Winter Break is officially over, but to summarize, here are my favorite things that I loved from Winter Break (and I hope you all had a great break! Can’t believe it is 2025!)
1. Sunsets
Taken in Mexico — there is nothing like seeing the sun set over the Pacific Ocean.
Just a couple of days left until Winter Break…and we have squeezed in so many fun activities in the city. If you happen to be in NYC in the next couple of weeks, highly suggest doing the following:
Is there anything more beautiful than Radio City Hall?
Tusia’s bestie performed at the start of the Rockettes, which gave us an excuse to buy tickets and go see the Rockettes. Always puts you in the holiday spirit! And her bestie ROCKED it. Future rockette!
In our jammed pack time out west, we had our annual Food Eating Tour. Last year, we did San Francisco with Avital tours, but this year, our hostess picked the East Bay with a different company, Edible Excursions. It is now becoming an annual activity — to eat EVEN more after Thanksgiving meal — and I love it oh so much. I absolutely loved our tour this year — our guide was incredible (Rebecca), the food ridiculously delicious, and we experienced new cuisine together as a family — which I really loved. Highly, highly recommend.
Edible Excursions has been around for 20 years! Check them out if you are in the Bay Area!
WHO KNEW THAT YOU NEEDED TO GET A SCALP TREATMENT? Our dearest friend, Katie, told us about it (she drove from Sonoma down to Burlingame for this treatment), and so we added it to our itinerary of activities for Thanksgiving break. Tusia is obsessed with her scalp — probably in an unhealthy way — so she was dying for this treatment and so excited to try it out. I had never heard of this treatment before, and love trying new things — so it was for sure worth it. Zen Scalp Studio.
Totally random — but apparently all the rage. First, they look at your scalp with a camera so they can assess your scalp and its needs. It almost made me gag because it was so gross — like SO GROSS — but I went through with it nonetheless.
Over Thanksgiving break, we went on our annual trip to Northern California (well, we go to Northern California a lot more than once a year, but we have done it the past three Thanksgivings…). It was a nonstop fun filled weekend, not just with food, but with tons of activities. Hands down, one of the highlights was glass blowing. I mean, what is more fun than creating a holiday ornament! A BIG shout out to our hosts (sister from another mister) for organizing every single activity and finding all these fun experiences for us to do together — love doing life (and / or glass blowing) together.
It was a drive from where we were staying — but well worth it. Located on Mare Island, it is a random studio, but has everything you need to blow glass!
Recently, I came across a booth at a farmer’s market with the most incredibly happy and delightful garlands. Ever since I saw them, I am trying to figure out (a) how to make them (b) what I would do with them. Take a look at these insane beauties.
Ombre of colors.
This morning when I was walking the dog, I was in disbelief that there were Christmas lights on so many of the stores along Madison Avenue….but then I realized, we are 2/3 done with November and it is almost December….how did this happen? In any case, Christmas light season here we are. And here is what I am currently loving.
When I went to visit Cruzzie, I thought it would be nice to bring him and his friends something from NYC to CA. It had to be compact, easy to travel with, and something everything would like — which turns out to be candy. Bonbon candy. It was a huge hit and worth lugging it across the country.
During my California visit to see Cruzzie at Thacher, I also had the chance to spend a couple days with a beloved friend who moved to Montecito. Not only do I love my friend dearly, but I also love Montecito. It is the most picturesque, paradise, perfect place. This visit, a new bakery, Oat Bakery, opened up at The Montecito Country Mart and OAT MY GOD, (I love puns but can’t take credit for this one — it is from their website) it is so amazing. We went to get a little croissant / baguette / sweetness deliciousness, and three minutes after we left, I went BACK to get more.
The cutest bakery – The Oat Bakery.
Last weekend, I had the privilege of going to see my son at boarding school in Ojai, California. Although I had been there three weeks before to attend Family Weekend, I wanted another chance to just go see Cruzzie and his friends, and be with him for a relaxed weekend. It was an absolute incredible time — not just because I spent precious time with my boy, but also because I stayed in a secret gem hotel, the Turtle Conservancy.
