Making: a lot of veggie/chicken sausage sautees (Steve’s probably reading this and thinking, “Really? A lot of them, Bridge? Sure you don’t want to retract that statement?”). OK, when I do make dinner (which isn’t as often in the summer as it is the rest of the year), then I make it. So easy.
Drinking: Hmm… smoothies! Rose! White wine! Water! How’s that?
Reading: I already said this, but digging into this book on parenting and really loving it. I’ll try to do a post on the highlights in the coming month.
Wanting: these bras in every single color forever; they’re truly the best (I had one–forever–and just bought two more because they’re that great.). On sale!
Watching: Game of Thrones of course. And if I were on that show I would not cross Arya Stark. Even over Cercei. Arya is a beast. Oh! And Captain Fantastic which I’ve already gone on about in my stories. But please tell me you’ve watched or you’re going to. Really good. And not a superhero movie despite the misleading title.
Listening: to my latest playlist. Probably a lot of songs you’ve heard on my IG stories, too. Check it out! I have a ton of playlists over there if you search my name.
Wishing: that cut flowers would last longer.
Enjoying: these summer days. Like so, so, so much.
Loving: the way Anders literally greets me like he hasn’t seen me in days every single time I walk in the house.
Hoping: that you’re all finding some sweetness this summer, any way you can.
Needing: more hours in a day. I want to read, I want to blog, I want to play card games with the kids, I want to grocery shop, clean my house, cook good dinners, go for a bike ride, do my hair, plan another trip, jump on the bouncy house, watch a good show. There’s just not enough time to do it all.
Feeling: like I just want to do right by my kids. More than pretty much anything in the world.
Wearing: these shorts; I don’t know what I did in the summers before them (wore other clothes is a good guess). This is my second summer with them and I wear them all the time.
P.S. These wireless (!!) headphones are great and with ITSAHUNTLIFE you can get 15% off your own pair. They also make an ear-bud version. Check ’em out here.
I made a list the other day on my phone. I’ve been lying in bed walking myself through our area, and particularly through the attractions that come awake entirely during New England’s summer. Ice cream shops, go-kart racing, farms with fruit fresh for picking, pools and splash pads, mini golf, quarries, beaches, fried clams, summer concerts or drive-in movies. I realized it’s already mid-July. Being away and losing the month of June in New England has made this summer feel especially quick. I never feel this way in February. So I made a list of things I want to try to accomplish before these warm days are behind us. Summer really makes New England shine. It’s a shame it’s as short as it is because New England has enough to offer in summer to last all year long. But the poor thing and its inhabitants have to frantically squeeze it all in in roughly two and a half months. An impossible task.
A few weeks back I was packing for our trip, or, more to the point, avoiding packing for our trip so I clicked onto IG stories and did a breakdown of what I bring along on trips as a sort of stay healthy or get back to good health kit. I had so many of you asking to link to these things in a bigger blog post, so here it is!
We’ve been home for two weeks and it feels like we’ve been home two days, but then when we were there, those three weeks, they crawled. In a good way. Travel time, in some ways (and very much not in others), seems to move at a pace entirely different than home time. Home time is frantic. The days bleed into one another. They all look the same. I was at a birthday party with Parker the other day and my friend asked, “What’d you do yesterday?” I had to look at my phone for clues in my camera roll of what I did the day before. Is there something wrong with me? 
I made a 
After Florence, we had one week left in Orvieto. We’d visited 
On Instagram, I asked a few weeks ago if anyone had any travel questions. I know there’s a million and one travel blogs out there with questions answered on the daily, but I think there’s something that can be added with everyone’s unique traveling experience. So here’s the Q+A I promised! Also, I did a post on this after our last longer trip, so there’s probably some overlap but 
Attempted a dog on Anders’ face and I think it looks more cat-like. Oh well. But when a face painted child is sleeping, it may be the cutest thing ever. Anyway, this is our first full weekend home and I’m planning on finally unpacking myself (one place where my procrastination really shines is when I have to unpack). Plus laundry, plus beach. What are you doing?
Oh beautiful Florence! This city is such a gem. So many big cities are overwhelming, busy, fast but Florence feels like a pace I can keep up with. I once had a friend tell me that Rome is like a man and Florence is like a woman and I think there’s something to that summary. Florence is a bit more feminine, artistic, calmer. Rome is busy, hectic, crazy. What am I saying about men and women? Draw your own conclusions! (Love you, Steve!) Also, I really do love Rome. I just don’t think I could live there (at least not with children).