Journal
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Spring is Around the Corner – Time for a Refresh
We’re having a little sunny snap in Minnesota and everyone is ditching their coats because it’s a balmy 37 degrees. Everything is relative, right? Trust me, after a week of subzero temps, it’s like a breath of fresh air to see the sunshine, the snow melt and the animals playing in the yard.
I thought it would be fun to share some of my Spring Refresh ideas to help everyone get through the last bit of winter and welcome spring.
Redecorate a sunny room. I put away my red and plaid winter pillows and blankets and pulled lighter colored pillows and blankets from around the house for our South facing front porch. Now when we get a sunny afternoon I have a cozy spot to drink a cup of tea and read a book.
Buy fresh flowers. You don’t need to spend a lot on flowers – I love posting my grocery store flower arrangements on Instagram. It’s also a great time of year to force paper white bulbs, buy a flowering plant like Jasmin or pick up a bunch of forsythia branches that will bloom with beautiful yellow flowers. Don’t forget a small vase of flowers on your nightstand. Every time I do this it makes me smile… so, why don’t I do it more often?
Find a new book set in a fun location for a little virtual travel. I love reading fictional books set in a location I would like to visit. I recently read many books by T.A. Williams set in Italy or France. (Guess where I want to travel now?) Lucy Coleman has light fictional books set in great locations as well. Check my previous blog post for more Book (and Cocktail) Recommendations.
Plan your summer garden – flowers and / or vegetable. This is a great time to look at Pinterest or online for new garden ideas. Even if you just plant flowers in a pot, it’s always fun to plan for a new color scheme or to try plants or planter groupings you haven’t used in the past. Just do a little pre-planning to make sure they’ll get the right amount of sun, shade, water, drainage, etc.
What are you doing to celebrate spring?
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Fall Organization
Something about fall always prompts me to organize at least some of my cupboards, drawers, closets, etc. Maybe it’s because I know I’m going to be spending a lot more time indoors and having things organized makes me happy and helps keep my stress levels lower – something we all need this year!
Imagine how excited I was to discover The Home Edit (THE) on Netflix just as I was planning my trip to The Container Store. Based on the number of people at The Container Store with THE branded items in their carts and the empty shelves throughout the store, I’m not the only one who watched this new series. There are several things about this show that stress me out and don’t make sense to me – like the assistants showing up with a vehicle full of assorted storage containers before they’ve ever visited the property. You know some measurements had to be taken and a discussion of container styles must have happened, all of this seems more important to me than some of the other items they focus on during the episodes. However, I do like the idea of using clear containers to organize my cupboards and when the containers are full, it’s time to edit. Also, organizing by rainbow? Really? I organize my closet by season and style (all tank tops together from lightest to darkest, followed by t-shirts, then long sleeve shirts, then button down shirts, etc.) Does anyone have a rainbow of tank tops or t-shirts? Am I the only one with a closet full of white, gray, navy and black clothes?
My organized vase cupboard 
Still a work in progress – waiting on two back-ordered pantry bins for floral supplies and empty candle holders. Also, am I ever going to make my own candles? It might be time to purge some of those candle holders if I don’t find new candle inserts soon. 
Laundry / craft / gift wrap room junk drawer I did order The Home Edit book from Amazon and I’m only a few chapters in, but I think I’ll enjoy the show more knowing their thought process / plan of attack. If the show is inspiring you to organize; but you aren’t an organizer by nature, I’d suggest picking up the book before jumping in and getting completely overwhelmed. A second book called The Home Edit Life was just released and is also available on Amazon. I bought this book as well, but haven’t even cracked the cover. Once I do, I’ll post an update if I think it’s worth buying both books.
One last thing I just discovered, on Facebook there are neighborhood groups called “Buy Nothing.” Search on Facebook for one near you. Once you’re a member of the group, you can post items you want to purge and also items you’re in search of. Since the groups have very definite neighborhood borders, you know every drop off or pick up is nearby. Very clever.
Has anyone else been on an organizing kick lately? Please share tips or tricks in the comments.
