December. I'm not entirely sure where the time goes. The leaves are mostly gone, save for the few stubborn crinkly brown ones, relentlessly holding on despite the wind and cold. We've yet to have snow, but it's been predicted for Monday. Right now, snow is all I want, though I know I'll be ridiculously tired of the cold come January.

inspired by the lovely libby, i started a december daily journal yesterday. one story a day for all of december. i'm excited.

I've never before felt quite like I have this week, and I can't quite pin it down what it is. Nostalgia? Longing? Discontentment? Perhaps this feeling can't be stuffed in one box in an organized fashion. Because emotions are a messy, complicated affair, taking individual happenings and mixing, contorting, stretching them until the heart is left a bit confused. As in, what happened there? Why this? So sudden?
But I think some feelings are indescribable simple because the ingredients that created them haven't all been put together quite like that before. There are familiar, common emotions that have a name and are a given, and then there are those other ones, evoked by the strangest combination of things. These are the ones that can't fit neatly into a category no matter how hard a person tries. And I think that's what makes those feelings indescribable.









The only answer to these emotions is chocolate. Lots and lots chocolate. And Christmas cookies, made huddled around the kitchen table, flour and dough and cookie cutters everywhere, and competitions between the littles to see who can make the most perfect cookies. Four cookie sheets later, we have a pile of buttery, crispy, golden-brown trees, bells, wisemen, and stars.

Hey December? You're pretty cool.

It's gently nestled between rolling hills that rise and fall as easily as breaths. A winding rough dirt trail carved out of nature that leads through meadows and forests and hidden caves, cold spring water trickling through the cracks. And there, peacefully quiet as can be, with views that are something to behold, lies my happy place.

my new sweater and i are already fast friends.

We headed to this perfect little corner of the world spontaneously in the middle of the week and arrived just as autumn was unfurling her last bit of glory, that transition between the full, colorful trees and bare skeletons. As the golden rays of sunlight spilled into every nook and cranny, sifted through the trees, and made the world sparkle, we spent the afternoon wandering, exploring, photographing, climbing, laughing. And as cliche as this sounds, it made me want to run through the fields, hair loose and free, yelling "I love life!". Because despite the hardships, I really truly do.

Where's your happy place?

xo

I like Saturdays. Simple, relaxed, cozy -- just how I like it. And when you throw in an early morning, making waffles for the fam with the radio on and rain drumming on the roof? Perfection. I prefer to be alone in the kitchen, mixing, sifting, creating, waiting for the moment when I can open the door and walk out with a steaming platter of goodness. And so I can take photos undisturbed, too, of course ;)

But now it's the beginning of a new week, work and school have resumed after Thanksgiving break, and the quiet loveliness of Saturday is just a distant memory. I'm looking back at photos, counting down the days until Christmas -- just eighteen days until break! -- and listening to Crazy Girl on repeat (in other words, I am such a sap). I love my folk+indie artists, but there's something about country music that gets me every time. I blame my Texas roots.

What's your idea of a perfect Saturday morning?

I was going to write about how Thanksgiving started off with a bit of a heavy heart for me, how I felt the familiar pang of wishing my family wasn't so strewn about, how I had a meltdown Wednesday evening. But here's the thing -- though preceded by tears and frustration, Thanksgiving this year worked out and even went to become one of my favorites. Maybe we didn't have a house bursting with family and friends, but we had a house bursting with love and thankfulness. So why focus on the bad when I could be focusing on the good?

This Thanksgiving, I was overflowing with gratitude, especially for the wonderful people in my life. I've never been the girl that has myriad of friends, but the friends I do have are so, so dear to me. This past year I've made and strengthened so many relationships in my life and I've had one of the best years to prove it. So instead of rattling off a long-winded list of the many things I'm grateful for, because I could be here forever and a day doing just that, I realized this year just how thankful I am for the wonderful people that support me, cheer me up, listen to me spill out my heart at two in the morning, and still love me even when they've seen just how insane I can get.   I'm thankful for every single one of you and honestly can't imagine life without y'all.

. . .

And now, everyday moments. Grateful for those too. Especially because they show how fleeting every second is, and how nothing should be taken for granted. November was a good month, though all too short as usual, but the little breaks from routine added to its quiet loveliness. And I'm leaving this month of thanksgiving with a vow to be thankful all the time. Because God doesn't only bless us thirty days of the year, does he? No, he's always there, providing during the other three hundred and thirty-five days too. And we should be remember to be thankful then, too.
Be sure to swing by Ellie's blog to see her November everyday moments!

As usual, I've rambled. I am too long-winded for my own good. But now, I'm going to get lost in paper snowflakes and She & Him Christmas music and lights. Christmas is calling -- I'm not going to ignore it.

How was your Thanksgiving?

xo, carlotta

ps want to get some extra traffic to your blog/shop for christmas? now's your chance -- I'm accepting sponsors for december! please email me for information if you're interested.