all that's past is prologue...

I posted in an on-line board that Beatrix was "travelling like a rockstar" and a friend wanted to know if she was throwing parties and trashing hotel rooms. Well, kind of... Yesterday what should have been a 9-hour day was 12 hours due to construction and monsoon-like rains. I have never seen rain like that, that lasted that long. Constant hydroplaning and driving through lake-like flooding, and visibility so bad we could often not see the car in front of us. It was insane. We finally reached Molly and Bernard's place on Lake Cayuga and settled in — and it was worth the drive. Their cabin is charming, the view incredible, and we're all having a great time. Beatrix's favorite part of today was "seeing the ducks on the lake," though I think she had a lot of favorites, actually — "swimming," playing with the dog, playing with the 6 and 9 year old boys, and generally having a lot of freedom. We have our own little guest cottage, so have plenty of s

(Before I post, I should add the requisite warning that we have left vicious dog, burly housesitter, a cadre of contractors, etc. at home, so if you are reading this with the intention of stealing all we own while we are gone, think twice.) Made it as far as South Bend, IN, today, and staying at a very lovely Residence Inn courtesy of our first experience with Priceline. large semi-suite with full kitchenette, family feel, pool and hot tub, internet, free breakfast, and even a free dinner with tumblers of wine to bring back up to our room. What's not to like? Thanks for the tip, Elaine! Beatrix was really an awesome traveller, and I hope I haven't just jinxed our luck by saying that. We had a great day all hanging out together, playing car games, telling stories, and stopping for periodic breaks. Whether climbing the play equipment at the rest stop, doing jumping jacks at Chipotle, or watching for cows/sheep/horses, it was a lot of fun. I even got to ride in the front seat like

Over the years, I've worked off and on for a local realtor, writing brochure copy for his high-end homes. For whatever reason, he has not called me to do write-ups lately, and I was missing the experience. However, today he called me and had me walk through two houses, and it was so much fun! I'll admit that, in the past, writing about painfully similar, new-construction suburban homes has sometimes been challenging; though they are each distinctive in some way, they often have many of the same amenities, and it's hard to make them stand apart. Luckily, the two I walked through today were lovely and very different — a Lundie-inspired lake cottage, and a relatively new home that was especially distinctive and charming. Glad to be back at it!

I'm a champion at finding ways to distract myself from deadlines. In grad school, as I was studying for comps, I developed an all-consuming interest in make-up (you can see how well that worked). While planning our wedding, I worked on the house. Now, two days before we leave for a cross-country trip and as all my clients are freaking out that I'll be out of the office for 10 days, I have developed a consuming passion for Pinterest . Rather than packing or getting work done, I'm scouring sites and pinning ideas. I think I need a vacation... ----- (I can be found on Pinterest here , if you're interested in wasting time with me...)

In some ways, there's no point in me adding my voice to something that others have said far better than I . But this morning, Patrick, Beatrix and I headed down to the all-too-sad closing sale at Play by Play Books. As Beatrix played in the shop that she loves and feels at home with (and rifled the candy bowl), and as Patrick discussed on the phone with him mom what books she needed, I looked around and already felt a profound sense of loss. I wanted to buy every book in the store, to give them homes, to know that that knowledge was somewhere safe. Even more, I wanted the sense of community that Kelly has worked so hard to foster. But as Kelly gave up her dream to realize, community is harder to form than you might think. I'm not saying anyone in particular is to blame — not those who did not shop there, not Kelly for her choice of location, to construction or Amazon.com or anything else. But I am saying that I picked up a big bag of books today for $80, and while times have be

I can't believe it's been five years since I was lucky enough to marry Patrick Rhone . In some ways it seems like it was just yesterday — I remember all the details of the candlelit ceremony so vividly, and it feels like we have just begun our lives together. In other ways, it feels like we have fit an entire lifetime of experiences in those five years. Though we've experienced a lot of hardship, there's been a lot of magic too, and when I think about our life and what we have — careers we love, a beautiful daughter, amazing family and friends, two fantastic houses — it just doesn't get much better. Thanks to a babysitting night from Krista Walsh , we were able to go out to Travail last night and have an incredible, 10-course tasting menu as we celebrated our first five years of marriage and talked about the future. As incredible as the meal was, it pales to the company. Happy anniversary, honey! I love you!