Last Monday, an unexpected snowstorm — a surprise in an otherwise mild winter — created this view from our living room window:
Clara went outside and had a great time playing in it:
Fast forward a week, and our view has changed to something more like this:
Clara’s wearing a different kind of outfit now:
True to our anniversary resolution, we slipped away to Maui, Hawaii to celebrate finishing our book, our upcoming five-year anniversary in July, my turning 30 in March (John already hit his in November), and anything else that felt like a reason to celebrate. Clara has been saying new four-syllable words — escalator, helicopter, and anemone — so there’s plenty to toast. This is our first real vacation flight since our honeymoon in Alaska in 2007, and it’s the first time in the 4.5 years we’ve been blogging that we’ve announced we’d be taking a full week off.
We plan to share a photo or a short update now and then during the week about island life, and we scheduled a few posts before we left, including some small kitchen updates. We also lined up a nice giveaway, valued at nearly $500, that will go live tomorrow (Monday). Our posting schedule will be a little off because we’re five hours behind our usual time zone here in Hawaii, so the giveaway might not appear exactly when you expect it.
Mostly, though, the goal of this trip is to relax, unplug, and show Clara a wonderful time. We’ll pop in occasionally and check comments, but please forgive us if we aren’t answering as quickly as usual. We’ll be back with regular home-improvement content next Monday, refreshed and inspired to tackle projects like the cork floors in the kitchen, the three untouched bathrooms, the walk-out deck we want to build, converting the carport to a garage, adding crown molding and wainscoting, a complete sunroom transformation, a full playroom overhaul, and all the other big projects we keep talking about at night.
Because Clara is traveling with us, we’ll share how she handled the trip and adjusted to the time change soon — likely next week on our family site. Quarantine rules meant Burger couldn’t come, so he’s at home being loved by house sitters; we have friends and family taking turns staying with him while we’re away. Of course we call and “talk” to him a couple of times a day — and maybe he’ll inspire our house guests to lay some cork flooring while he’s snuggled up with them. He’s a persuasive little chihuahua, after all.
If you’re a Maui local or visiting too, say hello if you spot us acting like dorky tourists. Look for the little girl with legs so pale they almost look blue — that’ll be us.
And yes, my skirt is twisted a few inches too far to the right. Surely I’m not the only one who battles skirt-spin, right?