the drive from santa fe new mexico through arizona to monument valley utah was one of the most beautiful drives i have ever been on and everything i had hoped to see when i booked our trip out west
happy friday friends
hope you all had a good week
and keeping with the blue, this blue tongued girl in the back seat
i am writing this post from a couch in panama city beach overlooking the ocean
Lily and i have been here for almost a week (sadly today is our last full day here)
being on the beach has been the best soul filling way to end this summer break
we miss William and wish he was here but understand that he doesn’t care for the beach the way we do
that said, we are thankful for the opportunity to be here
it’s after 9am and Lily is still sleeping
it has been that kind of summer but it will soon (too soon) be over when she starts 4th grade next monday
we have had a wonderful summer
two weeks at home, one week in the mountains of west virginia, two weeks in the desert of new mexico, arizona, utah and nevada, two weeks at home and one week at the beach
a little bit of everything
beach was a last minute add on but a must
for me it is not summer without beach time (it’s just the way i was raised. beach=summer)
while in santa fe, we drove out to see bandelier national monument
the 33,677 acre monument preserves the homes and territory of the ancestral puebloans of a later era in the southwest
most of the pueblo structures date to two eras, dating between 1150 and 1600ad
being there was a surreal experience to say the least and a once in a lifetime experience we will forever remember
if you would like to read more about it, please do so here
this year for our family summer vacation instead of heading towards europe or the ocean, we headed west towards the desert
a little out of character for this ocean girl but for some reason, those desert vibes were calling me
and i am so glad they did
santa fe is filled with so much beauty!
i loved the architecture, all the details around it, the art, the colors, the food, the weather…. eighty five during the day, no humidity and cool nights
so many things to do in town and so much to do out of town too
hot springs, hikes in beautiful national parks, all under a gigantic blue sky!
and the best part?
our miami friends got to come meet us and we got to spend some much needed time together and as a family got to experience something new
it was a week filled with santa fe memories i will forever cherish
happy friday friends!
ps- i took a lot of pictures with my phone. this is a short instagram summary of our trip. we also went to the georgia o’keeffe museum and to Taos. we tried going to the georgia o’keeffe house/studio however tickets were sold out for the whole week we were there. next time!
our airbnb was pretty awesome
after dropping our bags off we quickly went out and stocked up the house with all sorts of fresh goodies
coffee mornings in santa fe
shopping on canyon rd
there are beautiful details everywhere you look in santa fe and i fell in love with every blue door i saw
fell in love with all the windows too
and all the details….
there were many matching outfits
celebratory times for being all together again
many delicious meals
a trip to the rio grange gorge
many outings around town
a trip to bandelier national monument
jemez hot springs
laundry down time at home
a night of amazing flamenco at el farol
and meow wolf
my santa fe souvenirs home in asheville. so many fun things to see and buy there!
hello, hello, hello!!!
you may have noticed that it has been very quiet around here
we just returned from a two week trip out west and i didn’t take my laptop with me (or either one of my cameras. shocker!)
anyway, we are slowly adjusting to our regular home life and the eastern time zone
i have tons of phone pictures to share and i hope that i actually get to because i’ve been pretty bad at that (i never finished sharing our trip to spain last summer….)
prior to heading out west, we had the most wonderful week with family in west virginia
it was the perfect getaway to start us on our summer vacation mode
hope you are having a great week and a great summer so far!
2.5 mile morning walks with my walking partner
morning raspberry picking
more morning walks
and afternoon pond dips
i painted some new pieces
reunited with her favorite sister cousin
pond fishing sessions
sister cousin photo shoots
rainy afternoons on the porch swing
good skin, good hair, no makeup
we had a great fourth
family picture july 2019
how about some amazing (and free) art on huge walls to brighten up the week?
you guys know how much i love wynwood
and even if it is just a quick drive by, i need to visit/see it every time we are in miami
on this particular morning, we started with acai bowls and took our time looking at all the new art and shops (not pictured)
hope you are all having a great week so far!
on this particular sunday, Jocey picked me up at our airbnb and then we grabbed the girls from their sleepover at Savannah’s house
we packed the car up with snacks and beach towels and headed south towards Lorelei in isla morada where we had spent many of good times kayaking when we lived in miami
once at Lorelei, we were told that no water activities were taking place due to winds and a storm that was in the horizon
we needed water
either a beach or a pool
two stops later we found the perfect little hangout place that from the outside seemed like the unlikeliest of choices
the girls swam in the pool, Jocey and i hung out in the sun, we ate delicious fried fish….
