The Family That Bikes Together.

It's summer. SUMMMERRRRR.

Ice cream and humidity and crazy pool hair and sunshine til 9pm and EXPOSED TOES. In other words, its just the best season. And I am embracing this "I'm living and staying in Georgia" vibe and I am loving loving it. I'm really started to feel excited about settling in a bit more and staying here for a while. And it feels good.

In celebration of summer and Georgia and having a baby that's not so itty-bitty anymore, we've started biking. Like, every weekend. We got Everett this adorable, ridiculously functional bike seat and helmet and we have taken to the trails every weekend since we came home from our Euro trip. And you know what? It's been a really really fun way to house hunt! We've parked our car in different areas of the town that we want to buy a house in and biked all around, gazing at houses and vibing the hoods. It's been a really successful way of engaging with the community a bit more (like when Everett attempts to strike up conversations with neighbors that aren't yet ours) and giving us the ability to slow down and stop and stare a bit. And dream a bit.

Oh, and it's a really fun way to get active, too. Have I mentioned that Everett LOVES it? Well, here's proof.

The look of love, people. Love for summer and bikes and picnics and house hunting and yelping out loud while the summer wind whips around the bend. Love for SUBURBIA.

Hello September!

Don't you love New York in the fall?

It makes me wanna buy school supplies.

I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.

On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms. - Joe Fox, You've Got Mail

So We Meet Again.

September is absolutely, hands-down my favorite month of the year. And it only mostly has to do with the fact that it's my birthday month (wink wink.) I love the subtle transition from lazy, late summer to watercolor hints of autumn. The trees begin to turn up their crisp noses at the air's humidity, and in timely obedience to the magnificent weatherman in the sky, the temperature drops accordingly and the boots march out from their safely-tucked hiding places to do some walking. I am just captured by the colors: evergreen, scarlet, marigold, auburn and amethyst. These coy shades manage to catch me off-guard every year, and yet I relish the moment because it feels so good to be, yes, seduced by the luxe wonders of fall. Walking down the street and watching a gently falling leaf from an old oak tree; you can't make this stuff up. Well, you could, but I wouldn't because it sounds all-too cliche. Yet there it is, you can't help but spot it: that petite brittle leaf, aimlessly letting go, falling, and papering the bustling streets with its chilled quiet.

Labor Day.

We went on a bike ride this weekend along the West Side Highway from the Upper West Side down to Chelsea, had a taste of brunch and traipsed around the uber-hip Chelsea Market for a bit. We stopped midway to gaze at the Hudson, and stayed resting in the grass for a long time, enamored at the fact that someone was swimming laps in the river. Yikes. That's bravery.

City Garden.

I had to halt our bike ride once again when I came upon this fantastic little garden in the middle of Riverside Park.

The Garden Peoples' Garden is a mesmerizing little treasure trove, perfectly manicured and stocked with giddy, mismatched plants. It was such a lovely way to spend the first day of the month, biking around our new town and sensing that the joy would only increase with the coming months. I realized that September was back again, ushering in her charms of fall. I am so ready for you, September. Let's have a whirlwind month, shall we?