travel

Merci Montecito

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Last weekend. Cruzzie and I spent the weekend in Montecito / Ojai / Los Angeles AKA HEAVEN. All three of those places are my favorite places in the world — they are beyond beautiful and I just love the area so much. So when coming home, I knew I needed to bring a piece of Montecito with me. This trip, it meant cookie dough from Merci — the best coffee, cafe, food (but let’s be honest, everything in Montecito is “the best,” because, truly, it is. But yes, back to cookie dough, yes, I traveled across the country with cookie dough, and lord, was it worth it.

 

Ah, California. I love you so much.

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Spring Break 2024 Highlights

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Sunday Scaries ending Spring Break is REAL. We are ALL feeling it……the two week break went by in a flash, or was so long, did it even really happen? Well, here we are! Monday, April 1st! Back to school (for the kids, and for me!) and so here are the highlights of the past two weeks where we traveled and explored. We were fortunate enough to have three legs — Skiing in Oregon with my parents, Mexico beach vacation the 4 of us, and then ending up in Palm Beach with just me and the kiddos. Here are the highlights:

 

OREGON

 

Cross Country skiing with my parents everyday, while Ken took the kids downhill. I no longer downhill but the kids love it (and Ken is a great dad to take them every day to ski together), but I much prefer the exercise, nature, silence, and togetherness of cross country. Especially with my parents!

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The Oregon Coast

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The Oregon Coast is one of the most majestic and unique places to visit. It is not tropical or very warm, but it is a scenic escape from inland. On very hot days in Eugene, we love to go to the Oregon coast where it will easily be 30 degrees colder. Also, when it is smokey in Eugene (which unfortunately it has been the past week due to the wildfires), the coast is a nice relief with the wind and little to no smoke. If you ever go to Oregon, I highly suggest visiting the coastline and seeing all the natural beauty the state has to offer.

 

One of my favorite places to visit on the coast is inland at a friend’s cabin. Her house is on a lake (which is 1/2 mile away from the ocean). You can canoe and kayak and play on the tunes — but you are on a lake.

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Currently Loving July 2023

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…and just like that, we are almost to August. Of course, when it comes close to August, I start panicking about the end of summer. Summer is BY FAR my favorite season — the weather, the freedom, the travel, I love it all. And August is like a BIG ‘OL SUNDAY…..So, trying to focus on the present moment, here is what I am currently loving!

 

1. Crochet Top

 

Crochet is definitely having a moment this summer, and I love this top. It is great over bathing suits, or on a hike 🙂 I love it so much.

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Biologique Recherche Headquarters

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Introduced to Biologique Recherche skincare products over a decade ago, my favorite thing to do in Paris, is to go get a facial at the Headquarters of Biologique Recherche. The headquarters is located at the base of the Champs Elysees in Paris, (just so happens to be 2 blocks away from my in-laws apartment, so easy to get to). It is a peaceful, serene getaway — not only to pamper oneself with a facial, but the prices for the services AND the products are a fraction of what they are in the USA. So I love to go there and stock up!

 

This is what you see from the street — just a doorway.

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Paris Recommendations 2023

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I know everyone has their list of favorite places in Paris and what’s the best thing to do, but here is my current list of favorite activities I did this past month while in Paris.

 

Restaurants:

Creatures

 

This restaurant was recommended to me by a french friend — and it was perfect in every way. VEGETABLES, ONLY FRENCH, ROOF TOP, BEAUTIFUL. I loved every second.

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Thanksgiving 2022

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Just got back from a whirlwind away on the west coast in the Bay Area. We decided to visit our best friends from Stanford for the holiday, and it was truly one of the best weekends yet. We laughed, ate, ate some more, ate even more, laughed some more, and just had great quality time together. Here is what we did (and great recommendations for anyone going to the Bay Area, too!)

 

MUIR WOODS

 

National Forest north of San Francisco in Marin. A beautiful, relaxing, and incredible sigh of redwood trees. Redwood trees are supposed to be healing, and just being in their presence felt magical. They are HUGE and ANCIENT.

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Provence 2022 Highlights

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After Spain, we traveled to Provence where we spent two HOT but glorious weeks. We just returned this past weekend to the States and I am already missing Europe so much. It was a wonderful trip and I am already planning next year’s summers’ adventures. We didn’t do much, but it was all simple and easy, and I loved it all. Here is a look at what we did.

 

The view from my window. We were located in the village and had access to everything right there. We could go to the gelato store in 1 minute and 30 seconds, and same with the bakery. Which of course, what we did twice a day….

