Well, I’m all settled in back at home after the best long weekend in Florida with my family. I am really happy that I made the decision to go. It was restful and relaxing, and I got to spent a lot of quality time with my parents and my grandmother. I don’t think I realized [...]
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A Very “Mom Life Is The Best Life” Kind of Week
March 9, 2024 { 0 comments }Hi from Florida. I booked a last-minute flight to spend a long weekend with my family. Our last visit was Thanksgiving and that seems like forever ago. I really don’t like to go more than 2-3 months without seeing everyone. We were supposed to visit in February but our trip got cancelled the day-of due [...]
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All The Holiday Things
December 27, 2023 { 1 comment }We are squarely in the middle of that weird week between Christmas and New Year’s where schedules and routines have completely gone by the wayside and time doesn’t seem to make any sense. And I’m loving it. As Buddy the Elf would say, “I thought maybe we could make ginger bread houses, and eat cookie [...]
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Thanksgiving 2023
November 25, 2023 { 3 comments }Happy Black Friday. I hope it was a wonderful Thanksgiving for those of you celebrating. And if it wasn’t, I see you too. Some years are like that and I’ve had my fair share of them. I spent Thanksgiving in Florida with Finn, my parents and my grandmother. I was thinking back yesterday while chatting [...]
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What I Ate In Florida + The Rest of Our Trip
September 5, 2023 { 7 comments }Hope y’all had an enjoyable Labor Day weekend. We arrived home from Florida at 9:45a on Saturday morning and it was really nice to essentially have a full weekend after coming home from vacation. We definitely made the most of it but before I jump into that (next post!), let’s backtrack to what I ate [...]
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Charlotte To Florida: Go And Rest
August 31, 2023 { 8 comments }Welcome friends. I am cozied up on my grandmother’s couch writing this post and feeling grateful to be here for this last week of August. This Dreamy Vibes playlist on Spotify is perfect for a full moon night and winding down a crazy month. The first thing to share is that we are safe and [...]
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All The Family Time + Fun In The Sun
June 1, 2023 { 1 comment }Hello friends. I hope you enjoyed the long weekend and that it’s been a great week for you. We made it back from Florida on Tuesday and I jumped right back into the regular routine. I basically went straight from the airport to the yoga studio to teach – and then trained a client after [...]
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The End of 4s + Happy Place + Digital Detox
May 27, 2023 { 3 comments }Hi from the happy place. It’s been a week friends, and nothing could be better than landing here at the end of it. I’m in my feels as I write this post tonight so stay with me. We wrapped up Finn’s year in the 4s. This was the first year that felt fully “non-covid” and [...]
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Ninety-Three
April 11, 2023 { 13 comments }Hi friends. I’m writing this post on my flight home from a weekend in Florida with my family. The occasion for my visit? Mema’s 93rd birthday!!! My sweet grandmother celebrated her birthday on Easter Sunday and there was no way that I was missing out on being there to shower her with love. Ya only [...]
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Five Nights In Florida
March 6, 2023 { 10 comments }Happy Monday friends! Finn and I were on the first flight back to Charlotte this morning after spending five wonderfully soul-nurturing and fun nights in Florida with my family. Our last visit was for Christmas and that seems both not so long ago and forever ago at the same time. I always know it’s time [...]
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Ending Well
January 1, 2023 { 4 comments }Earlier this week I came across these words from yoga teacher Janet Stone through a Facebook share from a friend who has been reading here for years (hi Pam!). “Ending well is an honoring of what has been, what is, and what will be.” ENDING WELL grabbed me and the idea of honoring what has [...]
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Currently (December 2022 Holiday Edition)
December 17, 2022 { 7 comments }I feel like I have lots of little things to share with you guys so it popped into my mind to do a “Currently”-style blog post with a little bit of a holiday twist. My last Currently was back in May and these are always fun posts to write and read. CURRENTLY READING I just [...]
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Giving Thanks
November 24, 2022 { 11 comments }Hello and happy Thanksgiving! I am sitting with my grandmother watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Finn is with his dad for Thanksgiving. I dropped him off at preschool Tuesday morning all decked out in a tie-dye shirt that he made with his class. They all wore them to school on Tuesday and had a [...]
