London Shopping-Vintage to Vinyl

On April 22, 2017June 12, 2017 By Travels with MelindaIn adventure, books, bookstores, England, Europe, London, Shopping, Travel, Uncategorized, VinylLeave a comment

Eleven miles and 25,000 steps later, we had walked ALL over London. Literally. We embraced “shop till you drop” and had fun doing it. Starting at our historic boutique hotel, St. Ermin’s, at noon after sleeping in (jet lag sucks) we walked to Notting Hill. Yes, that Notting Hill but, alas, we didn’t run into Hugh Grant. Buggers! BC655D29-FC10-4252-920C-07883DB7450F

This terribly charming area has shops galore including Portobello Market, a street filled with stalls featuring furs, teapots and more. But first, it was National Record Store Day and we were looking for vinyl and lucky enough to stumble upon the Music & Goods Exchange. Searching for treasures among the used vinyl, I found “Stompin’ at the Savoy”, a compilation of 19 classic cuts from the archives of the Savoy featuring pioneer jazz, be-bop, rhythm and blues. Dedicated to and featuring Charlie Parker, the tracks are from 1940-1960. Thom picked up singles from Elvis Costello as much for the covers, which we will frame, as for the music. Can’t wait to spin some tunes when we get home!

I love bookstores second to none so imagine my excitement to not only find the original bookstore featured in the movie, Notting Hill, but we also found a great sale at another bookstore. Picking up a “Royal Snap” very British card game, I now have a plan to play cards with Mia next time we go to Boise. “Albie and the Space Rocket” was another purchase. “It seems like just another ordinary night to Albie until he wakes up to find…penguins stealing the furniture, moose tangoing in the toilet and zebras asleep in the kitchen cupboard. But who has left a trail of baked beans?” Can’t wait to read this silly tale of adventure to Mia! Of course, I’ll have to explain what a “bloke” is and so on. Love those British terms especially “cheeky”. I got Thom “From Churchill’s War Rooms” as he plans to visit the actual war rooms while I am working this week. Booorrring! He knows that would not be at the top of my “go do” list so off he goes by himself. Yet another bookstore we stumbled on wasn’t open but we read the sign by the door which shared that this shop was the inspiration for the travel bookshop featured in the movie. WP_20170422_19_16_40_Pro

Furs everywhere

Teapots galore

Finally reaching Portobello Market, we navigated the crowds to find Mary’s Living and Giving, a thrift store that benefits Save The Children. I had read about this amazing shop and it did not disappoint. From Kate Spade to DVF, there were bargains galore and a friendly clerk to assist. I’ve decided to start a new tradition and get Hannah vintage fashion wherever I travel and this time she’ll be gaining a black sheath with fringe and zipper treatment. Super cheeky and all proceeds to a worthy cause!

Around the corner, we found another vinyl store, Rough Trade, where we browsed until we were informed that closing time was upon us so basically, “GET OUT!” Now dark, we started our long journey home. Walking in front of a group of millennials at one point, we chuckled at their conversation discussing a game they like to play in the pubs called, “Daddy or Sugar Daddy?” asking women with older companions to share the truth. Wonder how many cocktails they get thrown in their faces while playing this cute game. I’m betting quite a few.

At one point along a lonely, creepy stretch of road, I was ready to try to hail a cab. My back hurt, my feet ached and I was a little bit scared. “Princess Snowflake get your ass moving” was my compassionate husband’s response to that idea. Hitting 11 miles on my overworked Fitbit, we finally arrived back at St. Ermin’s. Time for an adult beverage. Cheers!

David Sedaris Delights

On January 21, 2017 By Travels with MelindaIn books, bookstores, Seattle, UncategorizedLeave a comment

“This will be the last decent day we’re going to have.” David Sedaris reflecting on the day before the Inauguration. Glad Thom and I got to share a fun evening with this smart, diverse, witty guy instead of watching that narcissistic, lying, cheating racist prepare to destroy our democracy. But enough about the rosy future of our nation…

wp_20170119_18_49_18_rich — Waiting for David Sedaris

Billed as a chance to help David Sedaris edit his next book, we quickly bought tickets and looked forward to time with this genius writer and keen observer of life. Used to seeing David in a large venue like Benroya Hall, it was nice to get cozy with David and about 200 other hard core fans at The Broadway Performance Hall at Seattle Community College.

