And the Earth Continues to Spin

What. A. Year.  

 I began 2012 with the most amazing bachelorette party for the most amazing woman with a group of also amazing women. Best party weekend ever, hands down.  We finished up our time in Phoenix with a couple of really great concerts and a final trip to Sedona and to see James' fabulous grandparents.  Then we began to make our final preparations for the move to England. 

This year I have seen Brussels, Bruges, Ghent, Cromer, Rome, and London repeatedly.  I have seen my beautiful best friend marry the love of her life, I have missed my friends and family dearly, and I have made some incredible new friends as well.  I got to visit my wonderful sister-in-law and nephews, see a bit of San Antonio and gorge myself on delicious Mexican food.  I got to reunite with my long lost Peace Corps companion and meet a new one as well.  I stared at the Sistine Chapel Ceiling and cried, I ate Thanksgiving Dinner with the love of my life in front of the Pantheon, and we frolicked through Rome and all its offerings while the city was illuminated with grandeur and beautiful music.  

This year also brought the official launch of LoveArtWillTravel, my Etsy shop, and the realization that making art, and bringing others joy through art is the only way that I will ever be truly happy spending my day.  Even the little bit of success I have seen in the first quarter has been beyond my expectations, and my goals and dreams for this are only going to keep growing as I pour myself into it in 2013.

Today, we spent the Winter Solstice sunrise at Stonehenge, and it was a very chill and beautiful experience.  The Druids were in full regalia and practice, and the scent of weed, incense and cigars laced the very cold and crisp air.  Everyone was so happy and excited, and the silence that came over the massive crowd as the sun began to peek over the horizon was a beautiful thing to behold.  Everyone was so in tune.  I was very grateful to experience that. 

I will top off 2012 with a delicious new tattoo, a batch of scarves, a little turkey dinner for two, and a whole lot of relaxing with my amazing husband. 

2013 is looking to be pretty incredible as well; my Ashley will prance across the pond for a visit to Amsterdam and Dublin, and my Kristin will be prancing over for Oktoberfest in Germany.  My husband and I have Budapest, Naples, Copenhagen, Kiel and the Norwegian Fjords already on the schedule, and who knows where else we'll end up! 

Life is beautiful,  and I am so very grateful.  Cheers to you, everyone, and I wish you an amazing 2013!

With love,

Emily

Yoga, Jacksonville and Fire Safety

Oh yoga… I forgot how much my body loves you.  I haven’t had a hardcore yoga session since I was in Phoenix.  Being able to do this used to be my goal:

And then I met this: 

and started doing this:

and I then became obsessed with being able to lift twice my body weight.   

For the last few months, however, I have been doing a whole bunch of this:

and spending every spare moment doing this:

I must remember to balance!            

Luckily I can still do this:

So after my delicious endorphin-loaded yoga bout tonight, I was reminded of the incomparable blissful high that yoga brings and have promised to incorporate it back into the routine.  
Along with this:

 so I can do this:

while looking like this:

Yup.

Tonight, I’m working on a lovely Skyline Scarf of Jacksonville, FL for a wonderful customer and childhood friend of mine! 

I’m very excited to see the end product :)

P.S.  Henry the genius dog totally saved our house from potential disaster today when he wouldn’t kennel up until we came looking for him, and we found him sitting right next to the plug in where I had accidentally left my hair straightener on.  I knew I wanted to dress him as a firefighter for Halloween for a reason!  Such a good furry baby! This kind of looks like him...

Onward and upward!

Emily