kristinmengin

ROAD TRIP.

3 states in 3 hours: illinois, indiana, michigan
final destination: near south haven

1. friday morning trying to leave the house for work with 200 little toys, a laptop, camera, and purse (a daily madness). 
2. pit stop at sherman's icecream on our drive into michigan.
3. this is all mine. 
4. i love america. 
5. dairy bar.
6. picking up fresh eggs from the farm.
7. stalks of rhubarb.
8. bowl full of cold cherries and blueberries.
9. a walk in tall grass.
10. happiness.
11. little person, big tree .

we took a trip to michigan this weekend. it had been too long since our last trip and we desperately needed to get up there to cut the grass. on the way we stopped for some mint chocolate chips, the family favorite flavor, and a farm for some fresh eggs. an amish family owns the farm. they were so kind when we arrived. they picked lilacs for isabelle and let her play with the animals. they had a pony, rabbits, baby ducklings, and chickens. she was amazed. i realized i know little about the amish way of life, i would like to learn more. when we arrived at the cabin we made lasagna and baked a rhubarb tart. gabe cut the grass for hours. only takes five minutes for him to drop the city life and hop on the tractor. isabelle watched the little mirmaid for the first time. we ate breakfast outside and searched for frogs in the pond. i've had so many things on my mind lately, questioning what i'm doing with my life, and what i can be doing better. a long car ride always helps. 

FRENCH BLOSSOM.

my favorite spring picks from FRENCH BLOSSOM by louis louise, emile et ida, louise misha. french blossom is an online boutique  that carries exclusively french independent designers. everything from vintage story boxes by tiphaine verdier mangan to tica chairs by the rocking company. enjoy! 

MDW.

mother's day weekend according to my iPhone. friday: after work and daycare everyone was so cranky that everyone just needed to go to bed as soon as possible. it was probably 8:43 when i fell asleep. can't believe it. saturday: recently we taught isabelle how to make coffee. we pour in the water, she takes care of the rest. it's becoming a weekend tradition. isabelle said,  "look mama, i put diamonds on my hands" (eek). we went to sam's club. gabe did most of the shopping while isabelle and i read books sitting on top of boxes of sprite and diet coke. flipping through a new ina gartner cookbook, i found a really good recipe for a tomato crostini with whipped feta and took a picture of it. sorry i stole your recipe ina, we love you. later we brunched at the bongo room in andersonville. it was my first time there and wow, quite the impressive pancakes! i have so much fun taking isabelle to restaurants. i let her drink a creamer this time though which is kind of gross but it made her smile. seems like one of those things you have to do once. in the evening we had family and a friend  over for dinner. isabelle and i made a lemon tart but i burnt it so we covered it with blueberries and cream. it survived. all that fun left the house looking like a tornado stopped by. helen hunt wasn't there to help. later gabe found me on the couch cracking up watching bridesmaids. that movie really is incredibly funny. sunday: breakfast in bed (my favorite, toast with red currant jelly), brunch with friends, and sunday night hbo.  s-o h-a-p-p-y. isabelle gave me this note. it made me cry. i love that girl so stinking much.

my mama,
holds me when i hurt...
tells me i am a good person...
helps me when i need to change and grow...
teaches me to delight in the world...
calms me when i am afraid...
laughs with me and enjoys all the things i do...
my mama loves me...
and teaches me to love.
thank you mama, isabelle 

GOOD THINGS.

1. a disheveled me making a ridiculously good french toast from martha stewart for a 70th birthday party last weekend (recipe here). 
2. a perfect long stem daffodil that we found in the middle of the sidewalk. 
3. isabelle and her  baby.
4. picnic prep
5. the beginning of an arugula, shaved parm, and cherry tomato salad with salt, pepper, oil, and lemon.
6. a goat cheese and tomato sandwich.
7. my kitchen is almost always a mess, some days it feels like i never stop cleaning crumbs.
8. little hands with old nail polish and kissing strawberries.
9. $3 bouquet of sunflowers i bought from trader joe's.
10. thai take out containers make good picnic-ware. 
11. the skeptic. 

last weekend we went to the most lovely 70th birthday party for the woman who runs isabelle's daycare. all of the parents did a beautiful job pulling together this event. our contribution was the martha stewart french toast which i will definitely make again. it was really eggy and i used thick slices of italian bread. this weekend we had friends over for dinner, drank a bunch of mint juleps, and watched a whole five minutes of the kentucky derby. the night made for a lazy sunday of making messes, dancing to dads playlists, finger painting the furniture, and a 3 hour picnic in the park. all good things. the idea was that we would play and eat so much that isabelle would be very tired and she would nap. so we could nap. but none of that worked out:) the week days are busy and we are looking forward to a lull. i have a new manager at my job so that is almost like starting a new job all over again in some ways. we will spend mother's day in michigan. and who knows, maybe we will crack open a book or two. x

HAWAII.

MAUI, HAWAII. the beautiful place floating in the middle of the sea. on our first day we drove the road to hana. this by far was my favorite day. hana is described as the land that time forget. we stopped to watch the wind surfers, hiked to the twin falls, found a secret bamboo forest and took pictures where the dinosaurs lived. we never actually made it to hana because we stopped so many times but the task felt complete at the end. on our return to the resort we ate at the flatbread company. i would go back to maui just to eat there again. it was that good. when we go back we will take isabelle. maui is a beautiful place for children with so many things to see and do. other things we liked about maui: snorkeling at black rock (sea turtles!), drinking bikini blondes made by the maui brewing co., eating at pineapple grill and kimos, fine sand, the sun, and playing shuffle board. in most of our photos we are shirtless and in our bathing suits. to spare you, i stuck with scenic photos which are much prettier. read 50 facts about hawaii here.