hey, wanna get on my tandem bicycle and ride with me into eternity?

Another weekend, another side of the family! It's October and Luke and I have our traveling shoes laced up for what is becoming a month-long tour of the eastern seaboard. Most recently we spent time in Maryland with my in-laws then journeyed to rural Virginia for a cousin's lovely wedding.

Rest assured, it was a weekend full of silly puns, baby antics and roasted pork. I can't decide which made my heart race more: the caramel apple cheesecake, the 500 acre plantation (passed down through several generations), the charming, hand-built chapel/church, or the absolutely perfect 2-bedroom log cabin where my sister-in-law, Mollie, gets to live. I seriously spent 3 days drooling over all this and more.

Let's take a moment and focus on those 500 acres. While we thoroughly enjoy our small city, 2-bedroom apartment existence, it is no secret that Luke and I dream of ultimately buying a piece of land on which to homestead and pursue all of our loves: fresh food, free movement, mindfulness, cultivation, simplicity, sewing, etc etc etc). What excites me most about my aunt and uncle-in-law's land is that they have chosen to use it in so many capacities. They have a generational home which they share with her parents. There are gardens. There are chickens. There is a church where he preaches and leads. There are trails. There are tracts of land left to grow and overgrow as nature might intend. And there is space for her to pursue her existing writing career. They have shaped a life and a community which is both openly hospitable and wonderfully self-sufficient.

So here I am- back to everyday life- feeling refreshed and inspired. Also I am further convinced that all the people who are doing what I dream of doing are either a) blessed by a benevolent benefactor or b) beloved writers. Since Luke and I are neither of these, we have other plans in mind that might bring us ever-closer to our homesteading dreams.

Until then, you'll find me here dreaming and scheming. And on that note I leave you with a wedding card creation I choose to call "hey, wanna get on my tandem bicycle and ride with me into eternity?"