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Beauty Products
Is anyone else a sucker for celebrity endorsements of beauty products? This article about Jennifer Lopez’s favorite day cream just popped up and I promptly clicked the link and purchased myself a tube of the Dr. Hauschka Rose Day Cream. I mean they said it rivals La Mer (I’ve used La Mer!), it has a five star rating (amazing!) and it’s on sale for $33.75 (no way!) I think we can all agree that J Lo looks amazing for just turning 50 – of course, they don’t mention her rigorous workouts and diet – but if I can capture a little of her youth in a tube of lotion for less than dinner in a restaurant, who am I to turn away?
I selected the free shipping option, so I’ll receive my lotion between July 11 – 14. I will post an update on how I like this day cream after I’ve used it for a few weeks. (My first concern is there is no SPF, so I’ll need to add a SPF cream on top of this which might get too heavy, especially in the summer. But, maybe it will work for a night cream.)
What are some of your favorite beauty products? I’m actually influenced by all beauty product endorsements and reviews, not just those from celebrities. 🙂
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Winter 2019
We are spending this winter in Florida. Last year we worked remotely from Scottsdale, AZ for February and March. Shortly after we arrived back in Saint Paul, MN we had an early April snow storm. So, this year we extended our travels by four weeks; we are working remotely from January 12 – April 12.
Our first vacation rental was in the community of Carillon, Florida between the towns of Panama City Beach and Rosemary Beach. It was a lovely, quiet, gated community with a bell tower that chimed and played songs at the top of every hour. Our house was very “Gone with the Wind” with two wrap-around verandas. The beach was at the end of our block and since the beach had a Southern exposure, we could watch both the beautiful sunrise and the amazing sunset. The towns along the coast: Rosemary Beach, Alys Beach, Seaside, and Grayton Beach were all adorable. There were some really good restaurants; although several restaurants were closed for renovations during January (their quietest month of the year.) While we were here, both of our children visited and I celebrated my birthday. It was a little chilly in January, but it was a great month and the community we stayed in was wonderful!
The Carillon Bell Tower (guest appearance by Sadie) 
Our rental house in Carillon 
One of three community pools, this one overlooked the beach 
Carillon Beach sunrise 
Carillon Beach sunset 
Our beautiful daughter, Kaitlyn 
The boys, Nathan and John Our second vacation rental was in Naples Park, Florida. We were about a mile from Vanderbilt Beach and a mile from Tamiami Trail (Highway 41.) There was a Whole Foods nearby and an abundance of amazing restaurants within 15 minutes of our rental. This was big city beach living. The beaches were lined with large hotels and high-rise condos. Luckily, our house had a beautiful new pool with a hot tub and a tanning shelf in the backyard where we could forget we were in the city once in a while. We were always busy in Naples – our neighbors from Saint Paul have a winter home in Naples and my parents visited as well as my cousin and her husband (from Lauderhill, FL) and several Minnesota friends. We didn’t visit the beach very often here but we spent a lot of time in our pool, shopping, boating, drinking and eating out. Very fun!
I spent many mornings drinking coffee in an Adirondack chair on the tanning ledge 
Cocktails at The Hampton Social 
Amazing salad and sushi at BrickTop’s 
Morning walk on Vanderbilt Beach before it was filled with people 
Who knew Sadie would love boating? 
Loved the colorful skies after sunset 
Lunch and a little wine tasting at Cooper’s Hawk Winery 
One of the many canals in North Naples Our third and final vacation rental is in Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island. We are two blocks from the beach and walking distance from several locally owned shops, restaurants and bars. This town reminds me of a small lake town in Northern Minnesota. A lot of people get around the Northern part of the island on golf carts and beach bikes. We work during the days but once in a while we take a break to float in our little pool or take a walk on the beach. Everyone is very casual here… it’s a big night out if I put on make-up and I don’t remember the last time I saw John wear anything other than shorts. Sunsets on the beach are amazing and we rarely miss one. Around the second week in March we noticed an increase in traffic due to spring breakers. Since there is only one main road on the island and it can easily take 45 minutes to drive just a few miles, we agreed to utilize the free Island Trolley and Monkey Bus as much as possible. We’re really enjoying the slower pace of island living, but I must admit that I’m excited about stopping at our apartment in Chicago for a few days on our way home. Small town living is fun for a while, but I’m still a city girl at heart.
