niagara falls

last sunday we embarked on a very spontaneous trip to toronto, canada. 

sometimes when you get in the mood to go somewhere and see something new, you just have to give into it. so we packed up most of our things, since traveling with a toddler requires lots of things, and off we went on a 6.5 hour road trip north. 

on our way we stopped in erie, pa where it was unseasonably warm and sunny, to let logan run for a while and then again once we go to niagara falls. he did pretty great in the car and enjoyed playing with his lego duplos, showing off his mad puzzle skills and watching a little horton hears a who. 

at niagara falls we ate at the worst, most overpriced romano's macaroni grill where my 9 mushroom ravioli ($23) had the most disgustingly sweet marsala sauce i've ever tasted. our waiter kept hovering and almost ripped our plates away from us before we were even close to being done. overall, not a good experience! 

once we got to toronto and checked into the hotel (we stayed at the westin harbour castle) we were all pretty tired but decided to go back out to explore the city a little bit. we ended up just grabbing street meat for dinner since we had (that gross) lunch kind of late. 

and because there are way too many pictures for one post i'll be posting more throughout the week. yup, because isn't that what a blog is for? 

have you ever been to niagara falls or toronto? 

to toronto

well, we are currently enjoying a very spontaneous road trip to toronto. the canada one. 

life has been hectic and quite surprising at times so we decided to leave it all behind for a few days with a little change of scenery. if you've been reading this blog for a while you already know we like to travel so nothing new there. 

we went from planning a 1-2 night getaway just the man and I, to a trip to D.C., to toronto with a stop in NYC on the way back, to how about disney world (man those orlando hotels were cheap), to no let's actually be reasonable and just drive to toronto and back. 

ha! yes, we are crazy. no really it's just yours truly. 

sooooo, long story short, while we are gone I have a few posts scheduled for you and then I'll be back by the end of the week with hopefully a ton of toronto pictures. 

now go stare at the animated gif for a while. am I the only one that has to stare at those for like forever?
the photographer man told me to purse my lips (which is one of my biggest pet peeves when looking at fashion blogger photos by the way) so I eventually gave in... enjoy ;)

chicago again

just the last of the chicago pictures today. we really did have a great time and I didn't realize until a few days ago that this was really our goodbye to summer this year. we came home to much cooler temperatures and even the leafs are now starting to turn. 

a few things to do if you're ever in chicago, with or without a toddler:

• the free zoo at lincoln park. gates are wide open and you just walk in and out as you please. lincoln park reminded me a little bit of parts of central park in nyc. the zoo is a decent size with all kinds of different animals. it was an easy walk from very top of michigan avenue where our hotel was and along lake michigan. 
• fun on the beach at lake michigan. like i said, it's right there downtown and when we stopped i didn't realize how eager logan was to actually get in the water... good thing we had backup clothes.
• very touristy things like a visit to millennium park to take pictures of yourself in the bean and a walk up state street to take a picture of the chicago theater and of course stop at american apparel ;) 
• the shedd aquarium to see the beluga whales. they recently had a baby but you can't see them at this point while the mom and babe are still bonding. 
• walk along lakefront trail. just make sure no runners or bikers run you over. seriously crazy there.
• navy pier
• wicker park for all your hipster needs 
• john hancock observatory

eat at:

• pizano's pizza and pasta
• bar toma
• cheesecake factory
• tempo cafe for breakfast
• mike ditka's 
• sprinkles cupcakes (go early, the line is crazy in the evening)

shop at:

• topshop
• zara
• urban outfitters
• american apparel
• intermix
• h&m 
• anthropologie
• the disney store
• atrizia
• free people 
• diesel
• ugg australia
• lululemon 

next time I want to go on one of those architectural cruises through the city. so much more to do there!

Chicago

ok, so today is just a photo dump from our chicago trip. i didn't get them edited any earlier and there are more so there will be a part 2. no more than that though, I promise ;) 

we had such a great time. jason had an off day while there so we walked a lot, stopped at navy pier and shedd aquarium and ended the day with take-out from the cheesecake factory. i have never seen a bigger portion size from a restaurant, ever! 

of course that day the weather was a little off but the rest of the trip was gorgeous. logan and i did a ton more walking, stopped by the free zoo at lincoln park, played on the beach, had sprinkles cupcakes to see what all the fuss was about... holy goodness! i hope they come to pittsburgh ;) 

but more on that stuff in the other post.

i hope you all had a great weekend. ours was pretty quiet and uneventful. it's nice to not too anything for once and just regenerate. i need that quiet time to myself. 

we're back...

we're back home and man does it feel good.
as much as I love traveling and seeing new places, I really love coming home just as much.
there's just something about the familiar smell and the way it feels to crawl into your own bed at night with the dryer steadily humming until you fall asleep. is that just me?
i think even logan could tell since he went straight for his toy box and then, when he curled up in his bed to go to sleep after this long and stressful day, it definitely seemed like he had missed it as well.

