So basically, my August loves are the same as July’s loves. I mean, same same different. Same type of thing, but different at same time. But in the spirit of sharing (over sharing sometimes, too!), here are my loves for August.
1. Fresh Peaches
The problem is trying to figure out what to do with all the peaches. We had a bake off and had three different types of desserts with peaches — so delicious.
Halfway through summer denial, but here we are. Mid July. And here is what I am loving right now!
1. Breaking 4
Everywhere you go in Eugene, there is some type of homage / support for runners. This is for Faith Kipyogen who is trying to break a 4 minute mile….
One of the difficulties of having two kids in two different schools (in two different states!), means that they have different spring breaks. Our son, Cruz, had the first two weeks of March off, and my daughter, Tusia, has the last two weeks of March off. FUN FUN FUN! So for Cruzzie’s second week, I went with my friend Catherine, her son, and another one of their friends to Crans-Montana and Paris. Crans- Montana — NEVER HEARD OF IT BEFORE — but you should keep on your radar, because it is such an incredible place.
Crans-Montana is a ski town in Switzerland. It is a 90 minute drive from Geneva, and super easy to get in and out of. And don’t you love meat, cheese, and pickles?
At the VERY start of break (yes, I am very behind on all posts and catch ups), we went to one of our favorite dumplings spots, Din Tai Fung, and also to a fun immersive art experience, Luna Luna. I highly suggest going to both — for taste, color, experience!
Luna Luna
Lots of color — and super cool to learn about everything. (It was VERY cold and we stayed in our coats the entire time)
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.
Sorry for going radio silent last week — it was just one of those weeks! But I am back, and have posts don’t cha worry! Here is what I am loving this month! (And can you believe it is August?!?! How in the world did that happen?)
1. Seattle
Drove up last week to Seattle to visit my brother and his family. Nothing like jumping in to Lake Washington as the sun set….And no, I am a wimp. Only the brave people jump in — it was too cold for me.
As mentioned last week, I am obsessed with sea glass. I am equally as obsessed with Space Invaders. So, this week, I combined the two! LOOK!
When we were in Europe, we found 52 space invaders! 49 in Paris, 2 in Menorca, and 1 in Sainte Maxima. This was the last one on our last full day in Europe! So exciting.
I posted about Poppie Press two and a half years ago in 2022, but I love the albums so much, I have to post about them again! They are so amazing and just make me so happy (and if you are anything like me, they will make you happy, too!). Family photo albums of that year put together in one beautiful album. There is nothing I love more than family, photos, and being organized!
My collection so far! And I have made made them since 2014 but they are in the works!
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!
FIRST OF ALL -Happy New Year! 2024 — here we are, (and let’s make it a great year)! Secondly, I am so sorry for disappearing. Yes, I disappeared. In December, I taught, got sick, went on trips to Florida and Montana, and then came back to NYC to just jump right back into teaching…..it’s been a blur. Oh and yeah, the first week back teaching, I got sick again — damn kids and their germs!!! But I am back. It will be my first time ever trying to teach full time and write this blog, so it might take a while to get in to the rhythm, but I love this blog, so not giving it up! So thank you for being patient with me as I figure out how to do everything in one day! In the meantime, I want to share pictures with you from Montana because this vacation was spectacular. One of a kind, and I feel so lucky to have gone.
The colors — all the colors — night and day are one of a kind. Spectacular. Here we are with the six kids taking sleds up a teeny tiny hill to sled down.
One of my favorite people I follow on Instagram is a baker — Upper Sweetside — who happens to be a mother from my kids’ preschool. Everything she bakes is fun, creative, and delicious. She not only cares about the look of the cake / cookie / treat, but also the taste. My type of dessert! Pretty and delicious. She recently posted Taylor Swift cookies, so I purchased several, to accompany us to see the Taylor Swift movie.
I couldn’t decide which one to get, so I ordered a mixture of them all.
I know not all of you are runners, so this post might not be that interesting to you, but just for my own records, wanted to put it out there to the universe. Also — if you ever want to run a marathon — you should. I love it so much — it is a journey and a process — bot the training and the race itself. This past Sunday, not only did my son turn 14 (!!!) but I ran my 21st marathon at my favorite marathon, the Chicago Marathon. It was a great day — perfectly chilly weather and a happy outcome.
As always, I left on Saturday morning for Chicago, and went straight to the expo to pick up my bib. I hate expos — they are so nerve wracking and stressful, and I much prefer to not discuss my race with strangers…I was in and out as fast as I could be, and asked someone to take this photo. I always get a little sad when I am at expos alone — it is usually something you share with others, but alas, I traveled to the race alone and on this rare weekend, my friends that I normally stay with, weren’t there.
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.
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:
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.
This past weekend, I attended the Bat Mitzah of the daughter of a dear friend. It was an incredibly beautiful event — everything was done perfectly. The ceremony, the flowers, the food, the music, everything. As it had been a long time since I had attended a Bat Mitzvah (I had one waaaaaay back when, when it was VERY different), I did not know what to wear. Luckily, I found a pair of pants that I became obsessed with, and so I decided to wear them. I love them so much that I wanted to share them with you all! They are LACE pants! Yes, they show some skin, but you just need to wear Natori Feathers Undies (my absolute favorite undies!) in black lace, and then it all matches!