Misty Beach is the name of our little beach house in Holmes Beach 
The Beach – my happy place 
Sylvia, the flamingo, travels with us as our pool mascot 
Gorgeous 
Getting ready for sunset at The Beach Bistro 
Sunset drum circle at Manatee Beach 
Boating on the Gulf was so surreal… just water and sky as far as the eye could see 
The dolphins entertained us in Tampa Bay The three locations were very different and none of them are perfect, which is why we will continue our search for the next several years. Hopefully, after a few more years of travel and exploring, we’ll find a place we want to return to every winter. But until that time, we’re just grateful that we are able escape the cold and snow for a while.
Another adventure awaits -
Beach
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Family Pets
For anyone who has ever had a pet, you know they play an important part in your life. They are your companion, your confidant, your comforter, your constant.
I don’t know anyone with a pet who hasn’t talked about how it feels to come home to a pet who is SO excited to see you. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been gone for 10 minutes or 10 hours – when you walk through the door you are greeted with unconditional love. This is more common with dogs than cats; but whenever I would sit down for more than 5 minutes, our dog and both cats would show up. It’s like an alarm would go off or something. The cutest part is when they figure out who gets to sit on my lap. Lately that honor always fell to Sam – our oldest animal who was also the alpha animal in our house. There was a certain amount of respect the other animals had for her that I can only assume was due to her age.
She was born in a barn on a farm and we brought her to the city when she was old enough to leave her Mom. One of our funniest memories was when we introduced Sam to Bodhi, our 90-pound golden retriever. John was sitting on the couch with Sam on his chest and Bodhi walked over to sniff her. Poor Sam was so scared that in an instant John had kitten diarrhea all over the front of his shirt. Sam soon learned that Bodhi was a gentle giant and she would sleep curled up next to him. She would even attempt to clean him, a very large job for a very small cat.
Just looking for some pets Sam was neutered and declawed but that didn’t stop her from wanting to be outside. She was great at catching mice; but luckily, she did not bring us presents. When we first let Sam outside, she stayed inside our fenced-in backyard. After a few months, she figured out how to jump up on the grill and over our 6-foot privacy fence. Sam would wander the neighborhood on occasion, but she really enjoyed laying on the sidewalk in front of our house where she could receive free pets and attention from people walking by. She even received a postcard from a neighbor who walked by our house and visited with her often.
Sam loved looking outside Sam was a talker. If you meowed back at her, she would “talk” for quite a while. The last two years Sam started losing weight (she was always a small cat – her top weight was around 6 pounds) and had trouble grooming herself. We switched her to soft food twice a day and I started brushing her and using a dry shampoo on her fur to help clean the areas she couldn’t groom any more. She loved to be brushed!
Looking out the window A few weekends ago Sam stopped eating on a Friday and she died sometime Saturday night. I’m so sad that I wasn’t there to hug and comfort her, but our son said he just knew what was happening and he gave her lots of extra snuggles and pets. She was even purring Saturday night before he went to sleep. Sam had been with us for over 19 years. RIP sweet girl.
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Expanding to Chicago
I haven’t posted anything on my blog in several months, so I want to share what’s been happening in our lives. My husband, John, and I have owned a commercial office furniture dealership in the Twin Cities for over 20 years. Earlier this year we were asked by our main manufacturer to open a second location in Chicago. After much discussion about how much time we would need to spend in Chicago getting things up and running, John and I decided to rent an apartment in Chicago for 12 months. We both love Chicago and are very excited to have the opportunity to spend more time there.
For two months, I was glued to my computer searching for, reviewing and prioritizing apartment rentals. Renting an apartment has gotten a lot more complicated since our last apartment 30 years ago. First, there are multiple listing sites and not every apartment lists on every site. Second, brokers create bogus addresses to get you to contact them instead of the management company at the apartment building. We did end up working with a broker, but I still checked all of the rental listing sites instead of relying on the one site the broker company utilized. The nice thing about working with a broker when you’re moving into a new city is they set up all of your showings on the days you will be in town and they will give you information about each apartment and the surrounding area (e.g. the nearest grocery store, bus line, access to the L, crime, etc.)
