OY! KRISTEN

A Blustery Getaway at Serenbe. Part 2.

I just had too many great photos from this fun little getaway. See part 1 HERE.

For me, the beginning of the year is such a cleansing season. Everything is sort of bare, torn away, and a little bit unbeautiful. Almost a little too raw, a bit uncomfortably vulnerable. And yet I really love this wintery season. Of course, it's a lot easier to love it in Georgia than in Boston or New York :) Seeing the dirty sleazy snow turn a million shades of sick can really throw your stomach off for a day. But here, the trees are stripped to their skivvies and tenderly hold up their branches in a "raising the white flag" kind of way. Like, here we are, world. Ready to start fresh. Start over. Dream again.

Am I crazy? That's just what February is to me.

I had to include a few more Serenbe photos from last week. I couldn't possibly choose my favorites so I just pretty much chose them all. Seeing my little boy interact with my strapping husband is making me feel alive and happy in a new way. Maybe it's the whole February thing. Maybe it's a new mom thing. Maybe it's a clear-headed thing. Or a "I've finally slept, booya!" thing. But I'm having a small moment in the sun these past few weeks. Life finally doesn't feel so gosh-darn hard. I don't feel so bare bones tired. Or ragged. This little getaway to Serenbe couldn't have come at a better time. It was cold, but so what? I've had colder winters.

// I love setting up Everett's little bed when we travel. I don't know why. //

// I like to tease him that he's my muse. He. HATES. It. //

// 7.5 years. I'm a lucky lady. //

Happy February to you all!

A Blustery Getaway at Serenbe.

We spent last Sunday evening and Monday at the wondrous Serenbe Farm. We had the privilege of staying in one of the cottages at the Inn, enjoying dinner at The Farmhouse and doing some exhilarating hiking/walking around the farm grounds. If you aren't familiar with Serenbe, it's a wonderfully chic, urban-ish farm community (yes, "commune" is perhaps another word for it), located about 45 minutes outside of Atlanta. We enjoyed spending time there in September, and with each season change we find ourselves itching to get back to the farm to bask in the still quiet. Serenbe is the kind of place where you go to dream again, which is exactly why we decided to steal away for an evening.

We got to really dive into some fun imaginings about our goals for the year and how we would like to grow ourselves. That might seem like a funny term, "grow ourselves", but I've learned that unless you attempt something with all sorts of intention, it probably won't just "happen". Like the watercolor painting that I want to do. I bought the supplies! And yet they are still sitting in their plastic Michaels bag, begging me to be played with. But hey, baby steps, right?

We meant for this little getaway to happen over the Christmas/New Years break, but I got some kind of gross bug and we had to cancel. But alas! Nothing could keep us away for too long. Yes, we brought Everett along for the fun, although my sweet mother offered to drive out and babysit for the evening so we could enjoy a dinner date, just the two of us. These are the crazy good benefits of living near family. Thank you, Mom! You're the best!

Dinner at The Farmhouse is such a wholesome, earthy experience, because most everything is grown on the property itself (or at one of the nearby farms in the area), so all the food is locally grown and most is organic. IT'S SO GOOD. If you go on Sundays, get the fried chicken. GET THE FRIED CHICKEN. And the cobbler. Whatever cobbler they're serving up, you will just kick yourself if you don't eat it all. The food is almost holy.

As for the farm yard experience itself, it was really as good as could be expected in the dead of winter. I'm not going to lie to you - it was pretty cold. And really windy. And sort of misty/foggy/wet. So we didn't do as much outdoor frolicking as we hoped, BUT - the goats had just had babies, like a day before we got there - SCORE! Those little baby goats. Seriously guys, you could just die. They are so stinkin' wobbly and CUTE. A slew of pictures to come (because you know that I can't possible edit this batch down any further :)

// Which came first, the chicken or the goat? //

// He's a total dog whisperer, but somehow all the little animals wanted to come to him. They must talk. //

// Um, YEAH. //

// New mama with her baby! This little guy was scampering around and trying to jump atop the haystack. Ah! //

// I was, um, trying to get in some animal love. Connection. Whatever. I didn't grow up on a farm guys. I don't have the animal-whispery tendencies. //