[45:52]

As a result of the U.S. Election, the days following 11/9 have been some of the hardest for our country, maybe since 9/11… for myself, for my family, for my friends and for people who are already being directly attacked based on their race, religion or sexual orientation. I have struggled all week, filled with so many emotions… sadness, anger, depression and fear.  It was hard to get up and go to work, let alone do anything else. I just haven’t been able to make sense in my mind how a person like Donald  Trump could be elected President of the United States. But it happened. It’s done. And so now, we need to each find a way to move forward. It does not mean we have to agree with or accept the results. But I also don’t think we want him to fail because we are all on the same boat… sink or float. We can’t let the hate and harassment of others continue, we ALL have to take a stand against that kind of behavior. Threats against humanity based on a different belief system than you have simply cannot be tolerated. 

All week long I have been seeking light. For me, Light holds hope. And knowledge. And peace. We have to be strong and continue to fight for what we believe in and hold to be true. Each of us has a voice and when we come together, that voice can be loud enough and strong enough to move mountains.  We have to be the force that prevents this from happening again 4 years from now.  

xoxo, michele 



Flag made by my great-grandma in 1920.

p. s. Does anyone else see an eye in the upper left corner of my flag picture?  Not sure what to make of that. 

🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁

xo, shirina 

[44:52]

For the last 3 years, I have gone on a Gratitude Journey over the month of November.  I found it to be a good time to slow down, take a step back, become more aware.  Every day, I shared a photo and some thoughts on what I was grateful for that day.  It was very eye opening and I came to realize that even on the hardest of days, there was something to be grateful for… a beautiful sunrise on a cool morning, a leaf stuck to my car window, our first snowfall of the season (always gets me excited for the holidays!).

For this month of November, Shirina and I have decided to take a Gratitude Journey together on the blog.  We will share, over the next four weeks, some of the things that we are grateful for.  In this crazy time we all live in, when life can very easily become overwhelming and world events, politics, relationships, work, health and so many others things can shake us to our core… we will try and remember that Life is full of BLESSINGS and we are GRATEFUL for all of it.

Today is Daylight Savings time here in the U.S. so for our first week, we wanted to focus on time and what that means to us.

shirina

Time is such a valuable thing, the thing we wish we had more of, time with family that we’ve lost or who live far away, time to do the everyday things that seem to slip through our hands, time to love more, to connect more, to take care of ourselves and in general just more time to do what we love and to be all that we aspire to be…  

which is why it’s so important in my opinion to let those we love and cherish know it, don’t wait to tell them because before you know the moment has slipped away. 

Be joyful when you feel it, be kind even when you don’t feel it, when the opportunities are there always strive to be your best human self, give to others and remember each day, each moment to make sure to breathe it all in this wonderful thing called life… Don’t waste those precious moments in time.

michele




[43:52]

👻😱🎃👹🤖👀😻💀

What is it about being scared that is so frighteningly fun? I can’t figure it out but I do love me a good scary movie. Halloween is coming up in a couple days and it was always such a fun holiday when I was little girl. My mom usually made our costumes – we were ghosts wearing old sheets with holes for our eyes and mouth… or a witch with a big floppy black hat… I remember them well. And we had so much fun going out with our group of neighborhood friends… we would walk for what seemed like hours, venturing far from home in the never ending quest for more candy and not coming back home until our legs ached or we finally got too cold. And then we would dump all our candy onto the living room floor and start sorting it. And trading. : )  Gum was always the best and certain chocolate bars too. It was a simpler time for sure. There wasn’t the fear of what might happen if you let your kids go out alone, like there is today. The fear that someone might kidnap your child or put razor blades in their candy or crazy clowns roaming around or even worse. It was just a different time for sure.  I’m really thankful I grew up when I did.

Wishing everyone a safe, happy (and spooky) Halloween!  ~Michele

Me as a clown… 2 or 3 years old I think.  I love my mom’s outfit!!  the 70’s rocked!

Pumpkins on the steps of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s old residence.

A local haunted house… Griggs Mansion. St. Paul, MN

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Halloween and the anticipation of it all was always so exciting thinking about the loads of candy we would get and the ones that were our favorites ~ double bubble was like the best bubble gum ever and blew the largest bubbles, I loved those candies that were in the black & orange wrappers and had a peanut butter center… and smarties too!  truly any candy was a treat as sugar was fabulous in all its forms. I remember still buying penny candy in 1969 gosh that was so long ago but that’s really the first Halloween I remember… But I digress 

Choosing what our costume was going to be? and how we’d make it? 

We never had store bought costumes and had to make our own, what I wouldn’t have given to have a crown as a little girl, back then we made them out of cardboard and would cover them with sequins and chunky old fashioned glitter and thought they were quite fabulous… Then of course the big question… would it be raining? Would it be cold and I guess for all of you in the Midwest & east coast it might be snowing which meant we would have to wear a jacket and that would ruin everything because how could anyone see our costume that we worked so hard to make! That just couldn’t happen…. I think my costume that year I dressed up as a house wife I remember in those days women still wore curlers in their hair to the supermarket … Ok I’m deviating again…

I’ve spent most my Octobers at my sisters house for my birthdays but never really got to spend Halloween with my nieces or nephews but one year jordan & lulu dressed up for me and we carved pumpkins~ it was such fun… I miss those days 

I’m wishing you a happy Halloween or harvest or however you celebrate it and wishing you lots of wonderful new memories with those you love and adore xo 🎃👻  Shirina

HaPpY H🎃👀OwEeN!!!

