Happy New Year! First of all, we made it. Second of all, I cant believe it is finally 2021! I feel like the entire year of 2020 was one big gigantic countdown to 2021. This year one of my intentions is to enjoy the different seasons of life that we are thrown into. The ongoing pandemic has really made me realize what truly is important and the moments that truly matter most don’t have to be these huge orchestrated events. They can just be everyday things we do that are special in their own way. We spent most of 2020 sheltering in place and adjusting to a new way of living and reflecting ..read more

Bottom to Top: The Silent Patient, Where the Crawdads Sing, The Nightingale, She’s Come Undone and The Language of Flowers1. Where The Crawdads Sing I read this book at the beginning of 2020 and honestly it sparked my love of reading all over again. As a child and teenager, I was an avid reader and somewhere along the way, life got in the way and I lost my passion for it but this book brought it back and I am so thankful. If you read just one book from this list, this is it. It had me rooting for the main character from the moment I started reading all the way to the end. The writing is incred ..read more

As the world continues to deal with the coronavirus pandemic and government officials putting restrictions on a lot of things we love to do, as well as recommending social distancing and self-quarantine practices, it’s only natural for us to feel uneasy and nervous about the disease and how we can stay protected while staying sane. I’ve dealt with anxiety in the past but add a global pandemic to the mix and I have found myself having many sleepless nights, leading to increased stress, stress eating, and creating unhealthy habits. Now more than ever, it is so important to take care of ourselve ..read more

Let’s face it, traveling with kids can sometimes be more hassle than its worth. I’ve been in that situation where you think you’ve planned everything and packed the right items and feel confident that no meltdowns will ensue and yet that is the very thing that happens. You spend all day diffusing situations and putting out fires that by the end of the day, YOU ARE EXHAUSTED and can’t wait to get back home. But it doesn’t have to be that way. With a little planning while also letting go of some of the planning and being flexible is the only way to go. What I’ve learned is to value my kids op ..read more

For years I have had dining at The French Laundry in Yountville, California on my bucket list. It always felt unattainable because one, reservations are extremely difficult to get and second, it’s not exactly affordable. But if this pandemic has taught me anything, it’s that life is too short and the things we love and take for granted can be taken away from us overnight. So, I’ve learned to really live life and do the things that I’ve always had on my list as long as we have the means to do so and as long as we are being cautious. Live your life! Be careful, not fearful! The French Laundry i ..read more

We have not traveled since January due to obvious reasons (ahem pandemic) and unfortunately had to cancel two trips we were really looking forward to going to: Disneyland and Hawaii. After feeling bummed and sorry for ourselves we decided to do a road trip to Southern California before the kids start back school. They’ll be distance learning for at least the first few months of the school year so we wanted to do something outdoorsy and active. Our first stop on our trip was Santa Barbara. It’s about a 4 1/2 hour drive from San Jose and such a great place for a romantic weekend getaway or a fa ..read more

Larson Family Winery is a dog and kid-friendly winery located in Sonoma Valley. Just a 1 hour drive from San Francisco, this winery has a laid back, country lifestyle vibe that is perfect for parents who want to get away to wine country and want to bring the family along! A couple of weeks ago, we decided to get out of the house after being cooped up inside all week and make a drive to our favorite kid-friendly winery in the Napa Valley/Sonoma Valley region. Larson Family Winery is located in Sonoma and the drive from our house in San Jose is about an hour and half (depending on traffic). Bef ..read more

Maui makes the top of the my list of places I’d like to live when Rowell and I retire. It is absolute paradise. I dream of sitting on my front porch, drinking coffee and reading a book while gazing out into the ocean. I can envision exactly what I want our house and life to look like! In the meantime, we must resort to visiting as often as we can. We are fortunate enough to live just a 5-6 hour plane ride from Maui so it’s a fast enough flight to be able to bring the kids. Maui is one of the most kid-friendly vacation destinations you can go but you have to come prepared. Here are four tips fo ..read more

On our most recent family vacation to Maui we stayed mostly in West Maui, Lahaina in particular, and we really wanted to explore the areas surrounding. Here is a list of things we did and places we saw during our one-week family trip to Maui. 1. Rent a Jeep Wrangler and drive around the island with the top down Yes, it will cost more to upgrade to a Jeep but common, you only live once and it is so worth it! We originally reserved a Camry but decided to upgrade at the car rental place because we thought how epic it would be to drive around with the top down in a jeep and we were right, it was ..read more

BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN AND YOU WILL! It’s been a little over a week since I ran the Across the Bay 12k with Represent Running; my first ever long distance race! It was hard work getting to that point. I mean months and months of training and failing and learning that got me to not only cross that finish line but enjoy the actual run as well. I started officially training in March. 4 months of training to be able to run 7.46 miles successfully and I did it. I knew I had it in me but unlike some people, I was never athletic and running just never came naturally to me. Because I knew I had to wo ..read more