Enjoying the Small Things

Enjoying the Small Things

The Best of Key West

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If there’s one thing our family is good at, it’s spontaneity. In fact, we are much more likely to do something when asked last minute than to put it on our schedule months in advance because long term commitments scare us. When my dad asked me a few weeks ago if the kids and I wanted to come to Key West with him, I said it probably wouldn’t work out. But then he asked me again two days before he left, sweetening the deal with “I asked your sister, and she just got a ticket–she’s flying down tomorrow morning,” and the spontaneity thrilled me. So I made a few calls, arranged to bring some school work with us and then I pulled the kids out of school for three days to give the Internet Debbies something to talk about over coffee. I’m nice like that.

Key West is a five hour drive, and once the I-75 part is complete, it’s actually quite pleasant–a simple highway connected by numerous bridges and little beach towns sprinkled with old school motels, charming restaurants and tourist signs that lure passersby into shell shops and scuba dive bookings and dolphin excursions. The road ends at Mile 0…Key West.

We haven’t been to Key West in years–since Nella was a baby–so it was fun to come back and see how it’s changed. Really, when we return to these kind of places, we’re seeing how we’ve changed though.

Bikes have replaced strollers.

My dad loaded up six bikes and a bike trailer in his minivan, and I wouldn’t do Key West again without a bike. We biked along the ocean, through town, four miles to breakfast, four miles back, to the playground…and this one did it all, without complaint, on this itty bitty bike with training wheels.

Key West Favorites include…

Blue Heaven. Always Blue Heaven. We spent an entire morning there, playing ping pong, drinking mimosas, searching for cats and chickens…

This cat was a meanie. It’s all cute and fun until the cat scratches your eyes out.

Nella stayed glued to my sister to the point I had to ask my sister if she needed a break (she didn’t). I love how kids know their family–even if they don’t see them a lot.

And why yes, that is a small dog in a baby sling.

In other news, I finally found a donut to rival the best one I’ve ever eaten at Dough in Tampa…Glazed Donuts on Eaton Street, sweet Lord in heaven.

We balanced our few Go, Do, See! adventures with a lot downtime which was just what we needed.

…and managed to squeeze in one sunset at Mallory Square.

A people-watching dinner at Amigo’s…

I’ll never forget these decisions to pick up and go, to make the memories, to swap classroom math for life math.

And for anyone who doesn’t want to drive as far as Key West, Islamorada is closer and so full of charm. We stopped on our way home, and I tucked it away as the next place we want to explore. Until next time…

The Great Big Chicago Christmas Post

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For the third year in a row, we escaped this past weekend for a heavy dose of holiday memories to a city that pours out festive feels from every corner, every storefront window, every street musician.

My kids look forward to our Christmas weekend in Chicago as much as Christmas itself, but this year perhaps no one was excited about this trip as much as Lainey. Her best friend Maggie moved to a Chicago suburb over the summer, and while the loss of her presence here has been patched over with FaceTime calls and daily texts, technology has nothing on the hug they shared an hour after we arrived and the three days that followed that included these two joined at the hip.

Christmas in Chicago musts for us include:

State Street Macy’s window displays.

Numerous stops for hot chocolate while we sightsee.

Riding the train.

Pictures on my friend’s apartment stoop.

…and so many night walks where we point out Christmas trees in windows and look for parties and pick which front door decorations are our favorites. We imagine the stories that are written in all the buildings we walk past, and my dad provides an ongoing soundtrack with the portable speaker he keeps in his pocket, full volume–all the Christmas carols, all the time.

New favorites this year:

Tea at the Drake Hotel with our friends and Brett’s sister (who is moving to Naples in just days, and we are so excited!).

A night time carriage ride through the city (we used Antique Coach & Carriage Co., just outside the old Water Tower). We all loved this one so much and will definitely do it again.

You bundle up beneath blankets and ride through the most festive streets, even a little stretch along Lake Shore Drive. We sang Christmas carols while the kids hollered to onlookers various holiday greetings that, I’m sorry to say, included “Tooty Christmas!”, “Happy Toots!” and “We Wish You a Merry Fart!” (followed by hysterical laughter).

Macy’s Santa. We’ve never attempted Santa in Chicago before because the lines were too long (because it’s the REAL Santa) and Nella isn’t much for seeing him face-to-face, but I was on a one-on-one date with Nella and ventured down to the enchanting Santa Land in Macy’s where Santa was visiting. I thought maybe we’d just check it out, but we came during a time when there were no lines, so I pushed it a little further, standing in line and suggesting we’d just “look at Santa.” not sit with him. When it was our turn, the red velvet curtain pulled back to reveal this magical festive nook and the kindest Santa, straight from the North Pole. When Nella was hesitant, sweet Santa suggested I sit with her alone while he walked away. Once she was comfortable, we asked if he could come back and she said yes. I asked if I could step away to take a picture, and she nodded yes again. And then Santa reached for a book and asked if he could read it to her. I didn’t think to check my camera settings–just started snapping. Magic, I tell you.