In July, we toured ten apartments, but we were disappointed with the layout or dated décor in all of them. We got lucky on our eleventh and final apartment. It was a new building with the exact floorplan we wanted, great appliances, wood floors, granite countertops, lots of windows and a wonderful location. Our apartment is in River North less than a mile from Michigan Avenue and the Riverwalk but next to a quiet, residential neighborhood and park. It’s also three short blocks from the L and only one stop from the Merchandise Mart where our new office is temporarily located.
After we signed a lease, I spent a week laying out furniture, finalizing fabrics and finishes, and placing orders. A few items like the couch and barstools took 6 – 8 weeks so everything needed to be ordered ASAP to meet our August 31stmove in date. Fortunately, we already had a relationship with an installation company in Chicago who has a large warehouse space and agreed to take delivery and store our furniture until we moved in.
Luckily for us, my parents agreed to come to Chicago and help us move in. We flew in early on August 31stto finalize paperwork, complete a walk-through and start moving in. In addition to the four of us, the installation company sent four guys to deliver and help assemble our furniture. By the end of the first day we were exhausted, but we had beds to sleep in and most of the apartment (including the kitchen – thanks to my Mom!) was set up. We spent the rest of the weekend shopping for accessories, hanging artwork and exploring Chicago with my parents.
We have been back to Chicago approximately every 10 days since we moved in and it’s so nice to have a place to call home instead of living in hotel rooms. This expansion is exciting, exhausting, exhilarating and terrifying all at the same time. And having two homes is sometimes just downright confusing. There’s nothing quite like waking up during the middle of the night and thinking “which city am I in?”
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Our Travels to Copenhagen, Stockholm and Amsterdam
I’ve had so many people ask us about our travels that I thought I should post an update. Everyone asks “what was your favorite part of the trip?” Of course, it was in Copenhagen as we came out of baggage claim and saw our daughter’s smiling face; followed by a long hug.
After that, it was the little moments that were the best.
We woke up early our first morning in Copenhagen due to the time difference. John and I got dressed and headed out to explore. Nyhavn (pronounced:
newhoun) was so quiet and peaceful at 6 AM, much different than when we arrived the afternoon before. We just wandered and saw wonderful daily activities: people going for their morning swim in the Copenhagen Harbor, restaurant staff setting up sidewalk tables and chairs, and people biking to work in suits and dresses. We didn’t consult a map but instead 
turned down random streets and ended up walking by amazing architecture (at every turn!), past several well-known churches and Amalienborg – complete with Royal guards. It was perfect. We ended our morning by showing up to The Union Kitchen, which Kaitlyn recommended, shortly after they opened and we had such an amazing breakfast that we made it a point to go there for breakfast again the day we left Copenhagen. 
We had so many great moments in Copenhagen, such as dinner with Kaitlyn’s local host family on our first night. The relaxed conversation in their kitchen was so insightful. We learned things about the Denmark community and culture that we would never have known if we had not met them for dinner. Seeing Kaitlyn receive hugs from her host family’s daughters brought a tear to my eye. Most likely they will never see each other again, but they have a bond and experiences together they will remember forever.
Seeing Kaitlyn’s flat and meeting her roommate Carley was surreal. I had seen photos and videos of the place our daughter called home for four months, but to actually visit it was incredible. I quickly learned why Kaitlyn spoke so highly of Carley. She was very personable and fun. We had a wonderful dinner together and I really hope Kaitlyn travels to Boulder, Colorado to spend time with Carley in August before school starts.
I could feel that Kaitlyn was struggling in Copenhagen. She wanted to show us around to all of her favorite places, but she also wanted to spend her last moments with friends that she may never see again; and she had to pack up her room and help clean their flat. I think it helped that John and I were fairly independent and flexible and only took up the middle portion of her days so she could spend her mornings packing and her evenings saying goodbye to her friends.STOCKHOLM
Once we arrived in Stockholm at our amazing Airbnb in the heart of Norrmalm, I could feel Kaitlyn’s stress decline. She even said at one point she was glad we didn’t fly directly home so she could have a transition time from Copenhagen to Saint Paul.We did not plan anything in advance at any of our stops, but I had a list of places of interest and we consulted travel guides at each stop to determine what we wanted to do each day. Our time in Stockholm was a little bit of a recharge for all of us since we covered a lot of ground in Copenhagen. We walked to many sites including the Stockholm Concert Hall, Gamla Stan (old town), the Royal Palace and the King’s gardens but I think we all enjoyed going back to the Airbnb for some quiet time each day.
