Part of the reason that I feel so moved to photograph people's lives is that I truly believe photos speak to our souls, and the way they resonate with us constantly changes.Today is the day five years ago that Andrew proposed to me. I'm not one to celebrate the anniversaries of our first date, first kiss, first whatever....but the day he proposed to me is still one of my favorite days in the history of my life thus far.So each year I like to flip through about a collection of 100 pictures a friend took while Andrew was proposing and the little celebration afterwards. These are the 5 that spoke to me the most this year. There are some that I passed over in years passed, and some that I keep coming back to. My heart is so happy for my sweet friend Mabrie who helped Andrew mastermind this engagement plan, and had the foresight to take pictures of the whole thing - without her none of this would even exist.In the shadow of the skyline of the city we both love.His words.The diamond of my engagement ring belonged to my mother in law, and all Sturdy women have 6-prong rings. I love being a part of that history.My ring just looks so new and fresh on my hand as we hugged.This is my favorite picture afterwards when we went downstairs to the office where all my friends were waiting. What photos speak to you in your life? What do they say and why are they special?

I wrote this post on January 27th and 10 days later I had sat with it long enough to publish. And feel good about it. I finally have sat down to make goals. GOALS! I'm a month late (if you consider January 1st to be the gold standard for goal setting), but it seems like it's taken me a month to really figure out what I want. How many times a week I want to work out, what our budgets will be, how much time I want to spend doing X & Z...even down to things I need to give myself permission to not think about in 2013 (ahem...kids).The funny thing about goals is that I imagine myself failing at all of them. Isn't that sad? Why make them in the first place if you're going to start out with that thought in mind.I began thinking about what I want out of my business this year. How many weddings I want to shoot, who's weddings I want to shoot, what I want to design, dream clients and so on. But most of all I want my goals to make sense for me. To not be superfluous - to count. To push me. To be a constant reminder of what I can become. Trusting I can become.So here are my goals. Scary to put them "out there" - on the internet. For all you folks who read my blog but don't comment (I see you, just tell me you're here!)Photography1. Shoot at least 6 weddings as the primary shooter - and gain as many second shooter opportunities as I can get. (need a second shooter? Email me!)2. Figure out what my ideal client profile is. (Thank you Justin & Mary in advance for "The Guide"...it's rocking my world)3. Make more photography friends in my area. (Live in Connecticut? Let's get together and talk apertures!)4. Photograph my everyday life more. (And get another external hard drive to house it all) Design1. Design 1-2 Showit Style Groups...possibly kickstarting a new portion of my business.2. Only take projects I'm excited about.3. Redesign/Update my current website & blog. (almost there if you're reading this on hellohelloaliciasturdy.com!)4. Collaborate with other designers. Personal1. Pray daily. (not while multitasking like while I'm brushing my teeth)2. Start journaling again...pen and paper style.3. One full day a week for just me and Andrew. (Let's keep each other accountable, dear reader. I want to be in the business of successful relationships & marriages!)4. Work out 3-5 days per week to loose ALL my Chicago weight. (weight gained from arriving and leaving Chicago. We'll just leave it at that.) Ready....set....GO! What goals are you making for your 2013? Share them - we can work together!

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Just now when I was typing the title "the end of 2012" I already have "trained" my fingers to type 2013...and I "couldn't help but wonder" (don't all good self reflections start with that beautifully coined phrase?) - looking back on the past year I can see a spectrum of two seasons - and what will 2013 hold?I had been use to being in such a winterous season of life that when I looked up in 2012 - all of the sudden I was standing in the throws of spring. Now: Disclaimer. Please read this and know this is my heart writing pen to the paper (hypothetically). I am truly, honestly, 100% hand on the Bible telling you that this adventure called my life has not had one bit of regret. Even in the winters.Because even winter has it's beauty. Even winter has warm days. The growing of every root of every tree happens below ground level - in winter. I am certain every second of my winter(s) have been lived exactly how it should have been. I'm not saying I've been exactly floating along on a cloud eating bon bons...because I really hope you don't see me as one of those people that "everything works out for" and "everything is perfect", dear reader. I have learned over the past 27.5 years that taking it one day at a time is the best strategy I have. Praying daily. Worrying about what I'm already chewing on and trying not to think of my next bite.A few years ago I had this image in my mind. An image of sheep resting in a field. Grazing. Peaceful. I felt like I was not in that field. I was always in the throws of something - not being able to rest. Not grazing. Always struggling and battling. Always doing the wrong thing.And all I wanted was to be a sheep in the field.But now that I am high enough to see why I wasn't in the peaceful grazing field three years ago... it wasn't one thing or another that was "keeping" me from the resting field... that it's all the little teeny things in between here and there that make the pasture I'm resting in now.And I guess where the name for my blog comes from. The teeny tiny things. In life. That make up all the good and the bad. The celebrating of seasons that each have their turn and time.And I'm in my field. And it's spring.