“Theft by Finding” will end up being 2 books based on David’s 156 volumes of diaries from 1997-2002. Because “books get ugly when too fat”, David was editing the 630 pages he currently had for volume 1 before sending it off to his publishers next week with an anticipated May release. His next book will be coming out a year after that and will be a collection of short essays, a few of which he shared, giving us all a much needed laugh to the point of tears streaming down our faces. Much to look forward to, at least in books.

David opened his presentation by introducing two locals looking for jobs: Aaron and Julia. Peppering them with questions that HR could never ask like “are you gay?” “how old are you?”, he encouraged the audience to consider helping these fine folks out, including a recommendation that Julia appreciated sexual harassment and would never sue. Oh, David.

He has broken down his diary entries into categories: animal, people, drugs, assholes, travel, hard luck, asking for $, IHOP (a place he goes to observe people), etc. Needing to edit clumsy passages if “There’s no music to it”, the book will be a culmination of the best that the diaries have to offer and thus the enormous size of the books as they stand now. More pages are good for me, David, so don’t edit too much!

Looking back on many dairy entries of his travels including his forced visit to a Johnny Rocket diner where the waitresses put smiley faces on your hamburgers with ketchup but David requested a swastika instead and the reaction that elicited, his tales of his family really stand out as both relatable and hysterical. With a dad who is mostly angry and ridiculing, David related that when he recently fell off a ladder and hurt himself, he was amazed that his dad instantly turned caring after just having an argument prior to the incident. Family is family. Or his dad’s aversion to candlelight at the dinner table that his mom favored and his own aversion to the harshness of overhead lighting. Even a 15-year old David appreciated the softness of afternoon light and favored lamps covered with scarves to reduce the glare. Doesn’t every 15-year old boy?

Hugh is David’s partner and is featured in many of his diary entries. Relating when, after many years together, they finally had THE discussion of how many people they had each slept with, Hugh just kept counting, “moving on to a population of a small town”. David reflected that it was a miracle that they both didn’t get AIDS and when Hugh finally got around to sharing his “total slept with” number, David couldn’t help but state the obvious: “Whore!”

Always a fashion statement, David favors culottes and modelled a smock from Japan that had snaps up the front AND the back, though he couldn’t fathom why the snaps were needed in the back. I always look forward to his unique outfits befitting his personality.

In the Q&A, David was asked about his writing process and if he would ever write a book about it. Writer’s write and the only way to improve is to keep on writing but as far as writing a book about it: “No, it’s boring. Writing seems so dull to me” but David takes his observations of the world and shares them with us so we can laugh even in the darkest of times. Thank you, David.

Trevor Noah Rocks The House

On November 6, 2016November 6, 2016 By Travels with MelindaIn books, Seattle, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Few celebrities would draw a crowd as large as Trevor Noah during a busy Friday lunch hour in the workplace. However, thousands of folks jammed the room for a chance to hear Trevor passionately speak about his atypical childhood living in South Africa, a time filled with challenges that few of us have experienced. Born to a black mother and a white father, who left the family quickly, his tough upbringing in a society where he didn’t quite fit anywhere shaped who he is and how he views the world. He was a fascinating and animated storyteller describing scenes from his new book, “Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood”, a memoir of the observations of his childhood in a country when apartheid was unraveling.

trevor

Drafting off the “celebrity” status of a friend of mine who scored us front row seats, I got to view the talk up close and personal with no obstructions. Thank you my friend! Being that close allowed me to really observe the facial expressions and hand gestures of a wildly entertaining comedian who not only elaborated on his book but also shared his views on the craziest election any of us have ever seen but one that he predicted. How might you ask could anyone foretell the “Coming of Trump”? Growing up in a third world country, Trevor saw first hand how leaders would prey on people’s fears and anger, championing their darkest prejudices out loud in simple-to-understand sound bites. Trevor told colleagues early on that Trump would go far in the election process given that he was a reality TV star of questionable morals who knew how to speak and connect to these uninformed voters, lying and promising them whatever they wanted, playing the “outsider” vs. the government who has forgotten about them and their economic struggles.

Similar to what Gloria Steinem told the audience when I saw her recently in Boise, Trevor also was emphatic that this segment of society that is following Trump won’t go away after the election no matter who wins and will need to be heard and their issues addressed for the country to heal and move forward. He also suggested that what the U.S. needs is more than 2 parties to allow for more choices. Should Bernie run as a Democrat? No-he’s a socialist. Should Trump run as a Republican? No-he’s a nut but also probably a nationalist or alt-right candidate. I get it but not sure this change will happen anytime soon.

