bison friends

At the Tallgrass Prairie last week we had a chance to see HUNDREDS of buffalo in their natural habitat - no fences, no gate, just open praire and lots of honkin' big animals. 

Almost all of the Midwest used to be this type of prairie - tall grass with impossibly deep roots, wild flowers, big sky, and bison. It was like time travelling to be there. We loved it.

wild heart

These photos were taken at the Tallgrass Prairie Reserve in Pawhuska, OK, where we went for a great little day trip last week to celebrate spring break... Unfortunately it was really cold, so it didn't feel much like spring.

Party Weekend Part One

It has been a weekend of good times: Friday night Italian Study Abroad Reunion, Saturday afternoon Bridal Shower, and Saturday night Bachelorettes night out... I don't know if I've taken this many pictures since spending Thanksgiving Day at the Vienna Christmas market last year. It is now Sunday: Recovery Day. 

So first up: Study Abroad Reunion. Our Program Director and Resident Assistant flew in from Florence to see us all and so we had a huge potluck for all the people who have been to the Florence campus over the last few years. So much fun.

peace&love,

Jill

A Beautiful Life

This time last year I was going through The Artist’s Way in Florence, Italy: taking my “artist dates” at the Uffizi, sketching in front of the Duomo, writing poetry travelling through the Apennine Mountains, watching the Tuscan sunset over Florence through my west-facing villa window. But somewhere in the midst of all these beautiful and exotic experiences I began to miss the rest of my life and the beautiful things in it. I missed spending hours bent over a pair of pliers and cases of beads, making the jewelry that would adorn my small Iowa home town for years to come. I missed my sewing machine and weekly trips to the thrift store to dig up things the rest of the world had stopped caring about so that I could make them in to something beautiful. And perhaps most of all I missed my closet, shallow as that seems. I enjoyed the challenge of suitcase living for awhile, but by the time October rolled around, about 6 weeks after my trip began, I was ready for some variety. The Artist’s Way made me hungry for a sustainable life of beauty and deep down I knew I wasn’t going to be in Italy forever.

I never finished The Artist’s Way, and I regret that a little bit. Life back in the United States at Christmas was pretty crazy and three daily pages of writing just wasn’t happening. It was what it was.

I did learn something very important though. I went into The Artist’s Way trying to narrow my artistic focus, to understand what area I really loved the most so that I could just pursue that in a graduate program and beyond. And then just the opposite happened. I remembered how much I loved to draw. I started singing seriously again. I wrote, but not just poetry anymore. I started writing about my experiences, blogging seriously, and caring about the nuances of photography. If I wasn’t wholly an artist before, I am now.

Needless to say no artistic focusing came out of my wandering abroad, but I did come to see art as a way of life more than a career path to conquer. I realized that my life can always have as much or as little art in it as I want. There are always choirs who need altos, blank apartment walls to fill, moments that are begging to be recorded, and weddings to get dressed for.

So buy a camera that you can learn how to shot with and carry your point-and-shoot in your purse. Write down the dreams you have in the morning when they’re worth remembering.
Absolutely love at least one thing you’re wearing every day. 

Sing in the car. Bake something that will look pretty when you’re done with it and then eat it with someone you love. 
Hang stuff on the walls. Use crayons. 

Read Emerson or read Updike, but above all read something worth reading. 

Grow flowers. Watch the clouds. 

You get the idea.

Peace&love,

Jill

The Wedding Files #3: California Fitting Getaway

In case you are unfamiliar with it, this is a picture of me standing in front of the Golden Gate Bridge, looking like an idiot. I think I was about to fix my hair or something. 

Oh well. Look at the bridge, not me. Or my cropped trench... that's cute, right?

I was in California this last weekend to get measured, pick out fabric, and talk about design with my enormously talented aunt, who so very graciously offered to MAKE my wedding dress for me.

I will never complain of having bad luck again. At least not for a very long time.

We (meaning she) are working from a picture I took in Scotland of a GORGEOUS wedding dress. Let's just say that I love it. So very very much. 

I think I might just wear it around the house after the wedding. 

And that's all the info you get. You'll have to be patient. Just like me. 

Here is the obligatory shot of the Pacific. It was cold. It was big. If you are surprised, you've clearly never been there in September... or probably any time. Be warned if you're planning a vacation.

I spent a whirlwind day in and around San Francisco, shopping for fabric, visiting my aunt's studio, going to a bead show (!) and seeing the sights. It was wonderful. My aunt and uncle are excellent company and we had a great time.

This was the sky flying over Southern California. And it was infinitely more amazing in person. I kind of hate flying because I have terrible pain in my ears when I fly, but it was worth it for this. 

Next time... the beads from the Bead and Gem Show in San Mateo!

peace&love,

Jill

Packing for College

 

Yeah, I had to fit this all in my car.

Luckily I'm already in the throes of unpacking, but for those unlucky among you who still have moving to do, check out my post on College Fashion: Packing Shortcuts: 6 Tips for Bringing Your Stuff to College. 

peace&love,
Jill

A Dublin Wall

 

I found this on a wall in Temple Bar in Dublin last year. 

I pull it out every once and awhile to get my head back in the right place.

peace&love,

Jill

Thinking of Dublin

 

Graffiti in the Rathmines section of Dublin

I took these pictures a year ago today. My how time gets away from one. 

I spent last summer in Ireland as part of the University of Iowa's Irish Writer's Workshop.

It was probably the best 49 days of my life.

There were 17 (I believe) of us from all over the United States, as well as about 40 other students in other programs through the same study abroad organization. I lived in the sweetest little house on Percy Lane, walked to school, walked to Temple Bar, walked to the flea markets and thrift stores. 

Dublin felt like home in a way no place ever has. I was never more proud to have Irish blood in my veins. The girls were almost all as pale as I was and wore opaque tights in the summer. 

I want to live there again.

Here's to the memories... They'll never get old.

 

Graffiti on the way to school.

peace&love,

Jill