The lace pants.
For the first time in my uncle’s life, he recounted his Holocaust stories publicly this past week. Every year for the past 24 years at my daughter’s school, there is an Upper School assembly for Holocaust Survivors to share their stories. After a discussion with a faculty member of the school on my father’s family’s history, a call was placed in early March, inviting my uncle to speak to the school. Even with such short notice, Dr. Wlodek Proskurowski (my uncle), at the age of 87, decided it was time for him to speak so flew from Los Angeles (where he lives) to NYC. And what a memorable event, it was!
My uncle is in incredible health – and at the age of 87 is very physically and mentally active. He hikes every week with the Sierra Club, and is very involved with the Plato Club of LA.
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!)
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.
Almost 2 weeks have passed since the NYC Marathon, and although it feels like a lifetime ago, I still think about the run all the time. More than any other marathon due to the fact that I ran with Eddie, the blind athlete, and our unfortunate ending of the race. Eddie continues to be an inspiration to me — blind, and yet fully loving and appreciative of life. He does not let his disability define him and seeks challenges, joy, and happiness in everything he does. I hope to be more like Eddie in my daily life. This was our most recent exchange.
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….
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.
My 12 year old, Cruz, loves skateboarding. All summer long in Oregon, we went to various skate parks and it definitely became a passion of his. Now that we are in NYC, he goes with his besties to Brooklyn to an indoor skate park on a weekly basis. He loves it, and we love that it is a form of exercise, socialization, and an opportunity for him to do something he loves. So we decided to get him a half pipe for our home in Pound Ridge. This half pipe installation was quite a process — we had to dedicate 2 full days of putting it together (well not me personally, but I was involved with carrying the pieces from the truck to the deck).
The truck was supposed to arrive any time between 9 and 5, and showed up at 4:30 pm. It then said that it couldn’t go up the driveway, but we convinced the very kind driver to try. And it worked. There is NO way I could have carried everything up the driveway. Even with 3 of us.
This past weekend, I completed my 16th marathon and my 5th (or 6th) Chicago Marathon. It was a crazy busy weekend with first a visit from my beloved brother and his wife, Cruzzie’s 12th birthday, and then flying to Chicago and running the marathon and flying home. It was overall a great full weekend and now I am exhausted!
The expo was INSANE. Usually, I am in and out in 20 minutes, but due to COVID regulations and checking proof of vaccine, it was incredibly delayed. Took over 2 hours to pick up my number. And always awkward for me to ask a stranger to take a picture of myself holding up my number, but hey, YOLO.
The start of this school year has felt a little off — whether it is COVID or the city or just life — it has not been as peaceful or calm as I would like. So with the advice and encouragement from two separate friends, I started writing in a gratitude journal. And this simple act of acknowledging five points every. single. night has made a tremendous difference. It is just a subtle shift of my energy that instead of focusing on the negative or what I have not done, I see all that I have and what I am thankful for. One tip was to make the fifth point about myself — which obviously is harder to write down — but it really has helped. In the two plus weeks that I have made this a part of my nightly routine, I clearly see the benefits of this practice. I actually look forward to writing the words down and having a journal full of positivity and gratitude. I highly recommend this daily homework and see such beauty and strength that has emerged from my own recognition of what I have.
My calendar on the left, and my gratitude journal on the right. I use just a dotted moleskine (I dont like lines).
This summer came and went. It was a good solid summer. Nothing spectacular and extraordinary, but simple and straightforward. We hiked and biked, swam, read, and watched movies. We ate at our favorite Japanese and taco restaurants. Visited tons of parks and playgrounds. And spent all our time outdoors. I miss the west coast and the nature already….
We hiked MILES and MILES and MILES. Tusia went to one week of camp the entire summer, so the rest of the time was Mama time — which meant, a lot of exercise outdoors.
After my Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim run, I was sent a box from a dear friend congratulating me on my run. Not only was I deeply touched by her thoughtfulness and generosity, but I fell instantly in love with the present she sent. It was three items that were SO me and SO right up my alley. It was a personalized gift from Fox Box, a company that allows you to gift thematic, expertly curated options or allows you to build the perfect gift box for any occasion.
Some options of the ready to ship boxes. So many great options!
My box was perfectly packaged and beautiful.
Wrapped and chic.
My three items — so perfect! Apple Cider Vinegar, Bath salts, and a first aid kid! So perfect for post ultra marathon!
The already built boxes are perfect for any occasion — graduation, get well, nightstand, housewarming, SOOOO many. They are so beautifully packaged and the items inside are top quality, chic, and feel personal and special. And you can build your box to be even more specific to the occasion and friendship. I am equally pleased to have such a caring and generous friend as well as to have been introduced to this company, Fox Box! Check it out!!!!
