While I was home, mom and I went to my sister's baby shower in Williamsburg.

Since we were out that way, of course I wanted to pit stop in Colonial Williamsburg. It's one of my very favorite places. 

I grabbed some mixed nuts at The Peanut Shop for M as part of his birthday present, then mom and I checked out the colonial garden and nursery on the main street. 

It's a pretty impressive space that packs a lot of greenery and agriculture into a fairly small parcel of land. The interpreters use colonial agricultural practices and work to test techniques of the era in modern conditions. 

There's also chickens, goats, cows and other livestock wandering about and in the fields. 

We were back a second day and dad and I chatted with one of the interpreters about drainage testing, in which they used pots in the ground to test drainage conditions for a certain plant. They had great cold frames and raised beds and some plants that I really want to try here at the minifarm. 

it's the kind of place that comforts you with the knowledge that men and women have been doing this agriculture thing for centuries before you even existed on the planet. 

They were so creative with their trellises of branches and twine. They used bricks and old windows for cold boxes. 

On days when I think it's too hard, I can think of that colonial garden. They didn't have running water or modern technology. Granted, we're doing a lot by hand and have cisterns, it still has to be at least a bit easier for us now than it was for them. Not to mention the ladies were wearing so many more layers of heavy clothing. 

I was out there sweating in a t-shirt and shorts, getting assaulted by mosquitos and fearing snakes at every turn, but I would have been so much more miserable if I was wearing skirt. So miserable. 

This weekend we were out clearing the windbreak to keep the grass down, which limits the mosquitos and the snakes. That's also where we'll be relocating the chickens and adding some raised beds and fruit trees within the windbreak, eventually. 

That might seem fairly easy, but the windbreak is seriously bigger than our yard at the old house. It's flipping huge. It's four rows of trees on each leg of the L-shaped wind break.

We're both covered in bug bites, hot and exhausted. So exhausted. 

But those colonials did that kind of work without a lawnmower. And without an iPhone to blast music to keep them entertained. And probably without bug spray and sunscreen, though I refused the deet this weekend since that stuff freaks me out. 

All that to say, we have dreams of turning these 26 acres into a small scale working farm, but it's going to be a long, exhausting road and I will probably drink too much wine and flip out too many times along the way. 

Until then, more photos from Williamsburg. Because I love that place. If you're ever in southeastern Virginia, I highly recommend a visit to Colonial Williamsburg, as well as my former workplace, Historic Jamestown and part of my home county, Historic Yorktown. Together they make up the Historic Triangle and you can seriously do it all in a weekend. 

For the last week, I've been back on the East Coast with family. 

It's been a year since I've been home to Virginia, and longer since I've seen grandparents and other relatives. 

In that time, I've lost an uncle and a grandfather. 

In that time, I've moved across the country, changed jobs, bought a house, raised chickens, survived a Montana winter, installed flooring, started growing my own food, kayaked, explored, made new friends and became interested in farming. 

In that time, things at home have changed. There have been deaths, weddings, births, job changes, renovations, move, engagements, development and road construction. 

During the first few days of this visit, I was thinking how different everything was and feeling a bit like the outsider.

Then I realized how much I had changed. 

Returning to the place I call home, the place I went to school, learned to drive, had my first real jobs and internships, the place that formed the foundation of who I am today, has always been a reality check for me. It's like a baseline standard that I always look at to see how far I've come, how much I've grown, how many of my childhood dreams I've accomplished, goals I've reached. 

What I've noticed is that crowded stores, beaches, roads and towns no longer seem normal to me, they feel oppressive. There's no room to think or to breathe. 

For awhile, I loved that busy bee feeling in D.C., and I do still love the district, but on the summertime Jersey shore, in traffic on I-95 and on the busy gravel street during tourist season in Colonial Williamsburg, I found myself craving the wide open spaces and big sky of Montana. 

At my grandmothers, I kept expecting to see grandpa walk in and sit in his chair. The same chair he sat in for all of my childhood memories. But he didn't. 

Seeing photos of him and my uncle around the house had me struggling to keep my tears at bay. 

