Living Deliberately à la Walden Pond- a goodbye post

I have been trying to decide how best to end this blog. It's difficult to not be overly-sentimental about our time on the east coast. We made some amazing friendships, traveled and saw so many cool places, and we grew into a family of four. Personally, the four years changed me in a tremendous way. Without going into all the details of my own personal identity crisis, I will relate it to our visit to Walden Pond. We made a quick trip to Walden Pond last fall on our way home from Maine. I grew up somewhat enamored with the Transcendentalist Movement and most of the American literature I enjoy came from transcendentalist New England writers. Sure, there is plenty of controversy to their movement but I still find wisdom in some of the philosophy, specifically having a connection to nature and living deliberately.

I had to laugh when we got to Walden Pond because it is a huge tourist attraction today. It's certainly not the rugged wilderness that Thoreau wrote about. However, if you imagine it back in his time, before highways and cellphones, I am sure it was all "life in the woods." Who knows, from what I gather Thoreau was sort of a classic, for lack of a better word, bull-shitter. Regardless, the time he spent at Walden Pond and the memoir that resulted can be interpreted a number of ways. I think of it often whenever we are out hiking. When you are sitting alone in nature, life does have a way of appearing simpler. As we were walking the trails around Walden Pond, I wondered what Thoreau  might think now of the land that once inspired his guide to simple living. Today, Walden Pond is known as the birthplace of the conservation movement and is recognized as a National Historic Landmark. Yes, it's used for tourism and even has a gift shop, but the land is protected and his words will always remain an influence. I bet he'd be okay with it.

Relating this back to our time on the east coast is really quite simple. Moving away from the life I was comfortable with allowed me a chance to step back and figure some things out. I had time to develop interests and hobbies and began to feel interesting. Prior to our move, I devoted a lot of my time and self to worrying about a career. I didn't prioritize my marriage and spent so much of my time with friends talking about work. When I stopped working, I really struggled with being judged for staying at home with kids. Whenever we meet people, the first question asked is "what do you do?" What I have come to realize is that nobody really cares what we do for work. In fact, once you answer the question, the person asking the question is secretly hoping that you stop talking about your work. That said, I think it's great when people love their jobs. Someday when my kids are older, I hope to find the answer to "what do I want to be when I grow up." However, I think there is truth in living deliberately and in the moment. My definition of this might be different than Thoreau's, but here is how I see it: we should enjoy our lives and prioritize our marriages, families, and friendships above everything. Work should be a means for enjoying life, but not our whole identity. We should take time to get outside and play. We should plan day trips and appreciate where we live. All of these things make for a truly happy life. Our time on the east coast taught me that and I will be forever thankful.

Thanks to all of you who followed our blog while we were away. If it wasn't for you, I may not have dragged myself out of bed to go hike in 12 degree weather just so we'd have something to tell you about on the following Monday. It's been a fun adventure and I'm excited to see what's next for our crew as we settle back into the Pacific Northwest.

Goodbye visit to NYC

Last Saturday, my friend Ryan and I made a last minute day-trip down to NYC. Ryan works with Adam and is also completing her residency training in Anesthesia. In September, she and her husband and their little boy will be relocating to St. Louis to satisfy her commitment to the US Air Force. We both have a lot going on with transitions but we decided we needed to get away for a proper girls' trip to the city. Now before I tell you about our day, let me prepare you: I didn't take pictures! I completely forgot.

Anyhow, Ryan is really busy right now because she not only has to finish up her residency training, but she has to extend a couple of months because she took time off for maternity leave after her son was born. She will not have any time off to study for her board exams which are at the end of July. (Adam has the entire month of July off to prepare.) So she is working full-time, studying, raising a little boy, and trying to fill out tons of paperwork for the military. The least I could do was plan an amazing day in New York to take her mind off of all the seriousness in her life.

Because we'd both been to the city multiple times, we didn't have much we had to do or see. She had not spent any time in Soho or Greenwich Village so we decided to just stick to those areas. I made us a brunch reservation at Sarabeth's in Tribeca. Sarabeth's has quite a few locations in the city and Tribeca is the newest and largest. The first major decisions of the day: pancakes or eggs? Mimosa or Bloody Mary? Can you tell how difficult this day would end up being? (The eggs and bloody marys won.)

After brunch, we spent the day walking and shopping. The hours just flew by and before we knew it, we each had a new pair of jeans and were ready for cocktails. My friend, Emily, had raved about the Ginger Margaritas at Spice Market, so I suggested we head over and try them out. Spice Market is awesome- great ambiance and the margaritas are definitely worth ordering! Emily and her husband, Curtis, have created their own version of this cocktail and I cannot wait to compare. I will definitely be returning to Spice Market when I return to NYC.

