Bella Notte

Norfolk, VA now holds a special place in my heart. My band, kindlewood loaded up the car on Saturday with instruments and bodies and made the trek to our destination: With Lavender and Lace. Our mission was to make new friends, play some music, raise money for Haiti and have a great time. Check, check, check and check. 

We arrived in the afternoon and were taken such good care of by Elisa - who is going to Haiti next month. She fed us, showed us around and made us feel so, so loved. Elisa planned this whole shindig and I bow to her event planning and organizational skills. 

Some other folks who helped make the night magical are Call Me Cupcake, RAD Vintage America, Jake Hull and Kelsie McNair. 

My hope is renewed in people's desire to get off the couch, band together and create beautiful things, experiences and relationships. Thank you to everyone in the world who is making this effort!

XXOO

With Lavender and Lace

My band, kindlewood is taking a little road trip today to Norfolk, VA to gather with some lovely people, eat food, play music and raise money for Haiti. I couldn't be more thrilled.

The icing on the cake is that we get to play at this vintage boutique called With Lavender and Lace owned by Kelsie (yay!) Mcnair. This young lady is quite impressive and I can't wait to meet her.

I snagged these pictures of the store off of Kelsie's blog. Side note: I recently found out that Miss Kara Haupt of I Just Might Explode (whom I greatly admire) admires Kelsie Mcnair. What a small world of admirers!

A full report of today's festivities to follow soon!

XO

The Sea Called

I just got back from my family's annual beach trip to Cape May, NJ. I'm certain this is the east coast's best kept secret beach. It's charming and lovely and perfectly quirky in every way.

My parents (above) own two amazing victorian beach houses (unbelievable, I know) and rent them out. Familial relations has it's perks. But, even if they weren't tycoons (kidding) we would still make it a priority to come together. We love each other.

My Portland-dwelling brother (boogie boarding above) and his lady love were able to make it for this annual event along with my parents, husband and little sis. Hearty laughs and meals were shared and love was present. I'm grateful for the bond we share despite our differences.

Until next year!

XO

Two Wed

This past weekend, my best Middle School/High School sleepover buddy // laugh 'til you cry Photobooth partner // "walk down the street linking arms cause we're 14" partner in crime  // wise beyond her years bf -- got married in MA.

Lydia Williams (technically still Luse) is a girl unlike any other. She and her new husband Mike brought together some of the most incredible people - people I'm deciding to have in my life from now on. The rush of emotion was overwhelming at times, but so, so good. What a sweet weekend and joyous wedding.

It was so sweet and so joyous that I completely lost my brain and didn't take any pictures. So, the one above is actually my bridesmaid bouquet drying in the car on the way home. Even though I'm a little sad not to have gotten any more pictures, it's kind of amazing and lovely to have such great memories summed up in one simple image. 

XO



P.S. One of the incredible people that I got to meet is Anne Taylor. She also has a blog and had a mind to take such good pictures of the weekend. Hop on over and take a peek!

Pining For

One of my happiest of happiest places is falling asleep on the beach. Is there anything like it? Where the wind whips around your head, and you have to completely cover yourself in a towel to escape it, but you can still hear it whistle. You can make a little cradle out of sand and wake up to find the back of your head is asleep. (Does this happen to anyone else?) You can sit and read for hours under an umbrella while munching on potato chips and an egg salad sandwich from the cooler and not feel the least bit of guilt. A bag of cherries is a must, followed by a burial for the all pits I just spit onto the sand. You feel salty all the time from multiple swims in the ocean. And the smell ... that sea smell is just the best.

I'm pining for August.

Christmas Past / Hello New Year

Future. This word... this scary, wonderful word has been on my mind lately. I guess it's appropriate timing. Christmas has just ended and this year, I really didn't want it to. January 1 is just around the corner and I'm in the midst of some major transitions. Sigh. Why couldn't there have been some freak time warp where Christmas lasted like, a week? At the very least. Oh well, time to put on my grown up pants.

Christmas was lovely. We stayed at my parents' victorian beach house in Cape May, NJ. We ate the yummiest food and shared the best cuddles and hugs. I got a few things on my Christmas list (a Patagonia Fleece, a Pendleton bag). My sister and I watched one of our favorite musicals, Thoroughly Modern Millie. To top it off, we took a horse and carriage tour of Cape May, complete with blankets and sleigh bells. It was the best.

Merry Little Tree

Pendleton Bag

I also spent a lot of time in this little kitchen thinking my future thoughts and I have some really good ideas. There's just something about how the sunlight fills that room that makes everything look bright. I guess we'll just have to see. I have lots of hope.

Magic Kitchen

Happy New Year, people. Let's see what the future holds.

xo
kelci

Hello (Home Again, Home Again)

Let's start this off right with a good dose of adventure. I'm in this band called kindlewood and we just got back from a 3 month tour. It was a life-changing, eye-opening experience that I will never forget nor regret doing. We started our trip in a 1985 Jamboree, lovingly named Doo-Doo. That was a mistake, but an amazing mistake nonetheless. We spent many hours sitting in repair shops and going down hills in white-knuckled silence. We cooked in parking lots and got our picture taken in NYC. We got asked for weed, a few times. We laughed, we cried and we brushed our teeth in Walmart bathrooms. I can't wait to tell my kids about it someday. 

Doo-Doo in Boston, photo by Jamison Lyman

Then we got wise and decided that while Doo-Doo was totally rad, it was costing us an arm and a leg to put gas in and repair. So, we settled on a volvo station wagon...which got broken into and most of our gear was stolen (over $7,000 worth). We thought we were done. In a last ditch effort, Galen (my hubby and band mate) put a donation button on our website to see if we could at least get enough money to buy a couple acoustic guitars. In about 72 hours, we had raised enough money to replace all of our gear and even upgrade some. It was an amazing show of kindness, compassion and support. See? There are great people in the world.

We were able to finish out our tour and see some of the most amazing sunsets, mountains, lakes and cities in the US (and cats). Not to mention, meet some of the most kind and open-hearted people. We made true friends. This is the beginning of what I want the rest of my life to look like: full of adventure, full of love and just plain full.

Bear Lake, UT

Arizona sunset (in volvo)

Zuzu the cat

xo
kelci