last saturday morning William drove Lily and i to the greenville airport (1 hour away) where we got on a plane to d.c. and then on another to burlington vermont
once at the burlington airport, we picked up our rental car and got on the road for a two hour drive to lake placid new york where my goddaughter got married on sunday
half way through the drive, the gps took us straight to a ferry boat where we got on with the rental car
it was a twenty five minute ride on the water with the most amazing views and the nicest road trip surprise Lily and i have ever had
between all the leaves already changing up there and the ferry ride there and back, it was a beautiful and unexpected experience
a quick trip (back monday) but a super fun and memorable one
happy weekend friends!
although i am excited for fall, i hope these beauties continue to bloom
early fall morning light in a favorite corner
panama city beach memories. the seagull is my spirit animal
all the pretty veggies for making minestrone
that fourth grade homework life
that rainbow life
girls trip!
lake placid ny. not only was my goddaughter’s wedding beautiful but so was lake placid. we got to have a look at early fall since everything there is already changing
rehearsal dinner ready
wedding ready
so happy for my goddaughter!
wednesday afternoons with her bestie. post school and homework, pre gymnastics
i always think i keep up with what’s around here and then i look to see when the last post was and… well, it’s been a while
i still have so many summer break pictures to share
monument valley, grand canyon, sedona, vegas, panama city beach….
but as much as i’d like to stay in vacation mode, life just keeps moving forward
these days faster than ever before
at the end of this month summer will be over and it will officially be fall
i enjoy fall
but i dread what comes after it
it will also be four years since we moved from miami to asheville
four years!
it’s hard for me to believe it’s been that long
i still miss our miami life in the red house with the pool and our dear friends near
perhaps i don’t miss miami as much as i miss us in miami
and regardless of how good life is here, how great the house we live in is (we have paid our price) and how many friends we have, i still feel landlocked, like i don’t belong and want to head towards the ocean just about daily
asheville makes me feel the loneliest i have ever felt
it’s a feeling i can’t seem to shake off
even after four years
thanks for listening friends
hope you are all having a good week so far
flowers, flowers and more flowers. i don’t think i could (or would want to) live in a world without flowers. which makes winter harder than it already is
our neighborhood divas the day before starting school
first day of fourth grade
second day of fourth grade
santa fe memories
sunrises
and sunsets
he turned forty two
last summer in spain with my family memories
lazy weekend mornings
and not so lazy weekend mornings
back to lots of home cooked meals
ropa vieja
tuna nicoise
taco torte
panama city beach memories
homework
besties since kindergarten now in fourth grade
Lily is back to art class after school on tuesdays
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!
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!
one of my oldest girlfriends arrived yesterday and today we will get in the car and drive to nashville where we will be seeing Perry Farrell perform live tonight
going to see a favorite with a favorite
what more can a girl ask for?
happy friday and happy weekend friends!
spring. still winning
what father’s day looked like
cool slow mornings
hung up more art. you should too. it’s important
a sleepover with a good classmate
portugal memories from three years ago
pre father’s day parents night out
a visit to see a favorite friend/local jeweler
i bought new earrings and i am obsessed with them
a hair trim waiting to happen
Lily went to baking camp this week and not only did she love every minute of it but she also brought home the most delicious baked goods every day
day two of baking camp
day three of baking camp
the last time i saw Perry Farrell was in 2011 in miami during art basel with a then 1 year old Lily. see you soon Perry! can’t wait
although i am so ready for summer break, i kind of wish third grade could go on forever
it’s been the most wonderful school year so far
Lily had the most amazing teacher/class and my heart is breaking already for when she will have to say goodbye later today
there will be many tears for sure (there always are)
Lily has grown so much this school year
not just in height (4″) but emotionally, artistically, academically… all with such confidence
she has risen all year!
we are so very proud of her
now if only time could just take it a bit easier on me
happy friday and happy weekend friends!
spring is still winning
Lily season on our front yard
when little cousins come to visit
miami memories
spain memories
kitchen poetry sessions
last monday of third grade
last tuesday of third grade
last car pick up selfie of third grade
last thursday of third grade
homemade end of the school year teacher gifts
stronger every day
these three have been riding to school every morning since we moved here during Lily’s kindergarten year. Next year there will be less one because she will be in middle school. we now have a rising sixth grader, a rising fourth grader and a rising third grader. love these vibrant girls
i feel like it’s been quite some time since i have done one of these “around here” posts
life has been good
it’s spring
spring makes everything better (anything but winter, really)
after tomorrow Lily will have only one week left of school
it’s been a great school year for her
she has had the most wonderful teacher and i am expecting many tears from Lily on that last day (she LOVES her teacher)
summer plans were hard to agree upon and hard to come together but for the most part they are figured out and i am excited for them
that said, i need to figure out more beach and ocean time
this weekend we are expecting family and we are so looking forward to it
hope you are all having a great week so far
i am off on my walk with foxy and then coming back to do some youtube exercise video (been trying to be good and do that every day)
have a happy one friends!
spring is by far my favorite season here in asheville. hate winter, fall is ok, summer is too damn hot with no access to the ocean, but spring…. spring is glorious!
peonies from our garden. i loved peony season this year
our two hibiscus trees are like small daily miami offerings in asheville
what school mornings look like
what weekend mornings look like
a rainbow filled corner
Lily is still consistently creating amazing art
what mother’s day looked like this year
what memorial day looked like this year
a car selfie. William and Lily call me Elton with these glasses on but i don’t mind
what weekends sometimes look like
what after school looks like when there are no after school activities
this year’s ballet four will be next year’s ballet five
despite everything i still miss miami and the ocean every day
