Here's something I've noticed: managing your calendar, reminders, and to-dos can now be done with a zillion apps yet paper planners seem to be enjoying a resurgence. (A paper planner is even one of the cheapish thing that can change your life.) This makes me think there must be many other people who, like me, are trying to figure out the perfect digital-paper harmony. It's taken a while but I think I've finally settled on an effective system using both digital and paper calendar and task management. The challenge with using both is that they have to work together. Otherwise,... Read more →

It's late summer with early fall still a few weeks away and the heat and humidity (mostly the humidity) is really putting a damper on my summer cozy optimism. It was inevitable! I chat regularly with a dear friend in Austin and we decided to just admit that August is the worst and allow ourselves a little bit of complaining. Otherwise we try very hard not to complain about the heat in our respective towns. So: August is the worst. Ahhh, that feels a little better. What I am trying to remember is that every single fall (every time!) when... Read more →

I love to travel light on the go. For several years, toting a baby and young kids made this challenging. Now that a diaper bag is far in my past I'm back to my minimal ways. I'm in love with my current purse and essentials situation and would love to share what's working for me. When I've carried bigger purses before I would inevitably find a drift of random things in the bottom – a random toy, enough pens for an entire office, and trash like receipts, grocery lists, etc. Using a smaller purse means I literally cannot accumulate things... Read more →

This month our family sees the beginning of a second new chapter this year. The first was me quitting my full time job in April. And this month the boys start at a new school. Dashiell is in kindergarten! And Cedric is attending the same school for preschool a few days each week. I was a little bit nervous when I biked to the school to pick up the boys yesterday, wondering if they had good days. And then Dashiell burst out of the gate, all smiles and energy. I found Cedric in the preschool room happily playing with magnets... Read more →