AMSTERDAM
Amsterdam was amazing. Another beautiful Airbnb.
This one was located on the canal with amazing views and sunsets!
We had no idea it was a city of canals – very similar to Venice. John even got involved in the planning here and on the day of our arrival he found us an early evening canal boat tour. It was perfect. On that first day, we figured out the public transportation (which was amazingly easy thanks to Kaitlyn), then we explored and learned about the city on the canal tour with limited walking (bonus.) Fun Facts: There are over 31 miles of canals
with 1,281 bridges in the city of Amsterdam. There are 850,000 people and 847,000 bikes. Also, 12,000 – 15,000 bikes are pulled out of the canals each year.We visited and toured many amazing places in Amsterdam including the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijks Garden and Museum, the Anne Frank Museum, the Royal Palace and the Amsterdam Tulip Museum. In Amsterdam, Kaitlyn announced she was tired and ready to head home. Good thing it was our last stop.
Our Kaitlyn turns 21 later this month. It’s funny how turning 18 might seem like a big deal, but as a parent, I feel 21 is much more significant. Not only are our children able to legally join us for a cocktail when we go out to dinner, but at this age they seem to have a little bit of a grasp on who they want to be as an adult. I know it will take many more years to really figure it out (who am I kidding, at 51 I’m not sure I’ve figured it out!), but at 21 they seem to be on their way.
Happy 21st Birthday, Kaitlyn, and Welcome Home!
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Could I Take An Unplanned Trip?
As you may have picked up from my travel posts, I’m a little bit of a planner – ok, maybe the word obsessive is more appropriate.
I was telling my Mom that our nephew on my husband’s side took an amazing trip where he flew into
Barcelona, Spain and three weeks later had a flight out of Athens, Greece. He had no specific plans on how he was getting from Barcelona to Athens, he just knew he had to be there in time to make his flight. I told her he was posting updates and photos regularly on Facebook and his trip sounded amazing – just going with the flow and really living in the moment. My Mom’s exact words were “You could never do that. You’re too much of a planner.” Hmmmm…. Don’t ever tell the oldest child they can’t do something… My gut response was “Challenge accepted!” and “I’ll prove you wrong!”This fall, my neighbor, who will be sending her seventh and final child off to college, is embarking on the 500-mile walk Camino de Santiago de Compostela (a.k.a. the Way of St. James.) She is flying into Paris and will take up to 40 days to complete her walk, eventually ending her quest in Finisterre, Spain. And she’s going alone. She wants to spend time reflecting and planning for the next chapter of her life. I’m intrigued and envious of this introspective, completely off the radar adventure.
During a walk with my husband, I shared what my had Mom said about me being unable to take an unplanned trip and he agreed with her. Of course, he did! They are two peas-in-a-pod with very similar personalities. Now, I have two people (maybe more) to prove wrong. The real question is, am I up for the challenge?
Just watch me.
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Bringing our Daughter Home
Next week, John and I will be traveling to Copenhagen, Denmark. Our daughter, Kaitlyn, has been studying abroad there since January; so we’re going to visit her and the place she has called home for the past several months. Kaitlyn has been living in a flat with five other girls, but she also requested a host family to interact with during her time there. We are excited to meet her flat mates and her adorable host family who we have heard so much about.
Kaitlyn has taken many trips while studying abroad so I suggested the three of us travel a little before returning home. After packing up Kaitlyn’s possessions, we will travel to Stockholm, Sweden and Amsterdam, Netherlands. Kaitlyn is in charge of this trip, except for airfare and accommodations – although we did pick the condos on airbnb together. I’ve made lists of things we may like to do but I’m putting a lot of the planning and decision making into her very capable hands.
It’s so rewarding to watch your children become strong, confident adults – and I think living on your own in a foreign county for several months creates some serious adult life skills. However, for this summer anyway, I am thrilled to have both of our adult children living under our roof. I know these days are numbered and I’m going to enjoy every minute.
