You guys. You guys. Oh gosh. Are we all in a funk? :) So many of you left amazing comments or reached out to me privately. I can't tell you what it meant to me. If anything, me saying that I get stuck with this sometimes and how you responded, reaffirms that I need to stay in this space. I needed you, and you (as always), lifted me up. You do it every time.

So how was everybody's weekend. I promised I'd show you my new planner, and that's it in the first photo. I'm really happy. It's nice to be carrying some of my photos around in planner form. Should you get one and go with the photo collage option, I would caution this: my photos feel dark, so maybe do a little lightening of your pics before uploading them. Just sayin'.

I feel like I started my weekend early with an awesome birthday lunch with my friend Tracy. How is it that being with your girlfriends can lift you up so much too. That and a honkin' big stack of magazines. I went giddily crazy, and yay for me! It was my first time with Garden and Gun, and already I'm a fan. It reminds me most of Sunset, which I still miss from our days out West, so I'm mulling over a subscription. I may give it another issue before I decide.

We had dinner out Friday night (I love Friday night) after a nice evening in the hood. It's cooler here now and everyone is coming out of their houses to mingle in their yards. When we first moved here our realtor called this a front-yard neighborhood, and Friday night is a good example of why. When we were at dinner, Neel saw one of his students (this happens quite a lot actually). This person, now a fourth-year medical student, shook Callum's hand and said, "Your dad's a great teacher." That wasn't a bad moment at all.

And then Saturday. Well. Callum had his first cross country meet in Williamsburg, which is about 45 minutes away from us. The bus left school at 6:45 a.m., so we were out the door pretty early. He ran at 8:30 and didn't do too badly for his first go, especially given that this course has hills and we don't grow those where we live! What we do grow around here is water, and you have to go over a bridge or through a tunnel to get pretty much anywhere around here. The bridge/tunnel we take to get home was closed for repaving, as was another. So all of the traffic traveling from one side of the water to another was funneled onto one bridge. We got caught in that traffic and sat. And sat. And sat. A car two in front of us over heated, and by the time all was said and done, we passed three accidents, including a charred out minivan. Nice. At one point Neel said to Callum, "We've seen worse. We've been in traffic jams where people get out of their cars and walk around." About ten minutes later he said, "Why don't you get out of the car and walk around?" We finally pulled off for a bathroom break and a quick bite to eat, and got right back into the mess. By the time all was said and done, it took us five and a half hours to get home. For a 45 minute trip. The only thing that got us through was Vanity Fair! (Of course!) I read Neel and Callum the absolutely amazing article that Michael Lewis wrote on President Obama. If you haven't had a chance to read it yet, I simply can't recommend it enough. We were rivited, and I read it right up until the car came to a stop as I finished the last sentence.

But. Back to work for me on Sunday. Did I tell you I'm taking one of Nicole's Classes? Tabletop Photography. I know, I know. I already do a lot of tabletop photography, but my skills could always use work, my styling skills especially. Some folks cautioned that it might be a bit basic for me, but I've already learned a lot...the trickiest part is finding time to fit it all in. I will do anything, really, if it will help me feel more confident, both as a photographer and a human. Perhaps in a week or so, I'll wow you with my prowess!

It was gorgeous and cool all weekend, so the windows went up and the house felt delicious. My lovelies at Simply Selma's invited us to join them at the Neptune Wine Festival, and how can you say no to an invitation like that? I took tons of pictures, and if I can get all my editing done tomorrow, I'm hoping I can treat you to a Tuesday Wine-Tasting Post. Its working title is "Where's My Wine, Bitches?"

So perhaps things are on the upswing. I think the thing I realized that I need to remember is to be authentic. Don't be afraid to say, "Yeah, I'm not not great. I'm okay, but not great." And let the people who love you lift you up. They want to. I know that when my friends are down, when any one of you is down, that's what I want to do. So maybe I'm not 100%, but it's a new week. I'm a lot better, and what I know is this: more authentic is where I want to be.

