Daffodils in Sunlight

Is there anything more quintessentially spring than white daffodils nodding in a spring breeze? 

A Walk in the Park on a Not-So-Springy Day

Having a home on the market means finding creative things to do whenever you're banished from your home. Thankfully, since I'm writing a book, I can toss my Chromebook in my purse and take it anywhere-- coffee shop, park, my car if all else fails. A bigger challenge is finding places to go with a pup. There are only so many stores that allow pets and only so many restaurants with patios. Over the past few days, Solo and I have really gotten to know the good people of Home Depot, who always seem to have a stash of dog treats stashed in those orange aprons. 

Monday, we had to leave the house for one hour. Such a small time frame didn't really warrant driving out to a store or setting up shop at our favorite cafe Frederick Coffee Co. So, I hitched Solo's harness, and we pawed our way to nearby Baker Park, one of my absolute favorite spots in the city. It wasn't exactly a nice springy day--49 degrees and rainy-- but we bundled up and enjoyed a stroll around the park's perimeter. Hints of green coaxed me along when the chilly weather felt like too much. 

As we walked along--me, trying to restrain Solo as he eagerly eyeballed the ducks; Solo, trying to pull me into Carroll Creek-- I thought to myself that these forced excursions maybe be a good way to visit some of my favorite spots in Frederick before we move. Spots like this low waterfall beside the weeping willow. I've decided the we need to come have a picnic here when the weather turns nice. Enjoy some sandwiches and cream sodas, watching the busy ducks waddle along the creek banks. 

Here are a few more pictures of our rain-drizzled Monday evening walk. 

What are some of your favorite spots in your hometown?

10 Favorite Springtime Rituals

Let the record show that this week in Frederick, Maryland the temperature reached the high 70's. Last I checked, the high actually tipped out at 77 degrees. In March. In Maryland. I could get used to this. Oh, I could get very used to this!
With the arrival of this spectacular weather, I have come down with a substantial case of spring-fever. When I say substantial, I mean wearing bright colors all the time, busting out the flats, stalking the flower department at my local nursery. As soon as the first trays of pansies appear, you'll find me roving the nursery aisles, greedily collecting trays of blooming pansies left and right. 
Here are a few of my favorite rituals for welcoming the spring season. 

1. Open the windows As soon as the temperature gets into the high 50's, I try to open my windows. I immediately start to shiver and regret it. You can bet with these beautiful 60 and 70 degree days, I've had the windows wide open, ceiling fans whirring overhead. I love feeling the gentle spring breeze and watching the currents gently rise and fall. And nothing beats the smell of fresh air in your home after a long, stuffy winter.
2. Bring home fresh flowers. Nothing makes a home feel fresh and airy like fresh flowers. I love bringing home a bunch of hot pink carnations and arranging them in my favorite vase for the front window. Plus, carnations seem to last forever. Another spring favorite: hyacinths only bloom for a little while but they will fill the room with their sweet fragrance! 
3. Start wearing flats. With the warm weather comes freedom from boots and socks. And I love it! It's just liberating to slip into a pair of flats with jeans after months of trudging through snow in thick-soled boots. 
4. Eat outside.  My absolute favorite thing about spring is eating outside on our patio. Sometimes on Sundays, we'll grab takeout and toss a tablecloth over our patio table. Somehow food just tastes better when eaten outside, doesn't it? 

