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Valentine’s
The thing about Valentine’s Day is, if you keep your eyes open, you’ll find love and kindred spirits among all sorts of people. Some of these people might offer you romantic love; others will give you a sustained and dedicated, familial love; still others will come into your life to nurture a lifelong and compassionate friendship. There’s no singular type, there’s no one size fits all. And that, I think, is the real beauty of a day like today. So, however you celebrate today — or even if you don’t celebrate today at all — just know that I think you are phenomenal, and you are cherished. SIGNED, anya elise
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pocket postcards vol. 3
Dear Thanksgiving 2017: Thank you for being a day of warmth and sun and bright skies. You made it possible for the local Turkey Trot to commence unimpeded. (I people-watched from the sidelines with coffee and a cinnamon roll in hand; it was lovely.) To the doggo dressed like a turkey at the aforementioned Trot: You were a delight, never change. To my tiny kitchen: You proved the perfect studio for painting the canvas that was our feast, despite your rather diminutive size. This was my first time hosting Thanksgiving, and it was a smashing success (if I may say so myself). To our nearby grocery store: Even though I…
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Our Christmas
It turns out I’m not terribly good at documenting Christmas festivities. At least not this year. I expect this is for one of two reasons: The still-present childhood delight of Christmas Eve — gathering with the family, eating too much sugar, opening presents — distracted me beyond measure. The inclination to unplug and just enjoy quality time with loved ones kept the camera mostly at my side instead of in front of my eyeballs. Or this sneaky extra one: A combo deal incorporating both of the aforementioned reasons. For the first time in, I think we decided four years, all of my siblings were in the same place for Christmas. This meant…
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Christmas Cards 2016
I believe in the power of letters. Sending them, receiving them, affixing them with kitschy postage stamps, and trekking along neighborhood sidewalks to drop them off in those metal blue boxes, always somehow arriving past the last pickup time of the day. This is a practice that just doesn’t happen enough these days, which is why I love the holiday season so very much. I think it’s positively grand when December rolls around and notes from loved ones living near and far start arriving at our door. I tack them up on our refrigerator one by one to be enjoyed throughout the month. (Being the truly great housekeeper that I am, these missives usually…
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A Christmas Tree Tale
Once upon a time, there lived an evergreen tree. He grew up on a farm beside lots of friends of similar stature. They grew big and tall until one day a team of people with chainsaws came along and chopped the no-longer-so-little fellows down. For our friendly hero, this startling development only became more alarming when he was wrapped in twine, stacked into a rather large covered truck and hit the open road for Denver, Colorado. When next he saw the light of day, our tree was being unloaded into a semi-covered pen at a home repair store. Before long, families and small children started filtering by his new little section of the world.…
