Faux Fall and other things

Why hello there.

(That's really how he sits when he hangs out. Such a dude bro. And also maybe he doesn't know how to cat? We introduced him to his first outfit and he tolerated it only as long as I was actively feeding him a treat. Once the churu tube was empty he flipped himself around in circles until he was naked again.)

Anyway, I have recently taken a dive back into the world of photo booking which means that if I ever have 5 free minutes all I can do is log into Shutterfly to work on a page so I can get the kids' books done before Christmas. But my blog is one of my home pages when I open the internet and the lack of updates make me sad. I miss y'all. Also life has been full of fun and excellent things I would like to to commemorate.

(Like our family pictures that we were taking when I snagged the selfie above. So excited to see them!)

Jumping in (which means jumping back) - I went to Chicago for work a couple weeks ago and the first thing I did was walk to Garrett's Popcorn on Michigan Ave to buy and then inhale a bag of Chicago Mix because truly the FIRST "is X gluten-free" google I made when I was diagnosed with Celiac was for Garrett's Chicago Mix popcorn and YES it is gluten free. I have since googled a variation on that phrase one million times. Most recently, "is candy corn gluten free?" (also generally yes).

I also had a work event in Dallas at Cafe Dior which was VERY fancy and fun. I even ran into a friend! (I cannot tell you how much it matters to me that I can now do things in Dallas and run into people I already know; that was the hardest part about moving for me, the feeling of being a stranger everywhere I went)

AND I got a mini Dior scarf for attending and it is so beautiful I haven't even taken it out of the box yet.

On the home front, Cora is doing well. I bought her this pair of jeans and top online (she flatly refuses to go shopping with me) and when she put them on she suddenly looked so much older. Who is this almost-teenager in my house?

She joyfully announced on Monday that she now has two friends at her new school, so that is great. Cora struggles with change more than any of my kids and while she has absolutely excelled at her wonderful new school, the social aspect has been hard.

Also maybe 6th grade is just hard? Luckily Moose has sensed the struggle and stepped up as a snuggle cat in our beloved Milo's absence.

He's still a little awkward about it, but I think maybe Moose is just awkward? He's got a little bit of 6th grade in him too.

Landon placed his order for his cap and gown yesterday and we got our senior yard sign, so that's an emotional bomb I wasn't expecting on a random Tuesday in October. Having a senior is way more emotionally impacting than I expected. Maybe it's because 18 is my new favorite age? How can he possibly not live here a year from now?

Claire had homecoming last weekend, which she said was "fun" and that remains all the detail I have received. I did get a few more pictures that seem to back her up.

My parents visited a couple weeks ago (or maybe a week and half ago? What is time?) and we had so much fun! They arrived Friday afternoon and went to Landon's swim meet that night and then we all had a big family dinner at home.

On Saturday morning I knew my mom and I would want to do our traditional shopping, so I set up a golf playdate for my dad while the kids were all at the meet with James.

It was adorable.

My mom and I were on our way to the magical underground Marshall's when we came upon the same Sample Sale I attended with my sister a couple months ago. Back then it was Farm Rio and so fun, but I hadn't been back- apparently I need a Rice Lady to go with me.

That weekend it was Rails, a brand I love, and they had such great things!! All bottoms were $15 and I got a perfect pair of light colored jeans, plus a denim skirt (I've been wanting one), and two patterened skirts. Every one of those items was usually close to (or move than) $200. I also got a couple button-down tops and a dress.

Then, when we decided we clearly didn't need to visit Marshall's, we walked back to my car to head home and accidentally stumbled across a consignment store.

The BEST consignment store! Clothes Circuit in Dallas, which has been in existence since 1983 (which, coincidentally, is also how long I have been in existence!) is AMAZING. Gorgeous clothes, perfectly organized, and in pristine condition.

We both got the dresses we're wearing in this picture and I got two work blouses- one Alice & Olivia and another Veronica Beard.

This is the Alice & Olivia one and the pattern is so pretty! It's from several years ago and still had the tags on it. I wore it to a client event this week with a brown faux leather skirt I've had in my closet forever and it made me so happy.