I'd always known he liked cows and had some farm experience, but I never really took the time to take it in until this last week. 

My other grandfather also had an agricultural background and likes to hear stories about our chickens. 

I can't help but wonder if I was meant to live this life all along and spent those in between years trying all the things that led me here. 

Coming home was different this time. Most of my hometown friends have moved away. Most are married and most have or are having kids. I'm off in the great white tundra, knocking down walls, chasing chickens and trying to figure out how to manage some acreage. 

I worry about the bunnies taking up residence under our porch and eating my plants. I worry about owls and coyotes and badgers getting to the chickens. I worry about Grover finding a snake and having his curiosity get him into trouble. I worry about snow drifts on the way to work and garden flattening wind. 

It's been a week of family, fun and largely ignoring work emails. Of unplugging and kicking my feet up. Of running on the boardwalk at the Jersey shore, going wild at the outlet mall, catching up with old friends.

But it's also been a week of emotions. Of feeling a bit like a stranger in my home land. 

I will always love this place. It's a place that shaped and molded me. It's a place that holds so many memories and is full of people I love and learned from. 

But it will never be as it was when I was here making those memories. That place has changed. And while I can always come home, it will likely feel a bit more foreign to me each time. 

As I was worrying about feeling like the outsider, a beautiful thing happened. 

I went to church Sunday morning. At the church I grew up in. The church where I was confirmed and sang in the choir every week from 8th grade until I moved away for jobs. Whenever I come home, I try to go to mass and jump in with my old choir. 

This morning, I walked in and there is really no other place where people look so surprised and happy to see me. I love that look of surprise and so I rarely give them a head's up that I'll be back.

The year since I'd been back was probably the longest I've gone without setting foot in that church since I was 14. 

It was a place where I knew everyone and everyone knew me, as the redheaded choir girl if they didn't know me personally. I did church retreats, taught Sunday school and was involved in all kinds of activities. 

Growing up, it was just fun and something I liked to do. 

It's a church on a military base, so the people change regularly, but some have stayed the same. 

And this morning, when one by one those same people walked in and welcomed me home so warmly I realized that in all those years, I'd done more than have fun and practice faith. 

I'd created, and become part of, community. 

This place that I call home may have changed, and so have I, but pieces of my heart will always be firmly planted in these places, with these people. And I will forever be grateful to come home.

Do you carry home with you wherever you go? How do you create a sense of home if you've moved away?

Meet Alicia of Jaybird. Through the blogosphere, she's become a friend and always a source of inspiration, happiness and fun. If you haven't already found her, go make her acquaintance on Facebook and Twitter.  She has some of the best recipes and thoughts on life. Plus, she encourages me to make progress on Wild, which is still sitting on top of the reading stack.

Q: What do you love most about cooking/gardening/food?

A: There is something incredibly fulfilling about growing something in my garden, turning it into a meal, and eating it with the people I love. When planting seeds comes full circle to sitting around a table full of the wonderful people in my life, all sharing something together, I feel completely present and content.

2. I love the idea of creating a home in motion and have been in similar situations, but remember sometimes feeling very unsettled. Does that happen to you? If so, how to handle those moments?

Absolutely! It is completely normal to feel unsettled or adrift when you're traveling frequently or when you've just moved. One thing that helps me is to read old journal entries from previous moves. They remind me that I always go through those rough patches, but there are amazing experiences that make it worthwhile. I also do my best to stay connected to friends and family through phone or video calls and writing letters. 

Q: Where do draw your inspiration for traveling, cooking, moving and well, life in general?

Am I allowed to be cheesy? Seriously, my mom is my inspiration for traveling, moving, and life. She studied all around the world, learned seven (I think) different languages, served as a Peace Corps volunteer, and is always up for an adventure. Now she teaches English as a Second Language (ESL). I grew up meeting her students and admiring their clothes, arts and projects from around the world.

