this is totally happening.

here i am last week on my way to meet up with some old friends (16wks). it's grown a bit since this and man am i surprised by the popping out. it seemed to happen overnite. it's exhilarating. i haven't had to buy any maternity clothes yet except the bella band which is an awesome, awesome invention. my energy started to make an effort to come back around 15 weeks and now it's steady and strong and i can't tell you how happy this has made me - to not be so exhausted that functioning took serious effort. i can hardly believe we packed up our seattle house and moved to portland during those weeks. and my appetite. my appetite!! besides a serious aversion to meat, it's back. hallelujah. thank you, universe.

these days you can find me hanging out with john, lots of walking in the sunshine, reconnecting with old friends over meals, reading, a bit of work, and doing a ton of research on home renovation/design (getting bids, combing restoration warehouses, the works). i have zero space at the moment in our tiny furnished apt for creativity, but i think i've got a plan to set up a painting space next week inside a converted attic for awhile. now that i'm feeling better, i'm deeply craving some painting time. i've got a million ideas.

life has taken on a slow, steady pace. i think i got so used to letting most things go and slowing down during those first couple of months of feeling awful, that i've learned to adapt to that pace. and i'm liking it. a lot. even with all that we have going on, i feel evenly paced with a lot of downtime. of course, all of this may change the minute we close on the house we bought and start the renovations. but for now, i'm soaking it in. life is good.

ps - totally loving this display of the Kelly Rae products at Bradley's - a super cute gift shop in Knoxville. i hardly ever get to see the products out in the world so it's such a treat when photos like this come to my inbox - makes it feel more real. thank you Bradley's!!