Friday Favorites for March 23, 2012

featuring Kamiah Walker from the blog Jane Austen Didn’t Prepare Me For This.

On Wednesday night, I ate dinner on my balcony. This probably isn’t a shocking statement to anyone who doesn’t have to spend winter wearing snow boots and trying to keep track of your mittens. But for people in places like the Midwest, the first time you eat outside (after months of being cooped up behind winterized windows) in the spring is practically a holiday. Seriously. There should be a “Congratulations! You pulled your patio furniture out of storage!” card. Wednesday night did feel a bit like a celebration: a good bottle of Medoc, a good dinner that involved asparagus and bacon, and a good friend sitting with me on the balcony. Oh, yes, that was definitely my favorite moment of the week.

-Kamiah

Spring has sprung here in Austin and it is beautiful outside. The weather is delightful. It is delivery the kind of afternoon that makes you want to sit in the rocking chair and rock away the day. Even better than the weather is the colorful spring scenery. The redbuds are in full bloom and the lilacs are so very fragrant. But the best of all of the colors and fragrances are the fields and roadsides covered in bluebonnets and indian paintbrushes. It makes me want to run through a field singing “The HILLLLLS are alive….”

- Shanti

One thing I miss a lot in the winter is taking the dog on beautiful trail around Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin. Now that the days are finally getting longer and the weather is nothing short of gorgeous, I’m finally able to pick up my ‘nice weather’ routine. I love spending an hour after work talking and walking with a friend, taking in the scenery and decompressing from work. It’s the ultimate stress reliever and makes for one very happy dog!

- Kate

So many things to love about this week. This beautiful weather is beyond amazing. It has been awesome watching my lil gal explore the outside world. She is enthralled with a blade of grass, ecstatic about a dried up leaf, a bit reserved about earth worms making their way across the sidewalk, and revels in the bits of rock that she finds along any walking path. It’s so refreshing to be reminded to be thankful for the small things. The GREEN blades of grass means spring is here. The dried up leaves mean that the new leaves are budding, and what’s left of the old, dried up leaves are crinkling and fading away. The earth worms basking in the sun means that the ground has been refreshed, and the sun is BACK out for us to play in! The bits of rock… well, they display how well she is walking and moving and attempting new things. All in all, the little things this week have reminded me of the big things. The little things are so easy to overlook, but be thankful in the little things and see how the big picture changes. My big picture turned out to be very fascinating this week all because of one little girl’s explorations.

-Joni