Happy Holidays!

November 23, 2012December 9, 2012 ~ Crystle ~ 16 Comments

Hello Friends and Family,

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! We gobbled ’til we waddled with fellow military families in our neighborhood. It’s great having my husband’s co-workers as neighbors, let me tell you. It’s also really nice to meet other military wives who know the stresses and demands of our lifestyle.

Now that Thanksgiving is over, we are 100% geared up for Christmas. We wasted no time in picking up a Christmas tree and decorating it. I took a few photos of the occasion, since it’s a first for us. Last year, on December 23 Isaac and I were busy eloping in downtown OKC. It left little time for us to set up decor for a proper Christmas.

This year, we’re in our brand new home, and expecting our first child (due March 8th). With all those big events behind us, and on the horizon, it was only natural that we go all out on Holiday this year.

Enjoy the decoration animation while we cozy up by the tree and countdown the days ’til Christmas.

Cheers!

Patterns and Predictability

November 6, 2012December 9, 2012 ~ Crystle ~ 61 Comments

Growing up in Bakersfield, CA means I’m well conditioned to brutally hot summers and cool foggy winters: those are pretty much the only two seasons we saw down there, and they were painfully redundant.

Two hour fog delays were common anytime visibility dropped in the valley from the phenomena, which made it a welcome happenstance for city kids, and probably a nuisance for adults who didn’t get to share in the weather delay. This was our weather ‘thing’ and we were all used to it.

Nowadays, I realize that I can no longer be comfortable in weather patterns like I was in California. And gone are the days where I could mark the passage of time by distinct periods of fall, winter, spring and summer like I did while living in Oklahoma.

My one surety is knowing I’ll be nomadic for the foreseeable future while my husband serves our country. Did I mention we’re heading to Alaska next October? We are, and that assignment has me both excited and terrified at the prospect of extreme Alaskan weather patterns as we build a life for our young family on the Last Frontier.

Those thoughts have been heavy on my mind lately, so to be greeted by that old familiar Bakersfield-type fog over our new neighborhood was comforting. After filling out my absentee ballot and handing it off to my diligent husband to fax off, I took a stroll on the William B. Ives trail just a few hundred yards from our front door.

I wanted to walk in the foggy woods because I wasn’t sure when I’d have the chance to do so again. Bakersfield fog hangs around awhile, but Puget Sound Fog? I have no idea. During my stroll, low fog hugged the tall evergreens as I walked slowly below. I caught glimpses of mushroom clusters and thick hanging moss that made me wonder what life will bring in Alaska, and beyond.

No matter what, one more year in Washington means I’ll have plenty of time to travel to the nooks and crannies that I’ve yet to visit around here, and I’ll have ample time to plan and dream about our future three year stint in Alaska with our upcoming bundle of joy, Margot.

Wall Art from the Archives

September 11, 2012December 9, 2012 ~ Crystle ~ 13 Comments

I’ve got six months of gestation left before this kiddo comes. I don’t even know what we’re having yet but as far as I can tell from the sonograms, it’s a human. Whew! That being said, I’ve been thinking a lot about (gender neutral) baby room stuff. I know, gag. The baby room decor from major baby retailers has left an emphatic scowl on my face. I’m just not impressed. Aside from basic linens and an essential item here and there, I’ve decided I really don’t want to pull decor straight off a shelf. Goodness, I’m already way over thinking this…

In an unrelated turn of events, I went through all my old photos from the last 5 years last night. I have boxes upon boxes of film negatives, data CDs and prints from my earlier years of film photography. Scavenging through the photos, reliving my early college days was more fun than I thought it would be. But I thought to myself; what am I supposed to do with all these images?

Then it hit me. Why not pull some of my favorite nature prints from those old backpacking trips and make them into wall art for the future baby’s room? They’re certainly gender neutral enough! Suddenly my archive browsing brought on by boredom had a direction.

I’m still pulling prints from both the film and digital archives, but so far these are some of my favorites. I really like the soft light of the outdoors from a Colorado trip I took awhile back. I may take some filters to them in Lightroom or edit them otherwise. Not sure yet, but I’m sure I’ll be too excited not to share when the end product is at hand.