Trevor elaborated on his other observations from this election cycle: watching Trump move forward in the primaries was like having a front seat row to a “charismatic car crash” and that if he were elected, it would “press pause on all progress” that Obama has made the last eight years. That people like Trump can “create” facts on the internet that people believe as gospel is flat out scary to Trevor. The public is “engaged in a bubble of misinformation” the likes of which we have never seen before in the U.S. Trevor takes his job seriously on The Daily Show because, as one attendee related during the Q & A, most millennials get ALL their news from The Daily Show. To that comment, Trevor said, “Comedy is the spoonful of sugar to make the news go down.” and “Laughter is the medication to get through it.”

While I enjoy comedy and, God knows we all need to laugh more, the stress of this election has been hard to take even when delivered by a comedian as smart and funny as Trevor. Tuesday it will all be over. Vote.

The Seattle Times review today of Trevor’s book was very flattering-read here: Book Review

Hangin’ with Bruce…Truly The Boss!

On October 1, 2016October 1, 2016 By Travels with MelindaIn adventure, books, bookstores, Music, Seattle, Uncategorized, VinylLeave a comment

“This will be the best 4 seconds of my life.” Really??? My husband made this pronouncement this morning in advance of the upcoming meet and greet with Bruce. What about…hmmm…the birth of your children, marrying me, etc.? “Okay, the fourth best 4 seconds of my life.” Better. “What AM I going to wear?” Oh, Thom, settle down. Bruce is just a normal guy. “No. He. Is. Not. He is THE BOSS.” Okay, I get it and so the day began.

I made Bruce laugh!

Social media is powerful and Thom and I are wired almost every hour of the day so we found out quickly that Bruce Springsteen was going to make Seattle one of the few stops on his book tour to promote his new autobiography, Born to Run. WOW. At exactly 10 a.m. several weeks ago, we both were logged in to Elliott Bay Book Company with fingers poised and pounced on tickets (cost of the book) to get a ticket to meet Bruce, get a photo and a pre-signed book. Sold out in several minutes, tickets were later going for up to $600 on StubHub and wannabes were circling the lines today to meet Bruce begging to buy tickets or be the “plus one” for a ticket holder to meet Bruce. No way!

wp_20161001_10_22_19_rich — Thom making friends in line

I have to say that Elliott Bay Book Company had a big challenge and they did an awesome job communicating the rules often and in advance of the big event, as well as being staffed well, organized and friendly on the big day. We arrived at 10 a.m., 2 hours prior to the start time of the event and promptly got into a line with hundreds of others already lined up. We promptly fell into conversation with a lovely couple, Ollie and Fletcher, who had come up from Northern California and Tacoma. Fletcher told us stories of her dad’s love for Bruce and how, though her car had just been stolen and she was busy finishing up her degree, they had made time for this experience. Their dream is for Ollie to retire from her job and stay home to raise the kids they hope to have. They were lovely and I hope their dreams come true.

Finally, as the line moved forward, we got our blue wristbands and hands stamped in the bookstore and moved to another line, the “blue” line. By this time, we were two hours in and nature called. so off I ran to the nearest coffee shop while Thom held our place in line and made new friends, some old rockers who knew every Bruce song. Making it back in time to continue our journey towards Bruce, Thom was still in an altered state, so excited to meet his rock hero. We debated what to say in our 4 seconds with Bruce. Thom settled on thanking him for writing the songs that made up the soundtrack of his life-from the heart and meaningful.

As we gained entry to the bookstore and out of the rain that had started, we saw signs proclaiming “180 more steps to Bruce” and so forth and posters where you could share your favorite song, where you were from, your favorite Seattle sight/restaurant, etc. to keep you engaged while inching closer to The Boss. They even provided a “Spruce for Bruce” mirror to make sure you were still looking good for your photo opp. Great job, Elliott Bay, you pulled off a wonderful experience for everyone.

