anniversary

two weeks-ish ago mike and i celebrated our fourth anniversary. four years married + four years pre-marriage = fewer and fewer years where i remember life without mike (which is great, because those years involved bangs fluffed to the sky, holiday themed braces, doc martens, and a lot more crying).

we celebrated a little early by heading up to boise to see the broadway tour of les miserables. we figured if we were going to drive five hours we might as well splurge to get good seats. i'm so glad we did. we sat on the front row about ten feet from the stage and were completely surrounded by the music and able to see every expression and detail. it was incredible. an added bonus was at half-time/intermission when we were able to witness packs of people pointing and gawking into the orchestra pit. sort of like the hippo exhibit at the zoo. super entertaining. after, mike was humming some of the songs. he won't admit it in public, but he loved it. and i love him for taking me to see it.

our dinner that night was a hilarious fail (i'll set the scene: middle eastern restaurant in a grocery store, rescue 911 playing on a vhs in the background, intense conversations about guild wars and fantasy personas from the girls behind us, and really, really dry chicken) so we tried again on our actual anniversary. mike chose Pallet, which was a thousand and seven times better. the building is beautiful and we had one of the best desserts we've ever eaten - a warm walnut shortbread with melted chocolate and caramel inside and ice cream with berries on top. mmmmmm... it doesn't beat the blueberry concoction in st. thomas, but i'll still dream about it for weeks.

a lot of my bfa friends think mike should be sainted for putting up with me. i would be the first in line to put him on the list. he's really patient, hilarious, thoughtful, and has never abandoned me when i've gotten myself into a tight situation... or two... or fifty. even at three in the morning. i never thought i would get married young. i was not going to be one of those girls. but clearly someone who knows me better than i know myself knew i would never survive past twenty without mike. he's still the best person i've ever met.

summer sabbatical

in junior high i discovered a beautiful thing: a mental health day. a day where i do whatever my brain and body needs most. sometimes it's judge judy or eight bowls of cereal; occasionally it's going for a long run or picking up a book and not moving until it's finished. whatever works to clear my head and help me sort things out. something different.

this summer turned into one long mental health day. one day i'm busy and frazzled over projects and orders and deadlines and exhibitions and the next day... it's all over. i'm graduated. i'm done. there's time and space and no rush for anything.

i always thought i would start working full-time right away. i love working. i love money. it makes sense. but i needed time to slow down. to re-prioritize. to spend days writing and exploring and watching too many documentaries (walmart is evil. none of our food is real. too many kids are medicated. the government is corrupt.) i figured myself out a little bit more.

and that's how i spent my summer. it was glorious.

also, i joined instagram. a year late. my username is saramharding if you're into that.

one - view from hipster williamsburg where we ate and ate. two - hometown harlem. 

three - the laundry mat where you always came home with a story. four -  my favorite sign on the way to visit my favorite people at martha.

one - amateur night at apollo theater - people cheer! and boo! and drag them off the stage! two - belmont, where the boys bet and won... and lost.
three - awesome and amazing angie at dylan's candy bar - she's the best. four - rainbow candy is my personal heaven.

one - central park. two - waffles from the best food truck. 

three - delicious katz's deli with lyns and annie. four - NEWSIES! it was incredible.

one - the gugg - amazing exhibit all about texture. two - some of my favorite art from lichtenstein at the met. 

three - self-portrait at the clouds exhibit on the roof. four - view from the roof overlooking central park.

one - mood fabrics! we saw swatch... he looked slobbery. two - project runway with ang! so many stories. heidi is glamorous. i want tim to be my fairy godmother.
three - shakespeare in the park. four - september eleventh memorial.

one - grand central. two - inside, where lyns and annie and i ate four (five?) different desserts at once.

three - mikey at the mets game. there was loooooots of baseball this summer. four - public library. love.

one - i think this was st. patricks. gorgeous cathedrals everywhere. two - girls night with abbie! who is even more incredible in person. wish i got a picture with alexa... ang has incredible friends. and friends = desserts. three - diamond unicorn from tiffany's. i need it. four - the highline. favorite internship lunch spot.