travel log: ireland

greetings from green Ireland

wow. there are few words to describe how breathtaking and mysterious this land is. 

kevin and I started in Dingle, and drove the peninsula

we headed towards Galway, 

and saw the cliffs of Moher (above)

and now we are in Dublin.

we leave tomorrow for Scotland. 

I cannot wait to share more with you about this incredible place.... 

but we are off to watch Riverdance at this very moment,

you have no idea

how. excited. I. am. 

crazy! 

Love you all:)

love Katie 

california

Back in August, when I was newly married, I was desperate to find some newly married friends.

I kind of like stalked people with rings on. 

including this little lady below. 

the first time we met, I was in love. 

we have the same birthday people (what's not to like?) and we are both allergic to dairy and gluten, so we started cooking together! the list of similarities could go on, but one of the best parts is our hubbies have become best buddies too. score!! 

Chels is hilarious, and if you want to laugh, check out her awesome blog Pilgrimage. 

love Katie 

 I’m excited to be blogging over here at a true Californian’s blog. You see, I moved from Ohio to California nine months ago, so everything’s still a little novel. I had never been to California before two years ago, when I started dating my then-boyfriend/now-husband. In my mind (and the minds of many Ohioans) California was a mystical land where the sun is always shining and everyone is skinny and beautiful. There’s also the fear that one day the whole state might break off and start floating away into the ocean.

Where I’m from, most people’s impressions of what California is like are from the TV show the OC, and I found out pretty early on that the majority of Californians haven’t even seen the show. I remember one of the first times I was out here…I was hanging out with some of my husband’s friends (all are either native-Californians or have been here since college). I said something to the effect of, “So is Chino really ghetto?” They all looked at me like I was crazy.

You see, Ryan (one of the OC characters) is from Chino, but moves to Newport Beach and gets quasi-adopted by a super rich family there. In the show, whenever they go back to Ryan’s old neighborhood to visit his mom or something, the camera is always really gritty (like…they use a different camera lens to make it look scary), and there seems to be a lot of domestic disturbances going on and people sitting on couches in their front yards and weird stuff like that. All that to say, my husband’s friends told me that Chino’s not half bad; they thought I meant to ask them if Compton was really ghetto.

Since then I’ve gotten a little more wise about trying not to say stuff that makes me look like a total outsider (also I realized that basing my opinions off of a fictional TV show is probably not the best idea). I still have a few issues. I say pop instead of soda. I talk about driving on the highway, not the freeway. And I can’t get over the fact that in Ohio, Carl’s Jr. is called Hardees. How can it be the same exact thing but with different names? (And ps…it’s weird to me that Carl’s Jr. is popular, because I literally don’t know anyone who’s ever eaten at Hardees at home).

The cool thing about California is that the sun basically always does shine. In Ohio, we have this complex where we HAVE TO go outside if the sun is shining in the fall, winter, or spring, because we honestly don’t know when will be the next time we might see it. It’s totally not like that here because even if it’s a little cloudy or rainy, we know the sun will probably come out in an hour, and if not today, it will definitely come out tomorrow. It’s kind of awesome—and sad that I’ve already started to take the sun for granted.

Whenever I go back to Ohio, people always say to me, “You live in California, where’s your sun tan?” I say to them, “Dude, it’s February and I’m in GRAD SCHOOL. I live inside the library.” It’s kind of incomprehensible to them that the sun would be shining, and I would be sitting inside. But like I said, I’m trying to fit in with the California culture, and for me to be laying out at my pool in the middle of winter (regardless of whether the sun was shining), it would be weird.

I just have one more thing to say. I included the map showing where Ohio is because I’ve encountered some Californians who have no idea of what exists outside of their state. It’s really funny to me to tell people I’m from Ohio and no glimmer of recognition crosses their faces. There’s a whole world out there! And even though, yes, your state is incredible (and I think I’m already ruined for living anywhere else), there’s also life outside of the zip codes that start with 9. And lastly (I swear this is the last thing!) Ohio is not all farmland. I grew up in the suburbs just like the majority of you guys. ;)

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed. I can’t wait for Katie and Kevin to get back from the UK! (And I’m sure you can’t wait either after reading this crazy blog. Haha!)

the artist

I am so excited for you to meet Amanda today! Amanda and I met in college, and very quickly realized we were practically the same person! We both loved history, studied abroad in Italy, and love Jesus, travel, and all things Jane Austin! Amanda and her husband live in Okinawa, Japan, and have the most beautiful pictures to show for it on her blog, Marshalls Abroad. She is a JOY, and I love her, and I know you will too! Enjoy! 

love Katie 

 My darling friend, Katie! Thank you for having me while you're on your UK-Euro adventure!!

I have been thinking a lot lately about art in it's various forms, whether it be photography, cooking, writing, furniture-making, interior design. There are so many ways to develop creativity and so many ways to communicate to each other.

But what I've been thinking on the most since living on this beautiful little island in Japan is about The Artist. The Lord God Himself. 

This early morning I woke up to the same gorgeous sight I wake up to every morning - the blue turquoise of the East China Sea on our front yard, the waves gently crashing just below our home where the sugarcane meets the sand. The birds singing. Clear skies. It's my favorite time of day here. The sunlight is soft as I walk through my neighbor's plots of farmland - huge heads of lettuce, tomatoes, bananas, green beans - past the goats making their morning noises, down a path and onto the sand where I run. I was mentally bowing my head and singing praises to the Lord with a huge smile on my face. His creation literally cries out in beauty and in song and in joy. 

It's good to be quiet sometimes. It's good to be surrounded by nothing but the outdoors.. and in our case while we live here, the glorious crashing waves. When my husband and I lived in DC, we'd literally have to leave the city atleast once a weekend and drive as far out into Virginia as we could to take a break from smog, crowds, concrete. We've learned the importance of slowing down, being quiet and being surrounded by hills, mountains, ocean, fields, river, vineyards, streams. God's voice in nature is unmistakable! 

As I sit on our balcony admiring my neighbor's red tile Japanese roof contrasted against the turquoise sea and greens of lush trees and bushes with the song of birds and waves, I feel as if I'm sitting in the Lord's sanctuary. He created all this!!! He is the artist behind it all. And I think the point is that God gives us a mind to logically work out that the heavens are declaring something, are communicating something: they are speaking of the glory of the Person who made them. 

"He who forms the mountains,

creates the wind

and reveals His thoughts to man,

He who turns dawn to darkness,

and treads the high places of the earth

the Lord God Almighty is His name."

{Amos 4:13}