Christmas in Palm Springs

I grew up in California, but for the past 6 years I've lived in places where winters are long and cold. My self-diagnosed Seasonal Affective Disorder would kick in, and I'd be cold and grumpy for months. Didz would tell me to toughen up, I'd tell him to go suck an egg. We'd bicker on and on like this. He'd try to convince me to embrace the winter - white fluffy snow! hot chocolate! bundling up! - and I'd translate that to mean: nasty, slushy, slippery sidewalks! scalding hot liquid burning my tongue! wearing a million layers to go outside, but then sweating profusely indoors where the heat was blasting to a gajillion degrees!

This year, we decided to skip the holiday travel, the snowy cityscapes, the ice storms and power outages, the flight delays and long lines... and enjoy wearing flip flops and t-shirts for Christmas. We made a spontaneous, last minute decision to drive to Palm Springs and spend a few days here:

We missed our families, and wished we could've all been together... but our little gettaway was warm and wonderful and I think Didz is coming around to understanding how magical living in California really is.

We splashed around in the pool, we ran around on the grass, we woke up all our neighbors with early morning bocce, we ate tacos and drank beer, we chased Ina around the lobby (we spent HOURS in that lobby) and we opened Christmas presents (who knew a pair of mittens could bring SO MUCH JOY) and played in our room until we were all completely exhausted.

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas! Sending lots of hugs and sunshine to you all... and BIG BIG LOVE to our good buddy TK and his darling girl, Vija, who got engaged yesterday. Love you guys! xo

Last Week + Weekend Bits

My parents came to stay with us last week. It was fun, and delicious, and wonderful, and went by too quickly, as it always does when they're here. We didn't do much, other than eat, drink, play and console a cranky teething baby (molars are the WORST). Didz and I snuck off for a couple of dates alone, but mostly we all just hung around at home. On Thursday we prepared a Thanksgiving feast, and sat and ate and wore napkins on our heads (a ridiculous tradition that we take very seriously).

Early Friday morning my parents took off back to Boston, so the three of us jumped in the car and drove up to Ojai. We spent the weekend in the country, at Mia's family's ranch. Ina met a horse and ate dirt, we breathed in fresh mountain air, and got to see the stars at night. We even got to go out with friends one evening, while Ina slept back at the house with Mia's folks. It was relaxing and rejuvenating and such a perfect escape from the city.

Here's a glimpse into our week, and our weekend gettaway:

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! This week we'll be eating salads and fruit (does apple pie count?;) and working off all that stuffing with long walks by the beach. I'm hoping to do a little holiday decorating around the house - but we'll see how that goes. My little helper will be far more keen on taking decorations down than putting them up. It'll be a minimalist Christmas for sure.

Happy December!

Our Parisian Getaway

We spent the past five days in Paris. It was so good. It was good to get away from our mess at home, clear our heads, eat croissants, drink wine, take long walks, and just hang out together without the worries that have consumed us lately. It was refreshing, to say the least. 

This trip, of course, was very different from past visits. There was a tiny human dictating our days, so there were no fancy dinners or evenings at bars. Instead there was a pizza picnic in the living room and evenings curled on the couch watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle (Ina was MESMERIZED by the sparkle!). There were afternoon drinks and early bedtimes. There were long walks, and long naps. It was perfect. 

Here's a glimpse:

 

I am forever grateful to our friends who let us stay in their beautiful flat while they were away - you guys are the best. We'll miss you... and that view!

I was sad packing up to head back home - but Didz promised we won't stay away too long. I'm already looking forward to our next trip... and doing some casual apartment hunting :)

Weekend Bits: Geneva

Travelling is exhausting. Travelling when you're pregnant? Double exhausting. Travelling when you're pregnant with your in-laws? Oof! We had a fantastic trip, and we absolutely loved Geneva, but coming home and crawling into our bed last night was my favorite part of the weekend.

Geneva is a beautiful (but expensive!) city with a spectacular setting on the shores of Lake Geneva, at the foot of the Alps. We were lucky the forecasted rain held off for us, making it ideal for wandering and sitting at outdoor cafes by the water. Coordinating seven people in a foreign city can be tricky - but we managed to find a perfect balance between family time and solo exploring. We had a few fantastic meals (our dear friend Ariane recommended a very cool restaurant that we went to our first night in town), and everyone got to cross off some things off their Geneva to-do list. Didz's brother and his girlfriend took a day-trip to Mont Blanc, his parents and sister went to a couple museums and Didz and I had absolutely nothing on our agenda, so we just walked and talked and sat and ate and loved every minute of it.

love this guy

delicious

disco

jet d'eau

buddies

beautiful day on the water

pregnancy craving satisfied. thank you, room service.

One of the highlights was Saturday morning, when Didz and I went to have a coffee at this funky little cafe on a jetty in the middle of lake called Buvette des Bains. We happened upon this little three piece band playing and people dancing (in Lithuanian we call them "rateliai"... simple choreographed dances danced in circles). It was so much fun to watch - we were tempted to jump in and learn the steps on the spot, but chickened out and sat and enjoyed our coffee and watched the show instead.

polka!

the band: Sous le Pont

Geneva left such a good impression on us that I hope we have a chance to explore the rest of Switzerland at some point. This week Didz's parents and sister are visiting Lucerne and Zurich - it'll be interesting to hear their thoughts when they visit us this coming weekend. 

Have a wonderful week!