who doesn't like flowers?

Here's a flower, yet unplucked, freshly for you.

{pinkness by wallace santiago}

May your days filled with flowers or pretty autumn leaves, shots of sunshine or the calm of snow (when your warm inside marveling at its silence).

Funny aside about our fresh cut flower situation: They're difficult to find here. Our local market has a little section for flowers in long slender buckets. And they fill them with crispy, fake flowers--the color of urine in various stages of dehydration. Sorry, that may be too much information. They are in the fresh fruit + veg section, right next to the stoney tomatoes, and they always make me laugh or at least crack a smile or let out a little groan.

What do you think about (fake) flowers?

a little bit of everything.

{view from dorotea : by me}

The sun is shining in Puerto Natales, and has been (mostly) for a few days. Yesterday I went out in only  a sweater. Cold when the wind picked up, but I warmed myself walking. Over the weekend we hiked in similar sunshine around Cerro Dorotea, about 10 minutes driving from Puerto Natales. If the weather was like this all the time (at least for one straight season), it would make living here so much more agreeable.

{lunar hiking + martian wall calligraphy : by serkan yalin}

But there are other beautiful things. (Because it's better not to focus on what might drive one nuts.) Like the kindness of so many friends. We have already received lots of baby clothes, the second big installment came yesterday over hot chocolate and sweet chat. Another friend even gave me one of her son's hand-knitted sweaters, despite my protestations (amid gratitude). She swore that he had lots of handmade clothes and more waiting for him in Australia, where she's from originally.

We have been getting our paperwork together for S's visa interview in Santiago. This round of papers was so much easier than round one! We should pretty much finish everything today. Then off to the capital to again for doc appointments, errands, this interview, some shopping and good food.

This has been a long, difficult winter for me (I won't lie), and I welcome the coming phases, wherever they take us. For now I'm enjoying the transition into spring. Waking up from that dark hibernation that was only sometimes restful. More and more friends are returning from their winter travels into summer. The shops, all closed up for the past several months, open their doors. Trekkers shoulder their backpacks, folding and refolding their maps and dogeared travel books, looking for a place to stay or drink coffee + beer. The influx of life comforts me.

Have you ever lived in a place that closes down for certain seasons? What would you do during your hibernation?

paper cranes + words take flight.

I've fallen in love with Sandy's mission. To fold 1000 paper cranes, with 1000 different positive words, to be released in 1000 different places.

{adore from sandy and the 1000 paper cranes}

Read more about her inspiration here. She's documents the release of each crane, and writes a little about what its accompanying word means to her.

What word would you write on your crane?

dangled love.

Remember the love hanger sneak preview I posted on Friday? Well, here's the complete "hanger" project.

{my love hanger :  learn more about it at fritzi marie}

Read about what's on my hanger on Kat's blog, Fritzi Marie. The series continues, so you can also make your own and send your strung-up love to Kat.

And if you don't have time to create a hanger, I would still love to know...

What would you put on your love hanger?

friday present: sweet vintage love nudges.

This week's dose of gratitude goes a little something like this. Thankful for...

streusel, 

{photo by elaine ashton}

First the word streusel throw me off a little. It sounds wet, like a drizzly goo. But it comes from the German verb streuen, meaning to scatter or sprinkle, (similar to English's strew). Contrary to its juicy name, struesel is more or less dry (with a healthy punch of sugar, butter and flour), and I think it's best with brown sugar. Real brown sugar--the kind you can "pack" down--is hard to come by here. But this week I found me some brown sugar, baby. So I can perfect my blueberry coffeecake with streusel topping, a recipe my dear friend Jen sent me a while back.

vintage clutches, 

{from YellowBirdd Vintage via From Skirts to Skillets}

And good luck! I won this giveaway from Lynzy at From Skirts to Skillets. A floral clutch with gold chain courtesy of YellowBirdd Vintage. I'm diggin' this floral affair dress too, though I won't be able to fit in anything like that for a while. Incidentally, Lynzy is having a closet sale right now. Get in on the action!

heart hangers,

{my love hanger preview : photo by serkan yalin}

Once upon a time Micaela from Dolce Vita posted about a love hanger art project that Kat at Fritzi Marie is hosting. A few nights later, I found myself on the floor collaging and stringing up pieces of my life. It's a simple, meditative project that, I think, helps us reunite with ourselves a little. For me, writing about my dangling vida took me a little deeper into the love hanger journey than its initial creation. Read more about Kat's inspiration and how you can enter your hanger here. (Note: Kat has extended the deadline for entering.)

a safe haven... 

{photo by melina souza}

For (sexy) trash. Yep. Garbage. Basura. It's a real problem here, compounded by several factors. 1a.) The city does not provide garbage collection bins. 1b.) All stores give out flimsy plastic bags in horrifying quantities. Almost everyone uses these leaky, holey bags as their trash receptacles come trash day. Some toss them out as-is on the curb; most try to hang them on fence posts or in trees. 2.) Street dogs are a real problem here. They're feral, they're hungry, garbage day is thanksgiving--twice a week. 3.) Patagonia is windy. Every place has a main character, and wind is ours. 100 km/h winds are summer's norm. End result: a bloody mess. Plastic bag flags more prevalent than the obligatory Chilean flag.

The trash situation here has always stressed me out, but not in our current place. Our tiny front patio area is gated, and comes complete with a raised metal basket to safely stow our trash. Whew.

+ baby belly. 

{circa 23 weeks}

Lots of kicks and nudges these days (sometimes, we can even see the squirmer through my clothes). Of the five sense, he can now hear and he's working on his sense of touch. When he pokes, I poke back. 

What are you thankful for right now?