Tag: 31 Days of Letters

Dear Thomas Hammer {31 Days of Letters}

~ Emily ~ 4 Comments

Dear Thomas Hammer,

If the coffee industry operated like a high school, you’d be the Prom King.  Your the cool kid of coffee shops, and instead of envying you for it – I love you for it! You possess the mysterious quality intrinsic to popularity that makes everything you do beyond awesome.  I think you could start serving coffee sludge and it would gain traction.

There are plenty of coffee options in my neck of Idaho.  The Christian crowd congregates at Kootenai Coffee (for good reason – they have a pleasant environment conducive to conversation) and the hipsters mingle and do hipstery things downtown at Java (who could resist Java’s delicious hot chocolate).  Plus, there’s a squadron of Starbucks to choose from.

For the coffee obsessed like myself, its certainly not a chore to make the coffee rounds.  It took Tim and I two weeks to get through your doors and, boy, do we regret our two weeks of Hammerless existence.  I was immediately impressed with your clean lines, smoky blue walls, and industrial – yet warm – feel.  I was instantly transported from Northern Idaho into an Ikea catalogue.

 

When I realized you differentiate cup sizes by the typeof hammer printed on those crazy-cool orange cups of yours, I about died.  I was sold on your simple, sleek vibe alone, then I tried your coffee.  You make a white mocha that isn’t cloyingly sweet, a vanilla latte that I would drink everyday, and a chai tea that is nothing but perfect.  I would make you a daily habit if I could legitimize spending three-ish dollars a day on coffee.

Photo taken by my coffee loving husband.

 

The worst part of my time with you is when it has to end, when I reach the bottom of the cup and cannot suck one last drop from the inside of the cup.  But when my chai runs dry, I can oogle your crazy-cool mugs and shirts.  I plan to represent the Hammer (via Kelly Green t-shirt, perhaps?) and am working on Tim to sport one of your cardigans.  If that fails, he will certainly rock a beanie or travel mug.

So, if i’m not sipping a chai, know that I’m wishing I was holding a Hammer cup. You and your eclectic background music rock my coffee world!

Sincerely,

Emily

You can find all my letters here.

For more information about the 31 Day Challenge, visit The Nester.

Dear #217 {31 Days of Letters}

~ Emily ~ 8 Comments

Dear #217,

Of all the places we will ever live, you will always hold a special place in our hearts.  You, my dear apartment, get to be forever remembered as our “first place”.

Tim and I were professional house sitters after we got married, watching over the houses of family and friends before our big move.  We were quite grateful for the generosity of others during our time of transition, but after a few months, we were ready to have a place we could call our own.

As God would have it, you fell right across our path – in the best possible way, of course.  Tim and I had two days to find a place to live and there you were, meeting all of our apartment desires.  I know we originally signed up for your cousin, #223, but we are so happy things changed.

We appreciate the new paint and carpet and the new kitchen appliances are a plus, too!  I appreciate your proximity to the fire department.  That seems to be a trend everywhere I live and it has come in handy a few times.  We especially love that you are within walking distance from The Kroc Center – perfect for winter workouts when snow makes running outside a tad too chilly.

Even though the toilet your back bathroom runs incessantly and the occupants above you must walk around with lead shoes, Tim and I love to call you home. We’ve actually nicknamed you Timily Place – I hope that’s alright…

I hope this can be a symbiotic relationship.  We promise to spruce you up a bit, add some character, you know?  Would you promise to help us be hospitable to others?  Tim and I want to partner with you to offer relaxation, rejuvenation, and respite to others.  Are you game?  (PS – we like to play those. Have you heard of Fill or Bust?)

I anticipate your walls will absorb a fair amount of laughter, tears, joy, pain, prayers, conflict, love, tension, and excitement.  Our goal is to crowd you with Christ.  We want nothing more than to fill your nook and crannies with warmth and acceptance.

We don’t want you to harbor secrets or collect cobwebs.  We want to throw open windows and let light in and shine our Light out.  Please be patient with us in the process, dear #217.   I am already praying you can accommodate all of our weirdness… Will you be flexible as we adapt and grow in this new season of life?

Again, we appreciate that your walls create a space we can call our own.  Tim may not have carried me across your threshold, but we hold the matching gold keys to your door.   You have been a delight for the past month, #217.  Here’s to 11 more!

Sincerely,

Emily

31 Day Challenge

~ Emily ~ 9 Comments

I had no idea what people were talking about.  I kept seeing things on Twitter about 31 days, writing everyday in October, The Nester, etc.  I was a bit lost; but then again, I am kind of new to this blog thing…

It didn’t take much googling to figure out what all these bloggers were talking about. The Nester, whose tagline (It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful) I absolutely adore, writes every day during October.  She isn’t writing willy-nilly but focusing her posts on one topic.

The best part about it… she’s extending the challenge (er, opportunity) to everyone!

In a nutshell:

Basically anyone can join in, just pick a topic and write about it every day for the month of October–we all come here and link up on October 1st.

I liked the challenge and the idea of having added focus for my writing, so, as of yesterday, Primitive Roads is in the 31 Day Challenge pool.

My focus for the challenge is writing letters.  Sometimes, what I most want to articulate is best expressed on paper (in this case, a keyboard).

I had already been stewing on an emotionally charged letter I wanted to write to someone i’ve never even met (which will show up during the first week*.  Come back and check it out!), so I decided I would just continue the theme and post a letter a day here on Primitive Roads.

Everyone participating will be linking up tomorrow over on The Nester.  The pool of topics will definitely be worth exploring!

Day 1: Dear #217 – shall we be partners not enemies?

Day 2: Dear Jen Hatmaker – can we be friends?

*Day 3: Dear Jackie – a letter to my husband’s ex-girlfriend

Day 4: Dear Thomas Hammer – rhapsodizing over my favorite coffee shop

Day 5: Dear God – a plagiarized letter

Day 6: Dear Sarah Rose – a letter and apology to a dear friend

Day 7: Dear Cold Weather – a letter to the sudden Fall chill

Day 8: Dear J.A.G. – a letter for my future baby boy

Day 9: Dear Eustace – a letter to a reformed dragon

Day 10: Dear Southwest – a letter to my favorite airline

Day 11: Dear Tim – a letter to my husband on our 5-month anniversary

Day 12: Dear J – a letter to a modern day Joshua

Day 13: Dear Emily – a letter to about a lesson I’m still learning

Day 14: Dear Kenya – a letter without words

Day 15: Dear Weekend – a lament against Monday

Day 16: Dear Brother – a letter about new seasons in sibling relationships

Day 17: Dear Wedding Well-wishers – let’s brainstorm a better way to ask questions

Day 18: Dear Ash – a letter about my longest standing friendship

Day 19: Dear Gramma – a letter to honor a legacy

Day 20: Dear Jesus – a letter of surrender

Day 21: Dear Autumn – a letter of reflection

Day 22: Dear Browned Butter – a letter and recipe

Day 23: Dear Jane Austen – a letter to one of my favorite authors

Day 24: Dear Paul – a letter to the Apostle who gets me

Day 25: Dear Christmas – a letter in poem form

Day 26: Dear Older Women – a letter of encouragement

Day 27: Dear Legs – a request to keep going strong

Day 28: Dear PB – a letter to one of my favorite foods

Day 29: Dear AJG – a letter to my future baby girl

Day 30: Dear HS Gals – a letter for single ladies about waiting

Day 31: Dear Mr. Owl – a letter to my kitchen timer