spring!!

(I've recently realized that writing posts in your head is very different from actually posting them. Oops! Sorry friends, it's been a busy few weeks.)

But here in the Little House, spring has sprung in the meantime. The cherry blossoms have graced us with there presence just this week. It really is an amazing sight. Last year I traveled all the way to the southern part of Korea for a cherry blossom tour, but this year, I only have to go out my front door.

It really has been amazing to see the daily transformation that happens this time of year. The flowers will literally bloom overnight and greet you in the morning. Plants which appeared so lifeless suddenly are a riot of color. And then there are the true surprises - those annuals that pop up after hibernating all winter.

(The previous tenant of this house planted daffodils last year, which I recently discovered when these little guys ^^ popped up.)

It's hard to express how utterly beautiful Korea is in the spring. Trees explode with blossoms, and you really just want to carry your camera everywhere because you find beauty in the most unexpected places.

The magnolia trees are some of my favorite. I mean, I love cherry blossoms and all, but the magnolia trees are the ones that really stop me in my tracks. Here in Seoul, the magnolia flowers bloom before the leaves grow on the trees, and the branches look almost weighed down with their numbers.

I suppose there is something profound in all of this. But I'm trying not to over think it. For now, I'm frolicking in the yard and thankful to be alive on these beautiful, warm, flower-filled spring days.

hidden places.

One thing that has really been great about this new place to live is the secretive nature of this little neighborhood.

It's in Seoul, but a in far-flung corner of this great city. On a quiet college campus, behind a classroom building.

If you don't know exactly where to look, you might never find it. (Here's a picture of my street, just so you get the idea. My house is on the right.)

So I've been thinking, what is it about hidden places? Why do I feel absolute joy when I discover something secret, something hidden out of view?

Maybe it gives me a renewed sense of mystery of this world. Maybe there is some deep psychological compulsion that I have - to find things no one else knows about.

Or maybe, just maybe, there is something deeply spiritual about a hidden place. The fact that God meets me in my hidden places. Maybe finding them elsewhere reminds me to enter in to those places within myself.

And so, to close, I give you a picture of my most hidden space: my bathroom. Specifically, my washer, which is conspicuously placed right next to, or in, the shower. There is no way to really make this picture look cool. It's not cool.

But it is secret. And I love it.

settled.

I've been thinking a lot this week. Thinking about the phenomenon of feeling at home in a place where I absolutely don't fit in. (Seoul is often a fickle mistress.) I've also reflected a lot on what makes me feel comfortable, or settled.

I am feeling more settled here. Weirdly, since I've started over almost completely in the last month. But I've also realized that a lot of my time here in Korea has been spent waiting. Waiting for the rest of my life to start. Don't get me wrong, the waiting has been full, and fun. But it still has been waiting. (A blog that I like addressed this very issue in a recent post.) It has taken me almost three years to let it sink in - this is my actual life. Not a pre-life. A life, with all it's quirks, hiccups and heartbreaks. And I realized - I like it. I'm really okay with it. What a novel idea!

This epiphany couldn't have come a moment too soon. I have to decide in the next few weeks if I'm going to stay in Seoul or move on to other things. I thought I had made my decision a few months ago... but when it comes down to it, it's so much more difficult than I had anticipated. It really is hard to walk away from a place where you feel settled, even if you know you won't be there forever.

So that's where my head is at this week. Confused. Praying. Talking. But thankful that my life, for now, is settled.

And that I've finally realized that here, and now, is my real life.

an adventure in the yard.

As you may have noticed, I have a yard. And with a yard, comes work. Hence the term, yard work. I have never been particularly hostile to yard work, but neither have I shown the least bit of aptitude for it. Nonetheless, today, I had an adventure in my yard, attempting to tame the beast that was the fall and winter leaves strewn over the potential of spring greens. Begone, beast!

I present to you, my yard day. As told with pictures.

 I realized after I raked that I didn't have any large garbage bags for leaves. So... I improvised a little.

Oh yeah, did I mention that I have the creepiest shed ever? I also cleaned that out today. Super yuck.

I discovered that wellies are good for much more than just rain. They helped me conquer the shed.

I climbed up the hill across the street to get a better view of the house. Can't wait for spring greens to grown in!

So that's that.

xoxox

a diary of dinners.

So let me just start by confessing that I'm usually exceedingly annoyed by those among us who insist on taking pictures of everything they eat. I mean, really? Like all your Facebook friends need to keep apprised of your caloric intake play-by-play? Or your fancy-schmancy organic local vegan nonsense? Really?

With that said, I am now guilty of presenting photo evidence of some of my weekly meals for your enjoyment. Okay, okay, less for your enjoyment and really more just to prove to myself and my mother that I have, indeed, managed to cook for myself for over a week. Now that I live more in the middle of nowhere than I ever have before, I've turned in to a bit of a hermit. Which means that I have started to actually feed myself, instead of letting other people do it.

So, Mom, here it is. My diary of dinners. Well, mostly just the all-stars. (Which means the ones I remembered to take pictures of...)

 A stir-fry of various veggies with egg, chicken, and beef over rice noodles soaked in coconut milk.

 Seasoned baked salmon over pasta and green beans seasoned with white truffle salt. I particularly enjoyed the plating of this one!

I don't totally remember what was in this one... looks like cabbage, green beans, mushrooms, and probably chicken. I'm sure I threw some balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and seasonings in that too. I'm pretty sure it was delicious.


So now, feel free to make fun of me for my food pics... it will be rightfully deserved. 


xoxox

my new house.

So moving sucks. Terribly. I hate it. Although I've had do it more than my fair share during my life. With that said, this time wasn't so bad. I was dreading it, but the result was more than I could have hoped for.

And now I have traded my posh city apartment for a little house in the woods. No joke.

A house you may ask? In Seoul? Yes and yes. Pretty weird and awesome. Here are the results of a photo shoot I had today with my new house:

These are both from my kitchen. Next, we have the guest bedroom. That's right, I said guest bedroom!

The next stop on our tour is the living room... or parlor, if you prefer. Notice the granny chair in the second pic? Yep, it's my favorite.

We now have the dining room, which is basically a table that separates the kitchen from the living room. And the fridge, which is seriously the loudest appliance I have ever heard. Oh yeah, and it's pretty much in the living room... ha.

Last but not least, my bedroom. I have to say it's nice not to be sleeping in a loft with only about 18 inches of head clearance. I've had to get used to the quiet. The first morning I woke up to the sound of birds, and it kind of freaked me out. Ahhh, the country.

So that's the Little White House by the Woods. I'll keep you updated on the adventures, or lack of, that transpire in this enchanting space!

xoxox