• St. Mary's Glacier
    Colorful Colorado

    St. Mary’s Glacier

    If you are in Colorado and you are not taking yourself on outdoorsy expeditions right now, then you are not doing yourself any favors. Get outside! Breathe in the coming autumn. Go now. Do it. I’ll wait. . . . Good work, friends! How did it go? Let’s get together and exchange stories over coffee, hot cider and cake. Here, I’ll start: At the end of last week, my sister and mother — and trusty philosopher dog, Bailey — went on an adventure to St. Mary’s Glacier.

  • one world trade center
    Essay

    On never forgetting

    When I was 14 years old, the world changed forever. Not only my personal world, as our family structure began to shift to two households, but the entire, wide world beyond my narrow and self-involved vantage point. It was 2001. In September 2001, I was still very much an uncertain young gal, uncomfortable in my own skin, and completely unconvinced that I fit in a setting beyond the Colorado neighborhood I grew up in with my three siblings. I had been homeschooled for my entire life up until that point, and had only just begun to wade into the chaotic, loud and terrifying environment that is a public high school.…

  • Great American Eclipse
    Travel

    The Great American Eclipse

    It took two-and-a-half hours, but we finally escaped Glendo State Park. We had driven along these same roads not 12 hours earlier, at 4:30 a.m., heading in the opposite direction. Surrounded by many other enterprising souls, we had crawled along the unfamiliar dirt road, the deep darkness of the pre-sunrise night enveloping us all, making the journey eerie. Somehow even forbidden. If I hadn’t myself just handed over our paltry park entrance fee to the booth attendant, and didn’t at that moment still clutch the park-issued map in hand, I would think we were trespassing into territory uncharted. With all of our ghostly headlights reflecting back on us in the…

  • orange roses
    Home Life

    A bouquet of orange roses

    Sometimes a bouquet of orange roses is just a bouquet of orange roses. And sometimes, if you look a little closer, I think you might find a bouquet of orange roses is actually a magical little land all its own. I love investigating the world with my trusty camera in hand. With such a companion you can transform a (slightly) cluttered corner of your living room into a little floral studio. Just add a truly unassuming rose bouquet to the mix and you’re good to go. Happy exploring, friends.   SIGNED, anya elise

  • Statue of Liberty
    Essay

    July 4th: What’s the State of our Nation?

    I spent some time last night wandering the wild lands of the internet, searching for inspiration, answers, clues, guides, insight into this nation of the United States of America. It is July 4th, our Independence Day. This year, it feels perhaps more poignant than ever to stop and consider what indeed makes up the character and fabric of our country. What do we stand for? What do we live for? What do we hope for? In my fall down the Google rabbit hole, I found these quotes; some from the USA’s Founding Fathers, others from the wise and enduring women who accompanied them, or arrived later in our nation’s history.…