Somewhere along the way, between leaving Zurich in 2014 and finally getting back here this year, my hobbies were lost. One by one they dropped away. I stopped knitting. I stopped writing. I stopped podcasting. I stopped painting my nails. (Even silly hobbies are self care and good for the soul.) I stopped decorating and doting on my house. I stopped cooking and baking. I more or less stopped reading. I stopped playing with my hair and makeup. Basically, I stopped enjoying my life. Then lockdown came along and everything ground to a halt. Honestly, the pandemic simultaneously helped and hinde ..read more

  So it looks like I'm back! Starting my job has been the absolute best thing for me. I loved my internship back in Spokane before we moved, and I really, really sorely missed it once we arrived in Switzerland. Of course, then everything was so busy and chaotic and overwhelming that I was really spinning for a long time. It's been a crazy transition and it still doesn't feel complete. And yet - it's nearly one year since we arrived. February seems just around the corner, even though it feels like we just got here. Phew! Since starting work, I feel so much more like myself. I gave myself ..read more

  I’m doing that thing again - that I’ve been doing for the last three years (maybe more?!) - where I have drafts upon drafts upon drafts saved, but essentially no published posts on here. I just don’t know how to blog anymore. I asked Alexa this morning how many days ago February 11 was, because I know from experience that right around 90 days after arriving in a new place, there is a dip. And, my friends, it has been 80 days since I arrived in Switzerland on February 11 and I’m on the downward slope of that dip for sure. I feel myself slipping and sliding and I can’t stop it. It’s funn ..read more

  I don’t even know where to begin, you guys. Being back in Switzerland - YES!!! We moved back. Head on over to my Instagram Stories and Highlights to get the whole scoop if you missed it - is so incredible. It honestly does not feel real. It seems totally insane and crazy and like the most natural and meant-to-be thing in the world all at the same time. I have dreamt of this moment, or rather the series of pivotal moments over the last few days, for many years. All four of us taking off on our flight back to Switzerland. Arriving in the Zurich airport and seeing the kids’ reactions. Of ..read more

So, do you remember how I went to Miami a year ago for my brother's wedding and was not super excited about it? I had this image of Florida (and therefore Miami) that it was was nothing but old people with no style wearing big white tennis shoes and fanny packs? And then I went to Miami and fell so totally in love with it and couldn't wait to go back?! Well, thanks to the coronavirus flight sales and an Alaska Airlines companion ticket, J and I are going to Miami on Thursday. WOOHOO! I cannot wait to spend four whole days lounging on the beach, napping, reading, writing, zoning out, doing n ..read more

Earlier this week, I watched the documentary Toxic Beauty. This was not the first time I was exposed to information detailing the dangers of ingredients in cosmetics. I have heard all that before! But, it was the first time I felt compelled to scan the labels on all my shampoos, conditioners, dry shampoos, and deodorant. What I was I looking for? Parabens and phthalates. Also of particular worry was any product containing the words talc, and parfum or fragrance in the ingredients.  I heard about Toxic Beauty through a Vogue article whose title includes the film’s main questio ..read more

This morning, I opened up Instagram and the first thing I saw was a post about repat grief that absolutely blew my mind from Maria Latham of I Was An Expat Wife. The post was a photo with overlaid text that read, "Saying goodbye to my expat self is one of the hardest things I've ever done." Then, in the caption, she dove deeper, writing, "Re-entry comes with many losses...The hardest part is trying to make people understand that yes, it's possible to grieve the loss of a city, or a language, or a cuisine." She went on, explaining that as repats, "because our losses don't involve death ..read more

Hello again, my lovelies. Being home with my sick girl Coco has been such a tonic to my soul. Through focusing on her, snuggling her, caring for her, and just being with her, I totally detached from the rest of my life. I didn't realize how much I needed that. Detaching is amazing in that it clears away all the noise and nonsense and, ironically, I really feel more deeply connected to the pieces of myself from which I had been feeling so lost and detached! I thought that Coco would be ready to go back to school today, but as it turned out, she started complaining of an earache right as the ..read more

Have you heard of Cuppow? I thought that everyone and their dog had one of these genius little inventions. However, when I mentioned the amazingly perfect 8 oz. Ball mason jars we use as our kids water glasses in my Instagram Stories one day, I got tons of responses. One in particular was from a mom of a toddler, lamenting the fact that there's no way to turn the Ball jars into sippy cups. Mais non, dear friend, there is! It's Cuppow. The Cuppow is a snazzy little lid that fits inside where the normal sealing metal lid would go on a mason jar, but it's a little coffee cup type lid. I use ..read more

Well, hello there, strangers! You probably thought I was never coming back. I mean, I thought I was never coming back. Life has been so busy and demanding and trying to prioritize and make time for everything feels like a fool’s errand. But! I’m happy to report that yesterday, pictured, I finished week 5 of my Couch to 5k app! OMG. Only three weeks left and I’ll be running 5k all by myself without stopping. As I go along through the program, my running time (naturally) keeps getting better and faster, and it’s pretty exciting to work through it and see that progress. :) I also figured out ho ..read more