I don’t know how I missed the little playground tucked right next to the fire station near Michigan Ave all these years, but I’m so glad we found it this year. It was warm enough that the kids could actually enjoy a good half hour playing there before our next cocoa stop.

Another favorite this year was Christkindlmarket, an open-air German holiday village full of gift vendors and German food. I enjoyed my first (and hopefully not last) cup of Glühwein, the most delicious hot spiced wine, and picked up some keepsake treasures.

At the Bean, it was surprisingly warm enough for the kids to take off their coats for a bit.

Even though we didn’t end up with snow, we feel so lucky to have enjoyed such beautiful weather when we’ve experienced brutal winds on this weekend before. The sun allowed for more outdoor exploring.

And when the sun went to bed and the cold came creeping in, we made my favorite memories–the indoor kind, not dependent on what the city gave to us but what we brought to it.

Our wonder…

…our dance moves…

…and the suitcase of things we packed to “make it special.” Snowmen marshmallows for cocoa, a Christmas puzzle, our favorite jammies, card games and a candle that smells like a Christmas tree farm.

My dear friend lets us stay at her family’s apartment, and so many of our most memorable moments on this weekend happen inside this special place, set up with toys and so many little personal touches.

I think we could have skipped the city adventures altogether and let Nella play in this secret nook the whole weekend, and she would have been perfectly happy.

We’re smitten with this city and so grateful to tuck away another weekend of December memories together here.

…and even happier to come home to be together as a family, where we belong.

xo to you and yours.

Marco Island Getaway

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Sitting in the kitchen last week after a particularly long day that involved yellow slime on my office rug and an animated argument over who got to sit behind me in the back seat, it dawned on me that we had an upcoming day off school and that we might possibly be able to run away from the madness for a weekend. Normally when discussing these spontaneous ideas with Brett, one of us is impulsive while the other practically thinks it through; so I was pleasantly surprised when I threw out the idea and he snapped back immediately, “I’m in, do it. Let’s go.” Of all the Bretts he is, Spontaneous Brett is still one of my favorites. Like that time he was pushing our rickety little travel stroller downtown Chicago one summer when he suddenly had the urge to throw it in the trash and buy a new one right that second from a fancy stroller store. There was something strangely attractive about his out-of-character move to ditch comparing prices and safety features for the immediate satisfaction of pushing something better than a tin can on wheels through the busy streets of Chicago. So who I was to play practical last week when he jumped at my suggestion to book a weekend on Marco Island, just 45 minutes away.

Turns out the best remedy for fall cravings and missing the north is to dig a little deeper into the treasures of our own environment. This was our pumpkin patch this weekend, and it was perfect.

We stayed at the JW Marriott, and after staying at several hotels now in our area, I can say this is by far the best place for families. We stayed there a few years back for a quick end-of-summer getaway, and I loved it then; but it’s even better now, completely remodeled with a gorgeous new building added including new restaurants, event spaces and the most amazing arcade (it was HUGE!) that the kids loved.

Within the arcade was a bar, several bowling lanes and glow-in-the-dark miniature golf. Our kids were beyond impressed.

We had plans to adventure on the island, but we ended up never leaving the resort because it offered everything we needed.

Lainey brought her mermaid tail and effortlessly swam around the pool with it, much to the delight of little girls who watched her.

One of my favorite things about getting away as a family is our morning ritual. Brett likes to sleep in (Lainey and Dash usually join him), and I–along with my sunrise loving sidekick–like to get out and explore. Nella and I quietly slip out of the hotel room to walk the beach and collect washed up treasures–speckled scallops, lightening whelks and smooth olive shells.

We feed the seagulls bits of bagel, make sand castles with our shells and head back to the hotel to collect the other two when Brett texts that they’re up.

Round Two of morning beach adventures includes donuts.

Lainey’s friend came up to join us for part of the weekend, and the balcony slime session commenced shortly after.

The hotel offered so many family-friendly perks that made our stay more convenient and enjoyable including an on-site Menchies for frozen yogurt…

…multiple pools (and water slide) and several beach-front dining options which made meals so easy because the kids played on the beach while we sat and talked.

The best part was that when the weekend was over, we hopped back in the car, drove 45 minutes home and had bags unpacked and our little Florida fall scene going by the end of Sunday evening.

If you’re planning a getaway to our little corner of the state (might I suggest February after your windshield scraper breaks while you’re chipping the ice off at 4 a.m.), I highly recommend JW Marriott for families!

“Baby Shark”

Now to get moving on Halloween! We are so behind on costume planning!