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Hug Your People Hard
September 30, 2022 { 3 comments }Well, the end of this week has found Finn and I in Florida with my family but what a heartbreaking week it has been to watch Hurricane Ian devastate parts of Florida and also cause widespread flooding in the Carolinas. We were all on edge as we tracked Ian’s path and breathed a sigh of [...]
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The Weekend I Needed
August 21, 2022 { 4 comments }Hello, hello. I am logging on for a quick weekend recap. It was nothing special but exactly what I needed it to be. The first update I owe you is on the baby birds. One of my blog readers referred me to Carolina Waterfowl Rescue and I was so grateful discover this amazing resource in [...]
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This Week So Far
August 17, 2022 { 3 comments }Hi friends. I have finally found myself on the couch after a marathon day. My mom flew in on Monday afternoon to spend the week in Charlotte. The reason for her visit was to attend clinic at Duke as routine maintenance/monitoring after her double lung transplant earlier this year. It’s hard to believe that it’s [...]
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Our Florida Beach Week
August 13, 2022 { 4 comments }Happy weekend. I am writing this post from my hotel room in Kingsport, Tennessee. I am here leading the first weekend of 200-hour yoga teacher training at Vidya Yoga & Fitness. I cannot believe that I started working with the team at VYF back in 2018 when Finn was four months old and now we [...]
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Friday Favorites From Florida
August 5, 2022 { 9 comments }I am winding down on this Friday night on my grandmother’s couch in Florida. WE MADE IT TO FLORIDA! Me and my little travel buddy flew out of Charlotte early Thursday afternoon and arrived in Fort Walton Beach right around 2p thanks to the change to Central time. Short flights with Finn are a breeze [...]
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Blessings
August 1, 2022 { 19 comments }Happy Monday and happy August. Here’s hoping that this fresh new month brings good things and good health! One thing that it will definitely be bringing is lots of family time. Finn and I are headed down to Florida in a few days to spend a week at the beach. We were supposed to do [...]
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My Dad’s Open Heart Surgery
July 24, 2022 { 28 comments }Hi friends. I am writing this post from my dad’s hospital room in the cardiac care unit. This is where I’ve been spending most of my time for the last four days. Lots to fill you in on. WEDNESDAY I flew down to Florida on Wednesday afternoon. I arrived around 2p and my mom picked [...]
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Life Lately: What’s On My Heart
July 8, 2022 { 54 comments }Happy Friday my friends. I am sitting at my desk with this trifecta of beverages and attempting to get some words out. It’s been a while. Here’s the morning line up. Smoothie in the Yeti (keeps my smoothie extra cold) – frozen bananas, strawberries, raspberries, peaches, blueberries, spinach and cauliflower with plain greek yogurt, almond butter, [...]
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Father’s Day + Turning The Corner
June 19, 2022 { 2 comments }Happy Sunday friends! FATHER’S DAY I want to start this post by wishing my dad a very happy Father’s Day! He has truly been a rock for our family this last year with the exacerbation of my mom’s lung disease and through her transplant journey at Duke. I admire many, many things about my dad [...]
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The Best MDW in Florida
June 2, 2022 { 2 comments }We arrived home our Memorial Day weekend in Florida on Tuesday morning. I edited all of the photos for this post on our flight home but I’m just getting a chance to sit down and write it. Our flight back to Charlotte was at 7a on Tuesday and that is early, early for us! The [...]
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This Feels Hard Because It Is Hard + Abundant Blessings
May 27, 2022 { 6 comments }It’s Friday night and I am cozied up on my grandmother’s couch with HGTV on in the background. I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be after the events of this week. Mema and Finn are both sleeping and I’m settling in to write this post. It was a hard week. It was a [...]
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Four-ocious Finn
May 19, 2022 { 3 comments }Hello, hello friends! I’ve been up since 5:30a (slept great, woke up naturally). I’ve meditated, caffeinated and eaten a good breakfast. I’m feeling energized and ready to tackle my Thursday. The first order of business is to check-in here to catch you up on the birthday celebrations and then I’m off to gym to lift. [...]
