Chris had Wednesday off so we took a midweek vacation to the island. A pod of dolphins—more than I’ve ever seen—dotted Pensacola Bay as we crossed the Three Mile Bridge. We found a shady pavilion and ate sandwiches overlooking the glittering Santa Rosa Sound. I fed Isaac a very ripe banana. He’d been tanked up with milk…
Island Fever
Happy Boys’ Day!
Last weekend we celebrated Japanese Boys’ Day, or Children’s Day, for the first time! Families with boys hang colorful carp windsocks outside their homes to encourage boys to persevere through adversity and be strong, like the carp swimming upstream. Other ways to celebrate Boys’ Day include putting out a mini suit of samurai armor (like…
Mothers Day Tea
I saw a recipe for pistachio, lemon, vanilla shortbread in an ancient Bon Appetit magazine Scotland issue. Ooo, I thought, what if I found all the ingredients and made a nice tea for my mom when they visit? Usually I remember those thoughts after my parents leave and then I’m sad. Not this time! I…
Life’s a Beach
My parents visited! When we lived here before someone told us, “I’ve been all over the world, and Pensacola’s beaches are easily in the top five of the most beautiful beaches, plus it’s not crowded.” THIS IS INDISPUTABLE (as far as I’m concerned, which is…not very far). I rank Florida’s Gulf Coast with Hawaii as the…
Sugar Baby
You know how every year in September when the candy corn first hits shelves you buy a bag and put it in a cute decorative fall candy bowl in the shape of a pumpkin and have a couple pieces…then a couple more…and then a handful…until that awful moment when the sugar does its evil victory…
Fresh from Coldwater Gardens
“Fresh Eggs” read a sign on Berryhill. I drove down the road slowly enough to memorize the phone number. It was gone. But a bit of research turned up Coldwater Gardens, an organic farm about halfway between here and Alabama. At some point the gardens will have lodging and stuff. It was cool to see…
Technicolor Dream Closet
I have a new project that I’m kind of regretting: The Technicolor Dream Closet! It’s an exercise in being content—no buying myself clothes, accessories, hair products, makeup, etc. for a year. That’s not the part I regret. I’m kind of regretting the blogging about it! Keeping myself accountable was the idea. But now I can’t…