what’s on my mind for 2018

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Today is a rare day with time for reflection since I am home alone, without work and without Reese, for the whole day. Since we are leaving for LA this week, we switched one of her pre-school days to today as we pay for 3x per week even when we’re on vacation. While I could have worked, I took the opportunity to stay home, catch up on tasks that I have wanted to do for weeks and months even (e.g. clean out our car) and just take the opportunity to do what I want without distraction. Read more →

fall update & portland, finally

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Hello, are you there? Happy Saturday, and yay weekend!! Apologies for my long absence.

If you’ve been following along on Instagram you know that summer’s end came quickly and we were so busy enjoying every moment in the US with our friends and family that I missed catching you up here. It was a glorious few weeks with so many people around to play with Reese, almost too many amazing coffee cafe trips, shopping, and time to just relax. To top it off, we got to spend the last few days on an Iceland and that was also super cool.

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resolutions for 2017

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Here we are already halfway into January, and I’m just now finalizing my resolutions. Some of us, like Reese, just go at the year full tilt already have met major milestones in 2017, like walking. Others, like me, think about resolutions but struggle with following through.

The last time I posted my resolutions here was in 2014, and some of these are still high on my list. I only accomplished half of that list; thanks to Sonos and Spotify, we definitely listen to more music (#3), and we’ve done pretty well on travel (#4), including to spend more time with our friends and family, and keeping a spirit of adventure (#8-10).

So, before January rushes by, here’s my new list, in no specific order. I’m bringing back a few on the list from 2014, and I’ll take any tips on improved accountability. Read more →

freitag favorites + five years

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I’m really happy to see this week come to an end, especially because it marks the start of a special weekend followed by a short summer holiday.

First, this Sunday marks our five year wedding anniversary. In some ways, it seems like no time has passed; in other ways, so much has changed. Our wedding day was so memorable, beautiful, and mostly, so much fun. Enough time has passed that I would change some small things if I had the opportunity to plan it again, but the most important decision I definitely wouldn’t change. I am so lucky that I get to share every day with Martin, and now watching him with Reese pretty much just makes my heart explode with love for our little family. I love them both so much, and I’m so happy to have a little extra special time to enjoy just being the three of us.

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6 tips for traveling with a baby

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the many faces of Reese on the train home

With just five months of parenting under our belts, we still have so much to learn. The one thing we may have perfected so far is what works well for us when traveling with Reese, especially daily travel on the train. We still have to see how all this translates on a longer plane trip, e.g. our trip home to the US in mid-March, but so far these principles and products get us through every day trips and on weekend getaways.

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bright winter blooms

freitag favorites + short update

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In the last week since all our visitors have returned home, we have settled into a quiet daily routine, especially since the weather has been very, very wet and windy most days. I’ve been busy decluttering around the house, organizing the last few years of favorite photos into yearly albums for printing, and  feeling a little sad as I think about going back to work (mostly as we consider how we’ll manage work and ample family time). We’re definitely sad to be so far from family when considering childcare options. Read more →

freitag favorites + the unexpected

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This week’s favorites come a day late, and with a heavy heart. When I started compiling the links below for this week’s post, I never could have predicted what I would be feeling now. I went in for a routine check-up up on Wednesday and while I’m otherwise in good health, I failed my glucose test. I was sent back to my family doctor for another blood test and two hours later the verdict was in. I’m diabetic, and I’m still in shock. Read more →

seeing switzerland

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Yesterday was Swiss National Day and we enjoyed a mid-week day off to sleep in, workout (Martin) and take a long run (me), watch the Olympics, and see The Dark Knight Rises. I also took some time to go through the rest of my photos from my mini-vacation around Switzerland with my parents a few weeks ago. Read more →