I remember the first time I met Ellen - well "met" her! She messaged me on Facebook before we moved out to Connecticut last year. I instantly realized she is a warm, friendly lady who is so in love with her family. So when she asked me to take some pictures for their holiday card - I instantly penciled it in my calendar and was so looking forward to photographing them in their home. Especially the two days before Christmas.What I didn't realize was that the Shea's love their family so much that their Christmas tree is a living display of tokens of their family life together. Kevin & Kelly's baby shoes, the box that held the ring Jim proposed to Ellen with, and handcrafted ornaments with their family Christmas pictures from the past 20-something years makes their Christmas tree like a living scrapbook.I so enjoyed photographing this family - and I know one of these images will be on their Christmas tree next year as well! And see the Shea's page for more photos at  -- thesheas.aliciasturdy.com So, what is your favorite ornament on your tree? Mine is my little Starbucks mug from 2009, my favorite holiday cup design they've had since I've been drinking Starbucks.Email me (hello@aliciasturdy.com), Facebook me (www.facebook.com/helloaliciasturdy) or check out my website (www.aliciasturdy.com) – and don’t forget to LIKE me on Facebook below!

Each year we're together, my family aspires to take a holiday photo. Unfortunately, I think the last time we all had a picture together was 2007 - rides back to college, cats and "I can't find anything to wear!" have been the reason of our demise.This year as we kicked back after a delicious thanksgiving meal (and after eating enough of our Auntie Mary's bread to open a small bakery) I realized we still hadn't taken our christmas card photo! The stars aligned - it was dusk, the sun was setting perfectly on a 55 degree day - and we all we dressed in our thanksgiving best with our hair done...let's do this! It's clear Kaylee knows how to make us laugh (center)Then we had this other great idea to get on my dad's Harley - woo woo! Oh - and of course the cat had to get on.We titled this one "into the night".My middle sister, Melissa, is a great Cosmetologist - go see her sometime! The parents hopped on too! This picture is just perfect.We realized we didn't have a picture with everyone in it - and my dad had already gone inside. This is the face of a man who was inturrupted enjoying a post-thanksgiving meal bowl of my mom's yummy stuffing.Lastly - after we were all inside and people were digging into the leftover we again, realized we didn't have a picture with "all the kids!" After an hour of shooting we had still missed this combination. Though this photo isn't the greatest technically, we hope it says MERRY CHRISTMAS!Want to get in front of my camera? Email me (hello@aliciasturdy.com), Facebook me (www.facebook.com/helloaliciasturdy) or check out my website (www.aliciasturdy.com) – and don’t forget to LIKE me on Facebook or leave a comment below to let me know you’re here!

A while back I threw a party on my blog for my 4 year anniversary to Mr. Andrew and gave away TWO photoshoots - Madeleine's entry rose to the top of the random.com god's list of picks...resulting in a lovely afternoon of hanging with these two #winners that ended with dinner at Bar over none other than Mashed Potato Pizza (yes you heard me!).The first time I talked to Madeleine it was at a Yelp Elite party back in March - and she said to me "Aren't you the girl screaming in your profile picture?" Yes, indeed Madeleine...it was me. Now, her and her husband Anton have become some of our favorite new buddies we've made here in Connecticut. And as luck would have it - just as we were wishing we knew more people who lived in New Haven so we could get to know another great city just down the road from us - they moved there this fall!Enjoy the photos guys - I hope they helped you capture your love of your city and all that is New Haven.Want to get in front of my camera? Email me (hello@aliciasturdy.com), Facebook me (www.facebook.com/helloaliciasturdy) or check out my website (www.aliciasturdy.com) - and don't forget to LIKE me on Facebook or leave a comment below to let me know you're here!

