Toes in the Sand

Whew! Is January really almost over? This is the first time in recent history that I haven't spent January fawning over my list of New Year's Resolutions, and I have to admit it's not half bad. Not that I don't have plenty of goals and big intentions for 2015 -- but it seems I'm more likely to accomplish them if I just get down to it, rather than taking the time to write a list.

In the meantime, it's been a busy month filled with exciting new projects, a bachelorette party blow-out, and visits with family in the South. Here is one of my favorite photos from our visit to Ormond Beach, Florida, where Cormac experience his first taste of sand and salt water. He loved it and I'm looking forward to another trip down during the summer months!

{ Testing the waters }

{ Building castles in the sand }                                       { Squinting into the sun }

We also spent a couple days in Georgia with my parents, enjoying the comparatively warm "winter" weather (I was wearing flip-flops... guess the Midwest is rubbing off on me!) and giggling at Cormac's antics. It was thrilling to see how quickly he recognized his grandparents just from regular Facetime chats. I'm so thankful for the technological advances that allow us to stay connected, even over long distances.

Our road trip also included a special bachelorette party in the mountains for my baby sister who is getting married in March. This was my first visit to the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area in Tennessee and it was a trip! Definitely lots of touristy stuff to do in the middle of the mountains, which I really didn't expect. We had a rousing time celebrating the bride, and I can't wait for the big day in March! Family weddings are simply the best.

And now we're back home, settling into the routine again, and looking forward to warmer days with visions of beaches in our heads...

Summer in the City...

It is summer in Chicago--and that means it is only slightly warmer than it was 4 months ago! I am still getting used to these northern climes. I never spent a full summer in Michigan while in school there (only beginning of June last year...it was still cold then, too) and I have to consider this my first real summer north of the Mason-Dixon line. To be honest, I'm not sure it's that great. I miss the hot, lazy afternoons of a Georgia summer that most always ended in a warm thundershower before clearing up into a hazy, pink evening sunset. My favorite memories of summers past often involved sitting on our back porch (well, my parent's back porch), watching the rain blow in...it was exhilarating and beautiful and calming, all at the same time.

Alas, we have no porch in our current apartment (or at least not one with a view better than the rear parking lot)--and a sad lack of hot, lazy summer afternoons. Most of my days are spent so holed up in my closet of a home-office (basement floor of the building--often cold) that I sometimes I go a whole day without seeing the sun! It is a shame. But I am trying to amend this.

I schedule little outings for myself--a trip to the grocery store for tomatoes and basil; a jaunt to the used book store for a fresh read; an impromptu coffee date with a friend; and, of course, trips to the gym. On nice days, these little adventures are quite lovely, making me wish the summer would last just a bit longer here in the city. I have yet to make a trip to the so-called "beach" for fear of the crowds that may be lingering there, but it is one of my goals before the summer is out to read a book on the shores of Lake Michigan. I will have to choose a particularly hot day, or else I might freeze from the breezes blowing off the lake.

Until then, I'll just be doing laundry in my little basement of a home. :)

Yours,
RHoC