5. Get my hands in the dirt. The one house chore that never gets old to me is garden work. Grubby fingers and dirt under my nails is not a bad way to spend a day. Holding myself back and not planting flowers too soon is always the hardest part about spring. The nice weather allows lulls me into thinking that there will be no frost ever again-- but we know that's not true! This time of year you can plant leafy vegetables, lavender, and pansies. 
6. De-clutter the house and clean out the closets. Around this time of year, I find myself wanting to clean out all my dresser drawers and closets. Bulky winter sweaters and coats take up so much room don't they? At the end of each season, I go through my clothing to determine what I wore and what I didn't wear. Inevitably there are always a few items I purchased and somehow never wore, convinced that some change overcame them between the store and home. What I don't need I always donate or sell. 
7. Deep clean the entire house. Inviting all the natural spring light into the house illuminates the dust and grime that winter leaves behind. A good deep clean is not the most enjoyable spring ritual, but it always pays off. Not just the carpets and hardwoods... but the baseboards, ceiling fans, windows... all those places the get neglected in the regular cleaning cycle. 
8. Create a summer-y playlist on Spotify. An excess of streaming sunshine puts me in the mood for all my summertime favorites: Simplified, Jack Johnson, Dirty Heads, Sublime, etc. Together they create a perfect playlist that puts me in the mood for sunshine, pool-side livin', and something fruity in a tall glass. 
9.  Wear bright colors. In winter, I tend to gravitate toward neutral or dark colors: greys, blacks, navy blues. Yet my springtime closet explodes with pinks and blues and greens-- the bright Lily Pulitzer-esque, spritzy colors indigenous to every Southern girl's wardrobe. 
10. Add some bright fabrics to decor. Swapping out my thick throw blankets for bright floral print pillows is another favorite ritual for welcoming spring into my home decor. Other spring decor favorites: citrus-y candles, boxwood wreaths, and fresh hyacinths from the grocery store. 
What's your favorite thing about spring??
Art pictured: aptly named "Spring Fever," 24x36 available at my Etsy

Our Weekend in Photos // Spring in the City

Tax week for the self-employed is no festive holiday. We cinch our belts tighter and grumble at the happy shop posters and bulletins asking "what will YOU do with your refund?" Bah-humbug. Yet one benefit of living near a big city is the vast amount of available events and pastimes that are free. One of those delightfully free things is simply walking around the city enjoying the breathtaking spring weather. With this in mind, Mark and I woke up early Saturday and hopped a metro train to DC where we spent the day with sun on our shoulders, 

After spending the morning at the zoo (where I woefully did not take any pictures), we hiked up what seemed a never-ending hill to reach a metro station. Along the way, we passed row after row of gorgeous homes, all of which gave me googley-eyes. If only they didn't have million-dollar pricetags to accompany them.

One of my favorite places to visit in D.C is the Botanical Garden. Even though the flowers always seem the same, there's just something so tranquil about that place. So much light and color and natural beauty contained in one space, quietly growing in the center of such a bustling city.

For good eats, Mark and I love to head to Good Stuff Eatery or We the Pizza in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. These two yummy restaurants are fun places to hit if we're spending the day in the mall area. Plus, they're a relatively short walk away from the Eastern Market, one of my favorite DC attractions.

Our day concluded with sun-burned shoulders and sore feet. I don't know about you, but those two things signify a day well spent: outside in the sunshine with my honey. This weekend also reminded me that I definitely need to pull my spring and summer clothes out of storage. Sandal weather has arrived, my friends!

What did you do this weekend?  

Also, feel free to share some of your favorite DC spots!

Buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks

A few weekends ago, Mark and I went to our first Major League Baseball game together. The Washington Nationals vs the Atlanta Braves. Mark's turf vs. my turf.
To be honest, though, I cheered for the Nationals. Now wait....before you drag me from my home, carry me around the city, and shout me a traitor...Let me state my reasons:

1. I come from a avid football family. We bleed George red and black. From August to February, we live and breathe in the name of Herschel Walker, alternately cuss and praise Mark Richt, fly our colors proudly, and rally like no other. We say dawg not dog. And a car without some Georgia love--whether it be flag, sticker, or tire cover--belongs to no Bulldawg. So...in the face of all that foamy-mouthed ferocity... no other sport really mattered. So, no, although I grew up red-clay stained, I was not raised a Braves fan.
2. My husband lived and worked in Washington, D.C. And we still reside in Nats territory, so when in Rome...
3. That Bryce Harper is a lovely looking fellow and, man, can he clobber a baseball.
4. Papa Johns gives 50% off pizza every time the Nats win by 7. If nothing else will convince you to buy peanuts and cracker jacks in the name of Natitude, cheap pizza will.

Convinced? Yes, no, maybe so?
Convinced enough to grudgingly stow away your torches and ropes? Thanks.

Here's the thing about Mark and baseball: he stays until the last possible second. It doesn't matter the score, it doesn't matter if more than half of the stadium has given up and left. You stay until the ump has given the signal, and you cheer your bloody lungs out. If the board says charge, you yell charge. If it says make noise, you make noise. If it says stand on your head, you stand on your head.


Because you never know when the seemingly impossible comeback will happen. And that's another thing I love about my husband: he cheers loud, stays loyal, waves his fists like a maniac, and never gives up.