my birthday is tomorrow and mother’s day is on sunday. i wouldn’t complain if i received any of these gifts to celebrate my existence and motherhood.
ahem, wink wink, hint hint, light nudge.
clockwise, spiraling in, starting top right: 1| the lima camera strap in smoke from ona 2| kiehl’s super fluid UV defense 3| kiehl’s creme de corps body moisturizer 4| the chelsea camera bag in black from ona 5| black old gulph wool fedora from goorin bros 6| good ol‘ clarisonic mia in white
hey mamas: what does your family do to celebrate mother’s day? any special items/treats/outings you’re hoping to receive or partake in?
dear ramona,
you’ve got the sweet tooth of your father.
i love you. love, mama.
(doughnuts enjoyed at salt in boulder. a recap of this fine establishment to follow.) a portrait of ramona, once a week, every week, in 2013. inspired by jodi’s project.
the sailfish beach resort (most commonly known as simply, the sailfish) on anna maria island in florida, has been in my mother’s family since her parents bought it in the 1970s. i’ve been going there at least once a year since i was born. it’s changed through the years –the width of the beach, the color of the building, the throw pillows on the couch– but it still always seems the same. the freshness of the air, the softness of the sand, the crisp water, the warm sun. jp and i took ramona and some of our favorite friends there this last week of april. what a glorious and much-needed break it was.
we spent our mornings on the empty beach, drinking our coffee while watching the little ones run around. by 11:00, when the heat started to get serious, we’d explore the island (there’s a free trolley!), grab lunch, siesta. by late afternoon we were out back in the waves, building sand castles, reading books while lounging on beach chairs, taking turns watching the babes so each person had a chance to go exploring on the rented paddle boards. paradise, really.
it’s a simple little four-plex that is rented out during the year. the amenities are everything you need: king bed, sleeper couch, full bath, kitchen w all major appliances, and a cozy front living room that opens up to the patio that looks directly onto the gulf of mexico. there’s lots of great restaurants on the island, but this place is also two blocks from a publix so we did most of our cooking and eating at home. perhaps consider it next time you’re looking for an easy family vacation!
forgive all the baby bum photos: we were having too much fun in the sand and water to take many. these are from our last morning there. thank you, overcast sky, for waiting until our last day to show up. i’ll be snagging some from our friends to show off later 
dear lovely readers,
if i could give you all a yummy baked good and sit down w each of you for conversation over coffee, i most certainly would. over the years and as this blog has grown and i’ve gotten to meet some fabulous people — both near and far, in real life and just through the interwebs. i want to thank you all for your kind words, thoughtful questions, and support for me as a mama, writer, documenter, and sometimes over-sharer. your involvement and participation at this little space has been encouraging, affirming, and welcoming. thanks for being a part of A Denver Home Companion. this place is a lot better with people like you!
as a big believer in the power and necessity of community, i’d like to open up this space to other voices. i would like to strengthen this web presence by including words from, perhaps, you!; i’m looking for contributions from writers/readers/bloggers/whathaveyou who may want participate a little bit more on my blog. it doesn’t matter if you’re based in denver or australia, male or female, single or married-with-children: if you have something you’d like to post about that makes sense for this blog, i’d love to hear from you.
i’m not sure what this will ultimately look like — or if i’ll even get any submissions! but i wanna give it a shot. if you are interested, please send your idea for a post (or a draft of one) to me at emily [at] adenverhomecompanion [dot] com. i cannot promise i’ll be able to accept and publish everything as it’s important to me to remain true to the relative energy and character of this space, but i’ll certainly consider everything. and, though i can’t pay you in moola, i promise to plug the crap outta you on the social platforms i utilize. woohoo!
again, thanks for everything. thanks for stopping by, whether that’s daily or weekly, or just here and there. thanks for saying hello. thanks for reading!
+emily
this week’s links are either a week late or a day early, depending on how you tend to look at things. ah, well, vacation called and i was off the grid for a bit. but i’m back! and can’t wait to catch up with all of you. i’ll be back tomorrow and more regularly next week w photos of our stay at the beach as well as some thoughts on sweet treats for little ones, potty training, and some great new denver happenings.
- see our full home tour on apartment therapy!
- a couple of weeks ago i joined other denver bloggers, lashley, amanda, and sarah at an EatDrinkCreate event at west elm hosted by the proper pinwheel. what fun it was! check out the eat drink create event video at the bottom of the post.
- a must: wordpress website owner’s emergency checklist.
- hearing your song.
- i’m excited to introduce you to a new sponsor: nourish, a weekly meal plan by chef karolina. just what i need to take some stress out of planning meals AND cooking for 1.5 people. click through and take a look!
- if you’re interested in being a sponsor: take a look at my sponsor page and see if we’re a good fit. i’d love to work with you!
- just read: tenth of december by george saunders and the bill from my father by bernard cooper. two great reads i’d recommend to nearly everyone. currently on: dream work, poems by mary oliver.
welcome