For dinner, I had done a little research and stumbled upon reviews for I Sodi in the west village. I Sodi is a tiny Italian restaurant with about 10 tables or so. The owner used to be an executive for Calvin Klein and was born and raised in Florence, Italy. She decided to leave the fashion world and open a restaurant to pay homage to her Florence roots. The menu is small and seasonal. The food is some of the best I have ever had in my entire life. We each got a pasta dish and we shared an artichoke salad to start. The artichoke salad has me baffled nearly a week later. Sometimes simple food is the most perplexing. It comes down to technique and quality ingredients. In this case, the salad consists of a fresh artichoke that is thinly sliced. It's then tossed with olive oil and salt & pepper. It's finished with a few shavings of fresh Parmesan. The olive oil they use comes directly from olives gathered from the trees on the owner's property in Florence. It is rich and nutty tasting. The texture of the oil lingers and is almost buttery. When combined with the crunch of the artichoke, it made for one of the very best, if not the best salad I've ever had. This seems so simple in concept yet I am at a loss as to how to recreate it. The pasta dish I ordered was the same way: Tagliatelle tossed with Caramelized Onions & Pecorino. Again, just a few ingredients but they were executed in a way that made for one of my favorite pasta dishes I have tasted. Keep in mind- I just returned from Italy a few months ago! Of course, the wine and dessert were equally wonderful, as was the service. The entire dinner experience just made me happy. I'd recommend I Sodi to anyone visiting New York.

We wrapped up our day at Entwine, a wine bar in the village that an old friend of mine owns. I met Yulia back when we worked together at the Queen Anne branch of WaMu. Oddly enough, another person we worked with back then happened to be in the city and we all decided to meet up at Entwine. Both Yulia and Rick came to our wedding and I don't think I'd seen either of them since as they both moved on with their lives shortly after. We had a great time catching up and then Ryan and I made our way back to Penn Station to take the train up to Albany. I am happy we were able to get down to NYC for a proper goodbye. The day was fabulous.

Weekend in Virginia

A couple of weekends ago, I made one last visit to Alexandria, VA to visit our friends Melissa and Earl Ardales. I have really enjoyed being able to visit them each year that we've lived back east. Last year we did a lot of sightseeing in the Washington DC area, so this trip I asked them to show me some of Virginia. Visiting Thomas Jefferson's Monticello had been on my east coast bucket list so they took me to Charlottesville to check it out. The drive through rural Virginia was lovely. Along the way, we stopped at Barboursville Vineyards for a wine tasting. I was pretty skeptical because I have not been impressed with east coast wine but Barboursville proved to be a great little winery. We then stopped for lunch in downtown Charlottesville. We found a great rooftop restaurant and enjoyed a perfect 75 degree afternoon. After lunch, we headed to Monticello. I love seeing the homes of past presidents. Thomas Jefferson was an interesting person. It's amazing to me that he could draft the Declaration of Independence and then run his household with slaves. The grounds at Monticello are beautiful. The house is not what I expected, yet the decor all makes sense now that I think about it. The entryway has a bunch of animal skins and other things sent to Jefferson by Lewis & Clark as they explored the land that Jefferson purchased to expand the country west. Unfortunately, you can't take photos in the main floors of the house. I was able to take some pictures of the cellar level where the kitchen was located and of the grounds. After our visit at TJ's house, we headed back to Alexandria and finished the day with dinner in Old Town. Once again, Melissa and Earl were great hosts and I had another wonderful visit. Here are some photos from the weekend.

Barboursville Vineyards

Skybar, Charlottesville

 

Gardens at Monticello

 

Beer Cellar- those bottles are so cute!

Kitchen

 

 

 

"Welcome to my home!"

Holidays

Nearly two months since my last post. Oops! The month of December was wonderful. We stayed home for Christmas, which meant that we decorated the house and got a tree. Gavin and Olivia are at such fun ages. They made the season sparkle. I think everyone feels excited when they pull out the lights and ornaments, but seeing a child's reaction ups the magic factor.

Early in the month, my parents came for a visit. It was so fun and nice to spend time with them. We mostly just hung out but did make a short trip to NYC before they flew back to Seattle. We strolled through Chelsea Market, walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, saw the tree at Rockefeller Center, and hung out at Central Park. It was a really fun time and I'm so glad that my parents were able to make the trip.

Hopefully, I will be better about keeping this blog updated over the coming months. Here is a photo recap of some of December's activities. Happy New Year!

Little man helped Daddy set up the tree

My little magic makers

Grandma and Grandpa with the kids down by the Hudson River

I love this picture of my parents on the Brooklyn Bridge

Always funny trying to get family pics... 

