Maggie says hi.
Today is her 5-year adoptiversary! She spend her first few years of life in horrific conditions as a breeder mom for a bulldog breeder and she encourages you all to adopt and support your local animal rescues. They do hard, life changing work.
Lonestar Bulldog Club and Rescue saved our sweet Mags when she was a starving and broken and we're all so thankful for them. She now lives a life of strollers, fluffy blankets and winter sweaters (and allergy shots and opthamologist visits) and she deserves every bit of it.
(Yes, the cats have taught Maggie to loaf. They are her alphas and she does whatever they say.)
Okay, I've been trying to write a post for 2 weeks so I'm going to force myself into the "Five on a Friday" format stolen from
Shu and
Sarah and see if that will carry me through to the publish button.
(1) Changes. I'm coming up on my 2-year anniversary of leaving the SEC and rejoining private practice. It's been a lot of change: new city, new house, new schools, new needs, new routines, new support, new income, new goals, new expectations, new almost everything really. And I finally feel like I'm right now in a pretty good place with it all. I know we only moved an hour away, but that hour was far enough to need to change basically EVERYTHING. Every doctor, every specialist, every person or place we saw regularly in Fort Worth had to be replaced in Dallas for five people and three pets and that takes a while. I just finally found a hair salon and got my hair cut for the first time in over a year and I've already made my next appointment so I can be a real grown-up who gets regular hair cuts.
Speaking of changes, I found grey hairs the other day! I don't know why it shocked me so much- I guess because neither my mom and maternal grandmother have grey hair even now, but as part of my grown-up maintenance, I'm getting my hair "glazed" at my next appointment. I've never dyed my hair in my whole life, not even a highlight or teenage from-the-box boondoggle, but I really love my haircolor and just want to keep it vibrant in this next decade. I'm fine with some grey, and definitely can't handle regular maintenance (
see first haircut in 14 months above), so the stylist recommended some glossing/glazing (I can't remember what it's called) to keep my color up but also let the grey blend in. We'll see.
On a related note, I got
Skinvive yesterday. I've been really happy with my skincare since switching to
Dr. Whitney Bowe beauty, but I haven't had a facial or laser treatment in two years and felt I could use a little extra "glow." The RN who does my Botox (I do a light touch around my eyes 3-4x yearly) recommended the Skinvive so I decided to try it as my treatment for the year. It takes a few weeks to show up and then continues improving your skin for approximately 9 months. I'll keep you posted.
A friend had an extra ticket to the Dallas Bar Association Inaugural Ball last weekend and asked if I'd like to go. I love a fancy night out with a friend and James had a swim meet, so I jumped at the chance for a Black Tie event. This is also why I finally remembered to schedule a haircut for that day, figuring I'd take my blow out to the ball. I also got to wear the dress I bought in 2019 to wear as a bridesmaid in my brother's summer 2020 wedding that got postponed and then canceled due to Covid. My dress, hair, and I were so happy to go out!
I wore my grandmother's pearl bracelet, my grandma Jo's garnet ring, my aunty Mary's pearl earrings, and the purse I bought myself for Christmas and had a great time.
(2) Winter Weather. I really like it when it gets cold outside and I get mad when it gets hot again (which is why I'm basically mad from May-September), but I do not always enjoy how Texas likes to have random extreme cold followed by mild weather followed immediately by a day it doesn't get above zero followed by 78 degrees. Just stay in the 40's for a while. Then I'll know what to wear when I leave the house.
We lost power during the last ice blast and spent a cozy evening playing cards by firelight. Maggie loved it.
(3) Travel. I spent last night booking our summer vacation! I felt we were really missing a good hiking adventure trip (like our Utah trip, which resulted in one of my favorite pictures of all time), so we're headed up to Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho- three states none of us have ever been to, to explore Glacier, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton National Parks!
I'm so excited.
Current plan is to fly into Glacier, stay 3 nights near there, drive down to Yellowstone and stay 2 nights near the top of the park, and then drive down to Swan Valley to stay in a friend's house for 4 nights and explore the southern side of Yellowstone and Grand Teton. I have a private all-day wildlife/hiking tour booked for our first day in Yellowstone, but that's it so far.
