Curious Bird

daily ritual: essential oil spritz

a few drops of my favorite essential oil (rose, ylang ylang, neroli, clary sage) added to distilled water and I'm set for at least a week or two. I spritz daily, sometimes multiple times, but always as part of my morning freshening up routine, and always with lavender before bed.

more daily rituals can be found here. join in if you like.

daily ritual: satisfying my sweet tooth

maybe it is pistachio baklava (love that stuff) or a pastry from the bakery down the street. or it could even be as simple as a piece of dark chocolate. whatever it ends up being, it happens daily. and for now I'm okay with that. :)

more daily rituals can be found here. join in if you like.

daily ritual: hydrate

lemons are added, or sometimes limes.
either way, I try to drink the whole thing by bedtime.
sometimes I fail miserably.

more daily rituals can be found here. join in if you like. 

daily ritual: a bath for the little one

his bedtime routine begins with a bath; it has been this way since his very first days.  he loves it, but I'm certain I love it more.

join in on the daily ritual project if you like. and feel free to leave a comment linking to your post. you can also join in over here.

have a wonderful day!

daily ritual: filling up the toy basket

Most days it happens at least four times, sometimes more.
One basket to fill over and over again.
It used to be that he could handle only a couple of toys at a time before becoming overwhelmed,
but now they all come pouring out at once. In his lap.
He pours them out.
I pick them up.
At least four times, sometimes more.

xo,
L.

**Hoping to post a daily ritual every Wednesday. We'll see...
Join in if you like. You can join in over here too.

I don't drink coffee, well, sometimes I do, but not much. I prefer tea.  I do help out by making the morning french press for Dustin sometimes. I like the ritual of it. I like the sound the coffee makes as it leaves the jar and hits the coffee grinder. I like the smell of it as it brews.

Thinking about bringing back my daily ritual project. Just thinking.

Happy Friday to you.

Enjoy your day,

Leya

daily ritual: making a to-do list

I couldn't get it together enough for a daily ritual post yesterday. some days are just like that. so here I am today, and sadly, I think this is going to be my last daily ritual post for a while. I have lots going on and guess what time it is? It's SUMMER CAMP time! I can hardly believe camp is already here, but it is and I'm not all that ready, hence, all the list-making up there in that photo.

everyone has different ways to prepare for things and keep their lives organized -- one of mine is to make lists. lots of lists. It helps me remain calm when I have lots to do. It also keeps me from forgetting simple things like replying to a letter or buying a needed supply. I don't know what I would do if I didn't stop and take the time to make a daily list or add a few things to a post-it note. From the looks of my current jumble of to-dos, I suppose I would probably forget to charge my camera battery and be walking in the dark woods without my trusty headlamp...

more daily ritual photos here.

I'll be saying hello again soon -- something fun to show you tomorrow.

-L

daily ritual: noticing the love between m + m (and photographing it)

it is no secret that I love a couple of boys named mortimer and motown, and that I photograph them often.  I am not too shy about expressing my feelings for these two. I am also not shy about posting photos of one or both of them in this space and over on flickr on a pretty regular basis. what can I say, they are rather photogenic and I'm a bit of a crazy cat-lady. could be worse.

funny thing is, I never lived with cats until mort and motown. I grew up in a family that preferred dogs to cats in a big way.  I had two very sweet dachshunds for most of my childhood, and never really put much thought into the possibility of spending my days with a cat (or two).  I remember a neighborhood cat that liked to sleep on our back porch, and honestly, I was a little scared of him. back then, cats were weird and unfamiliar, and they didn't seem interested in people or all that loving.

somewhere along the way, my ideas about cats changed, and now it is hard to believe that mortimer and motown haven't been around forever (only thirteen years). they have been shuttled across the country in the cab of a moving truck twice and spent some time in the care of our great friend while we traveled throughout india and southeast asia. they have destroyed a favorite vintage chair, and have made me get out of bed earlier than I wanted countless times. motown has eaten my plants. mortimer has gotten the flu and barfed in the middle of a party we were having. they have delivered really big bugs to me as gifts, and they also have a litterbox that requires cleaning (probably the true daily ritual of this post). I haven't minded cleaning the litter, the early mornings, or even the bugs, and we have a pretty good thing going thus far...as long as they keep allowing me to disrupt their naptime to photograph them.

more daily ritual photos can be found here.
join in if you like.

-leya

daily ritual: a little makeup

I remember watching my mom put on makeup when I was young. The whole process fascinated me, especially when she applied her mascara. It seemed kind of dangerous, yet very exciting and worth the trouble.

Nowadays I have my own daily makeup routine -- nothing serious, just a bit of rouge (as my dear grandmother would say -- love that), some concealer for my dark circles, a little lip color, and of course, mascara. 

More daily ritual photos can be found here.

daily ritual: preparing and eating lunch

I feel so lucky to have a schedule which allows me to make and eat lunch at home everyday. Some days I make something thoughtful and even a little bit time-consuming (depends on my daily schedule), other days I make nothing and eat something silly like two hard-boiled eggs, a handful of pretzels, some carrots and hummus, and a bite of dark chocolate. Whatever my lunch ends up being, I always try to slow down and enjoy it. And music is required.

More daily ritual photos here.
Join in if you like.