the sou'wester.

Last weekend, Jeffrey and I spent a night at the Sou'wester, which is a mix of private cabins, vintage travel trailers, suites, and campsites. For Christmas, I told Jeffrey that I just wanted to be surprised, and this is what he found! Because it was so cold, the entire tiny town was really quiet and peaceful. We stayed in the big red lodge, and our room was absolutely perfect. There was a kitchen and a bedroom and a porch, which we didn't get to take much advantage of due to the weather. We're already planning a trip back when it's a little warmer.

Walking through the surrounding neighborhood bundled up and driving through the deserted tourist town (probably crawling with people come summer!) and picking out a VHS to watch and making spaghetti in our little kitchen and watching the sunset on the beach and eating It's It ice cream sandwiches that had been smushed due to travel and reading for hours on end; this is how I will remember our beautifully fleeting trip.

Some places just feel like magic in every corner, and this was one of them.

(I frustratingly forgot my camera, so these were taken on my iPhone!)

weekenders.

 

This weekend Jeffrey and I stayed a night at the Sou'wester. It was so much fun and even the drive was pleasant. It felt really nice just to know we were heading somewhere to relax. Jeffrey brought all the supplies we needed to make our favorite spaghetti for dinner. We walked around the neighborhood in the freezing cold. We drove(!) down onto the beach to watch the sunset. We read books for hours. We watched Amélie. We talked about lots of different things, serious and lighthearted and everything in between. It was the most restorative, lovely, relaxing little trip.

We had to cut our trip a little short due to a snowstorm that was heading toward Portland, so we packed up a little early and drove back to the city. At home, we lit candles and made curry and watched Superstore and today we made pancakes and cookies and spent the entire day in our pajamas. It was the perfect weekend and I'm so glad for that.

charleston, south carolina.

walking south of Broad after the entire city was asleep // getting ice cream in the freezing cold // cracking up in way too quiet Black Tap // cookies on the top porch // leon's at 4 in the afternoon for soft serve (with sprinkles) // BBQ in the middle of a crowd // walking the Battery // cupcakes on the side of Sugar // sandwiches on Queen Street sidewalk // window boxes, window boxes, window boxes // chai at St. Alban while it poured // hot biscuits with all the fixins' // sewing shop with all the best, old stuff // endless historical markers and stopping to read all of them // happy, sweet, slow spring break

succulents, gardens, and my dreamworld.

I have this dream in my mind where I live in an airy, white farmhouse. It is situated on a large-but-not-too-large piece of land, nestled somewhere in the middle of the mountains. It's almost always raining in this dream, the natural light streams through the windows, I am enjoying a cup of tea, wearing a flowing, white dress (to match the white farmhouse?), there is a brick chimney, and there's something delicious bubbling on the stove. I am looking out a large, paned window onto my well-tended garden. My garden is full of many, many things — vegetables, fruits, flowers (ranunculus and daisies, please), and regardless of the season, it all grows just fine.

And in this dream, there were never really succulents present. That is, until we visited Jeffrey's grandparents' home and I saw the beauty and majesty of a yard overgrown with succulents. In my real life, I've had plenty of small, potted succulents, and I've loved each of them dearly, but it wasn't until I saw them growing in vast quantities that they became a part of my dream garden. And now, when I imagine this dreamworld, I see the succulents, too. And of all these things growing in my garden live in perfect harmony. And since it's a dream, they probably grow and survive without so much as a wink and a nod on my end.

video: portland honeymoon 2013.

Song: I Always Knew by The Vaccines

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