Can you believe that next week is Thanksgiving?! (sorry to ensue any panic!)We originally were planning on driving to my parents house. To Upper Michigan. And yes, it's 20 hours one way. After about a minute of looking at the map online I was immediately panicking. So I quickly did some scurrying around online looking for flights (I know I know - THE WEEK BEFORE!). I thankfully - as it always seems to go - was able to figure out some kind of great deal for flights and are flying out next Saturday using all our points, flying out of Newark, AND a bonus - we have a layover in Minneapolis and get to see my in-laws (happy dance!).I say all that to say this - I know that travel is a huge reality for a lot of people around the holidays - and it's most likely the time that everyone is actually together and the last thing everyone is wanting to do is get all ready to take a holiday photo. I understand, we live 1000+ miles away from our families so this is my reality! We typically don't even send out holiday cards until later on because after we get everyone together, take the picture, choose the photo, order the cards - it's usually around new years when they arrive and I'm thinking "what's the point?" And by then I've also received everyone elses wonderfully done cards - Pressure! Does anyone else feel this way?!If so, read on! (I know you're already feeling your blood pressure going up and are frantically Googling "Walgreens Holiday Cards" in a separate tab from this window.)Being inspired by my own holiday card dilemmas, I decided to do something special - Home for the Holidays. This holiday package bundles a 30 minute photo session in your home or location of your choice (I'll even come on Christmas Eve!) and 100 premium holiday cards to choose from 6 exclusive designs below - delivered to your house with the envelopes all set to stuff and mail off to your closest 100 friends - for $200!Since I'll be in Escanaba next week (I'm sure you're thinking "What's that?" It's my hometown!) I will take bookings from November 19-23 - and locally in Connecticut through December 31st. Space is limited - so let's chat!I've always dreamed of designing a line of holiday cards - and here they are! Let me tell you about them (because I am just so excited!).Each 5"x7" card is printed on premium matte stock and features a unique matching design on the backside. They come with beautiful matching envelopes and the corners of each card can be cut rounded as well (if that's you're thing!). Once you choose the design, I will ensure that while taking your pictures that we can choose a photo that perfectly lines up with the design of your card so no-one is cut out, or blocked by any elements.Beyond the Home for the Holidays packages - you can purchase these designs from my Etsy shop beginning Saturday, November 17th or just book a Holiday Photoshoot for $99 (same timelines apply for Michigan & East Coast through Dec 31, 2012). So - take a peek below, choose a card and email me to set up a time at hello@aliciasturdy.com. I'm so excited to work with you and help bring joy to your holiday season!Email me at hello@aliciasturdy.com! 'Like' me on Facebook and check out my website!

So I had this squash.I bought it one day when I was feeling all "fall" like. Then the snow came along with the frigid temps and the Sturdys suddenly can't get enough comfort food. Chicken dumpling soup, warm lemon pasta with roast chicken, and a butternut squash crostini were just a few items on the menu this week.As you might know, I love Ina Garten. And she will grace your kitchen with this tasty, delicious salad that's definitely going to say "welcome to winter".Also - happy birthday to my kid sister! 21 and looks good on ya!;