traveling with a 15 month old is much different than traveling with a 6 month old or even a 12 month old. he is just so much more active now and hates being confined to his stroller or a tight airplane seat.
i sure am glad the flight was only an hour long ;)
i am planning to share a little bit more about traveling with an infant vs. traveling with a toddler in a separate post soon.

the rest of this weeks posts will be way too many pictures from our trip to chicago, a giveaway that I can't wait to share and maybe a style files post?

if I haven't returned your email or comments, please forgive me! i will try to catch up this week :) i really appreciate every single one.

cincinnati trip - what to do and what not to do

we got back late last night from our trip to cincinnati. even though papa had to work we still had a great time and got to do some fun stuff. i've spent all morning doing laundry and trying to get the house back in order but i took a little break to upload some pictures and relive a few of the memories we made this weekend. so here is a list of things to do if you're ever in cincinnati and of course also a few things not to do ;) 

things to do in cincinnati:

• shop at kenwood towne center right outside of cincinnati - huge mall with stores like nordstrom's anthropologie, madewell, pottery barn, jcrew and the magical place called the disney store. didn't make it next door to crate&barrel and the container store :( maybe next time! 
• play in the water fountains down by the great american ballpark (unless your toddler is afraid of getting his face wet, then just chase after him and try to convince him that water really is pretty cool especially when it's 95 degrees) 
• cross the river into kentucky and have ice cream at the newport riverwalk. then pay $24 a person at the newport aquarium because it's the one thing to do that offers air conditioning. no really, that aquarium was actually worth the money! 
• order take out from rock bottom brewery at fountain square and have a hotel room picnic for dinner. their asiago artichoke & crab dip is to die for! 
• eat lunch at moerlein lager house down by the river. the short rib grilled cheese and smoked salmon salad were super yummy.
• check out glier's goetta fest and the longest yard sale if you happen to be there in late july.
• go to a baseball game and enjoy seeing your team win :) 

things not to do in cincinnati:

• stay at the westin and expect great service. probably one of the worst westin experiences i've had. no one offered to help me with my bags when i got there as well as when i was leaving, both times by myself with a toddler, stroller and several bags. room was ok, nothing special for a westin though. room was at the very end of the hall (normal if you travel with kids) and was quiet for the first night, then they put a group of college students next door... really? hotel is right across from fountain square where they have concerts every night during the summer so expect it to be loud every night up until around 11 pm. no crib in the room even though we had requested one in the reservation. took several calls to the front desk and about an hour for them to finally bring one up. 
• walk through a part of town called "over the rhine". we expected it to be like the artsy part of town with little shops and galleries. most shops where still closed at 11 am on a saturday and the area was run down and kind of scary. if you love the smell of stale pee - by all means go for it! 
• go to a baseball game with a 14 month old, in 90 degree heat, by yourself because your husband happens to be working at that exact game - holy stickyness! 
• eat breakfast at bruegger's which makes each of your family members spend prolonged times occupying the bathroom.

so there you have it! overall we had a great time and i'm sure we will be back next season. then hopefully it will be a little cooler so we can visit the zoo (heard great things) and a few more of the museums. 

oh babe i hate to go!

pictures from our trip to the stuttgart wilhelma zoo and botanical gardens last week.

i can't even think straight right now with all the packing that's going on here. 

i'm very sad to leave my family and friends again after 6 fun filled weeks but inevitably that day always comes. so there really isn't much more to say than my heart is heavy but also filled with love and so many great memories to take with me. 

the best would probably have to be logan learning how to walk and then of course the way he adoringly squeals at his grandparents and uncles when he sees them. it's hard to put into words how these last weeks have made me feel. i am so grateful we got to be here because in the end spending as much time as possible with the ones you love is really all that matters. 

i want my children to know and love their grandparents no matter how far away they are and i want them to see as much of the world as we can manage to show them. i am excited to see what the next trip will bring... 

tomorrow, while we're crossing the atlantic up above the clouds somewhere, i will try to focus on all the great things that await us at home. i miss the dogs, my in-laws, my bed!!, the quietness of living on an acre of land and the smell of freshly cut grass (because someone is always moving) and as much as i loooove german food, i am ready for a good burger and fries. 

i won't dwell on all the things i am once again leaving behind because these things just can't be changed. the choices we make in life that are hard are the ones that give us courage to grow and shape us into who we are. my heart will always be in two places, sometimes more in one and less in the other and not always content but always grateful. 

so as this blog will now go back to its old (and probably much less exciting) self i hope you enjoyed this little glimpse at where i come from and i hope you'll stick around. i also hope you'll forgive me for not getting back to you on all of your emails and comments. i truly appreciate all the time you spend commenting and would love to answer the all questions you have. just know that time isn't always on my side but i do my best :)