where in the world...

are rich and olivia?

yesterday we were in nyc.

today we're in ohio. 

the next 3 days will be spent in michigan.

then back to ohio.

then back to new york.

i guess the 10000 hours spent in a car are the appropriate way to cap off a year spent in:

nyc

massachusetts

maine

disneyworld

disney caribbean cruise

castaway cay in the bahamas

key west

cozumel

grand cayman

england

scotland

wales

greece

i. love. travel.

bring me more, 2012. bring me more!

posts on all of these places coming your way....i have to pick up this guy first:

not a joke. totally serious. he is alllllll ours.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

old to new

we left our home in nyc for the uk on july 16. 

on november 29, we left our new home in the premier inns all across the uk (seriously...50+ different hotels over the last few months) for my childhood home in massachusetts.

there. is. nothing. better. than:

.

there is nothing better than your mom picking you up at the international arrivals gate.

there is nothing better than pretending to ignore your dad when he comes home, which only works until he says "what's up, mah bitches?!"

there is nothing better than sleeping the deep, deep sleep of the jet-lagged. 

there is nothing better than doing literally 90 pounds of laundry.

there is nothing better than seeing american money and for a split second, honestly not knowing what it is.

there is nothing better than constantly looking the wrong way when crossing the street/driving (except remembering that it's the wrong way and not getting killed).

there is nothing better than my dog.

there is nothing better than my dad's baked goods. i have eaten no fewer than 5 magic bars/day.

there is nothing better than going to bikram yoga with your parents and witnessing firsthand where your lack of flexibility orginated.

there is just nothing better.

(except maaaaaybe going to our own apartment early next week...cannot. flipping. wait.)

(except i'm also sort of nervous and overwhelmed at the thought of basically moving back in...oy.)

(how many ellipses could i use in one post? i wonder....)

(i'm lame.)

what a surprise

i totally get that hearing other people rehash their dreams is the most boring thing ever. i usually start zoning out once someone says "and then this guy i went to kindergarten with, joe hammersmith, you don't know him or whatever, but it was totally him except he looked different and it was SO shocking because, if you knew him, you would know his black afro was his signature and he had NO hair in my dream and i was so surprised and blah blah blahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

(sarah silverman agrees:

I had a dream that I was in my living room. It wasn't my living room but it was, like, playing my living room in the dream.)

anyway. i had a beautiful dream a few weeks ago and i want to remember it forever. so feel free to zone out and know that i am not offended.


my dad told me that he was napping on the couch a month ago and had a dream that my face was hovering over his and smiling at him. he said he was just on the couch dozing with a big smile thinking about my face and feeling excited that we will see each other in a few months.


well. i cried. obviously. i love my dad so much. i can't wait to hug him too.


then a few nights later, i had this dream:


my dad and i were in a weird tiny kitchen making paella. i have no idea why. (when i told him about this dream, he was like "wtf is paella?" it's a traditional spanish dish of rice, veggies, and seafood, or meat, or a combo.) in our dream kitchen, we could only use an electric kettle to make this dish and i was getting worried. i kept saying that we didn't have the right tools (ie a STOVE and POT among other things) and the paella would be gross and wouldn't be perfect. my dad was telling me to calm down and that we had everything we needed. there were oysters in the recipe (????), and i picked one out of the bag of seafood. when i opened it (i was a trained shucker in the dream), my jaw hit the floor.


there was a giant pearl in the oyster. 


i screamed and showed it to my dad and he said "look underneath!!"


and i lifted up the oyster, and hundreds of tiny seed pearls were pouring all over my hands and down my arms and all over the kitchen floor. i was crying and giggling and my dad was laughing. we were like gleeful little children as we slid all over the pearl-laden floor.


i felt so amazed. i felt so overjoyed. we could not stop laughing.


and that's it. i was so happy when i woke up. i felt so close to my dad. most of all, i felt capable of anything. i felt i can make do with the resources at hand. i felt that being on the road doesn't mean putting everything on hold. no need to press pause just because i am away from home. i can use what i have, and find something amazing.


love you, dad!

{pearl image via here , wedding photo via the amazing hinkley photo)