Hello from San Francisco!

We’re here for the weekend to go to my dear friend’s wedding. Whenever we wind up back in the Bay Area I immediately feel young again. I moved to California as a freshman in high school and moved to  San Francisco as a freshman in college. It’s instant nostalgia and holds the majority of my first experiences feeling like a real grown up so it sprinkles a bit of pixie dust on me every time . This weekend marks our second trip without the kids this year and just when I thought the goodbyes would never get easier, the Lord planted an idea in my head that worked like a charm.

Our kids are super passionate about books. Oshiolema’s greatest devastation as a child so far was when, after an evening of struggling of disobedience, we said he lost the privelage of reading books before bed. You would have thought I just told him he’d never eat again. He was besiiiide himself, guys. A new book is like a new puppy in our house. We decided we’d take the kids to the library and let them choose a book per day we’d be gone. We scoured the Children’s section, flipping through board books, princess books, dinosaur books…the whole deal. We also don’t watch movies on a regular basis so we picked out a movie to rent too. (They chose Rio, for anyone wondering.)

When Oshiolema asked if we could read the books when we got home, this was our conversation:

“Honey, Daddy and I are leaving town tomorrow so you’re going to stay home with Gigi and Baba.”

“But I will miss you too much! Why can’t I come with you too?”

“Because it’s important for mommy and daddy to have alone time together, and it’s important for you to have time with your grandparents too.”

“AwwwwwWWWW”

“But you can’t read any of those books until we leave. Gigi and Baba will read them to you while we’re gone.”

“…what time do you leave?”

And that, friends, is how we discovered our new goodbye routine. The weepiness and trauma that usually goes down was minimized to almost nothing and it was such a blissful, sweet experience. I even checked out a longer book to hide in our room and read to them the night we got home. If you have book lovers too, try this out and let me know how it goes!

San Francisco is a literal 45 degrees cooler than Dallas so I had to be prepared when it came to versatile outerwear. My go-to wrap (similar to this) and fool-proof denim jacket have been my saving grace for those walks that make your eyes water and teeth chatter.

I ordered these jeans from the Nordstrom Sale without knowing what to expect since I’ve never worn Frame denim. I’m pleased to report they’re so comfortable that I wore them on the flight instead of my yoga pants. That good. Stretchy while still holding me in and everything I’ve been looking for in Momiform denim.

People always ask me how I prepare for and plan a trip. My first step is always, always research. One of my favorite resources for travel planning is Goop-their guides are unbeatable! The San Francisco guide came in handy for this trip.

Lastly, the shoes I’m wearing in that photo above are something I get compliments and questions about every time I wear them. They’re under $60 and I’ve rotated between two colors since February!

Have a great weekend!!