[41-42:52]

“The days may not be so bright and balmy – yet the quiet and melancholy that linger around them is fraught with glory. Over everything connected with autumn there lingers some golden spell – some unseen influence that penetrates the soul with its majestic power.” ~Northern Advocate

xo, Shirina

🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁

I spent a warm fall afternoon roaming around St Paul yesterday. We started out at a favorite coffee joint… I got a cardamom cappuccino and enjoyed it while soaking up the sunshine out on their sidewalk patio… yum!  We then explored on foot the beauty of Summit Avenue, with its majestic and grand mansions, one of which is supposed to be incredibly haunted!  We also found one of F Scott Fitzgerald’s old residences and guess what… it’s for sale!!  Sharing some of these discoveries below. It was a good day. : ) xo, Michele 

cardamom cappuccino… YUM!

Claddagh Coffee… West 7th Street, St. Paul

Griggs Mansion… it’s haunted!

Golden leaves in front of the Griggs Mansion

F Scott Fitzgerald’s residence… it’s for sale!

[40:52]

“This strangely still pause between summer and autumn, greenery and gold and the heat and rising wind that is once again readying itself to rush it all away in a climactic symphony of color and scent is……..
in my opinion, one of the best parts about living on earth.”
~Victoria Erickson

michele

shirina

 

It’s October already.  I can’t believe how fast the year has gone.  October is always a bit of a melancholy month for me… summer is over, the weather starts to get iffy with rain and chilly days, things are dying and I know winter is knocking on our door.  But it’s also a beautiful time of year, with a burst of color in the trees, crisp cool days so perfect for long hikes in the woods and the smell of wood-burning fires (one of my absolute favorite things).  I love apple season and pumpkin season and the fun of Halloween.  This year I am focusing on what I love about October.  This week’s photos are some favorites, in celebration of the start of this new month. ~ Michele

michele

shirina

“And the sun took a step back,
the leaves lulled themselves to sleep
and Autumn was awakened.”
~Raquel Franco

shirina

michele

shirina

 

 

[36-39:52]

For both of us, September was all about travel, connections, adventure, new experiences, growth, beauty and joy.  We haven’t posted on the blog all month, as we’ve been a little busy. : ))  Here are some of our favorite quotes and photos from our travels. ❤️

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” – Helen Keller

michele

shirina

…..

“Not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien

michele

shirina

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“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

michele

shirina

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“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller

shirina

michele

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“Investment in travel is an investment in yourself.” ~ Matthew Karsten

michele

shirina

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“Lets wander where the wifi is weak.” Anonymous

michele

shirina

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“I just need some time in a beautiful place to clear my head.” 

michele

shirina

 

Never stop exploring~ happy travels!

[35:52]

The weather is starting to cool off in the mornings which makes me a happy girl… today I’m paying homage to summer and the color yellow….

wishing you lovely days filled with sunshine as the promise of Fall is around the corner…..

❤️shirina 

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I can only remember a handful of years when I did not make it to the annual State Fair. It’s a tradition that I love and anxiously look forward to every summer. The crowds, the animals, the smells, the buzz, going to the stands that have been there since I was a little girl and missing those that are no longer there, like the Pearl Divers… my sister and I could stand and watch that forever… mesmerized as we would watch people carefully selecting their oyster from the fish tank, waiting with much anticipation to see what it would look like… would it be big, small, white, pink or the very rare black pearl? It wasn’t easy for my mom & dad to peel us away from that stand and I still remember the first year when the pearl people were no longer there… that was a sad year and I still miss that childhood favorite. We usually end our day by walking through the midway at night, when all the rides are lit up in dazzling lights and there is an air of magic and mystery. This year was no exception. 

Here are a few of my favorite shots from this year’s Great Minnesota Get-Together. 

❤️ michele 

newborn piglets, sheep with wool the color of winter hats and scarves, highland cattle, speckled chickens and a speckled cow with very unusual markings

my mom & dad… my favorite picture of the day. ❤️

the midway is full of magic after the sun goes down

ending our day with some locally crafted beer and music… another year of wonderful fair memories!

[34:52]

shirina

She had this way

of always finding

the good and

believing in everything 

despite all that 

she had seen. And

that is what I loved the most-

the pure magic

of her undying hope.

-Becca Lee

michele

[33:52]

breathing dreams 

like

air.

-f. scott fitzgerald

❤️ Shirina 

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Summer time makes me want to slow down… to just keep things simple… from food, to gatherings, to warm balmy evenings and long naps on the weekends. Savoring the simple things… and practicing awareness. 

This morning I spent an hour or so sitting out on the patio, enjoying a cup of jasmine tea and soaking up the early morning sun. I saw another rainbow on the cement, today it was close to where I sat… a sweet surprise when I bent down to get my tea. I also saw this beautiful  plant reflection, a succulent that was rooted and grown from a cutting I got from my sister many, many years ago. 

my summer mantra… k e e p [it] simple

❤️ Michele 

[32:52]

The hardest step she ever took was to blindly trust in who she was. ~Atticus 

❤️Shirina 

⚜⚜⚜⚜⚜⚜⚜⚜⚜⚜⚜⚜⚜⚜

w o n d e r m e n t

❤️ Michele