i'm so glad i live in a world where there are octobers

those words of wisdom are from anne shirley, one of my literary faves. 

and i couldn't agree more--octobers are golden.

we've been busy this month with little trips and pumpkin patches and farm visits and final exams and preschool and learning how to write words and staying up too late and teething and turning 28 and trying new recipes. i'm reading teaching your children joy and trying to be a more joyful mama. sage is psyched about cooking anything, so we've been busy in the kitchen. i find she is less picky when she actually helps me cut up and cook whatever we're eating. i'll take it!

we visited four farms this fall, and i get more giddy about it than my girls. for my birthday, we all trekked to the state fair to milk cows, watch little kids dressed in cowboy gear walk their goats around an arena, and eat pumpkin spice funnel cake, among other things.
a few glimpses of october...

 

 

 

 

asheville take two

a little video to remember our trip...

watch it in hd here

asheville

after our whirlwind trip to asheville last year, i decided i had to come back. we had a few open days during nate's fall break, so we took off west for this quaint hippie town that reminds me so much of the pacific northwest.

as we climbed the blue ridge parkway higher into the smoky mountains, i saw something black swish across the road, so we slowed down. and then four more little black bear cubs scampered across the road.

the colors were gorgeous down low, but rain had destroyed some of the foliage at craggy gardens, where we stopped to take in the view.

this golden ridge though

asheville happened to sound like a good idea to a few of our friends, so we got together with the bulls and harrises for dinner at tupelo honey cafe, then watched the sunset at the grand grove park inn.

the next morning we watched the sun rise in our jammies, then sage cried when we left the hotel because she just wanted to stay there "longer and longer!"
but it was time to for another check on the bucket list...biltmore!
the vanderbilts built their own versailles in little old asheville and it is absolutely stunning. and massive. we patiently toured the house, which was already sporting christmas trees for the holiday season.
when we made it to the expansive gardens, sage was ready to be free. she somersaulted through every grassy patch while i obsessed over the fall hued flowers.

while we waited in line for breakfast at early girl eatery, we checked out the crochet work on all the lamp posts and benches.

george washington carver park is an edible public garden. sage climbed one of the apple trees, then accidentally fell into some poison plant. cool park idea, bad rash.

i love that asheville has character in both appearance and food. we had fantastic local fare at rhubarb and grabbed a chocolate snickerdoodle at french broad chocolate lounge on our way out of town. 

the girls were so good and slept most of the car ride to and from this little getaway. 

two thumbs up, asheville.

deepavali

one thing i miss about singapore is all the CULTURE. 

it's the month of diwali, and as michael scott puts it, "lots of gods with unpronouncable names, twenty minutes later, you find out that it is essentially a hindu halloween."

i had to dress sage in her shalwar kameez since it may not fit her next year. i wish i'd bought one for nora too. sage won't remember our matching henna or the weird indian treats or those steamy, crowded markets flooded with gold, flowers and incense, but i'm going to keep celebrating these asian holidays to keep the memories alive.
happy deepavali!

 delhi, india, where we bought her outfit

2012

2013 i was 8.5 months pregnant...

 

and 2014.  

sagergram

music is still sage's language. she can memorize anything put to song, can't ride in the car without tunes playing, and currently sings nora to sleep at night in their room. i showed her the sound of music for the first time and i love when i catch her humming the songs. an especially great made up song from the other night delivered in a whisper sing..."this is not a cheeseburger. just throw uuuupppp your tummy. is that comfy? go back to sleeeep."

she's very into maps. i try to flood our home with maps anyway, but she's especially taken with pointing out all the countries she knows. my favorite is when she gets to russia because she says it like a sports announcer..."annnnnnnndddd RUSSSSSSSIA!"

i love guessing which duo we're going to be each day. she'll often walk into my room in the morning with, "anna? do you want to build a snowman?" (anna and elsa) or "hercules, our picnic is ready!" (hercules and meg) and another popular one, "jane, the gorillas are coming!" (tarzan and jane). i'm remembering how much i adore that 3-5 year-old imagination from my teaching days. 

 

my all time favorite thing about this girl right now is what a good sister she is to nora. she totally looks out for her, does anything to make her belly laugh, and constantly anticipates her needs. these sisters are a gift to each other.

n'awlins

despite babies and school and jobs and life, we managed to pull off a girls' weekend in new orleans, louisiana this year. i love this group of dear friends (but missed you, hannah!) and i love that we can always pick up right where we left off. we flew in from san francisco, dallas, los angeles, durham, arizona...and bobby drove in from baton rouge. it made the trip to have bobby as our tour guide extraordinaire and expert in all things NoLa, like jambalaya and the bayou.


we rented a hundred year-old flat in the french quarter and were serenaded by marching bands randomly throughout the day. and being 100 years old meant those rickety locks took magic to open them. alex became the official key holder because she had the touch.



for appetizers we taste tested hot sauce, then headed to mr. b's, where we put on bibs and ripped barbequed, buttery shrimp apart with our bare hands.
we waited in line to see live jazz at preservation hall, which was phenomenal. it got pretty sweaty in there as we sat scrunched up on the floor in a packed house, but the whole experience seemed so authentic.


"angelic jeffy" (according to his sign) read our palms and tarot cards, and ensured me that my husband will be very successful, but i should be "open to a little more ambition and networking". i'll get on that, jeffy ;)

i slept in until 9am on saturday. heaven, i tell you! we booked it to the new orleans school of cooking for a lunch demonstration on gumbo, jambalaya, bread pudding, and pralines. it was all delicious, but that gumbo especially stood out.


we drove outside the city to the bayou for a swamp tour. gators, snakes, blue herons, cranes, fish, and spiders as big as my fist did not disappoint. i never knew a swamp could be so beautiful though. it was like a scene from the notebook when our boat sat still surrounded by the green-topped water, spanish moss, and swamp flora.




yet, i still think my personal nightmare is being stranded in a swamp at night...

we lived in chicago together, so we all love good food. that translates into something like five meals a day and 10pm dinner reservations at peche seafood grill because it won the 2014 james beard award for best new restaurant.
 
 my favorites were the brussel sprouts with chili vinegar and, surprisingly, the ultra fresh and perfectly crispy fish sticks. we had to try one of each dessert among us because how can you pick just one from such an amazing menu?

we wandered bourbon street after dinner, which felt crazier to me than vegas. carol and ange were thrown mardi gras beads for some solid dance moves in the street. 

we got a peek of the garden district when we drove to church, then wandered around jackson square, making an essential stop at cafe du monde for beignets of course.

 

can you believe i tried eggs benedict for the first time ever in my whole entire life at stanley?

a stroll downtown on canal street

goodbye, hot and humid new orleans. perfect weekend!