it was exactly the kind of sunday we had hoped for and needed
no luck at lorelei but at least we got to see our mermaid friend and remember amazing times
at our secret new found spot
one of the things i have always loved about miami is the art
it is everywhere
in the architecture, painted on large walls free for everyone to see, in so many art galleries and museums….
miami is art
after a day at the pool with the girls, i dropped them off at Savannah’s house for a sleepover and had a big girls night out in southbeach
it started with the opening of Sheila Hicks at the bass museum and it ended with a walk down memory lane through the hotels on collins avenue where i used to hang out back in the day
i miss those kind of miami nights
i saw more art and color in one day/night in miami than i have living here in asheville for the past almost four years
thus the reason why my soul aches living here in these mountains
especially in the winter time
happy friday friends!
Ugo Rondinone, miami mountain. entering the bass. i want to go see these in the nevada desert
Sheila Hicks. she blew my mind. and to make it all even better, she was present at her opening
my good friend Jane and i
a wonderful exhibit by the Haas brothers
all beaded
with my friend and ex co-worker Jocey at the shoreclub hotel where i worked at a high-end retail store for six years
at one of my favorite hotels, the national where we had a drink, took in some live music and the color changing pools
our first morning at our airbnb, was spent at the pool with Savannah
it felt like old times
it felt organic and how things should be
me with the girls in water
it is how i think of Lily with her miami bff
i always think of them in water
after some much needed pool time and vitamin d, we went and grabbed lunch at a very familiar place to us
also surrounded by water
which also felt organic and what the norm should be
because being surrounded by water is what feels organic and normal to me
no matter how long i live in these mountains for, not a day goes by when i don’t long for that to be the norm again
happy friday and happy mother’s day to you mamas!!!!
views i miss waking up to
lunch at our usual with amazing views
two weeks ago (already?) Lily and i got in the car at 7am and drove 12.5 hours straight from asheville to miami where we arrived at 7:30pm
even though the car radio/gps system did not work and only my phone was used, even though Lily’s i-pad did not work the whole entire drive, we are badass road warriors who made the trip in one day by only making three quick stops
because long car trips are something we have done with Lily since she was one month old, she has always been a great car rider
that said, as she has gotten older, she just keeps getting better and better and road trips with her just keep getting more and more fun
so yes, we arrived in miami at 7:30pm on thursday two weeks ago and eighty degree weather and car windows down never felt so good
neither did that sweet miami air
our airbnb was not booked until the following day so we drove to surfside where we spent the night with dear friends
we couldn’t have asked for a better welcome and a better way to start our spring break
ps- not pictured: our trip to publix after we left our friends’ home, checking into our airbnb and a much anticipated reunion between Lily and her miami bff Savannah as well as friday happy hour in our old hood
welcome to miami
i met these two lovely people in 2002 when i interviewed with Min for a sales position at a high end jewelry store. she quickly not only became my manager but a good friend. their daughter was the same age as Lily is now when we met. 15 years of friendship later, their daughter is now 26
friday morning. i miss waking up to a miami jungle
breakfast
their daughter Lulu is a wonderful artist. she and Lily love doodling together
i have a thing with window sills….
the beach! the beach! the beach! omg it had been so long…. too long
post beach outdoor shower
hi
from the age seven to eight she grew almost four inches
from the age eight to nine she grew just a little over three inches
in our kitchen the other day she told me that she hates being a kid and that she can’t wait to be a teenager
we feel differently about this because i can certainly wait for her to be a teen
although, i have to tell you, she already very much acts like a teen these days
there is attitude
and mood swings
her favorite color is black
she hates the color pink
her body is changing and we talked all about its future changes with her pediatrician at her check up this year (period included although Lily has known about it for quite some years now)
her style is very much her own style and she knows quite well how she sees herself and how she wants to put herself out there to the world
like she always has
since she was very little actually
yet, despite all of these pre-teen growing signs, she still climbs into my lap every morning after she eats her breakfast and asks for snuggle cuddles in her bed before going to sleep at night
and all i can do is be there for her and try to hold onto every moment because time really does go by too fast
happy friday friends