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Spain 2022 Highlights

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I was fortunate enough to spend the last 2 weeks in Southern Spain with my parents, daughter, and Ken (for a week) where we relaxed and explored together. It was refreshing and rejuvenating to leave the US and get fresh air and tastes of a different culture. Here are the highlights:

 

Every morning, I ran. Over the two weeks, I ran 98 miles. Up hills, down hills, and NEVER on flat surfaces. It was the hardest place I have EVER EVER RUN in my entire life, and I hope that it makes me a stronger (and faster) runner. Each morning, I would dread my run, but I loved it so much afterwards. Plus, it gave me the opportunity to explore my surroundings and really have a feel for the area.

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Tricount App

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Thanks to a girls trip, I discovered a new life changing app, Tricount. This app helps organize the expenses for all the different people involved. For example, this past weekend, instead of four people constantly splitting the bill, we just rotated who paid what and put it in the app. At the end of the trip, it calculated who owed what to whom. It was also very helpful as different people were present for different portions of the expenses, and this helped keep track of it all.

 

Girls trip — where I was introduced to Tricount!

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Traveling During COVID-19

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I have had a lot of questions asked about flying during COVID so I thought I would write a post about my experience! First of all, I know that everyone has their own level of comfort with this pandemic and so one must always do what feels best for themselves and their situation. As we had already flown in April (from FL to NYC), we were not scared or anxious about flying and knew the airline protocols and practices. We felt confident in our ability to protect ourselves from germs and knew that we would be safe.

 

1. Wear Masks

 

It is required to wear a mask during the whole process of flying — boarding, on flight, and deplaning. And absolutely everyone adhered to that rule. You saw a whole variation of masks on the planes — some people also had the plastic shield on TOP of the masks, some people wore goggles, some had balaclavas and some people wore gloves. We simply wore our masks and that felt comfortable and good.

 

California loving. How can one not WANT to fly out here???? We didn’t wear masks on the beach but we were far from people.

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Que Water Bottle

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Goodbye plastic bottles (be gone!), hello collapsible water bottle! Who knew that a single tiny little bottle could bring so much joy? This lightweight bottle is perfect for traveling or everyday. You just smoooosh it and it is half the original size. No more lugging around heavy glass bottles or bulky bottles. This is the perfect solution for everyday on the move. Que bottles.

 

BIG — fill it up with water!

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Paris June 2019 Highlights

Josie Girl 5 Comments

Bonjour! My apologies for the slow posts these past two weeks — it was quite difficult to get on the internet to do any posts especially because I had a major computer issue a…..turns out, all is okay with my computer but the head of the charger died — who knew that that was a thing? In any case, I am now back in the USA *with* a working computer, so back to normal post schedules. I wanted to first share with you all some of the pictures and highlights of my time in Paris with the kids — we did go to the South of France for an amazing trip as well, and I will post those later. In the meantime, enjoy these photos!

 

In the Tuileries, one of our favorite activities is the trampoline park. It is an old school little hut with a man that got to know us because we went so often. Everyday when we would get there he would say hello and when we would leave, he would say “See you tomorrow.”

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Quick Paris Trip With Josie Natori

Josie Girl 6 Comments

This past weekend, I was a true jetsetter and flew to Paris for a getaway with my mother-in-law. Yes, spoiled. Yes, privileged.  Yes, extravagant. But oh so fun and wonderful. As I age (thank you, 40), I realize that time together with loved ones becomes more and more important. And even though we live in the same city, I rarely have the opportunity to sit down with my mother-in-law just to be together.  We had a great time, simply walking around, shopping, eating, drinking champagne, conversing, and soaking up the beauty of Paris. Here are pictures. Enjoy!

 

I am a giant compared to my oh so glamorous MIL….

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Spring Break 2019 Part 2

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Last week, we finished off spring break with good quality fun in Central Oregon with my parents. Generally when we are in Central Oregon, we go to Sunriver, but this time, we went to Black Butte Ranch. Beyond beautiful with spectacular views, we had a great time skiing, walking, lounging, watching movies, building puzzles, and being together. Enjoy this oversharing of family photos!

 

Family — the one shot that we got (minus Ken, who went back to NYC)!

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Spring Break 2019 Part 1

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Spring Breeeeeakkkkkkkk! After a long and grueling cold winter in New York City, nothing feels as good as warm weather, sunshine, and the beach. For the first week of our break, we went to Imanta in Punta de Mita, Mexico with my in-laws. It was rustic AND luxurious, eco friendly, secluded, beyond beautiful, and very relaxing. Take a look at the pictures, enjoy the sharing overload!

 

The kids are at a great age where they can play in the pool alone and not be supervised at all times…..The kids loved to go skinny dipping in the pool (good old Hippy Roots!)

