jet-lagged

We're back!

This photo was taken at 7:30am at the park yesterday. The girls woke us up at 3am and refused to go back to sleep, despite our many attempts. By the time we got to the park we'd already eaten breakfast, stopped for coffee and croissants (Stella must be going through another growth spurt because she is eating every 30 minutes) in the city, and dropped Jordan off at work.

This morning they woke up at 3:40am. I managed to get Djuna back to sleep, but Stella and I were up eating breakfast again at 4:30am.

Jet lag is no joke. It is going to be another LONG day.

Have a lovely weekend!

be back soon... and friday links

Kara Rosenlund's "Sea," via Cup of Jo

We are headed to the south of France and Berlin for two weeks, so the old blog will be neglected for a bit while we are away. I am excited to get away with family, and visit with dear friends we haven't seen in awhile, but I'm totally dreading the flights and traveling with a newly-walking toddler. When do vacations with kids become relaxing?

See you in a few weeks!

Pan-roasted chicken with harissa chickpeas.

My friends Melissa on SFGirlByBay!

Remember Sarah? Her site, Speed4Sarah, just launched. Consider donating to help find a cure for ALS.

One of Stella's favorite activities? Taking photos.

I'm not grossed out by armpit hair on women, are you? Truthfully, I often grow mine out, and I find it quite sexy on other women.

How Powerful Is Your Passport?

This pretty much sums up my daily uniform.

How a woman's plan to kill herself helped her family grieve.

Josey Baker Builds a Bakery. 

(Happy Birthday to my Dad!!)

the perfect vacation jacket

Love, love, LOVE this adorable navy Warbler rain jacket from Portland's Bridge & Burn. Doesn't it look like the perfect jacket to take on vacation?

These shorts and this dress are also pretty darn cute...

trip anticipation

We were on the plane en route to France and Turkey for our honeymoon when I turned to Jordan and said: "I'm already feeling so sad about the end of our trip... Where should we go next?!" The trip had barely begun and I was already mourning the return home.

I am a planner. I love to create itineraries, think about the food we will eat, the art and architecture we will see, and imagine myself in a new or well-loved far-off place. I pack and unpack my suitcase 10 times in my head before my suitcase is even opened. I read guidebooks and articles, research restaurants and coffee shops, map out unique stores, bookstores, and boutiques. That is, I did all of those things before having kids. It's a little harder now to plan; plans don't often turn out as expected with children. That has been a hard lesson to learn for this planner.

So, of course, I laughed and nodded my head when my Mom pulled out Stephanie Rosenbloom's article What a Great Trip! And I'm Not Even There Yet at our weekly coffee date on Tuesday and said "this is SO US." The article describes us, me and my Mom, perfectly. We relish the anticipation, the longing for travel and new experiences, while the reality, oftentimes, is the trip itself is mired down by the day-to-day: the weather, exhaustion, a bad unplanned meal.

Turns out, there is an art to anticipation. Savoring, said Elizabeth Dunn, an associate professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia and a leading happiness researcher, is an active, not passive, process. “It’s better to immerse yourself,” she said. Reading novels and poetry, watching films and television programs, browsing fashion and design blogs that are either from or about the place you plan to visit encourages you to not only learn about your destination, but to dream, providing some concrete details for your mind to latch on to. It may sound counterintuitive, but this building up of positive expectations and excitement actually helps our minds smooth over any minor discrepancies if reality doesn’t quite measure up to the fantasy. “We’re less likely to be bothered by these little holes if we build up our expectations ahead of time,” Professor Dunn said. “So go ahead and assume it’s going to be wonderful.”

What about you? Do your travels live up to the ones you imagine and create in your head prior to the trip itself?

[image: cara lou of we do iceland]

a few midweek links

Walloon Lake, Michigan

My dear friend Melissa created an super awesome meal planning app called 5 Plates! The app delivers 5 dinner recipes every week with a grocery list. How easy is that? It debuted on iTunes today so go get it.

We went to Michigan at the end of August. My sister-in-law Mary wrote about the trip and posted some pictures on her lovely blog. I also posted some photos from our trip on Instagram.

