a space to create

Last week I wrote a collection of poetry. It was the first significant amount of writing I've done in about a year, and it was important for many reasons. Furthermore it was an exhilarating, painful, and terribly honest process. I'm the type that must be in a peaceful, natural-lit, clean place to create, and I also have an irreversible need to have a drink in my hand in order to write. This is the space I created last week--more on what came out of this space, soon. xo.  

the first days of spring

you guys: spring is coming. I've seen it.

my little corner of the world

I just found these photos of my room, taken last September & forgotten about. Though my internship and my life keep me constantly running around & therefore not home very often, my room is my small sanctuary--few things feel better than curling up in my bed with my Kindle & a hot chai at the end of a crazy day. I had just moved in when these were taken, so it's a little more cluttered now, a little messier, a little more me, a little more lived in. There are some knick-knacks added, several new books stacked about, winter coats and hats hung on bedposts, and two mason jars full of silver glitter sitting on my desk that are serving as decor until I decide on something fabulous to do with allll that glitz. It's my little corner of the world, and I love it. 

holiday grams

This is what my holiday week has looked like: reading Harry Potter (for the first time) and falling in love like everyone said I would, merry-making with loved ones, baking all kinds of cookies with my mama and eating said cookies for breakfast every morning. Not to mention seeing old friends, celebrating my birthday, cuddling with my puppy, playing board games with my family & staying up 'til 2am watching Arrested Development with my brother. And accidentally sleeping until noon. Can this be forever? 

when it's cold outside.

when it's cold outside:

wake up slow & lazily bake scones, to be eaten with homemade jam that tastes like summer.

snuggle up with coffee for two.

love that guilty pup.

bake wonderful things from 1950s Betty Crocker: made with lots of love + lots of butter.

pick the perfect tree.

admire the cold, clear, blue-grey sky.

sit around the table with people who know you inside & out and somehow, some way, love you the most in the world. eat, laugh.

drink red wine & tell your favorite stories, over and over.

how do you stay warm in the winter chill? share your cozy tips. xo.

Idahograms

I spent the last few days with my family in Sandpoint, ID for my cousin's wedding. All of my mother's extended family lives there, and I have spent a week there every summer since I was born. Most of her family all live on the same street and all own beautiful land that I have countless fond memories on. It was a quick trip with lots going on, but was still a much-needed breather. I had time to think, to breathe, to laugh and swim and sip my coffee slow. I danced all night with my sister, sang "I got it from my mama" to my sleeping mama as we crossed the Columbia River, and had lazy breakfasts with my amazing, colorful, loving Idaho family. Everything I needed. Here are some instagrams from the trip! 

 Dad & Me--the start to the 7.5 hr drive. 

 morning view: my aunt & uncle's backyard, where we stayed and where the wedding took place. Waking up to this every morning was so good for the soul 

 Sandpoint City Beach, where my brother (r) never ceases to make tiny friends to make sand castles with. 

 dance floor backdrop in my uncle's barn, where the reception took place. Those are photos of various married couples in our family history--so sweet!

 wedding set-up, family style. 

 right before the ceremony. how gorgeous is this land?

 my little sister & I. 

 wedding outfit details. 

 giving the bride away. 

 many sniffles were heard as my aunt & uncle gave their baby away! 

 pups on the boat--we spent the next day boating, sunning, eating, and jet skiing in 90 degree weather. best day ever. 

 coffee & reflection on my last morning there. 

brunch with some of my favorite hometown boys before heading back to my city this morning. 

such a good trip, but nothing feels better than coming home. I am currently sipping cider, sitting in my quiet living room and catching up on Project Runway and it feels so g-o-o-d. How were your weekends? xo! 

(find me on Instagram @charityvictoria!)

home is where you are happy

I thought I would take a ton of photos while visiting my sister in San Diego--photos of us together, outfit photos, perhaps even some street style shots--I was really excited to get some good "blog material". However, while there I mostly left my camera in its case. I love photographing good times, but sometimes it's most important to just live those good times instead. I decided not to worry about blogging and instead wore what I wanted, left my camera at home & explored California with only the lenses my eyes provide. And I loved it. That being said, the one thing I did photograph is my sister's home--it is so sweet and so her that I couldn't help capturing some details. Lots of photos after the jump! 

from garden to tummy

My mother's garden is currently over-flowing with plump, vibrantly pink raspberries just begging to be picked. This is how my morning went: wake slowly, lazily pick a full bowl of berries with my pup beside me (and eating several along the way), bake them into this yummy buttermilk cake, make coffee, eat it while still warm on the back deck with my sister. From garden to tummy in under an hour: tasted just like summer. 

what home is.

Just a few shots from a quick trip to my parents' house last week. When I think of the word "home", this is what I see. What do you see? Have a lovely Sunday, friends. xo.