Gonna take a walk outside today.

Gonna see what we can find today. 

The lovely Miss Lauren and I went on a stroll recently through the neighborhoods of Lodi. We’ve tried to make neighborhood walks a regular thing in the afternoon as a little creative escape through our iPhone lenses.

On this particularly day, we decided to venture one block farther than our usual route. We were rewarded with a perfectly pink foreclosure home that made both Lauren and I swoon with envy. We dreamed about how we would make the house our own if we just had enough money to buy it.

I dreamed of the high-pointed ceilings and the perfect curtains I would sew for the living room. (Granted, this would involve me buying a sewing machine and learning to make curtains, but like I said, I was dreaming). I thought about all the different shadows from the tree limbs and how they would shift from morning to afternoon.

I imagined hauling out a ladder to pluck the oranges from the trees in January and displaying them in pretty vintage bowls throughout the house.

Sometimes it’s just nice to think of everything you would fill a home with while at the same time being thankful that you don’t own that much stuff or have to take on that much responsibility.

I’ve been taking a photo a day as part of  a challenge on Instagram (my user name is  maggie_creamer if you want to follow along). Today my task was to take a picture of childhood. My mind immediately jumped to the picture still on my dresser of Beena Shekar. Beena and I met in the second grade but didn’t really become besties until the 4th grade. After that, it was about eight years of walking in the sunshine, rain or snow to either middle or high school.

We played board games for hours after school. We would walk the full mile to the Kirkwood pool all the time with our towels, magazines and sunblock. And as soon as we could drive, it was off to Tropical Moose for snocones during the summertime. Even more fun was hanging out with her three lovely sisters and wonderful parents. I still remember Beena’s mom making us chocolate milkshakes at 3 a.m. in the morning during a sleepover and just thinking her family was the coolest ever!

 I have learned so much from this wonderful friend and was so happy to be able to be there on her wedding day right after moving to California. Beena turned 26 years old today, and it is so weird to think of how many years we’ve been in each others lives.

So happy birthday Miss Beena! You are one of the smartest, most compassionate, loving and amazing people I know, and I hope you had a beyond lovely day!