With my babies at Central Park

Carriage ride through Central Park- $50 for 20 minutes but I will remember it forever.

Darling girl with her snowman

Sweet little man, taking a rest on the porch

I love the sparkle in Gavin's eyes as he prepares for Santa Claus

Olivia got a babydoll for Christmas- might as well been her only gift, as she carries it everywhere. Sweet.

Beautiful Montreal!

Hello again. I think I mentioned that we spent Olivia's first birthday in the glorious city of Montreal. I have been meaning to get back here to tell you all about our trip. Julie was visiting and we wanted to take her somewhere exciting. Adam had not been up to Montreal before so we decided that would be a perfect destination. If you remember, I took a girls trip up there last fall. Visiting in the summer was a completely different experience. The city was alive and the weather was perfect. Montreal is very metropolitan- tons of great restaurants and shopping. I really love the area called Vieux Montreal- or "Old Montreal." I have read that this area is considered a tourist trap and maybe it is. I don't much care, though. As someone who would love to make annual trips to Paris, this area of Montreal really does satisfy that Parisian craving. The cobblestone streets and historical architecture are charming. The neighborhood is filled with bistros, creperies, pubs, and cute shops. We had a great time walking around and taking in the scenery. We enjoyed lunch and afternoon ice cream. After wandering Old Montreal, we decided to visit Parc Olympique- where we thoroughly enjoyed the botanical gardens. We got lucky and got there right around closing. We just had to wait until 6pm, which is when they stop manning the gates and you can enter without paying the $16 per person admission fee. We were quite excited about that! During the day, the admission fee grants you access to the insectarium and the biodome. Oddly, you cannot just pay a small fee to walk the grounds and see just the gardens. Anyhow, evening was an ideal time to visit because it felt like we had the park to ourselves and the temperature was lovely. The gardens are absolutely stunning. There is a great playground outside the insectarium that we all enjoyed. It was a short, but sweet, trip to Montreal. Here are the pics!

Montreal- makes Europe feel just a little bit closer!

Beautiful day to walk along the water!

Hanging out in Montreal with my "little" sister!

Birthday girl enjoying ice cream!

At Parc Olympique

Julie getting her zen on!

Gavin getting his zen on!

 

Having fun at the playground

Auntie helping the birthday girl take a sip of water!

Another classic Julie pose!

NYC with Julie-Bug

My youngest sister Julie came for a visit earlier this month. We had a fantastic time. She and I started her visit off with a weekend trip to NYC. As I mentioned a few months ago, when my sister Sarah visited, Manhattan offers endless things to do. This was my ninth trip to the city and it was just as fun as my first visit. It's getting so much easier for me to navigate the city now- which is a major bonus. Julie didn't have too much on her agenda. She wanted to hang out in Central Park- eat good food, and just walk around different neighborhoods. 

We chose a boutique hotel on the Upper West Side, Hotel Belleclaire. They were offering a pretty good summer deal, and I love boutique hotels. Hotel Belleclaire is in a perfect location- right near Central Park. It was an easy walk to Lincoln Center, where we enjoyed an al fresco lunch across the street at Josephina. We had hoped to score tickets to Shakespeare in the Park, but the line was ridiculous by the time we got there. Instead, we decided to head to Brooklyn and make the walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. It had been on my list of things to do for a while, and the weather was absolutely perfect. When we got to Brooklyn, we happened to pass a TKTS booth that had no line, so we spontaneously decided to buy discount tickets for an Off-Broadway show for that evening. I can't explain it, but that fueled our energy for walking the Brooklyn Bridge. It just felt like everything was going right! We were both in great, goofy moods!

After we made complete fools of ourselves on the bridge, we headed back up to our hotel and got ready for dinner and the show. We saw "Love, Loss, and What I Wore" at the Westside Theater. Conveniently, there was a really cute restaurant located right next door, called Elsewhere. We had a light dinner- with an appetizer of Lavender, Rosemary Popcorn, that I think we will both remember forever. It had a perfect combination of sweet and savory with a honey butter in addition to the herbs. It was fabulous- and I will be creating my own version. (I will share it with you, of course!)

 

 

The show was great- all about life, narrated through the clothes we wear. It wasn't necessarily what we expected, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. It is funny to think back on life's experiences and think about the fashion trends of the time. There is a particularly hilarious discussion about purses. After the show, we headed over to Serendipity for sundaes. The next few pictures will sum that up.

 

 

 

Haha, did Julie defeat the sundae or did the sundae defeat her? Maybe a little of both? The next day, we had brunch at Sarabeth's, which was phenomenal and I highly recommend. Afterwards, we just did a bunch of walking around before catching our train home. It was another fantastic trip to the city- full of great food and fun!