Here's how it all happened...

{S}- Upon arriving home last Friday afternoon, Erik convinced me to take a walk with him in the woods to come see "something amazing". Even though it had been raining, thundering and hailing about an hour before, I decided to be a good sport, after all he was prepared with my raincoat, and my cozy boots were nearby so I was easily swayed, though not entirely convinced we would make it back without another round of down pour. We walked down the familiar paths on the property that lead deeper into the woods, past the cabins, up the hill, over logs and through the ferns, past the rope swing, and then (tentatively!) down the steep rope swing hill (that has taken victims before, but not on this day!). I'd never been down in this part of the woods before, so I was attentive as Erik explained bits and facts about the hydrology of the area, pointed out various trees, wild mushrooms and such. Then we came to a lovely grove of cedar trees and as we approached a small hill, I noticed that the mossy path was flecked in pastel colors. Upon closer examination, I found myself walking along a path of flower petals, which winded down a slight hill to a large cedar tree with a square wicker basket underneath, and I began to well... skip actually.

Most of you know I'm not really a jewels kind of gal, so we opted out of a ring. Not letting Erik quite off the hook I did say that I'd be happy to receive a gift basket instead. (I was thinking tea, cheese and summer sausage) but Erik in a stroke of pure and utter genious decided to take me seriously.

{E}- "Gift basket? What does she mean Gift Basket? Hmm... this has got to be good, no easy way out of this one," I thought. Being in school, working, and running a farm, I took my time - (I had to make it suspenseful, at the very least). And then, when I figured it out, my mission became clear: I had to track down a world traveling indigenous artist that resides in a desolute canyon in the middle of the New Mexican highlands...

So 3 years back, Sarah and I went on a road trip adventure to Snowflake, Arizona (recall 500 miles of hitchhiking for a pair of custom boots? -- if you haven't heard this story, do ask!) and decided to meet up with a friend near Ojo Caliente, New Mexico. This is where we met Felipe, a Jacarilla Apache who lives in the same canyon that his ancestors have for thousands of years and carries his family's tradition of hand-built functional pottery. To this day he continues to dig all of the clay from his front yard, which he built his whole house and outdoor oven with, and uses all of his hand made pots to cook amazing meals for his guests on an antique wood-fired indoor stove. We instantly fell in love with him and his pottery and vowed to one day own and use a "Felipe pot."

As fate would have it, one such pot happened to appear one day under a cedar tree deep in the woods. Filled with ancient heirloom varities of beans that I had grown over the past few years, stamps to create our own wedding cards, an Australian opal necklace from Whidbey Island (another magical place), and an abundance of chocolate for good measure, this pot represents the richness of where we have been, and the intentions for the future that we craft together.