Circles in NYC

Lauren and I searched for circles along our walk in Hudson River Park and High Line to make this collage :)

Mid-Sabbatical Crisis

Only 4 weeks left, and I'm actually starting to feel a bit of panic set in. So much to do, so little time. Our biggest projects - remodeling our backyard, and decorating our master bedroom - are still in the early stages, but we've been doing a lot of research. In any case, here's a look back at our 6 weeks so far. We've....

Traveled.

Explored.

And explored some more.

Indulged.

Nursed a sick cat back to health.

Tried new recipes.

And modified some of the kids' favorites.

Shopped.

Played.

Exercised.

Baked.

Encouraged.

And relaxed.

We're Back....

Back from the beach - had a blast (but still in need of a vacation....) Stay tuned for our 2012 SD favorites.

The Beach

A digi layout of our trip to San Diego earlier this month. Boy, both kids just loved the beach, and could've stayed all day. Stew and I on the other hand, think sand is evil :)

template: paislee press press plate no. 26
paper: ehstudios greystreet paper2
embellishment: nina celebrations heart2

Downtime

Vacation was jam-packed with lots of outings and activities, but we had a few moments like this in order to allow the adults to prepare for the day :)

The Chatwal

On our recent vacation back east, we made a quick trip up to NYC to visit with friends (a special thanks to Grandma & Grandpa for watching the kids!). We wanted to use our Starwood Points and decided to stay at The Chatwal, which opened last year and recently joined the Starwood Hotel Collection. We had a great stay.


The hotel was in a great central location, in the Times Square area on 44th between 5th/6th.


The hotel was designed in a cool 1930's deco style, but with lots of technology and modern features.


They even loaned out iPads (or a laptop if you prefered). Although you had to sign a substantial waiver!


They provided some low-tech in-room entertainment as well, if that is more your thing :)

San Diego Favorites

To complement Stew's post about our recent vacation to San Diego, everyone has chosen a favorite (or two) from our trip. Here they are:


Stew's pick: Our hotel, the Courtyard Marriott at Liberty Station. Newer hotel, beautiful grounds, excellent location, restaurants/shops within walking distance, very clean, free parking, great staff, nice breakfast. An A+, would definitely stay there again.


Christy's pick: Dinner at Mitch's Seafood in Point Loma. The food was super fresh and delicious, reasonably priced, and we arrived just at the right time. As we were finishing up, we noticed the line extended out the door and then it was pretty much standing-room only.


Lauren's pick: Playing in the sand at Torrey Pines State Beach. She could not wait to get to the beach. She carried around her sand bucket all morning.


Lauren's runner-up: Ice cream at the Seaport Village - she enjoyed every last lick.


Cole's pick: Running around with Lauren in Balboa Park. He spent a lot of time in his stroller, and was always so excited when he was finally set free to roam.


Cole's runner-up: Eating fried food. Boy, this kid sure does like chicken nuggets. Snapped this photo at our McDonald's stop on the drive out.

Fun in the Sun

We're back! Lauren really enjoyed her first vacation. She logged lots of beach time, and even took her morning naps oceanside - how can you beat that? The highlight for her had to be tasting (literally) the sand :) Swimming in the pool with Mommy and Daddy was lots of fun too. Lauren also enjoyed exploring the house where we were staying - here she poses before we headed out for a yummy dinner one night. She had fun on her first plane ride too, chatting it up with the other passengers, and pausing every so often (thankfully!) to catch some zzz's :)