Wordless Wednesday: Our 10th New Year's Card

{Photo Credit: Terrence Adderly Photography}

Ready for Paris with Whistlefritz

Disclosure: Whistlefritz provided complimentary language products to facilitate this review; all opinions expressed are my own. 

When Nia was a toddler we traveled to Nigeria with a brief layover in Paris. Basically the closest we got to experiencing any part of the city was grabbing a sleeve of macarons before hopping on our connecting flight! Since then we've discussed returning for a dedicated trip and in a few short weeks we'll finally have that chance as a family. 

While we've been careful not to over plan our trip and allow plenty of time for just wandering around the city, one thing we've been doing to prepare is learning a bit of French and doing it in a fun way thanks to Whistlefritz, an award-winning, immersion-based language program.

How to Stay Married for 40 Plus Years

{Image via 1982 Creative Studios; bag by my mom: Designs by Lady Bee}

Today my parents celebrate 41 years of marriage. 

Without saying anything directly, they've taught me a lot about what it takes to be successful in marriage just by their actions...

10 Years and 5 Years

It's good to be back in Puerto Rico...

10 years married for me and Mr. Lovebird

5 years on Earth for the Littlest Lovebird.

Back to airplane mode...

4 Reasons Why We Love Goldfish Swim School - Needham

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Goldfish Swim School. All opinions expressed are my own.

Grayson's duck lips! I never know what I'm gonna get when I take a pic!

So much has happened since we first signed up to partner with Goldfish Swim School in Needham, MA including an amazing spring break cruise and our decision to drop a couple extracurriculars and add in more pool time!

Let me explain...

GROUNDED!: A (Picture Heavy) Life Update

When I picked him up he told me nothing happened at school. Then his teacher shared this picture! 

Last weekend ended a 5 week streak of being on airplanes. It was so nice not to have to be in an airport! As my family gears up for a staycation Memorial Day Weekend I am absolutely thrilled to be grounded for the next 5 weeks until we return to Puerto Rico to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. 

Here's what we've been up to...

Mom 2.0 2019: I Heart Austin

Today I'm back from a whirlwind 5 days in Austin, a city that's been on my bucket list for a while. I'm already plotting for when I go back! I arrived last Wednesday morning then Uka flew down to join me for the weekend. Last year, we did something similar when I attended Mom 2.0 in Pasadena, and now I'm starting to think we might have a new birthday tradition for him going. 

If there were 3 things I had heard about Austin it was that the people are amazing, the food is awesome and that the city itself is beautiful. 

It didn't let us down. 

Take a look...

Spring Break: We. Just. Beach.

Waiting to leave Miami...

Last year's dramatic start to our spring break cruise experience is something I *still* haven't shared yet on social media, but this year came a close second! We flew for the first time out of Islip on Frontier Airlines (hooray for saving money!), and it was great except for the ridiculously increasing traffic on the drive down. Next time we'll take the ferry O_o. Once we got over the madness of running to our flight, everything was mostly smooth sailing from there (pun intended!)...

Three (!) Headshots & a Life Update

{Photo by: Justin Hackworth; Shirt by: The Nineteenth Amendment D.C.}

Over the weekend I received the last of my headshots from Altitude Summit, and I was especially thrilled to catch photographer Justin Hackworth who was in high demand yet again! I remember being enthralled by his images before attending my first Alt Summit in 2014 as he seemed to perfectly capture the electric atmosphere of the conference. 

I actually have a couple more headshots to share from Alt Summit... 

Online to Offline at Altitude Summit 2019

At The Parker Palm Springs

Blogging conferences have changed. 

In fact I don't even feel comfortable calling Altitude Summit a blogging conference. It's more than that. 

Let me explain...

Ready for Spring Break with Goldfish Swim School

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Goldfish Swim School. All opinions expressed are my own.

{Image Source: Goldfish Swim School}

Today we're excited for spring because not only does it mean spring break feels even closer, but because tomorrow my kids start swimming lessons at Goldfish Swim School! We've visited in the past  for their themed Pirate Night - a fun family swimming experience, but with my children's 4th cruise coming up I decided it would be a great refresher to brush up on their swimming skills. 