And of course, I get my inspiration from the infinite resource that is the internet! I love reading blogs by freelancers or people in location-independent professions, in particular Yes and Yes, Silly Grrl, and After Nine to Five. Cooking inspiration usually just comes from whatever is on sale at the grocery store or the brightest vegetable at the farmer's market.

Q: Moving/traveling a lot tends to create a huge network of friends of all types. Are there any who stand out as having taught valuable life lessons or just being there in those crucial life moments?

A: There are two groups of people who have been with me through almost everything, and funnily enough, those are the ones from my hometown in Virginia. Now they're spread across several continents and many different states, but even if we go days without talking, I can feel their love and support in even the most difficult moments. You know someone is a great friend when you can email them out of the blue with a random question or life upset and receive an immediate response.

Q: Top three tips for staying positive when it feels impossible to do so? (I loved your recent positivity post!)

A: * Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and then write down five things for which you are grateful. * Look for the positive intent. In certain situations, it can be really hard to find, but this practice has helped me be more empathetic and compassionate, even when I feel like someone has hurt me without reason. * Do something absolutely silly, ideally involving movement. Nothing dispels an emotional funk like a ridiculous dance around the room to 80s pop! It may only work for a moment, but that's a moment that reminds you that you have the ability to create positivity whenever you want!

Q: What are the most important things learned while traveling, to you?

A: When I studied abroad in Senegal, I became absolutely taken with their response to the equivalent of "how are you?"--it translates roughly as "I am only here." There are moments during any trip (and in life) when you feel overwhelmed or torn between a million different choices...but remember, you are only here. Be present in the moment to fully enjoy it and learn from it.

Q: If you could host the perfect dinner party, what would you serve and who (dead or alive, whole world) would you invite?

A: I would have to start with my dad, because he is a very curious guy and a great conversationalist...and while I was busy being starstruck by Arundhati Roy, Niki de St. Phalle, and Ruth Reichl, he could keep the conversation moving.

I'm not great with fancy food but given that there's a food writer in attendance, I would probably try my hand at roasting a rack of lamb. The side dishes would be solid standbys like garlic mashed potatoes, stewed tomatoes, and a raw kale salad with a zillion colorful and crunchy toppings. For dessert, I once made a chickpea-based gluten-free chocolate cake--it sounds weird, but it was AMAZING! Food is particularly great when it can also serve as a conversation piece.

Q: Looking back five years or so, did you imagine your life as it is now?

A: I'm pretty sure I thought I would be living in West Africa working in social services or education access for women and girls. After studying abroad, I realized that there was a ton of work to be done towards these goals in the United States, so I revamped my plan a little...after two years as an AmeriCorps volunteer working in education, I now work in nonprofit communications and I love it. Like anyone, I've always hoped to be happy no matter what I was doing, and that's one thing that has stayed constant.

I'm a list maker. Yet I haven't put one on paper for The Homestead. Probably because it's massive and daunting.

Boyfriend was plugging away while I'm home visiting friends and family in Virginia, but we have so much to do.

Here's a little what the list looks like, depending on what Mark accomplished this week.  I'll probably be too tired to notice tonight when I get in on a late flight, but come Monday, it's go time again.

--Finish cleaning off the wallpaper goop in the Swan Lake bathroom. I worked on that for a few hours last week, but didn't come close to finishing. It never ends! 

--Finish cleaning the ceiling in our bedroom since the popcorn was completely removed. 

--Paint the ceiling in our bedroom.

--Figure out what kind of window treatments to put in our bedroom. Then put our bedroom back together.

--Remove popcorn ceilings in the hallway and living room (which requires moving all the furniture and stuff back into the bedroom, so we have to finish that first).

--Figure out what paint color to use in the Swan Lake bathroom, or if we want to paint the tile, or some other option. This bathroom is plaguing me.

--Redo popcorn removal in the dining room since I didn't use water the first time. 

--Probably some wallpaper removal in the Lace Room since Mark tore it up installing the dog's invisible fence contraption.

--Knock out kitchen wall, add cabinets, build bar countertop, figure out what to do with kitchen.

--Knock out wall between dining room and living room. Adapt flooring to the new layout. 