I only read one book while in Michigan. But I've just started this based on a rave review from Jordan. Also on my nightstand: Wild, The Happiest Toddler on the Block (yep), and The Cuckoos Calling.

Shakespeare with its original pronunciation. Fascinating!

Doesn't this Tangled Thai salad with peanut cilantro coconut dressing look tasty?

A few months ago I started using this light foundation on my face. It's a bit on the pricey side, but totally worth it.

I've enjoyed reading these guest posts about parenting around the world.

We finally finished watching the first season of this show. Loved it! I'm going through serious withdrawals... Thank goodness there are three new episodes of Foyle's War airing soon.

reykjavík

This morning I'm living vicariously through these gorgeous photos of Reykjavík by Mr. & Mrs. Globetrot. So austere and beautiful, right? Iceland is on my list...

[All images © Julia & Yuriy Manchik]

oh, oh mexico

We're back from a super relaxing and fun week in Puerto Morelos. We rented a lovely house right on the beach with friends and spent the days marvelling at the white sand beach right outside, lounging in the hammock, playing in the sand and building sandcastles, eating delicious food (we hired a cook who made us quesadillas, chicken mole, ceviche, carnitas, and chile rellenos, among other things), taking a few walks into town, spending afternoons swinging at the "swing bar" (literally a bar with swings) down the beach, and enjoying the company. Stella loved digging in the sand and spending time with her friend Calder and making new friends. I came home stuffed (I think my belly grew a sizable amount from the daily dose of black beans, tortillas, and guacamole) and am happy to be eating salads and fresh vegetables again, but I'll be dreaming of the sound of those lazy waves and the view from the house for weeks...

happy friday, indeed

We're officially on vacation...
Have a lovely week!

[image: Tulum, Mexico via Rose Cecere]

straw hats

I'm still dreaming of warm weather and sunshine. No surprise there. It's a good thing we've got a trip planned with friends to Mexico in a few weeks. And, of course, when thinking of all that sunshine I can't help but think of straw hats. I love a good hat, and I've got quite a hat collection already... But I just can't stop myself from looking.

Goorin Brothers Macey

Roxy Swim In Straw Hat

San Diego Hat Company Straw Hat

Brixton Castor

Michael Stars Fedora

cities calendar

Rifle Paper Co. nails it every time. This Cities Calendar is going on my want list.

denver

Getting our fix at Happy Coffee

Well hello there! Did you have a nice week? We spent Thanksgiving and this past weekend in Denver with Jordan's family. It was lovely to get away, catch up, eat good food, see friends, and explore the city.

sea ranch

We spent a relaxing weekend with our friends Devon and Simon and their son Ari up the coast of California at Sea Ranch. We cooked some great meals, read lots of stories, took walks down to the beach and to the tide pools, feasted on homemade apple galette and pumpkin pie, explored a driftwood beach fort, watched the Giants take the World Series, played Bananagrams, went to the pool, took the babes for rides in the wagon, and had way too much fun together. 

walloon lake

We're back from 11 relaxing days in Michigan. We spent some quality times with Jordan's Mom, and Mary and Ben came for a quick visit over the weekend. We sat on the dock, we got coffee in Petoskey, we browsed the shelves at McLean & Eakin, bought sandwiches and other sundries at Symons General Store, we brunched with Jordan's Mom at Stafford's Bay View Inn (a Sunday tradition), we stocked up on wine and beer and Jeni's ice cream (my favorite flavor was in fact the lemon blueberry frozen yogurt) at Boyne Country Provisions, we went for ice cream runs to Kilwin's, we grilled (Ben brought up some amazing meats from his local butcher), we hunted for produce at the Boyne City farmer's market, Stella dug in the sand and floated in her floatie, Jordan swam, we went for walks, and we took a few boat rides. One of my favorite things about visiting Walloon is going for boat rides in the evening when the sky and the air and the water are just magical.

We made sure to stop by McLean & Eakin our second day in Michigan to stock up on books. I went on a book bender and finished 5 books on the trip: Steve Martin's An Object of Beauty, Jo Nesbo's Nemesis, Kevin Wilson's The Family Fang, Charles Cumming's A Foreign Country, and Stephen Dau's The Book of Jonas (which I actually brought in my suitcase).

A lovely, lovely trip...