The First Friday of 2017

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Happy first Friday of 2017! Our year started by flying out of San Diego on New Year's Day:

We had spent the holiday week with my sweet family in California's Central Valley, and rounded out the stay with a weekend on Coronado Island meeting up with Parker's Scottsdale Boy's Club buddies and families there. On New Year's morning we enjoyed a fabulous brunch with the group at The Hotel Coronado, then headed off to return our rental car before shuttling to the San Diego airport. I've said it before, but Pre-Check (a perk of our Global Entry Status) is worth its weight in gold! A special shorter line, getting to keep shoes on, and being able to leave liquids and computers inside bags - it all makes going through security so much easier, and me as a traveler so much happier. Especially when there's a three-year-old in the mix.

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As for that three-year-old, he's now logged in more than fifty flights. Yes, fifty. It's what happens when family is scattered all over the country. Little Man needs to write his own blog post on how to fly ;) As for me, my biggest travel find this year was my faux leather backpack (similar here and here). It fits my laptop, a shawl if the plane is chilly (or to use as a blanket for Sweet P), snacks, a book, my phone and earbuds, and an emergency change of clothes for Parker - but the best part is being hands-free!

This is especially important when pulling a full suitcase with a carseat resting on top. Not wanting to encounter a contingency with renting one on the other end, we've always flown with Parker's car seat and just checked it with our bags (carseats check complimentary and don't count toward your total bag limit - score!). We have been covering the carseat with this simple, inexpensive cover from Day 1 (yes, fifty plus flights worth of checking!). Ours is now a bit weathered and sporting duct tape in places, but it's still doing it's job of protecting the carseat on its journey!


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Just like last year, January has me eager to clean and organize. Last year, I used Marie Kondo's The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and it was phenomenal. But y'all. There's another book. This one has a brief overview of the strategy (to only keep things that spark joy, and to donate or discard the rest) but it's mostly focused on the specifics: how to fold things, line drawings of what to do, what should be on your kitchen counters - it's amazing! I'm fully in tidying mode again and loving it.

Part of my closet overhaul last year involved replacing all my hangers with black velvet ones. It's made all the difference! Head to your local Costco where they are currently on sale if you want a lovely change as well (or order online here!).


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Also at Costco, my favorite champs from this holiday season! 90 points for a very reasonable price point - and the limited edition bottle is so happy and bright!

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Last, but not least, I am obsessed with my new Apple watch! I really wanted some sort of fitness tracker, and I loved the idea that I could get messages from say, Parker's school, even while at an appointment or in an exercise class. I really enjoyed using it to track my first barre class of the year but I totally want to hear from Apple watch lovers out there - what's your favorite thing about yours? What do I need to know? I'm all ears! And cold ones at that - our highs today peaked in the high twenties and Alabama is technically in a State of Emergency (a preemptive call by the Governor for a snow storm that ended up bypassing us, but better safe than sorry!). I'm envisioning lots of grilled cheese with tomato soup and steaming mugs of hot chocolate this weekend! 

Happy 2017, y'all!