Endless Summer

This summer seems endless and I mean it in a very good way.  Since we've returned from an extended visit to the East Coast, the West Coast is now our playground.  County fairs, regional hikes, outdoor movies, and tours to the wine country (with some yoga thrown in for balance) have been keeping us quite busy.  We're also grateful to host many visiting friends and family, more on that later.

Here's to few more BBQ's before the summer is over!

You can follow more of our adventures here, on Instagram.

Life Lately

For the past 2 weeks we've been visiting friends and family on the East Coast, some of whom we haven't seen since our move to California a year ago.  Each day has been a reunion of sorts.  Our children have reconnected with old classmates, cousins, friends and places that have reminded them of their earliest childhood days.  It's been wonderful to witness friendships [young and old] pick right up where they left off, as if time and distance never came between them.

We began our adventure in Cambridge, then headed to the Cape to visit with great friends for a few days.  On the way to my NJ childhood home, we stopped at a great place  in RI for a bite to eat .  We crossed my [once] favorite bridge  [there's a new fav] to spend time with my 94 year old grandmother and the rest of the family.   Our children loved being around their cousins and grandparents.  On the way back to MA, we visited good friends in CT that we hadn't seen in quite a while.  Today, after hanging out in Cambridge for a couple of days with old neighbors and friends, we're off to Maine (our next destination).  Stay tuned for updates and exciting posts on places that I found inspirational during our summer's travels.

Hope you are having a wonderful summer (we sure are)!   A big, hearty thank you to all our hosts and hostesses along the way!

A Redwood Adventure

 

Over the weekend we visited Redwood Regional Park with the intent of taking a leisurely stroll, but the allure of the majestic redwoods enticed our kids to take on a more challenging trail. We ended up on 5-mile hike through the forest, an unexpected but welcomed change in plans.  As we walked we shared jokes, used twigs as bows and arrows, tracked fairies and often walked in silence.  When we returned to the van, the children were relieved to rest their legs but were very proud of the journey they had taken.  With summer upon us,  I'm looking forward to a quieter schedule, more outdoor adventures and lots of quality time with friends and family.

What are you looking forward to this summer?

 

 

Out And About: Floret

This week's Out And About features Floret, a new floral shop in Lafayette, CA.  The shop is filled with unique stemmed botanicals, plantings and vessels, all of which may be custom arranged for any occasion.  Take a peek into Floret:

 We're pleased to announce that Floret is also featuring several Cocoon Home succulent compositions.