50 degrees.That was the temp in our house as we walked in door on Sunday night.I ran from room to room turning on each thermostat so the house would recede from the status of "ice box" to cozy yellow house on the corner.It was that very same day last year that a freak snowstorm knocked the power out in my neighborhood for 5 days - leaving us shivering under the covers each night with what felt like every article of clothing we owned on and tried to cozy up together under a 3 layer blanket shield.As my bathroom started to warm up and I ran the water hot to get ready for bed I started to think about the stark difference of our two hour drive back from NYC to our thawing home. Dark roads, unlit looming skyscrapers, damp mildewy smelling lobbies, completely empty grocery stores, long lines at gas stations and and threats of freezing temps and a large storm coming in a few days. As I thought of how to prepare my own home, I suddenly felt very fortunate - I have a warm house, warm clothes, food in my fridge and on my grocery store shelves. I am prepared.This past weekend I was in New York City for what was suppose to be the day I'd run the New York Marathon - instead I spent Saturday afternoon with people moved by a grass roots group called Upper West Side Loves. Picking up supplies from Duane Reade, making PB&J's, and grating a large knob of ginger that resulted in a car full of food that was driven down to the Lower East Side neighborhood, in particular to The Bowery House mission.I don't think we quite realize the difference between us & NYC this past week. And now under a layer of snow - 100 miles south of us has transformed into a world we can't imagine ourselves in.But I have hope this week - not about the Presidential election, or about who has won and who has lost - but I have hope that the Body - people - can change lives. That we can come together and help each other in the most basic way - giving. Whatever that looks like for you - I hope that you have hope and give hope this week.

Back in Illinois we had so many little sweethearts in our lives - so when we moved, we were delighted to befriend these little cuties (and their parents too!).So last Saturday as the state prepped for this monster Frankenstorm to come our way, I popped over to Maggie & Kara's house to play in the leaves and spend a lovely Saturday afternoon together.Pop on over and "Like" me on Facebook & check out more of my work on my website!

{To kick off the weekend – mosey on over here to enter my giveaway - one photoshoot in Connecticut, one shoot in the NY/MA/RI area}OK! The weekend is here! Here is what we're up to.EatLast weekend I made the most divine pot of glorious stew, Beef Bourguignon. Recipe here, courtesy of Ina of course.WearIt has been chilly here this week, and my fall clothes have been resurrected. This is a jacket that was literally in the back of my closet. I got it from a friend in a clothing exchange - and I've never worn it before! It's the perfect coat for walking through big piles of leaves on the perfect fall day. See what else I've been pinning for fall clothing inspiration.GoWe're in the city soaking up autumn in New York (why not?). Oh, and one other little thing, I'm running 20 miles today. 15 days until the New York City marathon!Don't forget - I'm giving away two photoshoots, click here for more details and enter today! Just think of those Christmas cards coming up...! Entries will be accepted until Sunday the 21st at noon EST.

So last week was going along just fine and normal - we celebrated our anniversary, had a friend in from out of town, and I had my weekend run (3 more left!) ahead of me for the marathon. I even had a fancy new blog post idea waiting to be typed out for the weekend.Then came the rain.Like a hail storm, piece by piece, it began to rain from the sky. One thing after another was coming down on us bit by bit, and it got cloudy and dark at the Sturdy house. Then, like those summer storms, it just stopped. The sun came out. And now we wait.The only thing I feel is coming to me and I'll tell you as well - keep walking.I keep getting this image of calm and peace, and walking. Heel to toe, heel to toe.To not disrupt anything, to not stomp through all the areas of our life that are spinning.But just to keep walking. Through the phone calls. Through the tears. Through the ups and down, and new news and old news. Keep walking.