The entry way.
One of my favorite days of the year in NYC is Marathon Day. There is an electric feel everywhere you go — so many people with smiles, cheering people on for accomplishing something they dreamed of doing, an inexplainable excitement. Truly a magical day in the city. The second best thing to RUNNING the marathon, is cheering all the runners on. Since this year, I ran the Chicago Marathon and have been dealing with a nagging injury (I can barely run right now, which is devastating, but resting it is the best thing for it), I opted out of running the NYC marathon, and instead cheered everyone on. And what a glorious day it was! With Tusia and two of her friends, we decided to make signs to go cheer everyone on at mile 25. Making signs was a great activity in itself!
The first problem was trying to find poster board. We didn’t think about making signs until. the day of, and on Sunday morning, no store nearby had poster boards. So I had to get creative with how to make a poster board — in this case, I had a big gift bag, that I cut into parts, put white paper on the side, and taped it all together. You do what you gotta do!
OK, this might be old news for most, but I just found this out so I had to share! And yes, I am a boomer and bad with technology. DID YOU KNOW that you can find out the type of plant / flower / dog / any information on your photo when you take a photo with your iPhone? It is GENIUS.
So you click on the photo and there is a button with ‘I” on it, and it tells you the type of tree.
Part two currently loving, here we are! Short week (traveled back from CA on Monday and it has flown by!) and yet felt like I accomplished quite a bit. Here is what I am loving part deux.
1. Clever Scaffolding in NYC
HOW SMART AND COOL IS THIS scaffolding on the Louis Vuitton store? GENIUS.
WELP, October here we are! (or actually mid October!) It has been a whirlwind month of the Chicago Marathon and then visiting weekend at my son’s boarding school. Maybe life will slow down now??? Or not…but in the meantime, here is what I am currently loving!
1. Cruzzie’s Dining Hall
Cruzzie’s school, The Thacher School, is located in Ojai, California. It is the dreamiest place I have ever been — not just the academics, people, community, program, ethics, but also just the pure beauty of the school. Here is the dining hall at dinner. LOOK AT THAT SUNSET. You can eat outside. IT IS INCREDIBLE.
What a treat! A last minute trip to Storm King — 500-acre outdoor museum located in theHudson Valley — where I have visited with the family several times before but this time, I went with some friends, and had a personal guided trip which meant GOLF CARTS, not excessive walking, so much interesting information. Highly recommend making the trek to visit Storm King — especially in the Fall foliage and glorious colors — and if you can get a tour, even better. I feel like I attended a class and learned so much.
The leaves, the colors, the sunshine, the art!
Everywhere I turn in Central Park, women are wearing weighted vests. Literally — every women in her 40-50-60s! All of us perimenopausal women are wearing these contraptions! It is apparently the new trend — and also very good for us — so of course, I had to get on the bandwagon and try it out myself.
Less than 30 bucks, thank you Amazon. I opted for the 8 pound vest — which sounds light, but is actually quite heavy.
Almost October — last licks of summer (even though it is September). Here is what I am loving at the end of this month!
1. Funny Meme
SO. TRUE.
You know how small the world is? Small — but here is an example of how small it actually is. When we were trying to figure out if Thacher was the right school for Cruz or not, we were put in touch with a NYC parent who has kids attend Thacher. This woman, happened to be the owner of Tatter Texile. I had no idea what Tatter was, but when I told my mom, she explained that Tatter is a textile store / workshop / library that she takes a million of zoom classes from. So when this summer I became interested in basket weaving, my mom signed me up for a basket class AT Tatter. I loved every minute of it — not just making the basket, but meeting the owner (Jordana — lovely human), being crafty, and getting a taste of Tatter and its beauty! Tatter offers a slew of different classes in all different art forms — highly recommend checking it out!
The beautiful library – I LOVE the sofa.