If you've been to any or all of these places, I would LOVE your recommendations. Favorite hikes, stops, restaurants, etc.
(This seems the right spot to throw in the fact that I did in fact finish the kids' photobooks for last year and they got them at Christmas and they love them and even though they are my annual albatross, the kids love them SO much and so do I. I constantly find them reading them (we keep a random stack in the living room and change up the years) and repeating stories I've captured inside to one another.)
Looking forward to photobooking this next big adventure!
(4) Health and Fitness. As noted in my last post, I recently got into running. I even ran during our crazy snow and ice storms of 2 weeks ago when the lake I run along looked like this:
Then my knee started hurting pretty badly, so I took a little break before running again when my knee hurt just as badly. So then I decided if it's going to hurt I might as well run (spoken like the true high-level athlete I used to be), but then it started hurting when I wasn't running so now I have a physical therapy appointment on Monday. I'm annoyed because I was genuinely enjoying running and particularly loved feeling like I got a really good workout in the smallest possible amount of time. But I've been doing my HIIT and pilates work outs up in my room, so I'm still feeling pretty good. Missing running is almost as weird as the fact I started running in the first place.
(5) Clothes. As I've written about intermittently over the last two years, I embarked on a major clothing/style journey when I took this new job. Particularly after 2+ years of working from home during Covid, I needed an upgrade of nearly everything for going back to the office (I'm in 4 days a week), a lot of work travel and speaking engagements, and just a generally more dressed-up environment. Even when it's casual, it's a designer casual and while this is superficial, when you're building something new, the superficial matters.
Bonnie has been my style guru for the past 2 years and has completely changed how I think about my clothes and shopping. After spending the first year in an acquisition phase- actively adding to my wardrobe with each season, I now just add the occasional piece, or sometimes replace an old staple with an updated one. And after years of wearing dresses to work, I now almost never do- it's always 3 pieces: top, bottom, and blazer, and I love how it looks and feels.
I love The Real Real and have picked up a few pre-worn/consignment pieces from there over the last year. I'm now so picky when I shop. I actually hardly ever shop anymore at all- just my annual birthday trip with my mom and the occasional online order. I feel like I have to justify any add to my closet to Bonnie when she comes so it's a very strict and deliberative process. I have some favorite brands and I now keep an eye out for their occasional sale or perfect new piece, but overall, I love where my clothes are at. I feel strong and smart and put together and it matters.
Favorite Brands:
Vince (skirts, pants, cashmere sweaters, silk anything)
Veronica Beard (blazers!, dresses)
Frame (jeans, tops, dresses)
L'AGENCE (blazers, jeans)
Evereve (denim and sweaters)
Bonnie is back for my Spring styling appointment in mid-February and I can't wait. I got the most beautiful hot pink L'AGENCE blazer on The Real Real in November (and an amazing sleeveless vest blazer from Veronica Beard at their year-end sale) and she's going to do magical things with them I'm sure.
(6) The Kids. I knew I couldn't keep to 5, but a quick note that the kids are all fine.
The girls had their first swim meet together last weekend and both did great. We're still playing it cool about the fact Claire is back in the pool, but we're secretly VERY EXCITED and HOPE SHE SWIMS IN HIGH SCHOOL VERY MUCH. But also, you know, whatever, it's cool if you don't want to, we just love you so much and want you to have a team who loves and supports you and helps you feel connected and successful. But whatever. (We love you.) (You should swim.) (Love you.)
Landon's sophomore year is going well. He's progressed to needing a large pizza for dinner on Friday plus a bowl of cereal after. He's looking forward to the end-of-season swim meets that are coming up and to finally receiving his class rank for the first time. Also, I sometimes feel like I can't breathe when I realize he has less than 2.5 years living in this house, but that's okay everything is fine.
I've been writing this off and on for most of the day and I'm now on the couch with my Milo snuggled next to me and life is very good. I will now press publish nad move on to sipping my Friday glass of wine and googling everything on the internet about Glacier, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton National Parks. Happy Friday to everyone!
