• Cherry blossom afternoon tea

    cherry blossom afternoon tea

    We’re entering the pinkest and most beautiful time of the year (at least in Japan and DC): Cherry blossom season! The cherry blossom trees in DC hit peak bloom this weekend—the second earliest ever. And while there are plenty of cherry blossom afternoon teas to attend in Washington and Japan, there aren’t so many on […]

  • Four-ever magical birthday party

    four-ever magical birthday

    Arabella is about to turn five, so I think it’s time to share the details of her 4th birthday party! The theme was “four-ever magical,” aka unicorns and mermaids. I scoured Pinterest for unicorn and mermaid party ideas, then combined them into a super fun four-ever magical birthday party at our house. Decor We had […]

  • Girls trip to Singapore

    Girls trip to Singapore

    First things first: Singapore is a fantastic destination for a girls trip. There’s shopping, nightlife, great restaurants, and tons to see and do (including plenty of Insta-ready photo spots). I did a girls trip to Singapore a few years ago, right around the time Crazy Rich Asians came out, and we also happened upon the […]

  • Peppa pig birthday party

    Peppa Pig birthday party

    Arabella absolutely loves Peppa Pig, so a Peppa Pig-themed birthday party was a no-brainer when she turned 3. I wanted to go with a slightly pastel color palette, to match the rain boots she already had. But as you might imagine, there was a LOT of pink involved. Since the British children’s show is so […]

  • How to avoid crowds in Santorini

    How to avoid crowds in Santorini

    Santorini is incredibly beautiful, with adorable towns, delicious food, and sunsets that are famous around the world. Unfortunately, all those things mean it’s also ridiculously popular. But we managed to visit the island without getting caught in a crush of people, and I want to share how to avoid crowds in Santorini. Shoulder season The […]

  • DC cherry blossoms without the crowds

    DC cherry blossoms without the crowds

    It’s cherry blossom time in Washington, D.C., and while there are always crowds, this year is particularly nuts because it’s the first Cherry Blossom Festival since 2019. We went to the Tidal Basin at 8 a.m today (Sunday) and it was already packed. But there’s a place you can go to see DC cherry blossoms […]

  • Oh Twodles birthday party

    Oh Twodles birthday party

    Long before Arabella turned two, a Disney-loving friend of mine posted photos of her son’s “Oh Twodles” Mickey Mouse-themed birthday party, and I thought it was genius. (For those who don’t know, Mickey and friends all say “Oh Toodles” several times per episode on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, summoning a magical helper thingy). And since Arabella […]

  • What it’s like to do an OCONUS PCS during a pandemic

    OCONUS PCS during a pandemic

    Moving halfway across the globe is never easy. But add in a global pandemic, a stop movement order, local travel restrictions, and children, and a permanent change of station move outside the continental United States becomes pretty overwhelming. In 13 years as a Marine Corps spouse, I’ve been through more than my share of moves; […]

  • Fall in Shenandoah: Weekend trip from DC

    Fall in Shenandoah | Weekend trip from DC

    I am not a fall person. I mean, I like plaid. Coats and boots are cute. Pumpkin is delicious. But I don’t like being cold, and I had never really seen leaves change before moving to Maryland when I was 16, so that isn’t something I look forward to every year. But since we spent […]

  • Arabella is one!

    One year old cake smash

    I’m not sure how it happened, but a year passed in the blink of an eye and our baby doll turned one! Her birthday was near the beginning of COVID-19 restrictions in Okinawa, so we had to cancel her party. But luckily, we had gotten professional photos taken by Heather Johnson Photography a few weeks […]