One of my favorite go-to-presents is a Sola Cube — what is a sola cube? Designed by Koichi Yoshimura, it is a handmade piece of art by Japanese craftsmen that contains a real plant. They make a great touch to a nightstand, or somewhere where you can see the beauty of real nature and think of the plant inside. I especially like the dandelion, a symbol of hope and wishes, that is also a beautiful fluffy round ball.
A ton of different variations — but I still love the dandelion the most.
Over two weeks ago, we dropped Cruzzie, my 9th grader off at school. Yes, he is at boarding school. No, it is not punishment. Yes, it is exciting. Yes, I miss him like crazy. Yes, he is in California and it is far away from NYC. But Thacher, is absolutely the best place for him and we could not be more excited and thrilled for him and this new chapter in his life. I love Thacher SOOOOOOO much and have to share some of the photos of his school just so you have more of a perspective on his life right now (because, sadly, he will not be pictured in many posts since he will be gone most of the time!)
Thacher is in Ojai — which is in Southern California. It is super hip, gorgeous, and beyond beautiful. So jealous of the location of his school! And I know Cruzzie is thrilled to not take photos — look how thrilled he looks here.
OK, continued from last week’s blog post of pressing flowers, we did it. We pressed them. We made them into bookmarks. (Almost ready — not quite — still need to figure out last minute touches!)
I took them out of the flower presser….
In our final days in Oregon, we went to a U-Pick Flower Farm (believe it or not, our first time at this gorgeous farm!) and collected the most insanely beautiful flowers.
Hot day, so Stevie would try to hide below the flowers. Didn’t really work, but hey, like the effort!
We wandered the flower farm for about an hour and picked the most gorgeous flowers.
Look at this dahlia! Unbeliveably beautiful!
Our final collection.
We went to the farm, not just to see the pretty flowers, but to create art with dried pressed flowers! It takes time — but we first needed the flowers!
Getting to work.
Putting the flowers to be pressed and dried.
Smooching the flowers for a week — stay tuned!
We loved going to this flower farm, and if you have a chance to do something similarly, definitely go. In the meantime, we will be waiting patiently for our flowers to be pressed and dried to create something (bookmarks)!
It NEVER rains in Eugene during the summer. I mean, it ALWAYS rains in Eugene during the year — but NEVER in the summer. I can’t remember the last time it rained in June / July / August — except this past weekend, on Saturday, we had thunder and lightening and a downpour of rain. We could have easily just stayed inside and watched Emily in Paris, but instead, we ventured to a good childhood’s friend’s house to play games with the kids. What sounded like a boring day, ended up being SO fun. We played two new games — both huge hits and fun for the kids and adults, alike.
This is a Swedish game that is a lawn game (we played inside the barn). You have to aim to hit different sticks, but it also requires some strategy and thought. Fun game — Tusia ended up winning one round.
Not just about aim though — requires some thinking! Huge hit for the youngest to the oldest players. We are definitely going to purchase this game — so fun
Fall is around the corner, but still trying to soak up every inch of sunshine and moment of summer. Here is what I am currently loving Part DEUX of August 2024. And please share with me what you are loving too — I always love hearing what people are loving at the moment.
1. Tru Fru
HOLY CRAP THESE ARE ADDICTING. The best little bit of sweetness and dessert. We love them in both dark and milk chocolate — but especially the milk chocolate raspberries. You must get. To die for. Frozen raspberries coated in white chocolate and then milk.
2. Rafting
Last week, on August 8th 2024, we did a little ceremony to manifest the good! What is Lion’s Gate Portal? GOOD QUESTION! It is an astrological term describing the alignment of the sun in Leo, the star Sirius, which is the brightest star as seen from Earth, the constellation Orion’s Belt and the Earth. Basically, it is a day reserved for the practice of manifestation. August 8th 2024 — 8 – 8- 8 (get it the 2+0+2+4 = 8)
So, we charged the crystals during the day.
Over the weekend, we went blueberry picking again, and decided to have a bake off that afternoon with the blueberries we picked!
The blueberry patch is located on the McKenzie River. It is a farther drive than the farm we usually go to, but they have 80 different types of blueberries and it is all organic and super beautiful, so it’s worth the extra drive.
