hometown

flower (not flower) magic

Last week the highlight of my week was sneaking (hobbling) into Martha's Garden for some greenery. That's right folks, fresh greens, pine and seeded eucalyptus. It was my first (and thus only) foray into the holiday season. And, damn. It feels good. 

A flower studio, a real one, is so dreamy isn't it? There is a faint smell of dirt and the buzz of people working. But not the miserable buzz of people stuck working in a cube on an excel spreadsheet. But the buzz of people creating flower magic. The florist told me they had 3 weddings that weekend they were preparing for, ah. Magic, right? 

the saturday collection

Today at work we talked about rituals ( happened to do the same over here last summer) . 
And, now i just can't stop thinking about rituals playing out in short little videos. 

Kinfolk has nailed it with their Saturday series. We all need a killer Saturday ritual, or a killer Saturday break-the-norm-ritual. Like, maybe, you wake up on a certain Saturday and do something crazy. Book a trip to Bali? 

Kinfolk Saturdays: Hosting a Flower Potluck from Kinfolk (kinfolk.com) on Vimeo.

Kinfolk Saturdays in Charleston from Kinfolk (kinfolk.com) on Vimeo.

Kinfolk Saturdays: Swimming in Wild Waters from Kinfolk (kinfolk.com) on Vimeo.

Swimming in wild waters has to be my favorite. For obvious reasons (-35 degree temperatures and ICE on every walk-able surface), but mostly for summer reasons. What MN lake kid doesn't have rituals around those first wild swims once the lake un-freezes?  Yeah, you know what I am talking about. Not that it matters, but in my family, I always won the first-one-in-the-lake game ritual. 

yoga army

heart on your sleeve? well always. but, yoga army on your back? game changer. i think it is safe to say i was wearing the fusion tank below for the entire week (or 3 weeks) leading up to surgery. fusion pullover day of for good juju. and, came home to flowers, flowers, flowers and #fusionlovenotes a plenty from the army back in Eagan. it doesn't get much better than that. 

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lessons // lumineers

sometimes (most times) the lumineers just say it best. 

i have so much of you

John Keats' love letters to Fanny Brawne are some of the most regarded secret love letters of all time. Why are we (collective we, but really it's just I) talking about secret love letters from the 1800's? 

Well, because now, nothing is really ever done in secret. And, writing letters is a total rarity. Am I right? We can gram', tweet and snapchat with the best of 'em....

But... how life changing is it when you get a letter, a handwritten note, a post-it note on a mirror. We don't need to write fancy, poetic, love letters. Life changing can be simple, and even done in pencil, no ink and fancy cursive required. 

A letter lets you know you're not alone.  You get to carry that person with you. You get to feel so much of someone in so much of some place.  

word of the day //

Let's start something here, huh? Shall we give a word-of-the-day a go? I can promise it will be totally random. I will also promise pictures. So, we have that going for us. 

round it up // minneapolis

1  // The American Edit 

I just can't get enough. Made in America is not trending, it's here to stay, people. And TAE knows how to do it right. Interviews, stockists, features with the people who are making in America: she's got the low down. Just imagine how great this is going to be for holiday shopping ideas.

2 // Spruce

I've said it before, I'll say it again: flowers are magic. And a place that sources and curates such beautiful flowers is a dream come true. Wanna know something even cooler? They have opened a second shop on 50th & France.

3 //  fresh starts at a new office.

summer got full.

If the goal of summer is to live as chaotically as possible, I think I managed. More often than not I was in my swimsuit until the sun went down, my car had a constant supply of sand on the driver's side, I ended most days with that sun tired feeling in my bones and I consumed enough watermelon to feed a small (ok, fine, large) army.

There was a significant amount of time NOT doing certain things, so girl had to get creative. Enter: Gold Medal Park and Minneapolis city lakes. Some may say I overstayed my welcome in both places- the cost of overstaying your welcome in the lakes, not something I want to experience again. E.coli, next year I will defeat you.

So, summer got full. A lot went down. Most of it I loved, some of it kicked this latcher in the ass. 

// As per most seasons, spent a lot of time at Whole Foods. At times, in the parking lot snacking on dried fruit conversing life plans with the St.Paul staff. It happens. 

// Al fresco dining was the name of the game, people. Green curry tastes better in Linden Hills.

// Avoiding inside time applies to the work day too. Rooftop office.

// It's no secret, I lived on that board this summer. It saved my life. Much needed time filler.

// Yoga in the beautiful Union Depot? Happened.

// Race crew'ed at Grandma's Marathon.

// Said goodbye to the east shore house. Let's leave it at that. Brutal.

// Ate pizza on a farm with my crew and fell in love with the place called Wisconsin.

summer in the post

pizza + a farm

Safe to say I have had 18 different photoshop files open and 27 different blog ideas... but nothing in the tank to get them full on finished and real and up on the web. 

