Home & Away: Home...again

Well, I'm home again. Peanut is super excited each and every time I come home, and I am certainly happy to see her too. I apologize for having such lackluster posts lately, it's a transition week, and therefore nothing too exciting is happening.

Home and Away: More Home...

First and foremost, allow me the opportunity to apologize for the following offenses;

1. There are many instagram photos in this post, but it is not an insta-sista installation.
2. This is yet another post about a. Burbank and b. Jay and Dawn now living with us.
3. There are many furry faces in the following post

Now that I have apologized in advance I don't feel any recourse for asking you to observe Olive's cute neck accessory (pink and white stripped tea towel) that makes her look like such a lady. Enter, my current life...

Home & Away: Road trips

Lady of the Rockies

Don't you ever just want to get in the car, turn it on, drive away, and never, ever stop? I want to do this pretty much every day, sometimes twice a day. My favorite road trip involves driving east and stopping at Minnesota.

Home & Away: Getting ready in Burbank

So very soon (as in next Friday soon!) Dawn and Jay will be arriving in Burbank. Not only are we super excited for our friends to be living in the same town as us, we are equally (perhaps misguidedly) excited for them to be living under the same roof as us (until we find our new large castle to commune in).

So last weekend I spent some time doing some cleaning, arranging and beautifying the homestead to get ready for their arrival...

(new welcome mat above, I think it should do the trick)

Home and Away: Weekend Washington

I took a mini vacation and went home for an extended weekend, and for the Nicolai Christmas! It was so much fun, I love being at my Washington home. I always make sure that my plane seat is prime for seeing Mount Rainier.

Home and Away: Weekending at home

It seems that I am getting busier and busier, which can be fun, but sometimes I need to stop and sit around the house on the weekend. Let me tell you, if I could, I probably would spend nearly every weekend at home. I always find so many things to do and I love being around Olive, even though she does a lot of napping. 

Last weekend I did just that, but I was pretty productive. I even took down the Christmas tree in time to put up Valentine's Day decorations (aka the heart garland Christine made for me). There's always a reason to celebrate and decorate...

Home & Away:Tucson (in pictures)

I just got back from Tucson last night, and I had a really nice time. I'm always so amazed by the landscape down there. It's like another earth...

Home and Away: Home for Christmas

I was able to make it home for Christmas, which was pretty exciting since that doesn't happen every year. Even though Catherine, Mom, and I were all together, we didn't have a real Christmas celebration because Monika couldn't be there. However, Catherine did send Monika several texts about how she ruined Christmas, so with the sisterly bickering it was almost like a real Christmas! Also, Bruno attacked the present I'd brought for Mom. Oh, Christmas...

Home & Away: Monterey Bay Aquarium

Last week, Nicholas and I went on a week long getaway to sunny California. After visiting sister Monika and Ben for a few days, we packed up our rented Fiat and drove north towards Monterey, CA. The Monterey Bay Aquarium has been on my to-do list for quite some time, and let me tell you, it didn't disappoint. Go ahead and gawk at some of the jellyfish and sea horses we saw. They were breathtaking!

Home & Away: Malibu

After a very disappointing trip to the Ronald Reagan Library (don't go...seriously). Nicholas and I headed towards Malibu for some beach time. Things were going just fine until a seagull attacked our table during lunch. It was not pleasant, but the beach sure was!

Home & Away: Wish I Were Away

I wish I were wandering around the Smithsonian museums this week. Looking at creatures long dead and immense collections of random/amazing/historically significant objects seems infinitely preferable to the whole lot of nothing that's currently happening here. Sorry, Spokane, I don't mean to speak ill of you, but come on. It's the Smithsonian...

Away: Iceland, Denmark, & Sweden

Lately, I have been spending an unhealthy amount of time thinking about vacations. Of course this leads me to reminisce about some of my favorite travels in the recent past...

Home and Away: The I-90 Corridor

You might think there's a whole lot of nothing between Spokane and Seattle/Tacoma. Well, let me assure you, you are mistaken. One of my favorite things about Washington is the amazing landscape from the east to the west side. I don't even mind the 4.5-5 hour drive all that much because it takes me from grassland and prairie to dense forest and mountain range. Also, because driving relaxes me. Yes, just like Ms. Miller in The Chipmunk Adventure. I think about her way too much. Please tell me you know what I'm talking about...

Home and Away: Halloween

As I write this I can hear several things: the drums of the haunted house two doors down, the screams of people anxiously waiting in line on the sidewalk, and the happy candy-fueled conversations of the hordes of kids shuffling along the street. It's Halloween in Burbank...

Away: Book Club (KITTENS!)

On Sunday, I ventured north to Tacoma for a monthly book club meeting. That's fine and whatnot, but the main point of this is that the host had recently acquired a kitten. A. Kitten. Be still my beating-kitten-loving heart...

Home & Away: Browne's Addition

I think it's generally agreed that we Nicolai sisters like autumn best. Admittedly, it can be tough to stay true to this brisk, colorful season...especially when you're caught in the melancholy grip of winter and all you do is pine and wish for spring. Sigh. But we try to keep faithful with thoughts of leaves crunching beneath our boots and pumpkins and fires and lightweight jackets against crisp breezes. And oh! Oh, it's time for knitted hats and scarves and fingerless gloves and cowls! Yes, this is the time of year when we gather all the lovely bits of fall in order that we keep the autumnal fires burning bright in our hearts all year long. Here are some of my neighborhood's seasonal treasures...

Home and Away: Bronson Caves

One definite perk of living just over the hills from Hollywood is that there are really neat landmarks everywhere you look! One of my favorites is Griffith Park. When you visit the park there are so many different areas to explore--it's home to the Hollywood sign, the inspiration for Disneyland, the Griffith Observatory, the old LA Zoo, and the Bronson Caves, just to name a few. So, in honor of the month that channels all thing spooky I think it's a great time to visit the caves... 

Home and away: California

While California is home for Monika, it's certainly away from home for me. I saw lots of amazing things during my minibreak there last weekend--including dolphins! Take a peek...

Home & Away: Tacoma

It just so happens, Tacoma counts as both home and away. As I've said before and I'll say again and again until I move back to the west side of the state, my poor little heart is split in half when it comes to Spokane vs. Tacoma. I've got one chamber assigned to the west and one assigned to the east. So here are a few of my favorite things from Tacoma...

Home & Away: Back to the Future, the house.

On occasion my Ben loves to surprise me by sweeping me off to fun places on the scooter. Well, on this occasion we headed to Pasadena: our final destination was the Gamble House (built in 1908 by Charles and Henry Greene, for David and Mary Gamble, of the Proctor and Gamble Co.). Most famous for being an ingenious architectural delight, this national historic landmark was featured in the Back to the Future movies as the home of Dr. Emmett Brown...