seven years

andrew and i celebrated our seven-year anniversary yesterday! it was the day of our first date seven years ago, and we have been inseparable ever since. now that we are (newly) married, i wondered if our new anniversary date would replace our old one, if our wedding date would somehow take precedence as our "official" anniversary. but that original date holds too much magic and significance in our lives that we decided to keep both, giving us two anniversaries to celebrate. that means at least two romantic dinner dates and two special bottles of wine to share, just the two of us, every year (we have a reservation at our favourite local fine dining restaurant tomorrow night for a quaint five course dinner—our first in a long time). i hope that we maintain the tradition even as we have children and grow old together, our lives getting even busier before slowing down to a time when it will be just us again. andrew + sara and all the years made of love, of all the little things that fill us. 

i had been saving a bottle of Domaine du Clos de la Procure Côtes de Provence 2010 that i bought in Montreal for a special occasion, to enjoy with my love when were together again (we were living apart at the time, andrew in the country and me in the city). last night finally seemed like that perfect occasion. the wine—a wonderful blend of Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan, Cinsault, and a hint of Syrah—was exquisitely woody, with a light spice and subtle floral undertones. and it had the most beautiful label and cork imprinted with the silhouette of a moose. if there ever was a wine to celebrate our love, this was it.

the photo of the two of us is an old one, and one of my favourites. it was taken by photographer Johann Kwan at my graduation from The College of the Humanities in 2007, capturing our spirits at the time perfectly. Johann has always had a way of doing that and his original photography is truly gorgeous (i should note that the quality of the digital copy i have is not very good, and i both cropped and added a filter to the photo). you should really have a look at some of his more recent photo work.

so here is to celebrating long and lasting love. here is to you, my sweet & rugged andrew. and here is to all the romantics; thank you for indulging me.

wishing you a wonderful weekend, full of... love.

the honeycomb will taste sweeter coming from my hand

A Celtic Wedding Pledge

You cannot possess me, for I belong to myself
But while we both wish it, I give you that which is mine to give

You cannot command me, for I am a free person
But I shall serve you in those ways you require,
And the honeycomb will taste sweeter coming from my hand

I pledge to you that yours will be the name I cry aloud in the night
And the eyes into which I smile in the morning

I pledge to you the first bite of my meat and the first drink from my cup
I pledge to you my living and my dying, each equally in your care

I shall be a shield for your back and you for mine
I shall not slander you, nor you me

I shall honour you above all others,
And tell no strangers our grievances

This is my wedding vow to you
This is a marriage of equals

Nearly two weeks ago, on 04 August 2012, I married the love of my life. He is the sweetest, most loving, honest, sensitive, and passionate (not to mention rugged & manly!) person I know; the man who has taught me what it means to truly love and whom before meeting I never believed in the institution of marriage. So much can change when you find the right person, or in my case, when he finds you and waits ever-so patiently because he knows you are worth waiting for.

Everything about the day was truly wonderful and came together perfectly: the sense of history, family, and community; the rustic, outdoor setting and natural elements; the blue skies and sweltering afternoon heat, which is exactly the kind of sultry weather I love best; all the homegrown, vintage, beautiful details, even if we did forget to photograph and capture so many of them, precisely because what stood out the most was the overwhelming love and joy that filled the entire day—from family and friends gathering together in the morning to help us set up, write on chalkboards, hang handmade paper globes in the black walnut tree, and lay out endless displays of green and white hydrangeas, to the intimate, personalized ceremony, to all the laughter and merriment, and the final group of closest friends and family who gathered in the backyard until nearly 5 o’clock in the morning because no one wanted the celebration to end. An entire community and their unending acts of kindness came together to make our wedding happen. It all felt exactly as it should, and there we were, holding hands and expressing our deepest love in the middle of it. 

I can't believe I get to grow old with him. 

55 - music mix: waiting for you (to come home)

while i am waiting for andrew to arrive, i put together my first music mix. each song was carefully selected to reflect how much our hearts long for each other, or because they either remind me of him, or him of me. together they have the feeling of nestling in on a fall evening waiting for your love to come home. i can't wait to be home together for good. enjoy.

