Ah, Florida. This very moment last February I was visiting the land of palm trees and sunny blue skies. I remember that is wasn’t particularly hot but it certainly wasn’t -7 degrees like it is in Boston today.

!!!!

I went on this trip to visit my friend Caroline and to meet her new baby boy. We did a lot of lounging and touring fun areas of the city. My favorite part of Tampa is The Oxford Exchange— a coffee shop, restaurant, bookstore and gift shop all rolled in the one perfectly designed and decorated space. A nice little getaway in the dead of New England winter, I wish I was back there enjoying it again!

// I found this post while combing through my drafts folder. Seems like a good a time as any to remember warmer days! 

Last year was so crazy when I stop and think about it. The best kind of crazy in the world. The kind that makes my eyes shine and my heart pump fast.

Crazy exciting. Crazy busy. Crazy wonderful.

The best part about all of it is that I had no idea that any of it was going to happen. Not a clue! It’s so fun isn’t it? To be at the start of a new year and have no idea what it will bring?

What will 2016 bring?

I hope it brings happiness. I hope it brings travel. And projects and books and adventure. I hope it brings family and I hope it brings friends. I hope it brings calm. And a good amount of excitement. I hope it brings love and I hope it brings JOY.

I love the beginning of something new.

Hope, hope, hope.

May your year be merry and bright. ❤️

 
Ever since Zan and I got engaged I have been looking forward to changing my name. I love love love my old name, but I also love love love my new name, too.

Anna Winchell <– that’s the new me! Which is exactly the same as the old me. Thank goodness. :)

I knew this summer would be the perfect time for me to change it legally. Being on summer vacation means I have more free time to run extra erands. Also working it all out in the summer means I can start the school year fresh with my new name. I like how my new class doesn’t know me yet, so Mrs. Winchell won’t be hard for them to remember to say. (Although it’s still a bit strange for me to hear!)

Turns out, as it is with these things, changing your name is a pain in the butt. Legally, at least.

A friend told me that The Knot has a great guide to follow when it’s time to change your name, but even that felt a bit tedious to me. So many websites to go to to find information! So many places to stop into! The thought of it literally made my head spin.

Then I found Hitchswitch. 

Praise up!

For a (not too crazy, totally worth it) price they offer 2 different options to fit your budget:

Print at Home package (you fill out the forms online, print them at home, sign your name and send them in yourself) and a Full Service package (they mail you an awesome folder filled with all the forms you need (already filled out!) WITH pre-addressed pre-stamped envelopes, which was really the icing on the cake for me.

Both are worth it because you don’t have to trail around town or scour the Internet for the correct forms. Which is seriously the worst. (You do need to go to the DMV in person though (tragic) because they don’t let you do that through the mail.)

Overall it was so easy breezy. So very stress free.

My favorite part is how organized it all was. When the package came there were checklists and sticky notes with arrows where I needed to sign. Everything was placed in the order in which I should complete the forms and send in (Social Security first!). I just loved the simplicity of it all. 

Especially after the craze and prep of the best day ever? I was the busiest bee for months!

Oh yes! I’ll take allllll the simple I can get.

So here I am delayed at the airport {again.} This time I’m much more relaxed about it all, since the only place I’m going is back to my own bed. The ride home is never as exciting as the one there anyhow. The first leg of my flight flew into New York, and so this is where I’ve been spending my Friday night. Not the worst place in the world, I guess. {Positivity, people! I’m trying!} As we flew into the city the little girl sitting behind me perked up in the best way. She was so quiet most of the flight I hardly knew she was there, but as soon as we came into New York she came alive with excitement. I felt it completely, as much of what she was saying I was thinking too. I think she was about 4 or 5 years old, which made it all the better. So good that after the first few giddy exclamations I decided it’d be fun to start writing her words down…

On our first view of the city //

“Look! There’s lady liberty!”

“This is amazing!!”

“It’s so BEAUTIFUL!!”

On looking up to the sky //

“Look at the moon. A little sliver you can wish on.”

And back down again towards the ground //

“Oh, the city lights from so high… It looks like the biggest Christmas tree ever.”

“Look at the twinkling lights in the park. Aren’t they pretty?”

“I bet the cars are like, that plane is so close to us! Are we close to them? More than one foot, I guess.”

“Now we’re definitely so close to the water right now. If we were a bird we could splash right in.”

On a smooth and happy landing //

“Ahahahahah!” {Giggling so good.} “That was awesome.”

I feel ya, kid. Straight up magic.

//

“I look out the window and I see the lights and the skyline and the people on the street rushing around looking for action, love, and the world’s greatest chocolate chip cookie, and my heart does a little dance.” Nora Ephron ♥