I love the real people I know who blog.

So I combined all of these things to create a lovely series of real, Chicago, falltime celebration happiness!

My final guest post for you comes from a dear friend and (now) neighbor! Jake and I have dinner with Elspeth and her husband almost every Sunday. Our conversations are usually about something creative, and I'm so thankful for that. It's no surprise to me that these two made a video. Welcome to our world!

I lived my entire life in Massachusetts before moving to Chicago for college and my family goes back way way way back in the history of New England. So a love for Autumn runs in my blood. It's no surprise to me that Autumn is most people's favorite season, it's so beautiful! It has been hard to adjust to Chicago Autumns though (this is my fifth Autumn away.) They're different and make me more homesick than any other time of year. I have been told that Graceland Cemetery has beautiful Autumn foliage, but haven't ever made the trip to see it. What I do instead is take refuge in the Lurie Garden in Millennium Park. 


The garden is surrounded by seriously tall evergreen trees that do their best to block out sound, but you still know you're in a city. I love the contradictory nature of the Lurie Garden, they're a refuge and a haven, yet not quite. It feels small and huge at the same time, because it's designed in such a way that you feel enclosed, and then you turn a corner and expect to be walking out of the garden, and OH MY! There's more garden! It's called a "garden" but it rarely has big swaths of colorful flowers. Instead it usually has many varieties of decorative grasses and wildflowers that look manicured and overgrown at the same time. It's even beautiful in the winter, which is quite a feat for any garden. Bring a book and a hot beverage, wear a sweater, and enjoy the haven you've just found.

I wanted to fill this post with photos of the garden, but my husband did me one better. He made an awesome video of our trip there! Don't worry, it's short and sweet.

 
Lurie Garden from Zach Harris on Vimeo.

photo credit via

breakfast & sleepover

Post-party breakfast ... at around 2 pm.


After breakfast, the womenfolk got lazy on the couch (I love friends I can be lazy with) while our gents practiced musix.

And that night, the little ones I babysit came to my house for once.
Jake spent the night elsewhere but in the morning when he came back, we played "jail" and this is how they set him up:

paaaaaartay for warmth

Oh my gosh our house is so warm after this Friday. If you know what I mean.

Jamie and Elspeth spent the night. (And I had an after-party on facebook with my neighbor who was locked out at 3 am woot.) But I cracked a joke the next morning like, "Man our house is so warm." And Elspeth said, "It's because of all the bodies who were in it." And Jake said, "I figured out how to close the window finally." And then I had to be like, "That was a joke people."