Pictures Of Things + Le Love List :: 18/52

May 7th, 2017 - filed under: Furthermore » Feedback

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♥ ♥ ♥

Sleep, school, work, pick up the kid, make dinner, take a bath, take a hike, ride a bike, drinks with friends, tidy up, fix our lunches, fix the leaky faucet . . . repeat, repeat, repeat. I used to think that this phase of life sounded so, well, tedious! But now that I’m in the thick of it, I just keep looking around and thinking — yes.

I’m starting to reflect on what my thirties will mean in the greater scope of my life. If my twenties were all about pushing boundaries and chasing experiences, then I think my 30s will be about building and strengthening and settling into my power. My family, my career, my friendships, my activism. It all seems to be falling so beautifully into place, in a way that I kind of never thought it would. Strange, that.

Anyway, here’s what it all looked like, this week:


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A most beautiful, love-filled baby shower for a future female powerhouse.


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Mmmmmm.


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Crystals and kimonos — just your standard baby shower attire.


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This week Waits is completely obsessed with “deli sandwiches” — ie, cucumber, lettuce, and olive oil on crusty bread. *Obsessed*


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I love working on a college campus. Whether you agree with it or not, there’s always art, politics, activism, and energy, everywhere you look.


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It’s angiosperm (flowering plants) week in the Intro Bio labs! So much fun.


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Fruit matrix!


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This plant is especially resplendent right now. (hubba hubba)


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Hey boys, let’s go on a hike . . . or I guess, a swim!


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I witnessed a miracle of nature.


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Exquisite.


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Legos and a prayer bowl. Y’all, this little human right here. This little human fills my whole heart up. ♥

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And now, it’s time for the one, the only, Le Love List!

Pu erh tea. // Bringing buckets and buckets of nasturtiums into the office, for everyone’s desk. // Salty peanuts (the Trader Joe’s ones are soooo deliciously salty!) // Science podcasts for kids, which we now listen to every day on the way to school. // Willie Nelson just released a brand new album, and it is so good! // Sunday morning snuggles. // Friends who also work at UCSB, and meeting up for lunch and lunchtime walks along the lagoon. // Making my office and work space feel more like my own. // Budgeting and saving money. // Attending a meeting with the superintendent of the SB school district. Getting involved feels so dang good. // Gardening the stress away. // We were going to a restaurant for a friend’s birthday and as we were leaving, Waits stooped down in the garden. “Ooh! Mint! Let’s bring some mint to garnish our food!” Honestly I have no idea where he comes up with this stuff, but I think it’s hysterical. He picked two leaves of mint and brought them to the restaurant, plunked one in his lemonade, and tore up the other one to sprinkle over the plate. You do you, kid! Always do you.

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Alright guys, now it’s your turn! I really love reading your own Le Love Lists, so please leave them down in the comments below. What are the little things in your life that make you smile this week?

Happy new week, and I hope that it’s a wonderful one!

  • Rebecca Carnes

    I’ve always wanted to see a butterfly emerge from it’s chrysalis!! Amazing photos:) My love list from the weekend…. Homemade vegan chocolate chip banana bread ~yum!! Mushroom Cacao from Four Sigmatic, I need to try the coffee next! P telling me I’m the perfect mommy for him *heart melt* … and watch out future lady friends lolol and the Moana soundtrack!
    Have a great week!!

  • http://suburbansnowwhite.com Katrina

    What a fun week you had! I love reading your weekly adventures and seeing Waits coming out of his own chrysalis like that stunning monarch. He is such a joy to look at! It feels like visiting a friend I never met whenever I pop in.

    My little sparkles from the week:
    *Bought The Humane Gardener by Nancy Lawson (very excited to read) — I shouldn’t buy more books, but I am SUCH a book whore.
    *Reinstated Movie Mondays into my fourth grade classroom. (a short film shows as they walk in. The goal being to keep Mondays from feeling like … icky Mondays.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVvn8dpSAt0 (We watched this today on repeat as they walked in. Ignore the calamari and turkey comments.)
    *Drank many (weak but yummy) G&Ts
    *Picked lilacs from my yard and plunked them in mason jars all around the house. The laundry is behind, our kitchen is gross, but it smells like spring in here.
    *I’ve been devouring Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast.
    *Created a kick-ass free downloadable for new teachers. So excited to give new teachers the tools to take on the world and make it better.
    *Bought a watermelon. It’s a good one.
    *Met an old friend for a lovely vegan dinner at Walnut Grille. THE BEST NACHOS!! And a scrumptious Cosmo. Laughed HARD.
    *Rubbing heads with my dogs.
    *My home office. Filled with glorious books, instruments, and all my art supplies. I could go on and on about what it looks like, but the short version is that I exhale and my shoulders relax when I walk in.
    *Reading the comments here gives me sparkles. You’ve created a little gathering place of funky, creative people. I can practically smell the coffee brewing …

  • http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/ Sayward Rebhal

    Aww, thank you Katrina, this was such a sweet comment. And thank you for sharing such a fantastic Love List! I loved reading it. Sounds like an amazing week (and I soooo relate to the “my laundry is piling up and my bathroom is a mess, but my house smells like flowers and I’m happy!” kind of sentiment).

    Hope you have an amazing week!

  • http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/ Sayward Rebhal

    I have too! I’ve raised them before, but never actually seen the emergence. It was so cool! You guys should plant some milk weed. I’m amazed how many monarch caterpillars just magically find the milkweed. You guys would definitely get some chrysalis’ this year!

  • http://www.one-sonic-bite.com/ Jennifer

    I was watching a nature documentary about how long it took for humans to figure out that butterflies and caterpillars were the same animal. It is amazing that we ever stumble on butterflies coming out the cocoon. What an awesome experience.

  • Annelise Seifer

    Which science podcasts do you listen to?

  • http://www.thegreenpenn.com/ Lindsey P

    Waits is just the sweetest! I love all of your little stories about things he says and does. Oh, my heart.
    As for my Le Love List: Having my own place for the first time in my life and feeling so much peace when I open my front door every day, co-parenting cooperation and remaining friends despite the stress of divorce (I feel like I have you to thank for setting such a positive example), girl time with the best vegan friends in the world, morning snuggles with my favorite 4 year old girl who brings her Hot Wheels cars to bed instead of stuffed animals (she’s such a unique kid), the look of pure joy on my dogs’ faces when I pick up their leashes to take them out, downsizing from 3500 sq ft to 700 and the sense of freedom it gives me, the view out my kitchen window of a line of gorgeous maple trees and undergrowth thick with honeysuckle (and their smell), and vegan soul food from small local businesses that do amazing things for the community. Life is so crazy, full, all-consuming, and yet amazing right now! So many awesome things happening and the future is WIDE open. So much to be thankful for.

  • Rebecca Carnes

    Oh yes!!!! Best idea….I’ll have to plant that asap:) Thank you!