When I worked full-time while still regularly travel blogging, I always felt caught in the middle of two worlds. I didn’t feel like I traveled enough to hold par with the travel bloggers and always felt a bit of envy at the airline miles and new destinations they were constantly adding up. But compared to my co-workers and friends, I traveled constantly—often more in a month than many would do in a year or more. Now that I’ve become a parent who still loves to travel (see: notes on traveling with a baby), I feel trapped in the same envy-inducing-on-both-sides middle ground. Compared to family ..read more

When we bought our house, it had great bones and a wonderful open floor plan and so many things that we loved about it–but there were a few aesthetic issues that we were eager to update. The biggest one, by far, was the kitchen: the layout was spacious and functional, but there was a glut of oak cabinets. Just so many cabinets! So oaky! It felt very dated, and while they all did their job, I just didn’t love them. On top of that, the countertops were very nice but very dark: they hid *all* of the crumbs, which was not a feature I loved. We didn’t rush into any big changes, but after livi ..read more

I first discovered podcasts, like most of the world, with Serial in 2014. I remember listening to each new episode on the subway the morning it was released, and then eagerly discussing the implications with my coworkers as soon as I got into the office. After the hullabaloo over Serial subsided, a coworker recommended Reply All and Startup, and I devoured both. A couple of years later, another coworker went to work at fledging podcast startup Gimlet Media—none other than the company whose founding was detailed in the first season of Startup. Long story short: I ended up getting hired as a sa ..read more

It’s been a while since I’ve done new year’s resolutions! I used to be very committed to them, but over the last several years, I tried to focus more on just making the right decision in the moment. Instead of making a resolution to floss more, I just make a decision whether or not to floss every night–and I try to remind myself every night that I will be happier at the dentist office in however many month’s if I just take a minute to floss. (Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn’t!) That said, I have a few things that I’ve been wanting to change, and I need a little push to commit–so a pu ..read more

Holy moly 2023 what a year! Although it’s been an emotional roller coaster the last few months–our nanny resigning, our nanny coming back, getting laid off–it’s been a really good year. It’s wild to think that this was our first full year of Jojo! Even though there was obviously a lot less travel than in years past, I’m very pleased with what we did do–whether it was solo, Jojo and me, or the whole family! And although I didn’t blog as much as I would have liked to, I did manage to get a few posts up and. I’m optimistic for more in 2024. The highlights: we committed to *not traveling* all sum ..read more

You guys! It has been a while. Since I have some spare free time these days, I figured I might as well do a little blogging. Despite not having *to work* the past couple of weeks, the days have been flying by and I’ve been keeping busy: a lot of Christmas-related errands (wrapping, post office, etc.), more volunteer visits with Gertie, barre or Pilates or a bike ride around the neighborhood. I still have my same quadrant to-do list every day! My mantra right now is very much that I will absolutely get another job and will make more money one day, but that I won’t be able to get this time back ..read more

I’ve lived in this in-between space ever since I started blogging: I’ve never wanted to be a full-time traveler. I love to travel, but I also very much love being home in my own bed and my own kitchen and my own perfectly calibrated routine. For better or worse, I live a bit in this envy of people who are off gallivanting to all of the places I want to be while also very much knowing that I would be miserable if I was always on the road. This has never been more true now that I have a baby. We took Jojo on five (plane) trips before her first birthday: St. Louis to visit family (three months o ..read more

Ok! This is a pretty casual gift guide: mostly just a bunch of things I genuinely use and love, and gifts that I have given that have been well-received. I will say that I almost always prefer to gift (and receive) experiences rather than things. I am a big fan of things that do not create any clutter! A few ideas: massages, facials, a gift certificate to a favorite restaurant, credits at a favorite workout studio, tickets to a show, or a lesson for a new skill (like pickleball or Spanish). If they love to read, a Book of the Month subscription is the gift that keeps on giving, and is wonderf ..read more

When I think back to the first few months after having Jojo, it’s all a bit of a blur. I do feel very lucky that I didn’t struggle with any serious postpartum depression or anxiety. Although I was definitely emotional and exhausted, I was mostly overcome with a lot of gratitude and joy and love. There were definitely moments of “wait, WTF did we do to our lives” and grieving our carefree, childless life, but mostly–we were able to settle into a pretty good groove with Jojo. Some of the best early advice that we got was from David’s uncle, and it’s some that we have since shared with new paren ..read more

Before getting pregnant, I had never thought about what you’d pack to go to the hospital to have a baby. It’s sort of a strange experience: you know you’re going to be there for a minimum of two nights, but it’s not like…it’s going to be a comfortable, luxurious stay. And although I ended up with a scheduled induction (aka knew exactly when I had to head to the hospital), it’s also something that you want to have ready to go at any point. On our way there, David joked that it was like we were checking into the worst possible motel! My coworker friend Allison put together an insanely helpful E ..read more