Yay running, boo sore knee. Have you had your running shoes professionally fitted? When my knee gets cranky it’s usually because my shoes are dead or because my feet/body composition/stride have changed and I need a different shoe.
ReplyDeleteAnd also yay! First time I’ve commented that actually posted in a long time, even if it is as anonymous.
DeleteI have actually! I started going to a running store for professional fittings a couple years ago when I started walking more than 5+ miles at a time. These are fairly new shoes- I wonder if they aren't actually the right ones for me?
DeleteAnd yay on the commenting! I don't know why it gets cranky sometimes. I don't really understand anything about how the internet works except where I write things and press publish.
I have a few recommendations for Yellowstone and beyond - our family of 4 (with kids 14 and 9) went in August 2023 and had a wonderful time. First, if you are going through Bozeman, Sidewall Pizza is terrific - in an old school, with delicious salads (try the Smoky salad) and pizza. Bozeman has a cute downtown.
ReplyDeleteFor Yellowstone, two purchases really improved the trip - the GuideAlong app and a cheap infrared thermometer. For the GuideAlong App, the narrator is super cheesy, but interesting to hear about the park during the long drives to the next spot. With the infrared thermometer, my son measured the temperature of every geyser we came across and gathered a crowd around us to hear the stats. Food is available everywhere in the park, although since you never know when you will get stuck in a herd of bison, it is good to have some food with you. We didn't end up doing any hikes except for the short one to the Grand Prismatic Overlook; instead we spent a lot of time seeing (and smelling) the geysers. The one thing I regret is not going to Lamar Valley.
While you are in Idaho, if you have the time and it's not too hot, I highly recommend going to Craters of the Moon. It is unreal to hike around lava fields and go into the caves.
Yay! We are driving through Bozeman and we LOVE pizza. I think we'll be driving through about lunchtime, so thanks!
DeleteAnd thanks for the other recs. Love the thermometer idea and will look up Craters of the Moon for sure!
Sigh, I am so envious of the perfect state of your wardrobe. That idea of having a closet FULL of ONLY things that fit me perfectly and that I love and that all work together and that I don't have to spend any brainpower thinking about sounds like an absolute dream. I have way too many clothes yet lots of things that are solidly "just okay", but I'm also terrible at weeding things out (especially if technically they're "still good"....). Anyway, I'm totally wanting to acquire some really solid basics and minimize the extra noise in my closet, but the whole thing is very overwhelming to me.
ReplyDeleteI totally get this. What helped me most in my initial "wedding out" phase was every time I found myself thinking "maybe I should keep this/it's good/I haven't worn it enough/I used to love it" I would think, "if Bonnie put this item in one of my 20 outfits, would I be disappointed?". And that helped me purge the "technically okay but not something I loved" pieces. And then having gaps in my wardrobe meant I could get some new things to fill them, things I loved that fit well now. It made such a difference for me. Even if it was scary for a bit to have so many things I considered staples missing for a while. I was always wanting to replace things quickly and Bonnie constantly preached time and patience. Quality over quantity. Find something you love, buy one in one color, no more. Then wait until you find something else you love.
DeleteDo you have a friend who could help provide a neutral perspective? Or google "personal stylist" or "closet consultant" like I did? It's been so helpful!
For Glacier, I bet your family would love Sperry Chalet and Granite Park Chalet. Amazing backcountry lodges that can only be accessed by hiking in. Gourmet meals served in a community kitchen. Reservations fill fast, so you might have to waitlist. Not sure if any tour companies would have reservations if you do a guided hike?!? Also, the big park lodges are really steeped in history too. We stayed at Lake McDonald Lodge and Many Glacier. So convenient to be in the park to start hikes near where we stayed (but not cheap)! Even if you don’t stay there, it’s so fun to stop at the lodges and, if possible, hear the ranger talks. Maybe your kids are too old for this movie, but the Disney Planes Fire and Rescue movie includes an old timey park lodge, and has lots of fun connections to things you might see in Glacier.
