Who are you?
y name is Andrea, but you can call me Drea. I'm Mom to three of the best human beings on the planet: a daughter and twin boys. They light my life with such joy and imagination and they get on my very last nerve sometimes. But the latter is only about one percent--okay, five percent--of the time. I am wife to Howard, the most supportive husband, like... ever. Except when he's, like... not. [Insert smiley face here]
I’m also mom to Pippin, a pokey little labradoodle puppy who is literally afraid of everyone--except us. We like to say he's anthropophobic. It’s more PC than "scaredy cat."
Vermilion Lane is rooted in the idea that we all have something to offer. By sharing my imperfect but happy life, I hope to inspire others to laugh, eat, well, and grow strong.
I believe women are passionate, curious and multifaceted. I am many things: honest, fun-loving, and grateful. I’m also a fabulous fashionista in my own mind. I love to cook and laugh, preferably at the same time. As a little girl, my family aptly nicknamed me "Cut n' Color." If ever you heard "Drea!" ringing through the halls of my childhood home, you could be sure that one of my parents had discovered something of value cut into a million decoupage pieces, or colored--often with permanent paint.
Well, the days of crayon-colored cabinets are over, but Cut n' Color lives on through my crafts, making DIY tutorials for the blog and designing wreaths.
Parenting, fashion, inventing new recipes, listening to music of all genres, writing my endless first novel (it’s been five years) are some of my favorite activities. Most nights you can find me lost in a book of poetry, curled up in the cheesy but super cozy zebra-striped Snuggie my kids gave me for Mother's Day years ago. From Yeats to Angelou, I love it all.
HI, I'M DREA!
Mom, wife, educator, and purveyor of this little corner of the internet called Vermilion Lane.
Shakespeare said it best: "What's in a name?"
Perhaps a rose would smell just as sweet by any other name but Vermilion Lane couldn't bear another. The name means so much to me and the story behind it is about finding a home wherever you go.
My husband's work requires him to travel so we've moved quite a few places. Whatever corner of the world we land in, for us there is always a Vermilion Lane. It's a place we discover every autumn just as the leaves have reached their richest hues of gold, mahogany, orange and our favorite color, vermilion. We walk a path--our Vermilion Lane--together every year. And no matter which forest we find ourselves in, the feeling is the always same. That warm, loved, and right-at-home sensation is what I hope to evoke here, at Vermilion Lane. I hope you'll join me. There's always room for one more.
My motto is:
Laugh. Eat Well. Grow Strong.
Inspired by the poem "I, Too" by Langston Hughes, these words encourage me to live my fullest life. I hope, in some small way, this blog inspires you. Let's laugh, eat well, and grow strong together.