What’s this- not even one week into April and a second post already??? I know, CRAZY. Don’t get attached… we all know this hasn’t been the norm of late (as in, of the past year or more).

For all my eye rolling at the cherry blossom fervor that hits this city, and my feelings about their inferiority to yesterday’s featured flower, they are still quite pretty. I usually end up trekking to the Tidal Basin, even though I know it is a madhouse of parking nightmares, crowded walkways, and very few clear photo vistas. But last year following said visit, my friend Anna and I made a pact that this year we would not be seduced by the basin and would instead pay homage to the blooms in a way more chill Capitol Hill park with a playground. Such a better idea. We snapped a few pics and then let the kids run wild on the playground before trekking to a nearby place that has the best chocolate chip cookies in the city. While the basin can be impressive, this was so much easier, way more fun for the kids, and did I mention there were cookies? Sometimes there are isolated moments, individual decisions, where I see myself making decisions differently than when I first had kids, to the benefit of us all. This was one of those moments and we came home rosy from the sun and the flowers and perfectly happy, in spite of having missed out on a full photoshoot and blossoms reflected in the water.

Though of course, should you want to go down Blossom Memory Lane, remember sweet baby Henry, and pregnant-with-Henry Hannah?

Some other things!

This is now my restaurant life goal. Ok, so I really just want to decorate my home to match this aesthetic. (Thanks Megan for including it in your monthly newsletter!)

I also want any and all of these kitchens in my life, please and thank you. Very into the dark cabinets these days….

…which is unfortunate since the house we just bought has white cabinets, and I will basically never be changing them because, um, house purchase equals no money left. But HOUSE. OURS. HOORAY. I mean, remember that time I wanted to buy a house? House hunting was basically as discouraging as I predicted… until our realtors worked dark magic and somehow we won the house lottery and are moving into something so much better than we ever could have hoped.

So now, while I should be grading, I just troll the internet for rugs, as it is one of the only purchases we can immediately justify. Got to protect the hardwood floors [in style]. I’m really into Persian rugs these days, and love the washability of these ones.

In other news, I have discovered the secret to keeping New Year’s Resolutions to read more: get better books. You will always find time to read good books, and no amount of mastering a bedtime routine will get me in bed in time to read bad ones. I just finished this one and I am desperately hoping the holds list speeds up at the library so I can get the sequel.

That’s all folks. Happy weekend!