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Palm Springs January 2019

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In my last overly-personal-post, here is my round up of pictures on our second week of vacation in Palm Springs, California. Thank you in advance for looking at the photos and learning more about Palm Springs — and I promise you that next week, we will be back to NORMAL posts that are not overly personal or sappy……After Sunriver, we decided to spend a week with our best friends from Stanford (who live in San Francisco) somewhere warm(ish), so we picked Palm Springs. I actually spent time in Palm Springs growing up as my childhood best friend’s parents had a home there, so I had fond memories. Although NOT warm this year, we had a wonderful time exploring a new place for the family and quality time with our friends — they are friends that are family, where they  know you so well (that they can give you unsolicited feedback) and will always be close to us despite the fact we live on different coasts.

 

Palm Springs is really retro and is a serious throwback to older times. We had amazing meals, all arranged by our friends (who did the research and reservations — thank you!).

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Sunriver December 2018

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So before we get *totally* back to regular posts, I want to show pictures of our first week over Winter Break in Sunriver, Oregon. For the loyal readers, you know that Sunriver is a place that I have gone to my whole life, and as a result is truly a special spot. Not only is it gorgeous, but I have loads of fun memories of skiing, relaxing, and family time with the whole Proskurowski Family. I love that I get to share this place with my kids now, and that they get to experience the beauty and perfection of Winter Wonderland in Oregon. Take a look at the pictures!

 

We were fortunate enough to overlap with my brother and his kids (unfortunately, my sister in law had to work) for a couple of days. The kids love each other deeply…cousin love is REAL.

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Domino Park – Tacocina

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Yesterday, we went on a little adventure to Domino Park in Williamsburg (in Brooklyn). This new park opened in June and was created in the ruins of the Domino Sugar Factory. Designed by the same firm as The High Line (James Corner Field Operations), this water front six acre green space is a terrific new addition to the city. Although we froze our bottoms off, it was great fun to run around, breathe fresh air, and look at the views of our incredibly beautiful city. I can’t wait to come back on a sunny Spring Day (which will not happen for half a year….)

 

These cranes previously occupied the site remain, and have been painted in the park’s signature turquoise.

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Austin 2018

Josie Girl 6 Comments

This week, I went to Austin, Texas with a friend from New York to visit two other dear friends that live there. We left on Monday post kids drop off and then returned back to NYC for pick up Wednesday. It was a quick trip but so good to get away and see friends I have not seen in a long time. We did nothing special or extraordinary other than spend quality time together with loads of nachos and tequila. I told them that all I really wanted to do was eat as many nachos as possible — and literally, that is what we did. We came home with both our bellies and hearts full. Worth the travel and logistical planning just to be with friends I don’t get to see enough of. Here are pictures of all the nachos I ate!

 

Margarita #1. We got off the plane and went straight to lunch….and margaritas.

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Seattle Fall Weekend 2018

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The past two Falls, I have made a trip out to Seattle with my son to have special alone time with him and his cousins. My brother lives in Seattle with his wife, three kids, two dogs, and two cats. As a lover of the Pacific Northwest, I love this trip to go visit him and just spend quality family time together. We don’t do much while there but it is nice to be all together. Here are some pictures of the weekend.

 

My brother’s house. ISN’T IT SO CUTE? Even with the scary decorations (my brother’s kids wanted it to be the spookiest house in the neighborhood), it is so cute. And so Fall.

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Treibdesign Socks

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As mentioned on Monday, my childhood friend,Kaspar and his wife, Ali, are back in the US and creating beautiful art and inspiration. Kaspar’s newest addition include prints, as well as “wave” socks. I love my friends and love supporting their creations and ideas, especially when they are as great as these.

 

Treibdesign stems from the word “treiben” which means “Transitive: to propel, to force, to produce, to sprout
Intransitive: to drift, to float”

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Treibdesign on Traveling

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I feel incredibly fortunate that a lot of creative and inspiring friends come from my hometown, Eugene, Oregon. Not sure if it was the water we drank growing up or the liberal hippy air; but somehow most Eugenians happen to be extremely talented. Kaspar Heinrici, a friend from middle school and high school just happens to be one of those people. Not only is he extremely fun, charming, interesting, and smart; but he is also artistic, talented, and motivated. When he has an idea, he gets it done. Kaspar is married (go figure) to the coolest, most beautiful, sincere, smart, introspective, and talented Native New Yorker, Ali Filippelli. Kaspar and Ali have spent the past 18 months traveling and seeing the world — their stories and pictures are remarkable and it has been incredibly inspiring to follow their travels. I was able to sit down with them and discuss their traveling — please read!  A must!

 

Ali and Kaspar.

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