Are you curious about swimming lessons for your little one? Check out what makes Goldfish Swim School special...

Our Family Wedding Weekend in Charleston

Mr. Lovebird and I returned with the kids late Monday night from the perfect mix of family, fun and food celebrating the wedding of my sister Ariane and now-brother-in-law Lawrence's wedding in Charleston, SC on Sunday! 

Martha's Vineyard Family Fun at Summercamp Hotel

Disclosure: My family and I received a complimentary stay at Summercamp Hotel; all opinions expressed are my own.

As much as I've shown Martha's Vineyard on my social media feeds I had never been there with Mr. Lovebird AND the kids up until this past weekend when we were guests of Summercamp, a delightful hotel in Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard that's part of the Lark Hotels boutique collection. 

We've been covered in gray skies and rain lately in Massachusetts, but the bright blue skies and gorgeous sun broke through just in time for our first visit to Martha's Vineyard as a family. We were there for about 24 hours, and we definitely made the most of it. 

Here are my top 5 favorite things about our visit...

I Heart Las Vegas #VegasStrong

Today marks the one year anniversary of the Las Vegas shooting, and I reflected in this Instagram post a while back how painful it's been seeing places that mean so much to me struck by tragic events. I often see online debates about whether to visit in the wake of tragedy, but I believe that it's often after these events that it's the best time to visit. Not only for tightened security, but also to stand in support and solidarity. 

Earlier this year when Mr. Lovebird and I found out Life is Beautiful would fall on my birthday we decided to return to Las Vegas for the 11th time, and it went from being a small birthday celebration to a larger family and friends celebration with my brother-in-law, sister-in-law and a few other couples. 

Here's how I witnessed #VegasStrong in action. 

What Happens on Your 9th Wedding Anniversary

Uka and I met in September 1999 - we were 18 years old, and I just a few weeks shy of my 19th birthday. It really does feel like it was yesterday. 

New at Six Flags New England 2018: Harley Quinn Spinsanity

A couple weeks ago I was invited to Six Flags New England's 2018 Media Day. It was a stunning day and the kids were in school so I was excited to head out to Agawam, MA to preview the newest ride: Harley Quinn Spinsanity. 

How We Spent 30 (Edible) Hours in Seattle

At Volunteer Park {captured by my friend Mary}

A few months ago I asked on my personal Facebook page if anyone had traveled on Amtrak from LA to Seattle. With Mr. Lovebird accompanying me to Mom 2.0 I was thinking it might be fun to extend our trip and travel up the coast. I had done a solo Amtrak trip from Chicago to LA in my early 20s, and I thought a kids-free trip with Uka might be fun. I got a few positive responses on my question, but looking at the timetable, however I realized the trip would limit our time with our friends so we ended up booking our first flights on Alaska Airlines thanks to our Hopper low fare alert combined with a discount code they gave to attendees of Altitude Summit. 

Mom 2.0 ended on Friday night with the Iris Awards then after spending time with friends and family in LA-metro we flew up to Seattle early on Sunday morning.

Here's how it deliciously played out...

Princess Awesome on Spring Break

Disclosure: I received a sample to facilitate this review; all opinions expressed are my own. 

Last week's re-entry from spring break has been a bit rough, but today some warmth finally arrived here in Boston! We've been looking back at some of our favorite moments from the cruise, and I love this one especially:

Isn't Nia everything? 

Forte Et Gratum (or Spring Break Recovery)

The title of this post is my high school's motto: Strength and Grace. I returned there on Thursday morning for my 20th high school reunion this weekend, and it's fittingly put me in a reflective mood. It's also made me realize I need a whole lotta forte and massive amounts of gratum right about now!

My parents met us when we disembarked from our cruise last Saturday!

My Spring Break Sweet & Sour Mocktail

Exactly two weeks from today Mr. Lovebird and I are surprising the kids with an epic spring break cruise so when Wayfair invited me to create a drink that's beach worthy I thought it would be fun to make a kid-friendly mocktail. I was inspired by my favorite fancy drink growing up as a kid: a Shirley Temple and because my kids are quite the Sour Patch kids I thought it would be fun to incorporate sour gummy bears. 

Here's how simple it is to make...