October 11th, 2008.At the end of the long, blue stone aisle lined with perfectly bunched candles and 125 of our friends and family was the man I have had the honor of calling my husband for the past four years. He is tall, kind, loving, protective and I would not want any other person sharing the blankets with me every night from here until the end.I have been thinking a lot about what we were doing in preparation for the big day - picking up the flowers, table clothes, deep dish pizza (for the rehearsal dinner...come on - we're Chicagoians!), and even squeezing in a "Last Single Girl" sushi dinner with 15 of my closest friends two nights before the wedding. But nothing can prepare you for what's on the other side of "I Do" - grad school, late nights of washing dishes, the well timed (ha!) argument before bed, days of loving your job, days of hating your job, car trouble, a (half) cross country move, making new friends together - and most importantly finding that your best friend is indeed the one next to you every night.I was just texting with a girlfriend from highschool who's about to get married in a few weeks (congrats Brittany and Joel!) - and it made think back to the beginning of all this. Through all the messy, ugly, beautiful, and raw moments of the past four years, I am cherishing the past 365 the most. In moving from the midwest, and feeling I was losing so much love from friends and family, I found that I gained all that back and more in my marriage.So here's to our wedding day - for each bite of that delicious cake, each silly dance with my sisters and mom, for my last dance with my dad and my first with my husband. To loosing the confirmation papers for our hotel on the way to the honeymoon. To eating a room service midnight snack of chicken fingers and burgers at the end of the long day.To year one - the experiments in the kitchen, making new friends, starting new journeys in grad school, and to learning how each other grieves, celebrates, rests.To year two - to feeling like "we've got this down"...and finding out we had it all wrong, to finding our Chicago sweet spots, for friends babies that became nieces and nephews, to our last summer in the midwest.To year three - the hardest of them all. To moving, to exploring, to lots of tears, to learning even more about each other.To year four - to discovering, to settling in, to excelling in jobs, to friends who move away, to renewed joy in our home.In honor of our anniversary - I'm giving away two couple portrait sessions - one in Connecticut and one in the New York City/Rhode Island/Massachusetts/southern New Hampshire area! We have been so blessed by having amazing photographers document our engagement, wedding and life-after-wedding - I want to give back!How to enter:1. Like "Alicia Sturdy" on Facebook (*if you share the link to my blog you'll get an extra entry!*)2. Go to the "Say Hello" page on my website (www.aliciasturdy.com) and send me a note - Tell me about a special place you have with your significant other. A favorite restaurant? The shoreline? Central Park? Under the boardwalk (yea yea!)?3. Please be sure to include your location (there's a box for that!)All entries must be submitted by October 21st, 2012 at noon (eastern time). One entry will be selected from Connecticut, one entry will be selected from the other area's listed above.Winners announced on October 22nd!Session must be redeemed by January 31, 2013.*First photo- our wedding by Mallory Nelson - October 2008.*Second photo- our Goodbye Photoshoot with Erica Rose - June 2011.

Do you ever have those moments where you know you're doing your dream job? Want to know what that feels like?Picture this with me.You're driving one misty Sunday afternoon up to the Coast of Maine - it's one of the first orange, red and yellow leaved weekends of autumn. Upon arrival at a picturesque New England Inn, you're greeted by warm, familiar faces - the best of company. You are fed good-for-your-soul food - Lobster Pot Pie, the most mouthwatering breast of chicken, sweet potato souffle with homemade marshmallow, and to top it off - a perfect apple tart.Friends - this is no dream. This was my reality last weekend as I had the privilege to photograph the North Park University Alumni dinner in Kennebunk, Maine.Shanna Horner O'Hea, Chef & Co-Owner with her husband Brian of the Kennebunk Inn hosted an intimate gathering of 50 of North Park University alumni over lobster pot pie, and updates from our beloved university.The photos speak for themselves, I live in a dream land called New England!Yes, I said Homemade Marshmallow...check. it. out.And in case you're sitting at your computer drooling - brace yourself. Shanna & Brian are brilliant - they posted their Puff Pastry recipe on their website so you can make it at home. And you can buy one of their Lobster Pot Pies and get it shipped to your house.What?You're ordering one now?That's what I thought...

Autumn has hit these parts of New England (even though you wouldn't know it - it's 75 here today). The trees are turning, the crunch of leaves under my feet as I go on my run makes me want fall delicacies...pumpkin, apple, cinnamon, warm to your bone goodness.Before I moved over to this blog, I had a food blog for a few years. I love to cook, but lately I just haven't really felt the spark to come home after work and create a meal. If you've been to my house, you know I love to entertain. And you also might know I have a slight obsession with The Barefoot Contessa. Draw in by her cozy, no fuss recipes - I am inspired to cook things I like, that are hopefully not too intimidating to me or my guests.So after a morning of sleeping in a little, I woke up and the cooking spark hit....in the form of a waffle craving - pumpkin waffles. Some people love french toast or pancakes - but my sweet breakfast dish love is waffles - crisp on the outside, drizzled with syrup...HOT syrup. To me, hot syrup heated up in a pyrex measuring cup makes waffles taste the best. It reminds me of Sunday mornings after church when my Auntie Kelly would make breakfast and always heat up the syrup in a pyrex measuring cup...I have no idea why I think that is so fantastic but every time I heat up syrup that way it makes me think of those mornings.These waffles are made special from the pumpkin flavor, but don't include fussy toppings or compotes...just simple and delicious. I think Ina would just think these were "fabulous".recipe adapted from WeightWatchers.com