The bookstore staff quickly checked belongings and took your camera/phone from you so you were unencumbered and they could take the picture. Bruce was warm and friendly just like I thought he would be. Instead of a heartfelt comment, I chose to be honest but made him laugh with a sincere compliment, “You are TOO CUTE!” and then followed with a plea to keep the pressure on Trump. Seriously, HRC needs all the help she can get. He chuckled and hugged me tight and then we were done. It was truly a great 4 seconds. Afterward, we hopped over to EDM to get his new album that is the musical companion to his book that features 5 previously unreleased songs called, Chapter and Verse.

Bruce, it was great meeting you. You are a spectacular talent and inspiration to generations of fans, including me. Thom loves you too. Well done.

Exploring the NYC Public Library

On September 25, 2016 By Travels with MelindaIn adventure, books, bookstores, New York City, Travel, vacationLeave a comment

nyc — View from our room at The Andaz-perfect hotel and perfect location!

SHHHHHH….the librarian tour guide at the NYC Public Library glared at Thom and I as we quietly discussed a salient point to what she was elaborating on. DO. NOT. TALK. The message was clear and, properly chastised, we tried to remain silent for the rest of the one hour tour. Damn, it’s hard to be silent. Ranging in age from super old to ridiculously youthful, our tour group cohorts smirked at us including giving us the “oh no you didn’t” shameful sign. Being quiet did allow us to learn ALOT about the NYC library along the way on our recent stay in NYC. Silence is golden. Well, to most people.

Opened in 1911, the unofficial “People’s Palace” was built on the site of a former reservoir that featured a promenade around it for the ladies with hats and gents could stroll back in the day. NYC Public Library is a library of record that has many collection rooms scattered throughout featuring the good, bad and truthful record of people over time. We saw rooms for ancestory, the top 10 map collections in the world, historical records including an archive of menus from NYC to record our appetite timeline for posterity.

As you first enter, the grand Astor Hall was made out of marble, 65% of which was rejected because only the best would do for this magnificent structure. The intricate carved ceilings in the outer hallways was created in plaster to look like wood and it does. Why aren’t modern buildings built with more interesting ceiling features? Look up at the NYC PL because there are stunning murals in many of the main halls. Other fun things to check out:

nyc-4

Lions are everywhere from the huge statutes out front to the small heads by what were the water fountains before they discovered the pipes were lead and not safe-now just for show. They used to put wreaths at the holidays around the lion heads until some idiot set them on fire so no more holiday decorations for these lions. Damn fools.

Pooh lives here. Who knew? You can see the real stuffed animals that inspired the Winnie-the-Pooh stories.

In Room 328 Rare Books, you can see letters from Columbus, who thought he was by the New China Sea when he was checking out the US. I guess people were disappointed that he didn’t discover human monstrosities on his tour. Of course, Trump hadn’t been born yet.

Also in Room 328 is Thomas Jefferson’s original declaration of independence before the Continental Congress took it over and revised it. Also kept here is the world’s most valuable baseball card. What ball player you may ask?? Honus Wagner. Never heard of him. That’s probably blasphemous but just true. Our trusty tour guide told us that baseball cards used to come with cigarettes purchases. Yep, encourage the kids to light up and collect cards.

Of course, we had to check out the famous Gutenberg bible on display-one of 2 copies that are rotated to keep them in top shape, changing the pages open regularly. The black ink is typeset but the red letters were hand written. While the Rose Main reading room (iconic site used in Ghostbusters movie) was closed for renovation after parts of the aging ceiling fell down, there were so many other areas to check out that I didn’t miss it. On previous visits, that is usually all we saw. Well, besides the convenient public bathroom on the 2nd floor that we knew was there and used when in the neighborhood touring and needed a facility.

There is a quite extensive collection exhibited on Alexander Hamilton who is now a rock star thanks to the Broadway hit. Seeing the letters he wrote to his wife and all the official work he did for this country was very interesting, being the scholar and scoundrel that he was most definitely in real life.

As the tour wound down, our tour guide shared that the NYC PL was really all about inspiring life long learning and a passion for the community–one of the last bastion of civilizations–and sternly told us that libraries will never be obsolete. I hope not. My fondest childhood memories are of the Noblesville Public Library, a downtown brick multi-level joy that is no longer used as a library, but where I could escape and become immersed in a different world with my beloved books. A Wrinkle in Time was my all-time favorite book. I’ve shared my love of reading with my family who all think that the best present you can give is a book and the best place you can spend your day is immersed in a great library.