ReplyDeleteThank you!!
DeleteOh my gosh I'm so excited you're going to Yellowstone. As someone who has mined your national park travel blogging content for inspiration for YEARS (I am basically copying your Utah trip with my husband and 10 and 11-year-old kids this June!), I have always thought you would absolutely LOVE Yellowstone/Glacier and they'd be a very different experience than most of the parks you've been to, but with the amazing hiking/views that I know you guys love. We just did Yellowstone last summer and it is just an absolutely magical place. My main advice for Yellowstone is to plan your itinerary with an eye to getting to the crowded places early in the morning (to beat the crowds) and to the most efficient driving route (because there is SO MUCH driving in Yellowstone since it's so vast, although I know you guys are not allergic to long drives). For instance, the day we did Old Faithful and the Upper Geyser Basin we made sure to get to Old Faithful before 8am so that it wasn't crowded yet. Then we did the whole Upper Geyser Basin hike before many people were out there.
ReplyDeleteHere are the things we most loved in Yellowstone (we did 6 nights in June 2023--we stayed in Grant Village which isn't the greatest accommodations but i booked too late to get others. If i could do it again I'd split up and do 3 nights staying somewhere north and 3 south to cut down on driving. But overall we really got to almost everything we wanted to except Norris Geyser Basin and Lamar Valley. If you're staying north of the park you should definitely be able to hit both of those easily. Lamar Valley is supposed to be one of the best locations for wildlife but honestly we saw so much great wildlife in other places--Hayden Valley, plus just on random hikes--that we didn't mind missing Lamar. My kids' goal was to see grizzlies and we saw 2!):
--Upper Geyser Basin/Old Faithful (discussed above)--soooo many geysers and cool geothermal features
--Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (this is absolutely AMAZING). We did the North Rim trail. Make sure you do the short steep hike to the Brink of the Lower Falls. Unreal views. This would be another fun one to do in the morning to avoid crowds. You could also do the South Rim trail which has great views but doesn't get you up as close to the powerful waterfalls.
--Elephant Back Mountain trail (near Yellowstone Lake)--3.6 mile lollipop look trail
--West Thumb Geyser Basin Trail--this is right on Lake Yellowstone and the contrast of the cold lake and the geysers is just awesome. This is only a 1.0 mile easy boardwalk trail so a great break from more intense hiking.
--Driving through the Dunraven Pass--just awesome mountain views, and you can stop at pull-offs and explore. You guys might like the Mt Washburn trail near here which was a little too intense for my 9-year-old so we didn't do it, but I bet your kids could handle it.
(breaking my comment in half because your site says it's too long)
YES! This is the detail I'm looking for and I'm so excited about this trip. Glad to get your thoughts on location- I just booked a cabin in Gardiner, near the North entrance to Yellowstone and then my friend's house is near the West/South entrances and Grand Teton, so I'm glad it sounds like that was a good call.
DeleteLove the specific hiking trail advice, it's so hard to narrow them down. I booked a private wildlife/hiking tour for our first full day in Yellowstone that a friend highly recommended and I think that will be amazing to get our bearings and spend a day with an expert. We love hearing all the stories, history, etc.
Now moving to your next comment!
Part 2!
ReplyDelete--Mammoth Hot Springs is extremely popular but was not one of our favorites--however, we really liked the Beaver Ponds Loop Trail (5.5 miles, moderate) which leaves from Mammoth Hot Springs
--Two shorter trails we liked were the Natural Bridge Trail and the Storm Point Trail, both near Yellowstone Lake. However, we learned after the fact you're not allowed to actually climb on top of the natural bridge, which we didn't do (so we did climb on it) and maybe that wouldn't be as fun if you couldn't do that :)
--Alllll the wildlife--you will see cool wildlife everywhere you go in the park, including driving, but seeing wildlife on hikes is of course the coolest--bison galore, plus elk, pronghorn, bears, etc.
Also, the in-park food in Yellowstone is pretty mediocre and not cheap so I recommend bringing picnic lunches in and eating in your airbnb if you're staying outside the park! And buy bear spray (take it on any trail you're doing that's not a boardwalk trail) and make sure you know how to use it!
