travelogue: san francisco

walking-the-golden-gate-bridge

After our time in Los Angeles, we drove up the coast (taking the 1, the 5, and the 101!) to San Francisco. We arrived at night so we rested and had a busy first day. As you can imagine, the first thing on the agenda was seeing the bridge (shocker). I’m thankful for mr. fleurishing sneaking this shot, as I stood in awe of the bridge. Finally getting to the city was a bit emotional for me…my grandfather loved coming here, and waxed poetic about the city. When he decided (at the age of 70) to learn to play the piano, the first song he chose was “I left my heart in San Francisco”. We played (and sang) it together, and to this day it’s the one + only song I can play on the piano. I get teary eyed every time I hear it. Seeing the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time took my breath away, even with the fog, and brought back very special memories.

golden-gate-bridge-fog

The enormity of the bridge really is awe-inspiring, and the fog manages to make it even more spectacular. It is incredible how you can’t even see it, and then as you drive across, the ghostly towers emerge as you pass under them. The view from Vista Point is stunning, and getting on the other side of the fog in the sunshine, and watching it roll across the bay is so fascinating. I find fog to be simultaneously freaky and amazing. After exploring and walking a bit of the bridge (holy wind and noise) we drove back down to the base of the bridge, for the view from Fort Point. The kids were having a minor (hangry) meltdown, so I jumped out of the car to get these photos quickly. Ah, the reality of traveling with toddlers. I managed to avoid getting wet while taking these, although a few other people didn’t have the same luck.

golden-gate-bridge-fort-point-view

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french is beautiful

paris-spiral-stairs

 

“L’esprit humain fait progrès toujours, mais c’est progrès en spirale.

The human mind always makes progress, but it is a progress in spirals.”

Madame de Staël

i

Life is finally returning to a (somewhat) normal pace pour moi, and I’m able to continue to my French studies, hooray! It’s perfect timing really, as French is Beautiful Level 2 has just begun. I’ve actually been doing some research lately about learning/teaching methods (more on that soon) and discovered “the spiral curriculum“. In a spiral curriculum, learning is spread out over time rather than being concentrated in shorter periods – material is revisited repeatedly. This method describes exactly how I’ve learned French (since childhood), and it has benefitted me greatly. While I never intentionally set out to learn this way, the organic nature of the process has indeed helped me retain much more information. In my opinion, I think it also has a lot to do with the success of my tutor Carrie Anne James’ teachings. Studies show that far more information is retained by the brain with repetition of content over time, making for more successful long-term learning. I’ll spare you anything more technical and get to my point – I’m learning…slowly, but steadily.

* french is beautiful is a regular series – browse the archives here *

our poconos getaway

dockandsky

steamy-lake-sunrise

 

I’m feeling pretty blissed out after spending last week and Labor Day weekend in the Poconos. After basically an entire month of moving and hard labor, the timing was perfect – we’ve never needed a break more. The Poconos has become a summer tradition for us…last year we rented a home at Lake Naomi after my good friend Chanee spoke so highly of it, and loved it so much we made plans to return this summer. We were fortunate enough to stay at Chanee’s beautiful vacation home there (#kodailakehouse), as her + her husband recently moved to California and are renting it out! As a textile designer, her design aesthetic is amazing…the lake house is cozy and comfortable, but modernized + luxe thanks to her touch. Every morning I walked down to the dock to watch the sunrise, often with Henry by my side. With steam rising from the lake and the peaceful, soft sounds of the water and wildlife, it was just what the doctor ordered.

 

kodai-lakehouse

followtheferns

henryetmarieatlake

playing-on-the-beach

 

We developed a relaxing rhythm of heading down the fern path to the our little beach, playing in the sand, snacking on the dock, and kayaking. Henry and Marie hadn’t stopped talking about kayaking since we first did it last year, so that was a priority for us. We managed to kayak every day, and even worked in a canoe ride (which lasted all of five minutes due to my anxiety over the kids possibly tipping us). One morning we drove to Bushkill Falls and hiked as a family to see “the niagara of Pennsylvania”…it was fun for the kids to try a more difficult trail this year, and the main waterfall is quite impressive. I highly recommend a visit if you’re in the Poconos, especially with kids.

 

bushkill-falls

lookingatfalls

 

S’mores just had to happen. While the kids are a bit too young to fully participate, we let them spear the marshmallows and watch as we roasted them. Surprisingly, they weren’t that into eating them, but that just meant more for us! I hadn’t done it in years, but thankfully mr. fleurishing remembered some crucial s’mores skills. I was reminded during this vacation that relaxing is a skill, and I had *almost* perfected it by the time we had to leave, ha. It’s always hard to go back to reality after vacation, but we left feeling refreshed + rejuvenated. We’ll be returning next year for sure!

 

making-smores

smores

 

farewell summer!

saying goodbye

empty-living-room

 

We said our final goodbyes to our house yesterday. Having moved so many times in my life, you’d think I wouldn’t get so emotionally attached to a place. That’s been mostly true – I’ve really only ever been truly attached to one house…the one my grandparents lived in. Their home was the only constant – that no matter how many times we moved or where we lived, their home was always waiting for me. When my grandfather passed away and it was sold, I was gutted. I still drive by and say hello when I find myself in the (northern NJ) area. I’m sure I will always visit this house too…after all, it’s where some of the most poignant + happy memories of my life happened. As we said our goodbyes yesterday, I came to a powerful realization. The house was quiet, empty…lifeless. The “soul” of the home was gone so to speak…it was just a shell. As the kids danced around one last time in their room, their laughter + happiness stood out more than ever, and wiped away my tears. We brought life to the house, as will the new owner, and that makes me smile. I will always love 525 N New Street…I’m so grateful for the five years of priceless memories we made there…those we take with us.

travelogue: los angeles

echo-park-lake-lilies

 

Please pardon the blog + social media silence…we are still in the midst of moving but I’m back with a recap of our time in LA! I’ve never actually done a typical “travelogue” before – I usually prefer to break up our explorations into individual posts. However I feel this approach works best for our CA trip, so here goes nothing. Pardon the length, as I’m covering Los Angeles all in one. Upon arrival (and after a stop at In-N-Out Burger), we checked into our airbnb rental….a modern craftsman in Echo Park. I wasn’t familiar with the neighborhood, but was pleasantly surprised at how family-friendly and welcoming it was – I could totally imagine us living there. Our first outing was to the nearby Echo Park Lake, which enticed us with it’s beautifully groomed landscape, playground, and paddle boats. The kids especially loved the paddling part, of course. Despite the heat, the lack of humidity + predictable sunshine made for a real treat for our entire visit.

 

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