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Life Lately: Good Things and Hard Things
May 3, 2022 { 30 comments }Hi and I hope this finds you enjoying your week and the start of the month of May. I have many things to catch you up on so this will be a bit of an all over the place life lately. This post is filled with highs and lows, good things and hard things. It [...]
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Life Lately: Mostly Great Things
April 12, 2022 { 6 comments }Hi friends. I’m checking in with a “life lately” post. I have lots to share and most of it is good/happy/exciting. I intended to write this post yesterday afternoon but the day went a bit off the rails with some not so great things. Let’s get those out of the way first and then I’ll [...]
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Early Birthday Celebration Weekend in Florida
April 6, 2022 { 99 comments }I am settled back at home after the sweetest long weekend in Florida with my grandmother and Finn. While my heart always aches when we have to leave, I always arrive back in Charlotte feeling full of gratitude and with my priorities fine tuned. Backstory: I have been trying to get us down to Florida [...]
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Double Lung Transplant Recovery: Family Weekend in Durham
March 21, 2022 { 15 comments }This is a post that I am very much looking forward to sharing with you. Over the weekend, Finn and I traveled to Durham and enjoyed the best visit with my parents. It was Finn’s first time seeing Mémé and P-Paw since mid-October and the reunion was a sweet one! I was also overjoyed to [...]
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Double Lung Transplant Recovery: One Month Later
February 17, 2022 { 5 comments }February 15 marked one month since my mom’s double lung transplant at Duke University Hospital. It has been a difficult month for our family with many ups and downs but our leading emotion is gratitude for the new lungs she is breathing with and for the world-class care she is receiving at Duke. The outpouring [...]
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Double Lung Transplant Recovery: The First 10 Days
January 26, 2022 { 24 comments }The last 10 days have been a complete whirlwind as my family has navigated my mom’s double lung transplant surgery and recovery. I was in Durham for the first six days and did daily shuffle of hotel to hospital to Whole Foods to hotel and repeat. My dad would take the morning shift and I [...]
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Transplant Day!
January 15, 2022 { 76 comments }Hi everyone. What a day. I am in still in shock and having a hard time even believing the words that I am writing tonight. If you missed the post on my mom’s Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, you can read it here. I woke up this morning to two text messages from my dad. “We got [...]
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My Family’s Journey with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
December 30, 2021 { 118 comments }My dear friends and readers, this is not a post that I have been looking forward to writing or sharing. I have mentioned that my family has been navigating some challenging circumstances and that my parents have temporarily relocated to Durham, North Carolina where my mom is receiving medical care at Duke. I would like [...]
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Our Christmas Weekend In Florida
December 28, 2021 { 25 comments }It’s our final night in Florida (which is a bonus night…more on that later in this post) and my grandmother and Finn are sleeping. I should be doing the same but I want to capture our Christmas weekend while I am still in it. This time has been exactly what I needed on many levels [...]
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Making Spirits Bright
December 13, 2021 { 9 comments }Last week I was talking with a friend about what Christmas was like for me growing up and what our family traditions were. What started as lighthearted reminiscing quickly turned into memories so vivid they made my eyes well with tears and my heart ache in the best of ways. I can close my eyes [...]
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Baby, It’s Dark Outside
November 8, 2021 { 3 comments }I hope that this new week is off to a good start for all of you. Finn and I just came in from playing in the backyard and are now sitting at the kitchen table with the full Play-Doh set up going. It’s not even 5p and I’m already feeling like this… I will like [...]
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Durham Visit + Finn’s First Fair
October 20, 2021 { 9 comments }Hi friends. I’m sitting outside with my laptop on a gorgeous fall afternoon – the leaves are starting to change, the air is cool enough to have a light sweatshirt on and the bugs aren’t biting me – it’s blissful. I just made a cup of turmeric ginger tea and I am looking forward to [...]
