A "welcome home from camp" chocolate pie which has become tradition Hi, friends! I'm sipping a cold, cold black cherry sparkling water because at this time of year I'm constantly just a little bit warm, even when I'm inside in the a/c. And happy Fourth of July to my fellow Americans! We're flying the stars and stripes today, and also thinking a lot about what we hope for the future of our country and our upcoming election in particular. An early morning hike with a view that paid off We're in the depths of summer weather here with temps above... Read more →

We're starting our fourth week of the kids' summer break and we've hit 110º on the thermometer a few times. I've been thinking, "Summer: we are doing it!" I'm noticing that I am bumping up against having less time at home alone to work, recharge, and attend to home admin. But I'm also noticing the good things this summer, and there are many. So here are 10 everyday summer joys: 10. The public pool and the splash pad. I am instantly 100% happier in the summer when I'm in the pool or at the splash pad. What do you know,... Read more →

A few of my kitchen "decide onces" I've had a few conversations with a dear friend recently where we recall things we did in high school that are so similar to how we are today (being super organized for example, or loving home decor). We laugh and say, "We've always been the same people!" One example of this is that it can be hard for me to make decisions, especially about relatively inconsequential things, and apparently I've been that way since childhood. A story my mom tells goes like this: one day my mom asked me to pick out a... Read more →

Happy June, friends! Before I wrote this post I peeked back at last year's post and see so much repetition: camping, kicking off cold treats on Wednesdays, enjoying the summer so far, and even last year's June goal of catching up on kid art work which will make an appearance in this month's list. And yet we're all a year older and have lived a lot of life since last year's June post was written. I love the familiar grooves of each season, and find a deep joy in seeing what stays the same while also noticing how the kids... Read more →

Hi, friends! I'm sipping a mid-morning iced coffee and marveling that it's the last full day of school for my kids. By the time you read this our summer will have begun! It's getting really warm (in the 90ºs and next week we'll break into the 100ºs) but I'm still enjoying a short mid-day walk and staying positive in the heat. A few notes from May... May goals review + Have a summer summit with Chris. We've had good conversations about summer, have put some additional activities on the calendar, and are feeling as ready as we can be. We've... Read more →

Recently, Chris and I kicked off a day date in our favorite way: with a coffee + budgeting session. It was a particularly fun one because we were incorporating Chris's new salary as a full professor and projecting out a few years to include some possible big goals. After diving into our budget I wanted to share a few places where we are trying to manage spending, and a few budgeting wins lately. If you'd like to see more about our budget, last year I wrote an overview post about how we manage our finances and a post about our... Read more →

I'm ready to shift into a summer mindset. And good thing because summer weather is knocking at our door and the kids are done with school next Thursday! In my previous post I shared how we're designing our summer with activities for the kids, daily routines, and family fun. Today I'd like to share how we're designing our summer in terms of my mindset, summer eating + drinking, and everyday joys. If you'd like more ideas, I wrote about designing my summer last year as well. Summer mindset: be where you are During the summer we don't have as many... Read more →

I can't believe it's time for my "designing our summer" blog posts again, which I really enjoyed writing last year (kid summer, my summer). But here we are with a week and a half of school left!! Today I'll share what we're thinking in terms of summer kid activities, daily routines, and family fun. Later this week I'll share a post with ideas for how I'm designing summer for myself as well. Summer big picture Here's a fun little realization I've had this year: as much as I dislike the extreme heat of summer, I kind of love planning for... Read more →

Hello, friends! Our palo verde is in peak bloom and as I glance up from writing this I'm met with a view out the window of golden yellow blooms drifting down from branches of bright green. I love this time of year when our front yard becomes blanketed in gold as the blooms fall and keep their yellow color even as they dry out. The Phoenix Valley cities really should advertise our palo verde blossom season along the lines of D.C.'s cherry blossom season. It's truly so beautiful to see trees bursting in bright gold blooms this time of year.... Read more →

Hi, friends! This is an early morning coffee date for me, written in an unusually quiet house because I had the house all to myself on Saturday night through Sunday morning. I'm sipping my usual home brewed hot half-caf coffee with a combo of cinnamon churro Nutpods (I found this locally at Sprouts) and 2% Fairlife milk. With my coffee I'm having a homemade chocolate chip cookie made the proper way which is with pecans. One of my favorite things in life is eating a leftover dessert with my morning coffee so together with a quiet house, Sunday morning was... Read more →