All That Lives Must Die I read the first book in the Mortal Coils series last year on our trip to Thailand and was waiting for a good time to break open the sequel. The story centers around twins...
Blog posts from Daily life
2012 Books: March
The Sense of an Ending I read this book on our recent trip to Chile after hearing about it on NPR. The hardest part of the book for me was getting over liking the main character. He's just not a...
yeah, I’d say she’s better
Nearly 4 weeks ago Riesling had her shoulder surgery. Besides the scar that is mostly healed, she's doing quite well as the following video attests: Her paper shredding was followed by a two+ mile...
Riesling is on the mend
The week before we left for London, we found out that pup had a mast cell tumor on her right shoulder. It was cancerous and needed to be removed, so we scheduled the surgery for the day after we got...
2012 Books: February
Room I read this on my most recent flight to London. Not only was it a quick read but I found myself thinking about the characters event after I was finished. This novel is written from the...
2012 Books: January
Inspired by two active book clubs and Holly Burns' 2011 book list, I am planning to read at least two books a month this year and I'll be posting monthly reviews and links to the books as a progress...
end of year video – 2011
I am still sorting through hundreds of photos from our recent trip to Thailand and Hong Kong - in the meantime, here is a short video highlighting all our travels (both domestic and international)...
Hanging Rock State Park
Leandra's brother Ryan and his girlfriend Emily came to visit us for Thanksgiving, and after all the turkey we were in need of some outdoor time. Hanging Rock State Park is only about 2 hours away,...
The screened deck, pt.VI
Though we've been enjoying the new screened deck since late August it was not quite complete-- we'd been waiting for the wood to cure a bit before staining. This week was finally time: We used a...
Ava’s christening
We made a quick trip up to Chicago his weekend for our niece's christening. I figured it would be good to show up since I am the godmother and all. :) The day started with a relaxing picnic at a...
10 years
On our honeymoon in Hawaii we propped our camera on a rock at a nearby resort and took the following photo: 2001 - Big Island, HI With that photo in mind I made sure to bring along that same dress...
The screened deck, pt.V
Progress in the past month has been extremely slow, but the past two days has finally seen an uptick in activity, with most of the screens installed, stairs, drainage, and the electric complete....
introducing Ava Izabel
Born: 7/7/2011 at 7:15pm Stats: 7lbs, 6oz; 19 inches long snoozing in grandpa's arms looking at her mama hooray for being a new auntie!
The screened deck, pt.III
Despite some torrential downpours the sides and roof are now installed completing the major structural work. The light in the living room has dimmed a bit due to the roof, but the deck area itself...
The screened deck, pt.II
There was a good bit of progress on our deck while we were in NY over the 4th of July weekend- we left a muddy area with some cement, and returned to a new deck! This morning the carpenters started...
csa-inspired projects
We have been participating in a local farm share for a few years now, but this summer I wanted to be a little more deliberate about what I chose so I could try out some new recipes. Along with these...
Merry Christmas!
A certain furry member of our family really enjoys opening her own gifts. We took a quick break mid-morning for mimosas and quiche and then jumped right back into opening presents! Well, most of us...
new HVAC and furnace
Back in October we finally replaced our AC and gas heater. While they were still working, many of the parts were 20+ years old and long overdue for replacement. We figured it was better to be...
Our Itinerary
2025 Trips
Buenos Aires, Argentina (Feb)
Bariloche, Argentina (Feb)
Iguazu Falls, Argentina (Feb)
Miami, FL (Feb)
Boston, MA (Apr)
Kathmandu, Nepal (May)
Bhutan (May)
Slovenia (Sep)
Treviso, Italy (Sep)
Bologna, Italy (Sep)
Turin, Italy (Oct)
2024 Trips
San Diego, CA (Jan)
Sarasota, FL (Feb)
Madrid, Spain (Mar)
Valencia, Spain (Mar+Apr)
Palma, Mallorca (Apr)
Croatia (May)
Long Island, NY (July)
Faroe Islands (Aug)
London, UK (Sept)
Puglia, Italy (Sept)
Matera, Italy (Oct)
Rome, Italy (Oct)
Mosel Valley, Germany (Oct)
Frankfurt, Germany (Oct)
London + Manchester, UK (Dec)
2023 Trips
San Diego (Jan)
Orlando (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Apr)
Northern Italy (Apr)
NC Mountains (May)
Long Island (Jul)
Wisconsin (Aug)
Chicago (Aug)
Oak Island, NC (Sept)
Brooklyn, NY (Sept)
Bordeaux + Rugby World Cup (Sep)
Castilla y León (Sep)
Seychelles (Nov)
Willamette Valley (Dec)