Hiking and cooking!

New Year's Eve had me stepping off of chores some and heading to the woods with my kids....to our very favorite place Hornbecks....we found it early on in our journey and it speaks to the three of us deeply.....something about those woods in particular feels like healing, magic, and home......and it has been awhile since we were there and it was just what we needed.....some fresh air and exercise......I also picked up stuff to make meatballs and and made dinner for the kids, and my parents in my new kitchen! It is not done by any means but it was enough that I could pull that off, and that felt incredible:) I am falling deeply in love with my new space, and the feeling it is giving me there.....a long way from looking at insulation, and unfinished stuff for so so long......my parents love it too, and now see the pieces coming together.....my new countertop came yesterday.....it is a beautiful wood, and will look amazing in there....and the counter was one of those subtle things that happened through a conversation with my contractor when our paths crossed.....my realizing that our original plan was not what I had had in my mind's eye....and us finding this as the one, and it all working out before it was too late:) And that really has been how the project has been....an unfolding.....a lesson in timing.....in evolution....in design.....in all of it.....the cabinets are nearly all the way in.....the sink goes in this week and the counter I hope.....and by next week we really have hit the home stretch.....I have so much room in there now it is incredible....and I cannot wait for all of the cooking I will be doing in there in the future:) I also found an alternative tile yesterday for the backsplash....the one we ordered looked nothing like the picture....so I ran out yesterday and found this other tile....it is a hexagon....dark gray....and I was nervous about putting something in there that has six sides lol:) Bad juju wise;-)....but when I looked it up, it actually has lots of beautiful meaning in architecture and spirituality wise....and mimics nature.....like a honeycomb:) It was a couple of lovely articles I read....so that feels kind of fun and meant to be a part of it too:) So the unfolding.....is here....getting back in the woods yesterday was a perfect way to set up this year....I am much better when I am hiking regularly, the kids too.....so the new year will find me taking the kids hiking every weekend I have them, even if it is a short one:) Finding some new adventures to see.....and each time I am in the woods talking, and laughing ,and playing with my kids I am just so grateful for the energy the three of us share....all loving that sort of thing....but also the way it slows us down and connects us so deeply.....we talked about a few favorites we had done, and they were remembering and I hope those memories stay with them always...all alongside breathing that clean and beautiful air....and for today it is time to get ready to go back to work, and the hustle some before a well placed weekend hits:) Happy New Year to you all, and thank you for still reading and hanging with me on this journey:) I am grateful to you all:) I have some fun plans for my blog come 2025, stay tuned:) xoxo