After our shopping we drove back out to the meet to watch the girls swim their events and then on Sunday we got to watch Landon swim his 100 fly and eat brunch together before they headed back home! It was a great weekend.

This past weekend Ayron came and did a styling appointment with me on Saturday and she did magical things to marry my new items with my old and I can't wait to wear them all!

James's birthday was also on Saturday!

We couldn't really celebrate that day due to swimming and soccer games and homecoming, so we made an executive decision to make October 18th happen on Sunday this year.

We did an early Forced Family Fun Time at the Arboretum before lunch and then had a family dinner that night with homemade gluten-free funfetti cake, braised short ribs, and presents.

We love him so much!

And that's some of the last month or so! Except my amazing trip to NYC with my Rice Ladies (mom, sister, sister-in-law) to celebrate my sister's 40th birthday that I am desperately hoping to capture in another post, our family picures which I just got back since I started this draft and LOVE, and probably many other things.

Until my next photobooking break! Happy Thursday/October to you all,

South Africa Day 8, cont.: First Madikwe Safari

Okay! Back to South Africa we go! When we left off, I took you on a tour of the most amazing beautiful place we've ever stayed, Mateya Safari Lodge. Once we got settled in our spectacular rooms, ate some lunch, and then immediately had a fancy tea, we piled into our Jeep and headed out with our guide Aiden!

Like our guide at Marataba, he was just incredible. So knowledgeable, so full of stories, so happy to tell us all about everything we were seeing for the hours and hours we rode. We learned about the incredible conservation work Susan Mathis and Mateya Lodge made possible in the Madikwe reserve.

They haven't lost an animal to poachers in 7 years and they have the largest concentration of rhinos in South Africa.

And so many elephants!

Like this little guy who was trying to show us how big and tough he was, but then he decided maybe we were bigger and tougher so he scampered off and raised his trunk at a herdmate who was much more his size.

I feel like in Marakele we spotted more individual animals among the bushes and trees, but in Madwike we got to sit back and really observe the interactions of whole groups of animals. Sometimes we sat for close to an hour and watched whole dramas play out. It was absolutely incredible and fascinating and Aiden narrated it all. (I really highly encourage you to watch the videos with sound, Aiden is such a great narrator!)

Like this mama and baby rhino.

Baby was nursing and a single male was roaming through his territory.

THe scorned would-be-lover consoled himself with a drink of water.

We saw lots of giraffes, which remain one of my loves.

They are just the craziest most majestic creatures.

We hadn't seen an African buffalo yet, and we still didn't on that day, but we did see a skull of one!

Because Madwike is a preserve and not a National Park, the rangers have a little more leeway to interfere (according to strict protocols, etc) and they'll sometimes move bones like that closer to the dirt paths (once they're picked clean by every animal that gets something from them) so visitors can see them more easily.

We did see a live buffalo the next day. I didn't get a picture as he was a little ways off, but they are VERY big and also probably wanted to be my friend.

It was a really wonderful first game drive at Madwike and we had no idea how incredible it would get over the two days ahead (spoiler alert: LIONS!).

We stopped for our sundowners and snacks and enjoyed the sunset as we headed back home.

Dinner was at a cozy table in the lodge with a fireplace roaring and then when we got back to our rooms at night the staff had started fires in our bedrooms there as well, with hot water bottles under the sheets.

Since the rooms don't have wifi, no one's phones worked. We had to show the kids how to dial the in-room phone so we could talk to each other and realized they'd never heard a dial tone before. They kept thinking something was wrong with the phone when they turned it on. I was only 24 when Landon was born, but man did we grow up in different worlds in so many ways.

I took a bath in my beautiful bathtub and then slept like a log until our 6 a.m. wakeup call the next morning for our first sunrise game drive in our new preserve!

Saturday Morning at Home

Good morning and happy Saturday!

I have a ton of work emails to catch up on, but I just dropped Claire off for warm-up at a high school swim meet, I'm about to wake Cora up so she can get ready for her swim practice, and Landon and James are already at their respective pools for their own swim practices, so I'm stealing these few minutes between swim carpools to catch up here.

