i’ve been wanting to share this news for a while and the time has finally come. the mountains are calling us home and we’re moving back to north carolina!

we have absolutely loved living in california for the last year and a half and though it will be hard to leave, it will be equally exciting for us to move back home. in short, my husband had the opportunity to transfer to an office in brevard, nc- one of our favorite places on earth (and only 20 mins from asheville)! to top it off, it’s only about an hour from where all four of our parents and both of our sisters live. it’s perfect!

we’ve already found our new home and it fell into our laps similar to how the last one did. we feel incredibly blessed to have discovered a sweet mountain retreat backed up right to the pisgah national forest. it has large windows, a vaulted ceiling and plenty of room to spread our wings (you’ll start seeing bits and pieces of it soon, i’m sure!).

so we’re packing up this weekend and plan to begin our cross country journey a week from today. after 3 days of travel we’ll arrive at our new humble abode and be greeted with warm hugs from family and friends.

living in california has been a dream and something we will never forget. to be honest, it feels like we’ve been on vacation for the last 18 months! somehow though, it just never felt like home. mostly because our families aren’t here, but also because it’s just not familiar territory. i have a lot of feelings wrapped up in these two states, both of which i plan to share with you in the next few days.

until then, bonnie (photograph by me)

wrap up: {california} {moving} {north carolina} {packing} {travel}

*i would like to first say this morning that my sincere thoughts and prayers are with everyone who are dealing with the aftereffects of storm sandy. i hope you and your loved ones are safe and sound!

i’ve always loved learning about other people’s routines. the way we each go about our day to day activities is so interesting to me and i love getting inspired by other’s customs, schedules and format to their day.

i especially enjoy learning about the routines of people that are self employed, creative or work from home. working from home is definitely a blessing, but it also comes with an immense amount of freedom, which means it requires a huge amount of discipline. at times, it can be really hard to stay focused, motivated and productive!

so today i thought i would share with you my normal day to day routine. i am definitely a creature of habit (so is david), so my daily do’s stay pretty consistent.

6:30am: david wakes up and i begin to rustle. i usually stay in bed while i can hear him showering. the first thing i lay my eyes on is the ‘verse of the day’ on my youversion bible app. then i take 15 minutes or so to wake up, glance at my e-mails and see what’s going on in the universe (still in bed).

6:45: feet hit the floor and the first thing i do is have some water and an emergen-c (just a daily habit) while i fix my first cup of coffee.

6:45-7:15: take time to sip on my cup of coffee (fixed with local honey and coconut creamer) while i read my daily bible plan, again on the youversion app. starting my day with some reading really grounds and inspires me, and gives me a fresh beginning each morning!

7:15-7:45: feed and walk toaster, do a few odd jobs around the house, and help david get out the door for work.

7:45-8:00: take david to work (we’re a one car family). even toaster comes along for the ride!

8:00-9:30: check on the day’s scheduled posts and share them via social media. play catch up on comments etc and start working on the next day’s posts.

9:30: 2nd cup of coffee.

9:45-11:00: finish up and schedule the next day’s posts and start answering e-mails for the day. i don’t get them all answered every day, but i try to respond to each of them within 2-4 days-ish.

11:00-1:00: 2 or 3 days a week a friend and i get together for a run that usually lasts about an hour and a half. on days that we don’t run, i use this time to get creative, photograph projects and edit the photos.

1:00-3:00: i usually set a part this time to work on things related to designing. this includes sketching, photographing inspirations and working with patterns directly in illustrator.

3:00: fix a smoothie to sip on for the afternoon. my favorite combo is carrot juice, coconut water, frozen berries and a scoop of amazing grass.

3:15-5:00: check in on the day’s blog posts and answer any comments or questions regarding it. answer any urgent emails and use the remaining time to work on the materials and newsletter going out that friday for the roost tribe, which usually takes about 7-10 hours a week.

5:00-5:30: clean up the house and get dinner started.

5:30: grab toaster and go pick up david from work (unless he’s ridden his bike home!).

6:00: eat dinner (yes, we eat this early!)

7:00-9:00: computer is off and we use this time to focus on each other. it’s time usually just spent on the sofa, but it’s sacred and special, even if we’re just curled up watching a movie together.

