weekend retreat

i’m back today from an exquisite retreat* to plan the new year and do lots of yoga! the setting was a favorite – shaker village at pleasant hill :)

the group that i practiced yoga with ate delicious lunch and dinner in their winter cellar.  there were smores.  and laughing.  it felt a little like the end of summer camp on the last day :) i met a potter, a kindergarten teacher, a marriage and family therapist, an officiant, a children’s librarian, a public health crusader from detroit, a immigration attorney from nyc, a massage therapist, a bread baker (and mother to a sweet 2.5 yr old)…the list goes on and on.  suffice it to say, they were all gems.

i didn’t take many photos – the top one is from the hallway where my room was, and the bottom three are from an early morning walk – but i’m still luxuriating in the quiet stillness of such a beautiful place.

have you heard this sweet shaker song?

‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free
‘Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

i love this version…i hope your new year is off to the best start!  I’m hoping to carry a piece of this weekend through the entirety of mine.

if you ‘re visiting from the style me pretty feature today, welcome!!

* pretty sure it will be an annual thing if you’d like to kick off your new year this way next year!

** someone asked what my word of the year will be based on this post from last year, it’s clarify…i’ll be making one of these to serve as a reminder through the year.