I'm so excited for you guys! We are hoping to do Glacier in 2026 or so. Another thought I had since you're doing all three together--in general, the hiking in Yellowstone is not as amazing (or as intense) as in Glacier/Grand Teton. You could choose to focus more on the cool geothermal stuff at Yellowstone (and of course the wildlife) and save your "tough" hikes for Glacier/Grand Teton because there are so many good ones to choose from.
So helpful!! Thank you. This is all going in my growing notes collection as I plan this trip. I now have our flights, rental car, and lodging handled, plus our private Yellowstone tour, so the rest of my details could really wait, but I'm in too deep and can't stop googling and writing things. Might as well embrace it!
DeleteAnother rec for professionally fitted shoes. Knee pain can absolutely be a shoe thing! Also, I LOVE running but have realized my knees can only handle a certain number of miles (or days running) a week. It could be that you just need to scale back to give your knees time to recover. Happy running!
ReplyDeleteI do wonder if it was jut too much. I was so surprised I liked the running and could do it, I probably did too much. I do have professionally fitted shoes, but they're fairly new and maybe they aren't the right ones?
DeleteWe did Yellowstone and Grand Teton last summer with a 9 and 7 year old. We stayed at Mammoth Springs but would’ve much preferred to stay in Gardiner so I think that will be great. The food was much better there. We liked Wonderland Cafe, EAT for breakfast, and The Antler Pub for dinner. We then spent 3 nights at the snow lodge near Old Faithful which was a great location. We also did a boat tour on Lake Yellowstone which was cool. A friend recommended a random dinner theater in Idaho and it was amazing! The Yellowstone Playhouse at Island Park. Def. recommend. In Grand Teton our favorite hike was Jenny Lake. Would also recommend Leeks Marina for pizza and ice cream. We also did a float tour in the Snake River. You all are going to have a blast!
ReplyDeleteSuper helpful notes, and thank you! I can't wait.
DeleteWe used your Utah trip notes heavily in planning our Utah trips, so happy to return the favor - I grew up in Bozeman. :)
ReplyDeleteGlacier:
- Pick your lodging based on where you want to stay/hike - because of the topography and roads in the park, there's not one great base for everything. I've never been, but Many Glacier seems to be the top hiking destination.
- Make sure you get timed entry (if needed) for when you go - that's a relatively new addition.
- Guided boat rides on the lakes are nice - we'e done Lake MacDonald - and some can be combined with hiking. Book early.
- Two Medicine is a nice area and was not crowded at all when we were there. Some good hiking and boat rides.
- Whitefish is a nice town but is a little far from the park to be a great base for just a few days.
Yellowstone:
- Recommended lodging: new lodging at Canyon. Less than 10 years old (so brand new by park standards) and pretty centrally located. Make sure you make dinner reservations well in advance if you want to eat at the popular "fine dining" locations like Lake.
- Favorite hot springs location: Back Basin at Norris Geyser Basin - much less crowded
- I second the recommendation for Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone - it's stunning.
- Bear spray: a must if you do any hiking off the very beaten path. You'll want to carry this in all of these parks, ideally on a holster to be easily accessible. Grizzlies are no joke.
Bozeman:
- Worth a stopover between Yellowstone and Glacier! Museum of the Rockies is great, the downtown is really nice (they close down Main Street and have live music on Thursdays in the summer!), and the MSU campus is a good place to walk around. Hyalite Reservoir is a good jumping off point for hiking, ranging from Palisade Falls (easy) to Emerald Lake (hard). There's also good whitewater rafting nearby. Do check to see if your travel dates overlap with Sweet Pea Festival, as that makes the town super busy and expensive.
Random thoughts:
- You all might enjoy a dip in a hot spring after some hiking - there are a variety of places scattered throughout Montana.
- Must eats in Monana: bison burgers, huckleberry ice cream, huckleberry margaritas, etc.