9:00: bedtime. (i know, we’re old!)

do you have a favorite part of your day? if so, what is it?

wrap up: {bonnie christine} {daily} {day} {routine} {schedule}

today, i return home to california. after being away from over a month, i’m anxious to get back. not only to my home, my things and my normal routine but also to the sunshine, flowers and sweet aroma. time spent with family and friends over the last few weeks have filled me with joy and given me unforgettable memories, but i’ll be happy to unpack and root down for a bit. i’m feeling a bit jostled and tired but thankful for the opportunity to travel. since i’ve been in both colorado and north carolina, i know my internal clock (and all my electronics) will be excited to return to a single time zone. a full day of travel is ahead, but freshly farmed veggies, pink roses and my own soft bed awaits me. you can follow my travels over on instagram, i’ll meet you there!

photo: i love you, california (1913 cover illustration for sheet music) via besotted brand

wrap up: {california} {homesick} {life} {travel}

26 things about me. :)

1. i love my job.
2. natural light is my best friend.
3. toaster’s nickname is goat.
4. my favorite color is green.
5. i prefer a very soft bed.
6. i dislike toilet paper that tears too easily.
7. in the last 4 years, i’ve moved 5 times across 2,340 miles.
8. photoshop still scares me.
9. i love back scratches.
10. my favorite hike is among the wild ponies at mount rogers.
11. i’ve been a vegetarian for 7 years and a vegan for 20 months.
12. i love watermelon.
13. i hate cilantro.
14. my name (bonnie christine) means beautiful christian.
15. i’m so in love.
16. i finally started reading the hunger games.
17. mosquitoes are my least favorite.
18. i love to thrift shop.
19. i could eat kale three times a day.
20. i have big dreams.
21. i love to go to bed insanely early.
22. i can’t stop listening to this song.
23. i do several handstands every day- just for fun.
24. i have a smoothie every day.
25. friends and family are so precious to me.
26. i’m so grateful.

wrap up: {birthday} {change} {new} {old} {picture}

some of you might know that i spent nearly the last month back east with my family in north carolina. my sweets went for work, i went to catch up with family and soak in the beautiful scenery. i’m so in love with the area, i just wanted to share a few of the snapshots i took while we were there! (pssst.. feel free to click on the image above if you would like to download it!)

wrap up: {homeland} {landscape} {life} {photography} {scenery} {smoky mountains}

golden day by trisha brink design

i debated a little on whether or not to share this on ghtr, but this blog is a direct reflection of my life, and you all are like family to me. so, here’s a snippet of my life lately! david, my husband, is a professional cyclist and cycling coach, and while riding with an athlete in albuquerque, new mexico last week had a major crash and shattered his collarbone in to 7 pieces. oh no!

i received the dreaded phone call while they were still on the side of the road, uncertain of what other damage might have occurred. i don’t do well with this kind of stuff. it was especially hard because i was in north carolina at the time (thankfully with my family). i struggle with worrying too much as it is, and constantly have to pray away my fear and worry when it comes to his riding and general extreme-ness.

within a few hours, david had seen a surgeon and scheduled surgery for the next morning. i quickly researched flights and booked one that would get me there in time for his surgery. family took me to the airport (an all-night adventure) for my 6am flight and i arrived just in time to give him a smooch before they rolled him back. sigh.

surgery took 90 minutes longer than expected (tick-tock-tick-tock), as they quickly realized his collarbone had several shattered pieces and putting the jigsaw puzzle back together was quite the challenge. you can see his before and after x-rays if you want (they are pretty incredible!). needless to say, he is now the proud new owner of 9 screws and a titanium plate.

he came through the surgery without a hitch and despite a few (very) rough days, we’re making it alright. we reluctantly made the trip back to north carolina on saturday and are so happy to be home and surrounded by family (we return to california next week). he’s progressing slowly but surely and is expected to make a full recovery, praise the Lord!

i am above all thankful. i realize it could have been much (much) worse and i am incredibly grateful for being able to make the trip, safe travels and an amazing surgeon. i just wanted to share with you a bit of my life, as things are not always overflowing with flowers and butterflies behind the scene. :) for now, i’ve got to go back to playing nurse. happy monday!

wrap up: {life} {nurse} {surgery} {update}

all together now! 1.. 2.. 3… ♬

today is going home to roost’s birthday! awww, i feel like a proud momma. thank you so much to each of you who have helped make ghtr possible! it is truly so fulfilling and delightful to meet with you here each day, and i am so thankful to see that ghtr is blossoming into such a beautiful flower. :) it wouldn’t be possible without you!

here are some fun facts- since ghtr was born its had:

- 2,097,694 pageviews
- 1,289,369 visits
- 851,824 unique visitors
- 9,296 comments
- 2,637 tags
- 1,309 posts
- 34 categories
-and 3 birthdays!

can’t wait to see what’s in store for us this year! love, bonnie

wrap up: {birthday} {blog} {celebrate} {going home to roost}

can you believe fall is just around the corner? whether we’re ready or not, it’s already time to start thinking about the holidays (wahh!). to get a head start, consider getting prepared early. purchase three months of any ad size, and get december FREE. that’s right, the busiest, most important and (traditionally) most pricey month for advertising- FOR FREE!

download the full press package with advertising info here then e-mail me or comment here if you’re interested or having any questions.
 

wrap up: {3 months} {advertising} {christmas} {deal} {fall} {free} {holidays} {special}