What does it mean to really be fearless?Taylor Swift sings about it, Alton Brown declared Marti Duncan (season 8 FNS...yes, we're obsessed) - FEARLESS. But what happens after the jump? After we ARE fearless...does the fear go away?I have this need deep down to be fearless.About what, you might ask?Fearless about being myself.If you're a regular reader (all 10 of you), you can see a vein running through my previous blog posts, Who am I? What do I want to be? Who am I made me to become right now?I have been doing freelance graphic design here and there for the past 5 years - that's what my goal in college was to do. Don't ask me why I chose Graphic Design as a major (sorry mom!)...after a lot of thinking I have rested in the fact that God totally took control of my life and decisions and some how I decided I was going to study Art, not music (which had been my goal my whole life). So fast forward 9 years after that decision and I'm here, working in full time ministry doing a little design here and there at work and some freelance work.And I'm just done trying to do art "for the money".I want to do it for the love of art.I want to be fearless about who I am.About my art.Fearless about what others might think.Fearless about failure.Fearless about success.So after many quiet hours of thinking, discerning, talking it out with the Mr. and a few trusted sources I have decided to embark on something new.www.aliciasturdy.comThese are the gifts I was made to bring to the table right now in my creative expression. Please hear me, I'm not quitting my job or dropping everything to grab onto this dream. My life with remain normal (I am liking my life! There is nothing wrong with it!) except for the fact that I will be doing life with a camera in my hand. A rainy Saturday morning in your kitchen with your family will tell a story - so will a wedding, a baptism, a love story, a new baby - it will tell your story.If you feel you're jiving with me - spread the word. My friend has decided to live fearlessly. She wants to capture your life - all the nooks and crannies of it. She wants to start a fearless movement - be who you are in front of my camera, fearlessly.

Then there was silence.Silence to sit. Reflect. Hear God. Absorb the moment.To ask God, what do you want me to do.And He said, "Just be."Sit still. Listen. Rest. Reset. Realign. Stretch. Breathe.What if we just rested, absorbed the moment we are in and drink deep. It might be painful, it might be full of joy, it might be rejuvenating like the first drink of water after a long, exhausting run.And in the silence, peace. Whatever shape that comes in. Even if it doesn't look, feel, or sound like peace you're familiar with - rest.The more I seek you, the more I find youThe more I find you, the more I love you. What if peace is seeking you? What if you're running? What if when you stopped, just to be - you stopped long enough for peace to find you. Engulf you. Overcome you.We want to always be going, be doing,To the next thing, place, destination, job, thought, person. Stop seeking, and just Be. Just be who you are, what your are. You.Rest. Be.Stop. Listen.

Life is moving forward.I felt like it was time for a change - to leave Refined Sugar in my Chicago world and move forward with a new adventure.I want to do photography. There I said it. I want to take pictures of people, moments that are real, and create images that cozy up to you. I'm afraid - I'm afraid that people will think I'm not good enough, that I'm just another "lady with a camera", that my art will be disqualified as a hobby.And I want to write. I have post upon post in my drafts that just didn't really feel right on here. In my last post, the wheels were turning in my head - keep it simple. Fresh. Real.So if you want to come along with me on this photography+blogging journey: join me over here.www.aliciasturdy.com or aliciasturdy.wordpress.com (for your RSS feed)And if you want to hire me: holla back.hello@aliciasturdy.com