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5 Days In Florida
October 8, 2021 { 9 comments }Finn and I flew home from Florida this afternoon. I sent him off to spend the weekend with his dad and I came home to two pups who were very excited to see me. I was feeling a little anxious about coming home this evening. It’s my first night solo without my parents, Finn or [...]
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Life Lately: Family Focused
October 5, 2021 { 56 comments }Hi there friends. I hope your week is off to a good start. Finn and I have relocated for the week! We flew down to Florida yesterday to spend the week with my grandmother. We haven’t been here to visit since late June (we’ve had several trips not work out for various reasons) and my [...]
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A Florida Weekend
June 28, 2021 { 22 comments }Finn and I took our first trip to Florida together on June 17, 2018 when he was just four weeks old. I was an overwhelmed new mom, a newly single mom, and I was really struggling. Florida felt like a beacon of light and getting us there was the one of the best things I’ve [...]
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Saturday Randomness: Spring, Running, Hair, A Birthday + More
April 10, 2021 { 31 comments }I am popping in with a quick dose of Saturday randomness before I head out to film a few classes for Fit Revolution. REMINDER: use code PBEASTER to get 50% off of your first three months! And that’s AFTER you get your 14-day free trial so it comes out to well under $10/month. The code [...]
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Easter Adventures
April 5, 2021 { 11 comments }Hi and I hope that you had a wonderful weekend. Mine was jam-packed with Easter activities, fresh air and sunshine and kid time. It was perfect! I have lots of photos to share from our Easter weekend visit with my nieces so let’s jump right in! SATURDAY Our Saturday started at a neighborhood Easter egg [...]
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Three Good Things
April 2, 2021 { 11 comments }Happy Easter weekend friends. I am sitting in bed writing this post with a house full of kiddos and a heart full of joy. REUNITED AND IT’S THE BEST EVER Finn and I drove to pick up my nieces this evening so that they can spend Easter weekend and the first part of their spring break [...]
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Happy Place
March 11, 2021 { 7 comments }Good morning friends. I’m back in Charlotte after a great trip to Florida with Finn to visit my family. I’m working in my office with the widows open and Benji boy keeping me company. Zoey has opted to sunbathe outside. I’m happy to report that Zoey’s skin rash/infection is healing so well and she’s been [...]
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A Sunny Saturday
March 6, 2021 { 22 comments }I’m so excited to share that we are enjoying a sunny Saturday morning in FLORIDA! We canceled our fall and holiday trips due to COVID precautions. While I am so relieved that we did because Finn and I both ended up getting COVID during that time and it was just the right thing to do, [...]
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Almost Friday Favorites
January 28, 2021 { 16 comments }Hello, hello! Today is a very important day…it’s my dad’s birthday! I wish that we could be there to celebrate him but hopefully we will have a belated celebration soon. My parents and my grandmother have all had their first vaccine so there is hope for a visit in the near future. I have to [...]
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Recent Eats
October 4, 2020 { 0 comments }I hope this finds you enjoying a beautiful and relaxing Sunday. Finn and I are in Florida for a few days to visit my family. RECENT EATS Here are a few recent eats. Plain full-fat greek yogurt, honey, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, peanut butter protein granola (a new find from Trader Joe’s…it’s good!) and peanut butter. [...]
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A Week of Dinners with Dad
July 14, 2020 { 12 comments }Hey, hey. I started this post on the drive home from Florida yesterday but then I got car sick and had to close my computer and forgo what could have been many hours of work and productivity. Oh well. You may be wondering how I was able to work in the car. Well, we brought [...]
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Beach Week
July 10, 2020 { 1 comment }Happy Friday friends. I hope it’s been a great week for you. I have been soaking up all the family + beach time. I’ve been on my computer a good bit for behind the scenes work stuff but have mostly taken a pause from blogging this week. I’m all suited and sunscreened up to take [...]
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Temporary Relocation
July 6, 2020 { 8 comments }Hi there. I have changed locations since you last heard from me on the Fourth of July. :) More on that in a second but here’s a quick overview of my super low-key holiday. After publishing my last blog post, I had my car washed, cleaned up around the house, did a driveway workout (details [...]