Random Irish Observations

On September 24, 2016 By Travels with MelindaIn adventure, books, bookstores, booze, Europe, Ireland, Travel, Uncategorized, vacationLeave a comment

On our vacation from Dublin to Galway, there were daily observations made by Thom and I on the uniqueness of Irish culture that I thought I would share:

AS SEEN DRIVING

Barak Obama car plaza near Tipperary, between Dublin and Limerick on motorway. I guess he has relatives here and has been honored with a gas station named after him. I am sure he is thrilled to celebrate his Irish heritage with this useful store vs. a museum or other nonsense.

Seen as we entered the motorway on big reader board: “Project Edward Day” sign, which is acronym that means European Day Without A Road Death, with current tally at “0”, which will hopefully stay that way with us driving on the wrong side of the road, I mean: Left, left, left.

day-3

No fancy cars, no trucks, no SUV’s or mini vans. Just standard manual transportation to get you where you need to be. Lots of dents and scrapes on cars and no wonder because everywhere but the motorway, the roads are just too damn narrow.

SOS boxes on the side of the road. What? Not everybody has global cell coverage??

AS SEEN SHOPPING

Shoe repair/locksmiths everywhere as well as tailors, signaling a culture that repairs vs. disposes of their wardrobe.

Bookstores-small independents-also on every street but not big chains and mostly featuring Irish authors vs. worldwide blockbusters. day-1

Newspapers, they are still relevant here with multiple different papers offered in all the grocery and book stores for your reading enjoyment. Love it as we still enjoy a daily newspaper delivered to our door in the States but we are the only ones in our building to do so probably because we are also the oldest residents as well. Blah.

Resale/consignment/vintage stores are plentiful. Thrifty and trendy at the same time. We stopped by the Salvation Army one and browsed the wide selection of clothes, housewares and some vinyl. One small gallery of shops had not only a great vinyl shop but a vintage clothing store and a variety of stalls selling everything from nuts to posters. Love places like this!

Gyms are few and far between with the main sport being lifting a pint. Irish excel at that sport. True-I’ve been to many a pub on this trip and witnessed this sport first hand.

Knobs and Knockers was one of the best titled stores, selling, you guessed it, just door knockers and door knobs. The doors of Ireland are beautiful and a subject of many photographs. Thom told me a red door means the house is paid off. Now when I see a red door, I’m thinking to myself, “well done” to the occupants and enjoy no more mortgage payments.

Travel agencies are still around and, based on the number of them, I would say fairly popular. Thinking the “seasoned” generation is not tech savvy and needs assistance scoring a ticket or reservation.

Grocery shopping with the locals is always a great way to understand a culture. At Aldi’s, there were literally bulk stacks of meringue circles. In the bread aisle, always a huge focus here where carbs rule, there were packages of pancakes and waffles in with all the other items we would normally see. The cakes/buns/jelly roll selection was wide and varied. Tea time! Beside a stack of goose fat jars, you could also find baked beans in ready-to-go single service packs. Yum. Irish yogurt is tasty and comes in tiny glass jars. Cute.

In many groceries, there are loaves of bread, scones, etc. heaped in open air baskets. Kind of yucky to us uptight Americans who are used to everything being covered up or behind the counter vs. everyone can touch and feel and explore the pastries with their grubby, germ-infested hands. No thank you.

MISC. STUFF

Smoking restrictions inside pubs are more of a “guideline” with many drinkers huddled outside around barrels and on adjacent outdoor patios enjoying a pint and a puff. No restrictions here about staying 25 feet away from the building to inhale carcinogens. That would be very inconvenient for the pub staff to service the refills.

300,000 people attending the Ploughman Competition outside Dublin where they do farm games. Headlines daily in the newspapers-big deal here.

Sheep are sometimes spray painted blue or green or yellow. What. The. Hell.

Hen Parties for bridal parties and Stag Parties for the guys are HUGE in Galway.

There is a two day bus/rail strike planned for Thursday/Friday. Thank goodness we have a car and aren’t reliant on public transportation as we usually are when we travel. Then on Saturday there is a huge “Repeal” protest in Dublin to protest the strict abortion laws. Thom usually attracts protests so surprised we won’t be there for it. In this very Catholic country, they are fighting with the church which never goes well.