City love.In my About Me post, I mentioned I was soulfully born in 2003 - but I want you to know this has nothing to do with my relationship with the Lord, or Soul music. But it has everything to do with that first shift inside of learning more of who you are.My first city memory was when we were little, we use to drive through Chicago on our way to Florida for our family vacations. Sitting in traffic in the Loop on 90/94 I asked about the big buildings with all the windows busted out. My dad told me they were apartment buildings and that people lived in them, little kids like me (maybe I added that in my mind). I was mesmerized on so many levels - looking back I think that was my first interaction with urban poverty...right there from the comfort of my family vehical. I felt grateful that I did not live there.Fast forward 10 years - I am navigating for my mom as we are driving in downtown Chicago for the first time. I thought we had driven into a construction site (really - how would that happen?) but we were driving under the El on Lake Street. This is when I discovered my sense of city direction. I am reading street signs, navigating on that little map she gave me and we arrive at our hotel. We walked to get pizza after and I went to take pictures with my camera of the Chicago Theater. Looking back, my mom was terrified (maybe?) to be walking the streets of Chicago at dark, at 10pm. I don't remember being afraid - I was excited. I wanted to soak it all in. The lights at night, the people, the possibilities for adventures. I felt grateful that was going to live there.Over the next 8 years, I dove right in. And what I mean by dove in, I mean I dove "the exact same way a cartoon circus performer dives off a high platform and into a small cup of water, vanishing completely" (via). I took the el for fun, I would wander downtown for hours, I would get off at a random train stop and explore. I commuted to work on the El, the Clark bus, Lake Shore Drive. I trained for two marathons in our grid of a city, explored every combination of streets to run, parks to stop for a drink of water in, and Starbucks bathrooms. I was a nanny in my "gap summer" between college and "adult life" - I saw homes that you wouldn't believe. Wealth you wouldn't believe. Once I got my adult job, my office was in the John Hancock building. 9 months later, our new office space was ready for us and we moved to Cabrini-Green. Talk about seeing all aspects of the city. During my time there, my job was in Urban Outreach. I walked through Cabrini on my way to and from work, made friends with the people that crossed my paths. I worked with different non-profits for one project I had. I'd drive from Albany Park to Lincoln Park, to Garfield Park, to Little Village, to the South side. I learned the city - it's people, it's rhythm, it's smells. I felt grateful for my experiences there.Last June with all our belongings in a giant metal box, we got in our little Chicago-Craigslist car and drove to Connecticut. I strained to see the skyline in the rear view mirror as we sped down the Dan Ryan Expressway until all I could see was road behind us. We arrived in Connecticut on a Thursday night, and went out for Thai food. I felt disconnected inside, my power plug of energy - that rush I got from my constant urban exposure, was gone. The first day Andrew went to work I dropped him off and started driving towards the sign that said N.Y. City. It's almost as if the car drove itself, found free street parking, and ejected me right there on E. 73rd street. But this wasn't my city - this was a whole new ball game. Of fast driving taxis and crowds of tourists and a confusing subway system. A city grid that I didn't know. And yet I walked. Walked 30 blocks just soaking it in. I ate lunch by myself, with this giant goofy smile the whole time - practically jittery from my urban high like when you drink too much caffeine. But it didn't matter - I was there. Recharged. Ready to feed me again. Even now, a year later - every time we step out onto a city sidewalk for another journey in New York, my body relaxes, feels at peace. The honking cabs, the crowds of people, the smells; they almost envelop me like slipping into a bubble bath. Every time - I feel grateful.But now I see - it's not just Chicago. It's not just New York. It's what my soul has become because of these places. I have discovered this new season of life we are in has granted my 'city soul' a wonderful gift - the gift of finding "the love of place" all over again. The gift of understanding you learn to love a place by investing in it. The gift of seeing "city love" in any place, especially where I live right now. I feel grateful that God has brought me here.

So - my friends are moving.Erikka was my college roommate for two years, and is one of my best friends. Her husband Eric has been the director at a camp in New Hampshire for the past 5 summers. She moved there after they got married 4 years ago, and luckily last year when we moved to the East Coast this put us a mere 2 hours away from them.They're moving in to a new season of life, and with that, moving out of New England. So, we wanted to do a little photo shoot to capture life in their little corner of New Hampshire. There was a lot of romping through fields, pulling over for "the perfect light" and of course a NH covered bridge. The best part? We ended the evening over a giant pizza at the best place in town.We are here at their house again this weekend - the last weekend! We packed the kitchen, ate pringles & teddy grahams. We watched REV (our new favorite excuse for talking in British accents & testing Erikka's Kate Middleton IQ) and now we're sitting on the couch together watching Friends. So, bye bye my friends - we love you, we will miss you, and we will see you real soon.