Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door

-Emily Dickinson (has nothing to do with this post, but I couldn't think of a proper title and thought it was beautiful)

Wow, thank you all so much for the kind and welcoming comments! Serious heart glow. Now that I am back in the swing of bloggy things I am realizing how much I have missed out on. So I felt, to atone, that I must make up for it by sharing four of my favorite recent posts from four of my favorite ladies. (I realize that it doesn't really make sense to make amends to my readers when I was, in fact, the only person suffering from my self imposed exile. But I'll go ahead anyway. You'll thank me for this little act of metaphorical self flagellation).

First off is Milla's amazing post about The 70s Snuggie.

Hello. Perhaps my very favorite photograph of all time. The smile belies a hidden understanding of her own adorableness mixed with the joy that comes from unearthing such a discovery (from a thrift store, for $2). Go read all about it and see more mind blowing photos of this prehistoric ancestor of America's favorite enabler of winter laziness.

Next up is Kerry's florally informative post St. John, save my skin! Kerry and I met when we both worked at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op, and have shared a love of herbal healing and pretty vintage dresses ever since. Her newish blog is rocking my world.

St. John's Wort oil is by far my most used herbal medicine. Check out my comments on her post to see why.

Up next is Sasha's post Each One Teach One on the Indie Free Spirits blog, where she passes along a few secrets of success for other online vintage sellers. Sasha has truly forged her own path in this quirky little world and it does us all a load of good to get some insight into what she's learned.

Violet Folklore wouldn't exist if I hadn't had Sasha right beside me in the beginning there. Her drive and creativity overcame a lot of the early obstacles we hit, and I am forever grateful to the contributions she made to my future well being back in those days.

And lastly is Adrienne's wonderfully titled post Age Is Just Another Word For How Long Rad Things Have Been Happening To You. In this heart-achingly personal post Adie writes about her recent trouble conceiving and how hard it is for her to watch each month go by, her dream flowing away from her in a crimson tide of grief. I think that most of us women can relate to her sadness in our own way, the vast expanse of conceptive possibilities being what they are- sometimes under our control and sometimes not.

But instead of giving into despair  she reminds herself of how rich her life has been by reflecting on all the fun she and her sister Heather have had over the last few decades. It is a joy to see their photos and read their stories, and you will certainly come away from this little foray into the past with a fuller sense of gratitude for how amazing your own life has been and, quite possibility, for how awesome your own sister is too. I know I did.

Thanks for the inspiration ladyloves!