A fine weekend in Seattle with Glen, David and Jesse

On November 16, 2015November 16, 2015 By Travels with MelindaIn adventure, books, Music, Seattle, Uncategorized, walkingLeave a comment

Glen serenades us from the balcony-just glad he didn't fall. — Glen serenades us from the balcony-just glad he didn’t fall.

What incredible talent (NOT the Seahawks but that’s another story) we experienced this weekend in Seattle-AMAZING! To start off, we were lucky enough to finally get to see Glen Hansard, who was performing at The Moore. The star of Once (my favorite movie AND Broadway play), Glen is a 45 year old Irish lad who can rock passionately and croon softly. The sold out crowd of devoted fans sang along, danced in the aisles and enjoyed his banter in the intimate setting. We didn’t want the night to end…

Falling Softly earned him an Academy Award in 2007 for Best Original Song and was the showpiece song for Once. However, his music from his new album, Didn’t He Ramble, was addictive and, coupled with his energetic live performance, it made me immediately want to see him perform again. Seattle should only be so lucky to have another Hansard concert soon. At the end, he and his bandmate surprised us when they popped up in the balcony, swung their legs over and serenaded us in a duet to die for:

Of course, I was hoping nobody ACTUALLY died but it was a close call as Glen was banging on his guitar and swinging his legs high as he perched above the crowd. Luckily no one was injured and he went on to join his whole band and crew to perform an acapella Irish ballad in his final farewell to the audience that was so sad to see him go.

The next night, another sold out show for us, but this time taking place at the beautiful and spacious Benroya Hall, where we laughed till we cried as David Sedaris read story after story of his tales from picking up trash from the roadside near his home in England (he is known as “Pig Pen” to his neighbors), sharing his North Carolina vacation home with his dysfunctionally hilarious family and just commentary on life in general from his unique yet twisted perspective. Of course he has written many books but he read, not from those, but from his New Yorker articles: http://www.newyorker.com/contributors/david-sedaris

Funniest story of the night for me was his tale of having a lipoma (fatty tumors like what Izaac, our Viszla gets all over his body-I call him lumpy in an affectionate way) removed illegally by a fan who took him “across the border” from Texas to New Mexico. David got his lipoma chopped into small pieces and sealed in a baggie on ice for the journey to his summer home where he intended to feed it to his favorite turtle, who was also disfigured by a tumor, this one on top of his small head. Unfortunately, the turtle had died recently according to his neighbor. So, dropping the bloody unfrozen tumor bits and pieces to turtles under the bridge near a tourist mall, he was asked by a Southern gentleman what he was feeding them because they were snapping it up mighty fine. “Chicken” declared David to the guy he deemed a red neck yahoo by his tacky t-shirt. David then thought to himself, who I am to judge? I am, after all, feeding a turtle parts of my body. Good point, David.

David also read from his many diary entries, which will comprise his next book. An avid Fitbit user, he once hit 72,000 steps in a day, which is just impossibly hard to do. WTF! I was dying in Amsterdam when I hit 18,000. But I get it because he explained that his Fitbit was taunting him, luring him, day by day, into more steps with sassy text message challenges. Mine tells me frequently that I am an “overachiever”. Duh!

When regaling us with his thoughts on politics and specifically the rise of Trump, he didn’t even know where to begin but spoke of his talk to a German fellow who asked David what he thought of the Trumpster. David likened him to a cartoon character whose Vice President would just have to be…. wait for it…..THE Hamburgler. Of course, David had to explain to the German what a Hamburgler was in American culture. Spot on, David.

I also got a chance to hear Jesse Eisenberg speak at my work on his new book, Beemis gives me hiccups. At Q & A, I told him he appeared to be channeling Woody Allen and asked him what he thought of the great man since he had just worked with Woody on a new movie. His nervous mannerisms, thoroughly NYC attitude (born in Queens) and self-deprecating style was SO Woody. He strikes me as more of a writer than an actor just from our brief meeting.

Afterward, I researched Jesse and found out he had idolized Woody since high school, sending him screenplays at an early age. Nice to know when Woody dies (as David S. would surely point out) we have a younger version standing in the wings ready to take over Woody’s post as the neurotic New York artist.

My only regret this weekend was that we were not able to see Allen Stone perform in NYC at the Apollo. I’m sure it was legendary! Next week we are off to Boise to spend the holidays, where we will continue our date nights and seek out adventure when we are not babysitting the incredible Mia! Nai Nai is on her way, baby girl!

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