old meets new.

How great are these classic books with new Rifle Paper Co. designed covers? I hung out with Hannah + Jordan + Stella + Djuna this weekend on Sunday morning, and they had just bought two of the books - the girls were loving them! These would make such great gifts for the kids of reading age.

take a seat.

This Leather Rhys Chair is a total looker.  I just love it and it comes in seven super rich colors.

times are a changin'.

We are so excited that the REI and Uline Arena in DC are scheduled for their grand opening coming up in October. This is four blocks from our house and we can't wait to check it out at some point when we are back there and see all the changes afoot...just crazy how much the neighborhood has changed since we bought. Here is the Curbed piece if you want to read more about it.

virginia is for lovers.

We made a super quick trip back east to celebrate with Sarah and Dave as they got married this weekend!  It was beautiful and amazingly humid (god I miss the humidity).  It was so full of love and happiness, it was just what we needed. And we got to see friends and catch up.

And this morning before we headed back to the airport, we grabbed a bagel and coffee and walked to the main quad of UVA. Holy smokes that is a beautiful campus! And for anyone headed to the Charlottesville area, we stayed at the Oakhurst Inn and loved it - would highly recommend.

labor day getaway.

Ben and I went away for the long Labor Day weekend. This was actually our first California getaway since we moved out here. We looked into a whole range of weekend trips - from Joshua Tree, Idaho, Death Valley, San Diego, to Portland and more. In the end, we settled on a place just north of Bodega Bay (about 2 hours drive from SF) because we didn't want to have to fly, we didn't want to spend a lot and ultimately we just wanted to sit someplace with a view for the three days. We rented this VRBO and it was perfect.

We packed enough food so that we could cook every meal at the house. We watched our fill of college football including, of course, the Michigan game on Saturday and we sat on the porch throughout the day and for every sunset. And we went for a couple of absolutely breathtakingly beautiful runs along the coast at different parts of the Kortum Trail.

We didn't venture out to see or do much in the area, but we did swing by the Wild Flour Bakery on the way back to SF and it was a great little spot putting out really good bread.

book list.

I have been in a long and severe reading drought. Books have sat on my bedside table for months on months without being touched. But this weekend we went away for the long weekend (more on that soon) and I finally broke my reading block. So, for your reading list, My Name is Lucy Barton, was an easy and captivating read - just what I needed to get back on the wagon.

• The New York Times Review
• NPR Write-up

long time, no see.

So much has happened in the last year since this last post. Ben and I moved to California. We also got married! And there have been so many small happenings as well - new jobs, travel, and even changes in our goals, mindset and relationships. Maybe it is living in a new place and the unplanned (but much needed) adventure or maybe it is just age but finally, in the last six months, for the first time in a long time, I have started to feel more settled, complete, happy and fulfilled.

Don't get me wrong, we miss DC. We'll move back at some point, but for the time being San Francisco is our new normal and I can't wait to get back to posting and sharing.....