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field notes.

Stories, reflections, recipes, adventures and ordinary moments from a life lived with curiosity.

One story to settle into slowly.

The life we've been looking for

There was a time when I believed the life I wanted existed somewhere else. I imagined it in another country, a different season, or a slower schedule. I pictured a home with a better view and a calendar with more space and fewer demands. I told myself that one day, when things finally settled down, I would have time to live the way I imagined. But life has a way of reshaping what we think we are waiting for. And it has a way of reminding us, sometimes gently and sometimes not

The ritual that helps me leave the day behind

Lately, sleep has been just out of reach. Not the kind where I’m wide awake at 3 a.m.—just that quiet frustration of feeling completely exhausted while my mind insists on replaying conversations, organizing tomorrow, and solving things that don’t actually need solving. Maybe you know the feeling. Your body is ready for bed.Your mind is still mid-conversation with the day. So instead of searching for another sleep solution, I started paying closer attention to my evenings. Not

But First, Coffee: Rediscovering the Art of Lingering

You know those small traditions that quietly become part of who you are? The ones that don’t seem especially important while you’re living them, but somehow leave you feeling more like yourself each time they happen? I was reminded of one of ours today. It’s called fika. If you’re not familiar, fika is a Swedish tradition often described as a coffee break, but that never feels quite right. It’s really about choosing to pause. To step away from whatever feels urgent and simply

Cerise Hahn

Dec 21, 20253 min read

One Small Shift That Changed the Way I Think About Exercise

The Movement That Doesn't Feel Like Exercise For a long time, I thought being active meant exercising. Going for a walk. Taking a fitness class. Working out. If I wasn't doing one of those things, I figured it didn't really count. It turns out I was wrong. A while back I came across something called NEAT, which stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. It's a long name for a really simple idea: all the little ways we move throughout the day matter more than we might thi

Cerise Hahn

Sep 16, 20253 min read

The Wisdom of Little Feet: How a Little Fresh Air Calms the Chaos

Sometimes, life feels like it’s moving too fast, doesn’t it? The to-do lists, the endless notifications, the noise — it can all get,...

Cerise Hahn

Jul 17, 20254 min read

The freedom in letting go

There have been seasons of my life when I spent more energy trying to hold everything together than I did actually living. Maybe you know that feeling. You keep juggling one more responsibility. One more disappointment. One more piece of news you weren’t expecting. You tell yourself that if you can just hold on a little longer, eventually things will settle. That’s what I believed for a long time. The past couple of years have brought more change and loss than I ever imagined

Cerise Hahn

Jul 10, 20252 min read