Thirteen is a biggie, isn't it? For a long while, our plan for Callum's birthday was to try to do something that he really loved. Something BIG. What more would our baseball-loving boy want to do than to see his beloved team in their home ballpark? Not much, we figured. So on Friday morning, we brought a cupcake up to his room and brought along the dogs to sing "Happy Birthday." In his card we asked if he might want to go to a game the next night. That question was deliberately baffling, so we had him read a birthday email from the lovely Erin that clarified "Hey! Let's go see the Phillies!" I'm not sure I've seen him smile so bright.

He had half a day at school, so there was still a lot of rushing around, during which Violet (with, we think, Lucy as an accomplice) ate that birthday cupcake. Bad dog! That cupcake was as big as her head!

But then noon came and out from school he bolted, grin wide as the world, and we were off. The drive from our house to Philadelphia takes just over five hours and we travel up the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Maryland. It's beautiful. Our true starting point is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, which is a 20-mile long bridge tunnel system crossing the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. It's considered one of the Seven Engineering Wonders of the World. I'll have more photos on Wednesday, but I just love it and love this drive.

We stayed at the Radisson Warwick in Rittenhouse Square, which made for easy walking everywhere. On Friday night we met Erin for an amazing birthday dinner at the Continental Midtown. If Callum loves anything as much as the Phillies, it's staying at nice hotels and eating in nice restaurants (are we raising him right or wrong?!), so this felt like the start to a perfect birthday weekend.

Saturday was very patriotic. We hit the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, the real birthplace of our country. And can I just pause for a moment and give a shoutout to the park rangers in our national parks and at our national monuments? Most recently we've been at Fort Sumter and Independence Hall, and they've been simply amazing. Our ranger this weekend pointed out that the founding fathers of our country labored in a small room with windows sealed shut (so the press couldn't snoop!) in the heat of summer and STILL managed to compromise. Our politicians these days could do well to take a lesson.

After Indepencene Hall, we traveled across the ocean to France where we had an amazing lunch at Parc with Erin and Boyfriend, proof positive that he does exist, he's just as delightful as you'd imagine (as is she, of course), and she really does love France. Parc was amazing, lunch was amazing, we had so much to eat and talk about that afterwards we all needed naps.

And here our story turns tragic. Perhaps you've heard about the massive cold front and line of storms that traveled along the northeast? Tornadoes in NYC? Nasty weather in our nation's capital? Steady drizzly rain in Philadelphia? Yes. It started to rain right as we left the hotel and hopped the subway to the ball park and was drizzly when we got there. As long as they didn't call the game, we stayed there, and the only bonus was that our seats were under cover (good job Erin!), but it didn't go well. We had some beer and some cheesesteaks and we watched the drizzle fall. After a few hours, that was that. Game called due to rain. Cal was devastated. We were all heartbroken for him. He was worried that he'd made a fool out of himself in front of Erin and Boyfriend, but oh, Little Man. Sometimes 13 is still a kid. I feel weepy simply writing this.

On Sunday, Erin and Boyfriend invited us to a simply amazing brunch with fresh New Jersey tomatoes and a gorgeous quiche and bagels and delicious coffee...and of course the incomparable Fitz. Fitz really felt like we'd brought him a boy for a present, and he was quite pleased with us. He thinks we can come and visit any time.

And we plan to go back. I'll download my photos and write more about Philadelphia for Wednesday, but we had an amazing weekend, despite the sad finale. It's such a quick trip and Callum and Neel both love it so. We're working out what to do about the missed game, but the season is short at this point. I just hate to see my sweet boy so sad. And all of your comments over the weekend meant so much to him! He even got a tweet (on my feed) from an ESPN analyst that he loves! All was not lost, not by any means. Thirteen is a biggie, you know. xo

monday mash up, september 17

monday mash up, birthday weekend edition