--Before knocking out wall, attempt to paint over the paneling to see if that looks okay, or awful. The living room is wall to wall paneling and I really don't like it. But we're not sure yet what's under the paneling. Could be better, could be worse given the wallpaper trend.

--Get serious about picking our style and start implementing it. We're leaning toward rustic modern. 

Yikes, that's just to-dos on the main floor. And it's not everything. Next week will be a beast. Good thing I took a week of for friends, family, shopping, tour guiding, farmers marketing and wine drinking.  Breaks over folks.

Being back in Virginia after six months in Montana makes it easy to see the things I really miss and can do with out. 

If you haven't noticed, I love my mighty Commonwealth and especially Yorktown. So much so that I will argue with an editor who is interviewing me for an internship when he said Fredericksburg is the most historic town. Yeah, no, Yorktown wins. Luckily, he still hired me.

So, here's a top three things I love about the place I call home. 

1. Yorktown

This is where we beat the British in 1781 and lead to the end of the Revolutionary War. Colonial buildings still exist and reenactors teach you about what the British troops did, how the locals lived, agriculture and so forth. I might be a nerd, but I really, really love this place. 

Hurricane Isabel destroyed the area in 2003, when I was in college. It was later rebuilt and the Riverwalk Landing is a great place. A weekly market is there on Saturdays during the spring, summer and fall and I always go when I'm home. Mom buys grass fed meat and produce, I pick up handmade jewelry and local coffee. 

It's one of my favorite places on Earth and everything about it makes me happy. 

2. Williamsburg

Again, a colonial thing. The historic part was left to fall apart until Rockefeller came to town and decided it should all be saved. He helped finance the restoration and now the place is really incredible. Interpreters in period costume stay in character at all times and do everything as they would have in the colonial days. The agriculture, blacksmithing, tailoring, cooking, candle making. All of it. Done as it was back then. I love it. 

Christmas time is my all-time favorite in Colonial Williamsburg. The Grand Illumination is quite possibly the greatest thing on Earth. They decorate everything using natural pieces and they don't use Christmas trees since the trees came later with the Germans. The event comes with Fife and Drums, carolers, hot chocolate, cider, and other festivities. It ends with one of the greatest fireworks shows I've ever seen. I've gone almost every year since college if I was in town. Or even in the state, I would drive down for it. Some video from a few years ago is below, there's about eight more of them on my YouTube channel, from back before I knew how to make videos.

There's also the Williamsburg Winery. I will sing its praises to anyone who will listen. My favorite is their Governor's White. It's totally affordable and delicious. Mom bought me an entire box of the big bottles one year and then I took another big box to Montana in January. Sadly, it's gone now. And I can't ship it to Big Sky. You can read my post about it on the DC Ladies.

3. Washington, D.C.

The traffic I don't miss one bit. But, the monuments, memorials, Capitol, Eastern Market, restaurants, coffee shops, sights and sounds I do really miss. Concerts on the Capitol lawn for Memorial Day and the 4th of July. The national Christmas tree. The Library of Congress. It's just a beautiful city. Fun fact, there's a height restriction on buildings in the district so they can't compete with the Washington Monument.

We're a military family. Both of my parents served in the Air Force and we moved a lot as kids. People ask where I'm from and I say, "I claim Virginia." It's where we lived the longest. Where I went to 8-12 grades. Where I went to college. Where I got my first newspaper job right out of college. To me, it's home.

I have moved away a few times and most recently to the distant land of Montana (people, it is really hard to get anywhere from Great Falls by plane. Just sayin'.) I've left the country bunches of times and roadtripped all over. But, I always love coming home.

My mom made this when she was younger than I am now. For years, it hung on the wall of what was my room in high school. It's almost like she knew she'd have a daughter like me one day.  And my sisters. We've all wandered and roamed, but always come back home at some point.

A dear friend got married over the weekend so I came home for that and since I was booking a flight to Virginia (remember what I said about getting anywhere from Great Falls?), I decided I'd stay awhile. Plus, I got to capture this moment in the Chicago airport. An older couple, both playing on their smartphones. And us millennials always get picked on for being chained to our phones.

