Finally, the weather is changing & wildflowers are popping up all around!

I'm so excited for what the coming seasons will bring to my life & the lives of those who surround me.

Godspeed & happy (almost) Spring, beautiful people.

Time is such a strange thing.

I feel like i should still be baking cookies, making delicious dinners, venturing around downtown, discovering nature, & staying up 'til the wee hours of the morning talking to Natalie(while she is half awake.) But, unfortunately, I have returned after a beautiful weekend in Columbia to my home to face what seems to be a plethora of papers & exams(so, we're on the same page, Nat!)

(Jess on the left, Natalie on the right)

Jess, it was so nice meeting you, & i am so happy that Natalie has such lovely people to hang out with in Columbia...as you & your little family are just that!

Thank you for such a beautiful stay, my dear best friend! It's so comforting to know that i can easily(& surprisingly cheaply!) visit you whenever the time is right! Yay. 

With the copious amount of things to have marked off of my "to-do" list by friday, blogging & scanning new film photographs probably aren't the most wise things to be putting my time into, but hey, it's a nice, relaxing break from all of this hullabaloo!

Basically, i have a hectic week ahead of me, but the end of it will be well worth it all, for I'll be driving six hours(which i am hoping to be a good time for self-reflection & meditation of sorts)to Columbia to see Natalie!

It will be a much much much needed break. 

Nicholas leaves on Thursday for Austin where he is playing a show for his first time in Texas. I'm super stoked for him, but will miss him tremendously for the five days we will be without each-others company(yeah, i know we've gone longer, but at this point, I'm hardly used to that anymore!)

At least I will be with my best friend!

Valentines Day weekend was quite enjoyable. Friday, Nick & I had dinner at Zaza's with Ben & Alex, then we all went to the Art Party downtown, which was interesting to say the least.

We have been spending a lot of time lately hanging out with the two of them, & it's been quite lovely. There's definitely never a dull moment.

(this was taken by someone else at the party, but it cracks me up. it was really rather spur of the moment, & it makes me laugh that we are doing the same thing)

Saturday Nick & i slept in quite late, then had a delicious lunch at Michelangelo's together. 

We went to the park with Nick's brother, John & his girlfriend Brittany, & wandered around the outskirts for a good while to enjoy the beautiful weather.

(funny story about this one...we were running around playing frisbee in the field when we noticed a pile of roses someone had left there. Nick joked around about how it would be funny if he laid down in them, so, naturally, i made him really do it.)

We slept in Sunday, & i then had to head home to work on my wire sculpture for nearly five hours.

Lyndsay, one of my closest friends who now lives in Tennessee, called me to say she was in town & was coming by. If you know anything about Lyndsay, you know that she is extremely unpredictable & absolutely insane(in the best way)& will show up on your doorstep from six hours away if she feels like it. We caught up & reminisced for a few, & it was a nice sunday surprise.

Also, this is Nick's new Husky who really doesn't have a name yet, but is so darling.

I have spent the last two nights re-reading the journals whose pages have been filled with my constant ramblings, doodles, photographs & bits of inspiration for the past two or so years. I have been rediscovering my muses, falling in love all over again with someone i've never fallen out of love with, & reminiscing on all the small little moments in my life that really shaped who i am now.  I have found it quite necessary to keep a settled mind by going back in time every now & then to gather pieces of the past for inspiration for the present & future. 

At one point in my journaling, i was reading the book Cunt:A Declaration of Independence

(which Natalie let me borrow, of course) I had written a quote from it that i found quite interesting, "when rabbits find themselves pregnant in times of severe environmental stress, they absorb their young back into their bodies." I have searched up & down for information on this, but to not avail!

Also, if things go as planned, i will be making an almost last-minute trip to Columbia to see my best friend in a little over a week & i am more than excited. This will be my first time to drive a long distance alone, but i actually feel that it will be good for me.

Just a little self-exploration, you know?

Mom, you & Dad don't worry too much, k?

So after writing what seems to be a rather sporadic entry, I'll leave you with my favorite photo from my first & only roll of 120 film i developed from the Diana+ camera Nicholas bought me for my birthday:

This was, by far, one of the most fulfilling weekends i have had in awhile, & i am so thankful it occurred in all it's beauty.

Friday night, we celebrated my sisters 21st birthday here at the Birdhouse by having a "fifth grade party." We busted out the old overalls, space camp shirts, air brushed t-shirts, keds, & threw in some twister, roller blades, "let me see that tootsie roll" & ace of base to boot! It was so fabulous. Although my house quickly filled with way too many strange faces, the familiar ones were enough to counteract, & make for a fan-freaking-tastic party that is near the top of my best parties ever list. & i mean, ever.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the night(among the nearly 250 that i took...)

my favorite one of Nick..."what's that lil' gremlin?"

the birthday girrrl:

(the sign behind her says "have your school photo taken here")

Saturday, the weather was absolutely something to fall in love with.  We woke up & all headed down to Something Brewing for some brunch. Afterwards, I went down to the Art Sale, found some goodies, & had a really beautiful walk home alone. My house is about a ten minute walk from the apartments where the sale was, & it was so lovely outside that i decided to take a detour down a road i had previously never been down.  

I could feel the Earth breathing & the plant spirits dancing in the wind.  It was honestly uplifting.

Today, my sister & i made a delicious pot of soup & had my Momma, Daddyo, & my love over for dinner. It was the perfect way to end the weekend. 

Ahh, i need more weekends like this one. So full of love & visits with all my favorite people(except for you, Natalie! i have to come visit you soon, but i think about you all the time & i love you so.)

Jodi tagged me in "6th folder, 6th photo." Basically,"Open the 6th picture folder on your computer, open the 6th photo and blog it. Write something about it. Then tag 6 more people to do the same."

So, although this wasn't the best shot of the few i took that day, i was happy this was the 6th photo in my 6th folder 'cause these little babies promote such beautiful memories from my last few months spent living in my mom & dad's house. 

So the story goes...

In one of her hanging plants on the front porch, my mom found this:

We were so excited to be able to watch the birth & growth of these darling creations, so we went out once a week or so & took a photo of them while momma bird was away, probably searching for food for her babies.

The last photograph we were able to get, they had grown tremendously! Their fluff had turned into feathers & they were almost ready to fly free. 

(click to photos to see them better/larger)

Thank you for tagging me, Jodi! 

I tag momma bird betty,  natalie, mark, katy, ms. beth, & lael.