4th of July.

Happy belated birthday, America! Our celebration of you started out with a deliriously sweet trip to the
Scioto Audubon, where we found a hillside full of flowers, away from people, and set up to watch the downtown fireworks in Columbus. We spent our waiting hours playing charades, making silly accents, making hair bobbles out of grass and flowers, and giggling like mad men.

Just before the sun went down, the sky lit up in pinks and purples, and everything was put under the most beautiful golden light. I'd never in my life seen anything like it. As I went to go take a hundred pictures of the sunset before it was over, I'd realized that my iPhone just didn't do it justice (naturally. I'm not sure I'll ever learn). This image doesn't really capture how brilliant it was, but it gives you some sort of idea. It was so romantic!

Anyway, the following night we headed out to the Clintonville fireworks show at the Park of Roses (an event I haven't missed since moving here), and watched the show with our friends from New York. We ate funnel cake, danced in the rain, talked about American history, and enjoyed each other's company. It was a great end to a two day celebration!

I hope that you all had a wonderful and relaxing Independents Day, and that you got to eat as many deep fried goodies you could get your hands on. 'Merica!

A Peaceful Life.

Lately, life has been full of quality time with loved ones. Be it going out to dinner with friends, making breakfast at home, or ordering in pizza and watching Girls for hours on end, it has been filled with some of the people that I care the most about. It's been great focusing on my relationships with others, and now that I spend almost zero time on social sites, it's seemed to have gotten easier for me to be fully present in the moment. It's crazy how much of a difference there is between hanging out with my friends now, versus how it was when my phone seemed to be pertinently glued to my hand.

As silly as I feel saying this, my life has been a lot more peaceful these days. My mental space has been mostly daydreaming of spring and summer, of flowers, and gardening, camping, and exploring. I've been reading some impacting, simplistic, and beautiful books (thanks again, John Green), and my home feels so complete with Sarah, my new roommate, living in it.

The entire house has had a miniature makeover now that there's a new person here, and it's taken this incredible atmosphere. It's such a blissful place to be in these days. I'm very much looking forward to my upcoming bedroom renovation, which will hopefully make my apartment even more relaxed. For now, I've taken to filling almost every room with vases of flowers to get us both in the mood for a change in scenery.

With that, I bid you all a great day! I hope that they are equally filled with quality time, snuggles from your favorite pups, and unbelievably delicious food. Have a great weekend!

Life, According to my iPhone.

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Life has been really sweet lately, full of small dinners, intimate get-togethers with friends, and quality time with Dan and Tuesday. Every day feels like this fantastic miniature blessing, and each one is more lovely than the last.

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On that note, my relationship with Dan seems to grow by the second, tightening into this incredible hope of a future. Our little moments together are some of the best I have ever known, and the idea of how many more we have yet to experience makes me so excited. You know? He's such a big part of my world these days.

Okay, enough mush. Here's a brief glimpse into my life lately, according to my iPhone....

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Dan recently joined a men's soccer league (he's been playing on a co-ed league forever), and I've been trying to make as many games as I can. It's such a treat getting to watch him play!

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So many creative meetings with so many creative people lately. It's lovely!

Besides all of that, my rampant cleaning and reading, I've been busy getting things together for my next phase in life. I have my volunteer organizations, my work promotion, my new roommate, and new furnishings for my apartment. I also have costuming, new stage routines, and upcoming trips and vacations that I've been looking forward to for months. All of these things have been filling my head with anticipation, and I couldn't be more excited. Life is beautiful!

Happy Monday!