Amie looked so happy and beautiful and I'm so glad I could be there for that day, even if it was a haul to get out to Blacksburg. (Think Virginia Tech, that's where the wedding was). Our other great friend, Ellen, was the maid of honor and she was my date for the night. We had a blast dancing the night away, catching up and just being together. We all worked together at a newspaper in Virginia and have all since left and used to get together for dinner/wine nights once a month or so when we were all in D.C., along with our other friend from the paper and my former roommate Danielle. 

Amie got a special treat during the reception. 

That's Ellen dancing with the Hokie bird. The Va Tech mascot had also been to Ellen's wedding, where I ran into him coming out of a porta-potty. Still cracks me up. Even if he is an imaginary bird. 

With very little sleep and having had too much fun at the wedding, we roadtripped to D.C. the next day. Ellen dropped me off to catch the metro into the city. Riding a line I rarely used when I lived there took me more time looking at the metro map than I ever remember. I had a giant orange rucksack on my back, I could play tourist. 

It's girly of me, but back in D.C., I just wanted to shop. We don't have many options in Great Falls and I've honestly not bought a single piece of clothing or shoes in six months. Other than some outdoor stuff and a pair of boots that I really needed. It's good for my bank account, but my favorite pair of shoes actually has holes in the bottom now and my wardrobe needs a tiny bit of updating for Montana. 

After lunch with a wonderful friend we knew in Alabama, I met up with Erika and we hit the outlets on King Street in Old Town. If you're ever in the area, King Street is great. It's crowded as anything, but they've added new shops and there's a few outlets and something like 200 restaurants on King alone. If you branch off to the side streets, there's even more. Plus, you can walk right down to the Potomac if you want. 

I racked up a few good finds and special tip, there's a new Francesca's on the corner near the Nine West outlet. I know Markeshia of Too Thrifty Chicks will be just as excited as I was to see that. Then there was Mexcian food at a great spot in D.C. We used to go to a different location for mega margaritas, but this location was equally awesome. Erika and I are now planning to do a cross-country Mexican food tour. We really love it. A lot. She's on the short list of people who will have chips, salsa and wine/margaritas with me and call it an acceptable dinner.

Then it was up to Capitol Hill, again with the rucksack for just a little bit of work meeting with some Senate staffers, but I always love walking around the Capitol and the National Mall. Politics and humidity aside, it really is a beautiful place. Favorite was being asked by Senate staffers if I was backbacking. Then going back outside and being asked by tourists how to get to Pennsylvania Avenue. 

Parents were on their way back from Jersey and picked me up at another Metro stop. Here's something I do not miss about D.C. and the East Coast. Traffic. It took forever to get home, but we have Chik-fil-a! And Panera! I couldn't decide between them. So I let Mom pick. 

When we got home, Mom handed me something my Aunt Lee had sent home for me. Lee is super artsy and crafty and has an amazing garden just a block or two off the Jersey shore. She's awesome. And has been reading the blog, so she sent me this. Thanks Aunt Lee! I am putting it to use as soon as I get back to Montana! 

A trip to Trader Joe's made me so happy that I came home and wrote them a note asking for a store in Montana. Doubtful it will happen, but a girl's gotta try! 

Mom and I did some bargain shopping and I found great Madden Girl shoes for $15. And a Nine West purse for $29 that I might go back and get. My purse is starting to fall apart. We stopped in Lowe's for a hot second. Mom got three $1 plants and then this happened.

Still trying to find a paint color to go with the tealish tile in the Swan Lake bathroom. It's a challenge. But I think we have a few options. Littlest sister came up with some cool ideas while she Skyped with us from London. 

And last night, good friends we knew in Alabama came over for dinner. They just got stationed here and have a three-month old (who is adorable!) and so we rolled out some Southern hospitality. I love my town so I always want to help people love it too. I'm beyond excited that they're here. 

Alrighty, that was a lot packed into a few days and a single blog post. Time for more fun and adventures. But until then, look at this little lady!