vacation

Mother’s Day in Paris

Josie Girl 14 Comments

Bonjour! Hello from NYC after a whirlwind trip celebrating Mother’s Day with my special mother-in-law Josie Natori! As most of you know, I have a deep profound love for Paris and feel that it is my second home (Cruzzie corrected me and said “third’ — after NYC and Oregon, so true true). As it had been over a year since I had last been there, I was dying to get there. So my mother-in-law and I (just the two of us), jumped on a plane and went there for the long weekend. And what a special and wonderful treat it was. I am currently cross-eyed from no sleep (Jet Lag and I don’t mix), and we #ShoppedTillWeDropped, but it was so special and fun; a weekend to always remember. Take a look.

 

The view from the apartment. There is just something so special and glamorous of the buildings there. #BuildingEnvy

The view from the apartment. There is just something so special and glamorous about the buildings there. #BuildingEnvy

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Puerto Rico 2016 Highlights

Josie Girl 10 Comments

After our wonderful vacation in Mexico with my parents, we headed to Puerto Rico with the Natori Seniors…YUP #hardlife and YUP #travelwithparents. We had a luxurious, lavish, relaxing, and fun 5 days (just like last year. Same vacation, different year). Take a look at the pictures….wish I was back there NOW! NYC is flipping cold and un-Spring like.

 

Traveling to Mexico to Puerto Rico is not so much fun, but what is really unfun is a 4.5 hour layover in Dallas. So we had fun by taking the airport monorail for a good 45 minutes (circle after circle after circle)

Bucerias, Mexico to Puerto Rico isn’t exactly a direct flight.  We had 4 hour layover in Dallas, so we killed time (at the kids’ request) by taking the airport monorail in circles for 45 minutes.  #KillingTime

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Mexico 2016 Highlights

Josie Girl 4 Comments

Mama and Toosh in our hungarian embroidered shirts.

 

 

Like last year, we spent the first portion of Spring Break in Bucerias, Mexico at my uncle’s beach house. My mother, born and raised in Mexico City, still has two brothers that live in Mexico. And fortunately for us, one of them has a beautiful beach house in Bucerias, a sleepy-non-tourist town north of Puerto Vallarta, on the west coast of Mexico. Here are the highlights from our ten day vacation with Nana and Tata!

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Sunriver Christmas 2015

Josie Girl 10 Comments

Happy 2016 and back to reality! We are back to the routine (school, work, pressure, paying attention to time, the hustle and bustle of the city, oh me oh my!), which makes me even more nostalgic of last week’s Sunriver vacation with my family. Although my dad claims that there is “family” and “vacation” and no such thing as “family vacation,” I happen to disagree. We had the best time with my brother, sister-in-law, parents, nieces and nephew; and loved every minute of our time with them. Here are some pictures to enjoy!

 

SNOW! And lots of it! Unlike the 70 degree Christmas in NYC, the west coast was hammered with cold temperatures and lots of show -- perfect for a ski vacation!

SNOW! And lots of it! Unlike the 70 degree Christmas in NYC, the West Coast was hammered with cold temperatures and lots of snow — perfect for a ski vacation!

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Summertime in Sunriver

Josie Girl 5 Comments

Fall is in full swing and I am (incredibly) nostalgic about sunshine, bathing suits, vacation, less scheduled time, and popsicles. So throwback (#MondayMemories — such a thing, HA!) to August when we traveled with our best friends (who don’t like the internet) and all our kids to one of my favorite places to travel: Sunriver, Oregon. Growing up, we would go there twice a year for family vacations; always to ski. Winter ski trip and Spring ski trip. Only once did I go to Sunriver in the summer, when I was invited in middle school with a friends’ family. Our trip this summer did not disappoint and we thoroughly enjoyed each and every minute — activities, relaxation, and quality time all together.

 

An ice cream cone a day keeps the doctor away. A crowd favorite, ice cream (and candy) from good 'ol Goodies!

An ice cream a day keeps the doctor away. A crowd favorite, ice cream (and candy) from good ‘ol Goody’s!

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Kiini Bikini

Josie Girl 6 Comments

The Kiini bikini! This new popular all-over-the-place bikini is completely mainstream, but I am hopping on the bandwagon. Obsessed! I love the look, the colors, the vibe. This crochet bikini is handmade, so no two are alike. The classic triangle form is the perfect shape and the material embodies the bohemian Josie Girl vibe. What is not to love?

 

Crochet form.

Crochet form. (Note: this is inside out — the tag should be inside and not showing)

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Puerto Rico – Spring Break

Josie Girl 6 Comments

Happy Spring Break! As mentioned on Monday, I spent the first half of Spring Break with my family in Mexico, summarized here in 5 pictures. Now we are in Dorado Beach in Puerto Rico with my in-laws.  To keep up with the 5 picture theme and little words (shorter and funnier), here are cinco pictures of our current trip.

 

Josie Girl Blog - Puerto Rico Playground

Kids’ heaven. Playground with multiple airplanes. It is always deserted with very few people, and we are so happy to be there.

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Solo Travel = Mad Face

Josie Girl 7 Comments

Happy Monday!  I just (barely) survived my first solo travel excursion with both kids.  To make it easy, we made the trip to Mexico…. with a stopover…. and a forty minute drive (joking on the easy part).  All worth it to meet my parents on vacation (I meet Ken, who couldn’t take two weeks off,  next week), but boy, was it an effort!

 

The below (while not taken yesterday), summarizes my (our) feelings.

