peach cake and new traditions

One of the sweetest things about this daring and new phase of life, this settling into marriage and days in a different city, is the establishment of new traditions. Ask anyone who knows me well at all, they'll tell you that I am a traditions fanatic. Maybe it's that I'm the youngest of the fam. Maybe I'm crazy. Maybe it's just in the threads of my being. Whatever it is (I'm going with the latter), I can't stop.

At first, I've mourned the loss of well-known traditions- ones that felt like home and comfort. The ease and habits of having female roommates. The way I could hole away at any time for personal renewal. The family dinners we'd established in college. My coffee shops, my frequented locations. The music I'd always listen to. These things were part of my composure, I thought. But what I'm finding is that I haven't lost them entirely. Sure, some of them were and will only be circumstantially confined to my college days. But that's okay. Because truly, they're not gone. They're still here. They're simply being polished and refined as they converge with those of my husband. 

And when I think about it, that's a really, really sweet thing. That's one of the most precious things that could happen to a person. 

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on creating: paleo almond joy bars

About two years ago I wrote about this same topic, I believe. Or maybe more recently. Maybe it's this time of year, this time that just grabs me and melts me and flutters my heart every hour or so. And certain days seem more glorious and heaven-glimpsing than others, like today. They just hover above you, bringing perfection closer to you for just a few hours, and you just erupt in gratitude and jump in excitement, but afraid to move too abruptly because then you might snap back into real life and turn to stress and anxiety and schedules again.

It's on these days when I put my foot down, my stubborn stomp, and I refuse to let those things get in the way. Because no matter what I do today, I know that it is God-ordained. Whether I have my quiet time or not, I know He is calling me to glorify Him in some way. And it's on these days when you simply can't resist it. It's like they're our purpose-calling days. Our glory-manifesting days. Our time to use the gifts God has given us, because there's nothing more that gives Him glory than doing exactly what He hardwired us to do. And so today, I create. 

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my favorite baked apple cinnamon oatmeal

THEY HAVE ARRIVED. The days that we've all been waiting for. Or at least me.

Cloud-covered skies, consistent breeze running through my hair, sporadic rain. Gourds and pumpkins and pops of orange everywhere. Whispers of autumnal festivities and dinner parties and gatherings. As with the change of every season, this is the time when we gather together, when we commune to express our gratitude and celebrate the newness. My wardrobe changes to black and gray and brown and oxblood. During this season I just can't hide my excitement. I think there's a consistent glimmer in my eyes, a subtle, never-ending grin on my lips. I can't make it go away, and I don't want to.

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Breakfast, Fruitellyn hopperComment
thankful because friends and grilled romaine

It's September. We've entered the month of "please start turning to autumn, please let's leave summer behind," if you're like me. I'm ready for jeans and closed-toed shoes and smells other than burning asphalt.

As of late I've been thinking of topics to write about. I've found that it's frighteningly easy for me to return again and again to morosity. It feels strangely natural to release the fact that I am encountering a difficult moment in my life, that most of the time my situation feels hopeless with only slight bouts of light. And maybe it is just natural, since I am human and sinful and will not ever get it right.

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ellyn hopper Comment