the summer night

to me, memories of summer as a kid (age 8 to 18) revolved around the lake.
a four stop light town in the middle of northern indiana.
sail boat races. long white piers. star-filled skys. a small supermarket.
diving in the water. swimming to the ladder & out. repeating 100 times.
hours spent cruising the lake with my parents on our old speedboat.
a one theatre movie cinema with showings at 7pm & 9pm of the same movie.
sun kissed skin, fireflies, cute guys, back roads & fresh air off of the lake.
such a simple place where i made so many simple memories.
a place where summer days that seemed to last forever
& summer nights that were a perfection of thought.
during the summers, my heart will always be at the lake.
so long, august. looking forward to september
& one more weekend at the lake to celebrate summer.

photo {not of the town at my lake} by hula seventy. love love love her work.

life is a festival only to the wise

sometimes summer fades by so quickly that i forget how great it was.
{you know, in the rush to get to autumn}
this summer was an interesting one. filled but not hectic. long but short.
& it lived up to all of my expectations.
summer started slowly. more tank tops & less jeans.
trips to home depot to buy flowers for the pots out front.
camping & boating with friends.
a 10 day vacation to florida & alabama with friends .
memorial day & fourth of july spent at the lake.
golfing {driving the cart} with chris for the first time.
witnessing my mom get re-married.
getting a puppy.
celebrating my 27th birthday
lots of calligraphy orders.
evening boat rides.
jason aldean, keith urban & kenny chesney concerts.

yes, this summer was filled with just about everything.
attending a festival is the only thing i haven't checked off my summer checklist.
& i have juuust enough time left in the summer to squeeze one in.

it was a perfect day

i'm quite a fan of country music. there's a lady antebellum song that goes:
it was the perfect day/what I'd give if I could find a way to stay/
lost in this moment now/ain't worried about tomorrow
when you're busy living in a perfect day.

yesterday {& today} was that perfect day.
the puppy let us sleep in.
we rewarded him with a 4 hour boat ride.
complete with a free boat-in country concert that we stumbled upon.
sampson loves being on the boat.
he stands up on the bow of the boat. looking so handsome. king of the world.
we camped out & spent the night at the state park.
it was sampson's first camp out, but he was too tied to experience it all.
passed out by 10pm. we weren't far behind him though.
we had a few beers by the fire & admired the stars before calling it a night.
a whole day with my 2 faves - boating and camping.
it was a perfect day.

after packing up camp the next morning we were back out on the water.
we pulled our boat up on a shore & coerced sampson into swimming a bit.
the weather was perfect & the sun was shinning.
it was a perfect day.

sampson: puppy to pup

our little sampson is no longer little.
not so much a puppy anymore & even pup is stretching it.
every morning he crawls out of his crate i swear he's an inch taller & longer.

he can now sit, shake, lay down, get his hedgehog, fetch, come & stay.
he's had a few baths & doesn't mind them too much. as long as treats are involved.
he's gone on long walks with us @ the park & loves the extra pats on the head & treats.
he's even gone on a few rides with us on our speedboat. loves it.
he sleeps through the night {amen}.
he has huge paws. huge.
he's getting so big.

so, a few weeks ago nicole captured photos of us with little 12 week old sampson.
he is very very very loved.

and he is getting very very big very fast.

holding on to my little puppy as long as i can.

one of those perfect summer nights

the other night was one of those perfect summer nights.
there have been a few of them recently, actually.
in which a few hours are spent on a lake with my husband & puppy.
on a speedboat from my childhood with the sun setting on the lake.
there’s something so soothing about those nights.

a happy puppy letting the wind blow in his face while demolishing a bone.
a happy husband driving us around & playing our favorite songs from his ipod.

and a happy me.
sprawled across the bow of the boat listening to the waves lap up against its side.
remembering back to my childhood
& all of those hours I spent on that same spot on the same boat.
soaking up the sun. reading my favorite books.
daydreaming about the years to come & how life would be.

life is good.

a boat. the sun at sunset. a puppy. a husband. good health.
& a good beverage. yes, life is good.

photo by Jennifer Hogan of Ever Whim Photography
from this amazing wedding feature on grey likes weddings.

how you look at it

you know, it's funny how easy it is to lose sight of the little things in life.
the morning cup of coffee.
the scent of a favorite candle floating thru the house.
the comfort of a soft blanket.
toothpaste. wine. {but not in that order}
a full cart from the grocery store.
a night out at a great country concert with a close girl friend.
all small things. all little things.
all vital to my daily happiness.

all things that i can easily afford to purchase at the drop of a hat.
& i'm so lucky and so blessed to be able to do so.
trying not to take that for granted.
taking in all the little things with a new appreciation.

starting with a glass of wine.