[Image designed for Freckled Italian by signed, xoxohannah]

Hannah has begun posting really pretty and inspiring downloadable backgrounds on her blog each month, and at the beginning of January I asked her if she'd make one for me and my readers in February. She sent this to me a few days ago and I can't imagine it coming at a better time. Now with Rob physically further from me than ever, I can have a daily reminder that it's possible to put out as much love as possible, even when the future seems uncertain.

We will run and scream

You will dance with me

They'll fulfill our dreams 

And we'll be free

And we will be who we are

And they'll heal our scars

Sadness will be far away

Do not let my fickle flesh go to waste

As it keeps my heart and soul in its place

And I will love with urgency

But not with haste

--Mumford & Sons, Not With Haste

Visit Hannah's blog here to download the image for your own screen, phone, or iPad. (Or all three!)

Attention, all friends and readers within driving distance of Richmond, Virginia! My brother's band, She's a Legend, is headlining a show in Richmond on January 11th. Rob and I are going to be there and I'd love it if you could come and say hi!

Tickets are $8, unless you order them on The Canal Club's online ticket center, and then for some reason they're $11, so just send me an email if you'd like to purchase some and we can set you up! 

You can also get them at the door on the night of the show for $10.

Take a listen and learn more about She's a Legend here.

And let me know if you plan to come in January!

"Without music, life would be a mistake."

--Friedrich Nietzsche

She was seventeen years old when she put headphones on and let a song change her.

It happened that winter of her senior year of high school as she sat on the couch, unsuccessfully trying to knit a scarf. She manipulated the needles through dark blue yarn, but there were knots and holes and she was getting frustrated. She was never very crafty, but she was trying to learn. She stopped to take a break and decided to play a song from an album she hadn't listened to yet.



She wasn't someone who knew how to knit. She wasn't sure yet, didn't know exactly what kind of person she was, but as she sat there in the dark, just listening, she could finally hear the kind of person that she had always wanted to be.

--

Less than two weeks until I finally get to see my favorite band play live.