So, these pictures kind of say it all. I think they are bringing me back to life. The "they" covering a lot of bases- Wisconsin, farms and barns, al fresco eats, drinking like we did in college (out of the same cups may I add), summer air, sleeping on boats, THIS CREW. 

Stockholm will save a tired soul. That's for sure. 

your back.

cousin text conversations are the best kind. 

latch

i think latchers, (yes, that's a real word) are really good with denial. so good, that they can 
deny reality to the point where it's almost not happening and then BAM. you are in your driveway staring at a moving truck and about to spend your last night at the shore house. 

so there's that. a lot of that. since the shore goodbye, the last swim, the last bike, the last of it all- there's been a lot of latcher aftermath. consider it the latcher hangover if you will. 

so the sequence of events that follows is foggy but a few of the things that are catching on -

1. some teachers are a real bear. but every teacher has a purpose (a. ruth)

2. sometimes all you can do is hang tight (b. koepke)

3. drink lavender infused cocktails. outside. with your best friend. and with a loaf of bread and hummus.

4. anticipate nothing. feel everything

5. have long conversations on the phone with your cousins. 

6. be a race crew. 

7. be on the other side of the fence. if you don't love it, there's a reason. 

8. really bulk up on those healthy fats. the hummus-avocado-coconut oil excess will come in handy. it will. 

9. listen to music. loud. at all times. 

10. and just maybe when you're on the other side of the fence, you see things differently....

(un) moderation

cheers to not knowing how to do the whole moderation thing. and cheers to getting really good at foolish things done with enthusiam.

because- let's be real- when did half-hearted ever feel good?

in that (may) funk.

 1 //  2 //  3 //  4 // 5 //  6 // 7 // 8 

these days, been remedy-ing with getting lost in tumblr land, drinking the nectar of the gods at truce juice, music (heavy on anything with a banjo, anything live, anything you can pulse to and any and all mariah carey) and nike commercials. 

pickwick // the doe bay session 

mj responds to lebron // maybe you should rise 

perspective from the beach

some days i like to look at the big picture.

we live in a floating rock. sometimes i like 

to think that i can change the world.

that THIS MOMENT is everything,  

  

nothing else matters

i can't live in one absolute perspective .

change it up, get inverted

-c. soper

jersey (lust)

oh, what i would give for a little jersey time. 

the man

| image source: run. on wind shoes, run tumblr | 

The New York Times coming out with a killer article on the magic that is Kilian Jornet is not the breakthrough of this guy, he has been creating waves for a while. Collaborating with Salomon to create the Kilian's Quest series. And then there's his mindblowing individual project entitled Summits of My Life. Oh, and the fact that he's been running in the mountains since a baby, basically and racing out of his mind on an international level. Are you in love yet? 

To know the backstory, running history, race breakthroughs, how he trains, (and on and on and on) of Kilian could be a full-time gig. (and if that is a real job out there I would like to have it) For now, until I amp up my Kilian knowledge- it doesn't suck to hear what his philosophy and "list of values" he has created for his Summits of my Life project are ..

| image source: Trail Running Spain 

| image source: The New York Times | 

 No one told us what we were. No one told us we should go. No one told us that it would be easy. Someone once said that we are our dreams. If we don’t dream we are no longer alive.

We walk in the footsteps of instinct leading us into the unknown.

We don’t look at the obstacles we’ve overcome, but at those we’ve got ahead of us.

It’s not about being faster, stronger or bigger. It’s about being ourselves.

We’re not runners, alpinists or skiers...we’re not only sportspeople...we’re people.

 We can’t be sure we’ll find it, but we’re going in search of happiness.

With simplicity.

In silence.

Responsibly.

What are we after? Might it be life?

| source: Summits of my Life | 

Seriously, what are we after? When I say we, I am trying to make this some rhetorical question to the universe because in my head I am like - Whaaaaat am i after/ Whaaaaat am i doing with my life? I am taking on Kilian as my life coach/guru, am I crazy to think this is all applicable to basically everything; the fear of trying to figure out what you are doing with your life, growing up, life changes, big girl jobs, etc.. 

Not crazy, right? Never stop dreaming, keep dreaming, and then dream bigger. It's all (yeah, I said it ALL) instinct, trust your gut, screw the plan, screw knowing. Be you and own that (and then keep getting faster, better, stronger). Don't assume happiness, don't expect it to happen, live simply, live fully and responsibly and enjoy the search. Because when it hits you, it's good. Good in a way you didn't know could be so good. Good in a way that is so simple maybe you sometimes miss it. And then it hits you again and you are like damn, there it is. Happiness. Jumping in the lake after a long summer sports bra run, I am talking to you. Happiness.