1. Between Atoms - Krista Muir
2. Her Eyes Dart Around - The Felice Brothers
3. If I Were a Sailor - Nicole Reynolds 
4. Wagon Wheel - Old Crow Medicine Show
5. To Build a Home - Cinematic Orchestra
6. Who by Fire - Leonard Cohen
7. So Everyone - Bonnie Prince Billy
8. I'm in the Mood - John Lee Hooker
9. Yegelle Tezeta - Mulatu Astatke
10. Green Grass - Agathe & Fine
11. I See a Darkness - Johnny Cash
12. Unknown Legend - Neil Young
13. White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes
14. Skinny Love - Bon Iver
15. Left on Laura, Left on Lisa - The Avett Brothers
16. Comptine d'un autre été - Amélie Soundtrack
17. Woody - Hayden

46 - wishing you well // friday favourites

i love this imaginative wishing well made with bricks, acrylic paint, and dura-lar and installed directly onto a gallery floor by artist Michelle Blade. it even includes coins contributed by viewers, presumably tossed in as they each cast their own "wish." in the spirit of wishing wells, real or imaginative, i wish you a warm and wonderful weekend.... i am leaving tomorrow morning for a two-week visit (less a vacation or getaway than a much-needed reunion) with andrew, who completed his year-long, condensed forestry technician program today, received his Canadian Institute of Forestry (CIF) silver ring, and is now officially a forester! i am so proud of him and i can't wait to celebrate with snuggles as we continue to build our lives together.

i leave you with some favourites, new and old and mostly forestry-inspired:

this song. it melts my heart and reminds me of my love with andrew.
this forester-architect's tree house, built soild using whole trees.
this dreamy woodland cottage. yes, please.
all this green.
this reclaimed wood table, made from an old hatch.
this worker-styled shirt. rugged, down-to-earth & pretty all-in-one.
and these canadian poplar trousers. named after the tree?


xo

32 - glimpses from my long weekend

top to bottom: my new vicki blouse from Canadian dace, which arrived just in time for me to take with me on my weekend getaway to visit andrew (p.s. dace, you're amazing!); vintage silver owl necklace, discovered in a vintage shop in Ottawa; a collection of some of my favourite shots from heather's oh-so-beautiful garden (this is what the garden looks like in August, which is when andrew and i plan to get married next year!); andrew proudly holding his big smallmouth bass, a nice catch from the St. Lawrence river. he truly is a fisherman.

29 - introducing andrew...

i write about him so often and i am always away visiting him or escaping with him into the bush (we are living apart right now, and it is the most painful thing imaginable), so i decided it's about time that i properly introduce andrew, my endlessly patient, deeply loving, and wonderfully supportive partner, best friend, and fiancee—in short, the love of my life. 

the photos speak for themselves: andrew is a true outdoorsman with a deep passion for ecology, respect of the environment, and incredible land and survival skills. he is also the most warm-hearted, gentle, tender, sensitive, and understanding man i know. over the past five and a half years, we have grown so much together, unconditionally supporting and believing in each other in every way. i have become who i am because of him. i cannot thank him enough for sharing his life with me and am honoured to have him by my side....

 i love you, forever and always. xo

21 - happy friday / gone fishing

i'm off to spend the long weekend with andrew at his parents' beautiful old stone house in a small Ontario town along the St. Lawrence river, where we'll be happily sitting on the veranda overlooking the river, drinking beer and breathing in the fresh air... (oh, and i'll also be reading for my comps). given that it's opening weekend for a variety of fish in Ontario and andrew has been working hard with excitement to build my tackle box, we also plan to go fishing. i'm excited to get my line wet!  

have a lovely weekend!

(image found via  pinterest. original source unknown.)

17 - weekday getaway: wee trout lake & barron river, ontario

i spent the past week visiting Andrew, and we went camping at a gorgeous spot outside the northern boundaries of Algonquin Park, accessible only by 4x4. it was quiet, relaxing, and perfect in every way. there were absolutely no people around and we had the best two days of sunny, warm weather so far this spring. oh, and the bugs weren't out yet either! 

the above photos look out onto wee trout lake from our campsite in a shelterwood, where people have probably been camping for hundreds of years. even though logging has gone on in the area, with sustainable and responsible forest practices it seems relatively untouched. the eco-system in and around the small lake is so healthy and thriving, it's incredible! the sound of frogs feeding and birds calling at night was almost deafening, but also deeply therapeutic. we sat around the campire for hours, simply listening....

i should also introduce our trusty, fully-restored 1995 pathfinder, the best and most reliable bush vehicle ever,without whom we could not have accessed and enjoyed this wonderful piece of the world. she too enjoyed the sun and fresh air!

our modest tent, which i like to call the bear den! we slept with the fly off, watching the stars as we fell asleep. it's amazing to feel so exposed....

i was one happy camper!

some delightful spots along the barron river, including the most beautiful moss-covered trees:

we went on a walk through the most enchanting moss-covered forest stand i have ever seen. the ground was so soft and inviting i could have stayed forever! but instead, i happily collected a variety of pieces of moss and lichen, both for my natural history collection and art-making:

coral lichen (above)

finally, i want to share photographs of what happens to a tree when you lazily leave rope or cord (from hanging up a tarp or clothesline) tied around it:

because trees grow outwards, the rope basically strangles them as they continue to grow, slowing killing them. here, the rope is so embedded in the tree that it is now impossible to remove. unable to grow freely, this juvenile red maple will likely die within the next ten years. so please, always collect your cords before you break camp!