Another beautiful day.

Apparently I'm on a continuing search for beauty here in this big city, and I'm going to find it all! After soaking up the Cedar Ridge Preserve, I recruited my friend Bre {and her baby Jack} to journey with me to the Trinity River Audubon Center to see what we would find there.  It was open wide and centered around a lake.  Very Walden-esque. 

Here we are with our koala babies...

It was rather windy and a bit overcast so we didn't stay too long, but I'd love to return on a beautiful sunny spring day to enjoy the wooded forest path.  It seemed the perfect place to curl up with a journal, waiting for birds and butterflies to make their appearances.

And the best part? Right before leaving, we stopped in the nature center's "Art251" gift shop to peruse the shelves of gifts and handmade items by local artisans.  While I was swooning over a set of large handpainted bird postcards and a baby onesie that said "Small Footprint," Bre called me over: "Look! There's my photo!" Indeed, in the back of the shop, next to a display of locally roasted Oak Cliff Coffee, was a clipped article about our store, Urban Acres, from a past issue of The Dallas Morning News.  The article shows a photo of Bre working the counter while pregnant with Jack.  It was encouraging to meet the director of the store who knew about us and to connect with other like-minded folks in Dallas.

I didn't leave the store empty handed.  In a back corner, there was a display of handmade clay plaques with inspirational sayings on them. I dug through the pile and knew immediately this was the one I wanted:

It's now displayed on my kitchen windowsill where, amidst chaos and disarray and a nonstop agenda, I can always stop and remember - it is another beautiful day.  And I must continue to search for and find the beauty all around me.