- There's a nice, small railroad museum in Livingston, MT that is worth a quick stop if you're passing through
Oh and one other thought - Lamar Valley (and Hayden Valley) are fantastic for wildlife viewing. Dawn & dusk are usually the best.
DeleteBe sure to make your park reservation for Glacier entry. Strictly enforced! The Going to the Sun Road on a Red Bus was fun. Bozeman hot springs were a very relaxing and fun break.
ReplyDeleteThat is such a fun summer trip! I love your style. I should work on that.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun summer vacation! I live in western MT, and pretty much anything you do in Glacier and Yellowstone, and anywhere in between, will be well worth it! My biggest tip is to plan that driving to/from/in the parks will take longer than you think, and to have backup plans for any hikes/attractions you want to see (unless you're doing a guided thing) - traffic and parking is often horrendous and we've often had to scrap our best laid plans and pick something else on the fly or just enjoy the scenery from the car. And a cooler with car snacks/drinks are a must as options are extremely limited inside each park. Finally, I'm not sure what part of summer you are going, but know that most years June can often be quite chilly still, often Going to the Sun Road in Glacier doesn't fully open until July sometime due to snow, and forest fires in August may impact air quality or hiking options. So, I guess the theme is plans are fantastic, but we've learned to be prepared to hold our plans loosely and find other things to do on the fly.
ReplyDeleteI laughed out loud about Landon's "whole large pizza and a bowl of cereal"...Our sons (now adults) would regularly eat entire pizzas, whole boxes of cereal, and a week's worth of sliced deli meat in a single sitting...and were STILL hungry!
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteLongtime reader, first time commenter: we’re doing a UT/AZ/CO trip this summer and I remembered your awesome trip recap. Will be looking at the kid-friendly hikes again! We went to Yellowstone and Glacier pre-Covid and while other commenters have already given some great advice, one thing I haven’t seen mentioned yet is the Two Medicine Dinosaur Center https://mtdinotrail.org/montana-dinosaur-center/. You can participate in digs (we got to keep some tiny bone chips and egg pieces) and it’s a nice stop on the way between Yellowstone and Glacier. Just watch out for the “just a little more” syndrome—in and out of the parks, there’s always something awesome just a few miles further down the road and it’s easy to end up with a really long drive home in the dark when you’ve gone too far. Usually it’s worth it, though!
I LOVE that last shot of Milo looking on at the pizza Landon is devouring! So much story in that image!
ReplyDeleteWould love to hear more about the photobook for each kid! What does this entail? How long have you been doing it? Do you have a process? I do a family photobook every year which also feels like a lot of work but I think it’s important to consolidate and actually print these photos otherwise they got lost in the cloud. Anyways would love to hear more :)
ReplyDeleteTo be completely transparent - I didn't read the other comments. But, wanted to say our trip to Yellowstone/Glacier in 2021 is one of my most favorite trips ever. I am sure you will get all the info you need on hikes in the actual parks. But, we did love taking a day and going to Whitefish mountain for the alpine slides. We also took one day and rented a speedboat on Flathead Lake which was fantastic. In Yellowstone - we were given the tip to go into Old Faithful Inn and get ice cream at the ice cream parlor and take it to the balcony to watch Old Faithful erupt. My last tip is in Yellowstone- we reversed our day. We slept in, ate lunch (whatever we would normally cook for dinner at lunch) and then went into the park. The traffic pouring out was crazy and we had zero crowds or traffic. We packed a picnic dinner - it was amazing!! Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteGlacier is our favorite park. 1. Get to Logan Pass early. So early it hurts. But it’s worth it to hike all around there. 2. Have bear spray—we saw 3 bears while there—it’s no joke. And we didn’t even really go into the back country! 3. One day, drive all of Going to the Sun Road—they didn’t have the buses the year we were there. Stop and hike wherever you can. 4. Avalanche lake trail is very popular for a reason! 5. Buy good bug spray. We drove up to Bowman Lake, wanted to hike Apgar Mountain but the mosquitoes and deer flies were unimaginably thick in the air (in July).
ReplyDeleteYou probably can’t fit in Devils Tower (?) but that place left me speechless. Lots of rock climbing too.