New Chapter

So, if you follow me over on twitter or instagram, you might have already gathered that Nik and I have picked up and left Brooklyn for good! We have lived there for over a decade now, so it was a not an easy decision. It was a really long drawn-out process over the last few years of deciding where to move to (we considered Portland, Maine and Hudson, NY as the other top contenders), but in the end we both went back to our roots in Rochester, NY. I grew up in a small town 30ish minutes from there, and we both went to college at RIT (and that's where we met!)  My family still lives here and Nik's parents are only two hours away (soo much closer than from NYC,) and with a baby on the way, we knew we wanted to be closer to everyone. So! Rochester it is! We came up here one weekend in March, looked at a million houses, and found "the one." Definitely luck that we managed to find a house we loved in one weekend, and that our offer was accepted. These past few months have been a bit of a whirlwind with house/mortgage stuff, but we finally made the move up here last week. Still unpacking/organizing, but I will share photos soon! It's a biiiig change going from the hustle-bustle of Brooklyn and the tiny apartment living, to a much smaller city with a big house to fill. I imagine the adjustment period is going to last awhile as we try to get back into some sort of normal routine. We're both working from home now too, which isn't a change for me, but definitely one for Nik. So far so good! 

A few days ago, I escaped from unpacking and trying to organize things, and went out to Highland Park with my camera. Lilacs are my favorite and the Lilac Festival was always my favorite growing up and in college, so I had to go see them! They are *almost* in full bloom, but still so pretty!!

No color correction used! Mega pink!

Neighborhood Snapshots

Brooklyn is in bloom! I brought along my new camera lens on my daily post office walk the other morning, and snapped some photos of all the pretties. It is a pretty walk, and I try to take it earlier in the day (mostly before there are gobs of teenagers loitering about after they get out of school.) Above is my favorite street in all of NYC. This stretch of Guernsey street has this pretty canopy of trees that almost creates a tunnel when they are fully in bloom. It's super-pretty in the Autumn too. Also, it's quiet and the light is always nice. Next time I'll take a photo of more of the doors on this street, because there are some unique ones. 

And some pretty flowers by the park near my place!

Field Trip to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens

It was a beautiful day on Friday, and I was feeling a bit cooped up in my apartment, so I decide to take the afternoon off and head down to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. Sometimes you don't realize you needed a break and a change of scenery until you force yourself. So glad I went! Admission is free during the winter months, yet I seemed to be the only one there, left to roam in the greenhouses all by my lonesome. Much different than the summer months where it is usually brimming over with people! It's been unseasonably warm all winter, but it was still nice to walk around in a warm greenhouse with the sun shining through and see pretty flowers and greenery in bloom. It was fun to play around with my camera, taking lots of photos. I can't wait for real spring!

After walking around inside the greenhouses, I went out to the Japanese gardens where they have the huge pond with all the Koi fish swimming around. This little guy was staring at me!

Texas Flowers

I like flowers, and there were lots of wildflowers in Texas, so obviously this worked out well for me!

Some pretty findings:

Agave plant

Spot the grasshopper!

I got one of these gigunda thorns stuck in my foot...

Cactus flowers

Spring walk

Happy Spring! It's really happening!  Even though it is cold and miserable out, I took some photos with my phone on my walk to the post office this afternoon. Spring is totally happening, whether the weather wants to cooperate or not.  Although, I am totally not leaving the apartment again today!  It is a drink tea, do work, cuddle with my kitty, and listen to The Cure kind of day.  

I can't wait to go visit the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens in a few weeks, for the Cherry Blossom Festival. I'm excited to go during the week, when there will be less people there and I can bring my sketchbook and camera and just spend the day there.  I've been making lots of new pattern designs for Surtex (this is a big print show coming up in May.  I don't have a booth there, but I work with a design company that sells my stuff there).  Cherry Blossoms have definitely been on my mind and shows in some recent prints I have made. Perhaps I'll show some of those later in the week!

Warm, sunny Spring thoughts!