 

Toosh... Make a mad face

Toosh… Make a mad face

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Seattle 2014

Josie Girl 8 Comments

We just arrived in Florida after a solid week of lounging / eating / lounging / eating / lounging / eating at my brother’s house in Seattle. My brother, who happens to not just be my brother but also Ken’s best friend from college, along with his wife, 3 kids, cat and dog hosted the 4 of us, my parents, sister and mother-in-law all in their home. Gracious, open, and welcoming as always, we had the best time with them all. Thank you so much, Proskurowski-Rob family for taking us in to your beautiful home and letting us bounce off your walls for the week. And thank you to my parents, who like always, fed, spoiled, and took care of us all. Although I am wider than last week, I am more refilled with love from those closest to me. We love you so much and miss you all, already! Here are pictures to recap our vacation in Seattle.

 

Space!!! Needle! Space Needle!

Space!!! Needle! Space Needle!

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Puerto Rico Vaca

Josie Girl 8 Comments

Hola from Puerto Rico! Today is our last morning in tropical paradise before we head back to Nueva Yorka. We have been here for the past 5 days on a family vacation with the Natori Seniors. And what a perfect time we have had! I know, SUPER annoying to the (cold and snowy) New Yorkers (sorry!)…but really, it has truly been a great escape! Here are some pictures of our trip! Enjoy!

Looking up at the sky never made me so happy.

Looking up at the sky never made me so happy.

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Sunriver 2013

Josie Girl 9 Comments

We are in Florida now after an incredibly relaxing and enjoyable week in Sunriver, Oregon with my parents.  Although not as bad as last year, we missed a connection on the way out and had to rent a car and drive four hours from Portland.  No matter what a pain in the arse traveling across the country is with two kids, two car seats, a stroller and five million bags, it is worth every second to be with my parents. Enjoy the pics!

The area around the Sunriver resort is usually covered with snow this time of year. At least we got to enjoy the high desert scenery.

The area around the Sunriver resort is usually covered with snow this time of year.  Not this time.  So no ski-out cross country skiing.  At least we got to enjoy the high desert scenery.

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Coconut Lotion

Josie Girl 4 Comments

Frequent readers of the blog know that I am royally obsessed with coconuts. See here and here and here and here. And not just to drink or eat, but also to smell. The smell is so tropical and laid back, that when I smell coconut, I instantly think of vacation. Yep, vacationing in NYC with concrete, vertical, grey, massive buildings and coconut oil. Livin the vida loca.

Monoi Tiare Tahiti

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Sunriver / Mt. Bachelor

Josie Girl 15 Comments

We are back in New York after an amazing week of skiing, eating, and relaxing with the family in Oregon. We went to Sunriver, a resort 2.5 hours west of Eugene that I grew up going to my whole childhood.  While I always went in the winter and skied at Mt. Bachelor (40 minutes away), it is very popular in the summer as well, and has amazing, hiking, fishing, and golf.

For those of you looking for an “out West” ski option that is more mellow and less New York than Aspen, Jackson Hole, or Sun Valley, Sunriver is a great option.  Enjoy the pics! (For those of you who can’t make it out West, there was a great article in the Sunday Times Travel section this weekend about skiing in Maine.  I have never been, but want to go now!)

Sunriver. A 40 minute drive from the Redmond/Bend airport, which is less than a 2 hour flight from SLC and SFO.

The main lodge. We always rent a house on the property (as most people do), but there are traditional hotel rooms as well.  That’s Mt. Bachelor in the background.  Gorgeous.

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Antigua Food

Josie Girl 1 Comment

As we just returned from our babymoon on Tuesday and the food was memorable and delicious, here are some of the highlights of the yummy-ness we experienced on our President’s Day weekend holiday….

Ken's breakfast

Some people get normal breakfasts, but not Ken. Ken *always* likes to experience the local cuisine and eat whatever they suggest. Breakfasts are usually his time to experiment and explore new foods. This is salted fish with Antiguan chop. And yep, he ate it for breakfast. Oatmeal or salted fish? Easy choice for Ken!

Antigua Jam

The hotel makes their own organic jam with local fruits. I am not sure exactly what type of fruit jams they were, but in any case, they were delicious and I could not stop eating them....

Pastry basket

I am a sucker for all pastry baskets.

Coffee and juice

Each morning they had a "special juice" -- on this particular day it was papaya and pineapple. So tasty -- it was like drinking a papaya whole. And the lattes were a special treat as well.

Last weekend was a relaxing and terrific time, but we are truly looking forward to our normal family weekend routine here in NYC. Soccer class, Brooklyn Aquarium, Central Park visits, grocery shopping, cuddling, relaxing, and being together as a family. Until Friday!

— Anika Yael Natori, aka The Josie Girl.

Antigua

Josie Girl 7 Comments

For better or worse, we decided to leave our little pot of gold behind and take a weekend trip with just the two of us. We debated back and forth whether or not to go as we had never really left our Monkey behind — especially for 4 days. After lots of debates, tears, emotions, and anxiety, we both realized that this was our only chance to get away just the two of us before the storm hits (a.k.a. second baby), and so Antigua it was. Although we both missed our King Cruz more than anything, it was an incredible chance to be together and simply do n.o.t.h.i.n.g. I can’t remember the last time that I slept as much as I did, or just stared off into the distance without any real concerns…..not that we didn’t skype with Cruzzie 4 times a day and get 4 texts a day with information on how he ate, slept, etc…. but I was able to let go (a little) and just focus on us. As hard as it was, it was an absolute blast…and it’s not going to happen again for another 5 years….

Steve Jobs

Ken was engrossed with his book "Steve Jobs" the entire time. He found it inspirational, motivating, and captivating. I, too, read a great book -- "The Marriage Plot."

Resort

At our resort, each room was a little hut. It was a small and secluded area with only 25 rooms, so it was incredibly quiet, peaceful, and relaxing.

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