winter drives

It's really far too late to be sharing photos from Christmas, but I thought that if I at least blogged these before the first day of spring (next week), they could still count. We (somewhat foolishly) decided to drive to snowy Idaho and back so we could see both of our families for the holidays, which amounted to several hours of tense, somewhat terrifying long stretches of driving icy freeways in the dark. But it was so worth it to see so many family members and spend the week in glorious, beautiful snow. The magic of snow is just never quite lost, and it was soothing to our LA-based souls. Our next return to the pacific northwest is in a few months, and I'm already finding myself lost in daydreams of Seattle in the spring! 

family // what else is there

It's truly impossible for me to express the depth of gratefulness I feel for the closeness of my family. Through crises and trials from the outside, our circle of loyalty and love only strengthens and I am knocked over daily by how lucky I am to be part of that connection. So this morning, as we wake up in different states and continents, I look back on a weekend in January where we all woke up in the same home, and feel joy. 

adventuregrams

A few days of rest after camping on the coast & we were off for another adventure through the northwest, camping on a big pretty lake & swimming in the Spokane River before making our way to Idaho to see both of our families for the last time before leaving for California. The amount of time I've spent in water in the last week makes my soul calm; from ocean to lake to river to pond to yes, even pool & hot tub. The best part was, the drives between all of these places were so beautiful--hills and farms and creeks and horses and tiny, tiny towns. We listened to new music, saw new places, learned new things about each other and our hometowns. What a lucky life. 

ps: if you haven't read My Berlin Kitchen, written by Luisa Weiss aka the Wednesday Chef, put it on your list. a lovely tale of food, love, heartbreak, family, and food and food and food. 

instagram @charityvictoria