Then I'm going to pilates, maybe, because I'm trying to go to fitness classes again, but I get annoyed at how long they take. (Picture of me above at a class a couple weeks ago; I know they're good for me, but I don't even get sweaty and it's hard to feel like the time is "worth" it. I wish the harder studio was closer to my house.) Anyway! September. I was in DC, then we had our anniversary, and then everyone was home for one whole weekend before we scattered again.

We made use of the time with a new card game - Play Nine - that is a fancier version of the Golf we'd been playing with a regular deck of cards for years.

Despite Landon's face in this picture, he both had fun, refused to follow any rational strategy, and somehow won by so much I had to check my math multiple times.

The pets remain a constant. Maggie continues to occasionally trap herself in the downstairs guest shower with no clue how to get out.

To be clear, she's the one who gets herself inside in the first place. She uses her big head to push open the door that easily swings in and out in both directions, turns around in the shower space, and then stands by the door on the other side of it, with seemingly no clue how she got there or how to ever get out again. Eventually one of us will realize she's missing and go look for her. This is always the first spot to check.

Murphy is settling in nicely. He's very friendly and is always around us. He completely resists cuddling though. Has anyone had a cat who didn't want to cuddle at 18 months old (and only 1 month into being adopted) but then became snuggly later? I'm trying to adjust expectations.

Moose is being more social! He's been jumping on the couch when humans are already on it.

He's doing this by choice, but always looks a little/lot uncomfortable about it.

Landon went on his first swimming recruiting trip! He and James flew to The Ohio State (turns out, the "the" is important) on Thursday.

The schedule was packed with fun for swimmers and parents alike. The school flew out Landon and covered the hotel for James. Both were very impressed with the athletic facilities, which had changed a lot since James went on his own recruiting trip there in 1998! Landon roomed with some swimmers, they both attended a game, and everyone had fun.

James and Landon flew back Sunday morning, landing about 30 minutes after I had taken off for NYC for work. This passing of ships (planes) meant that James and I were apart for 7 days which is the longest we've been apart since we were married! Kind of a funny mielstone after just celebrating our 20th anniversary the week before.

My trip was 5 nights, but my trusty carry-on suitcase (and large "personal item") managed to fit everything I needed.

NYC remains one of my very favorite places to be.

I walked miles and miles in Central Park, reaffirming my plan that James and I are moving here after Cora graduates high school.

Some people have a city adventure in their 20's. Mine will be in my 50's. I'm genuinely very excited about it.

My new firm's NY office is great and I got to meet several more of my partners.

I discovered a gluten-free bakery directly across the street from the office and I ate a pastry and bagel sandwich every morning I was there.

I weighed 4 more pounds when I returned, but I have no regrets.

Except not getting an extra cinnamon roll to go for the flight home.

Speaking of "home," my temporary home in NY was a crazy hotel room at The Lombardy. I booked a normal room, but somehow opened the door to a Titanic stateroom from the early 1900's.

I had a very fancy foyer, a huge living room and dining area (with fire place!), and a full kitchen.

A giant bedroom with clouds on the ceiling.

My bathroom was all green marble and amazing molding and a mysterious black tufted leather door.

That turned out to be a secret entrance from the foyer.

It was really something.

I finished taking my last deposition on Thursday midday and was able to hop on an earlier flight home to reunite with my loves. The plane started boarding while I was still in the Uber to LGA, but I made it! And even the second-to-last-row middle-seat was worth it to get home more than 12 hours earlier than planned.

This weekend I need to catch up on many work things, attend Cora's meet tomorrow, find outfits for our family pictures coming up in a couple weeks, exercise (whether or not in a studio), and catch up on South Africa blog posts. So obviously the first thing I did was switch out the winter/summer bins in my closet. Most of my clothes stay out year-round, but I have two bins that I switch halfway through- sweaters for sundresses, etc. It's going to be 95 today, but it made me feel hopeful that I can wear sweaters soon. Ish. By January for sure.

Let's close out with some favorite outfits of the past couple weeks!

Ayron comes back in a couple weeks for styling and I can't wait. I continue to be amazed at what she puts together in my closet- nothing in the above pictures is new, but it's all worn in a way I hadn't before.

Happy Saturday all!