ROAD TRIP BACK HOME

These are the last of our Ohio trip photos, and they are some of my favorite because they remind me of how much I enjoyed the trip there and back. I was excited about the drive because of how the four of us would be together and I had found a couple of places for us to stop along the way. Also, Ken is not a road trip enthusiast but I was hoping that this one would push him towards the direction of converting him. I'm happy to report Ken enjoyed this one; I think the easy drive, no traffic, beautiful weather and scenery all helped. 

These photos are from the drive back home, which turned out to be beautiful sunny day.  For lunch we stopped in Charleston, West Virginia at Ellen's Homemade Ice Cream, where they served lunch and ice cream. Walking down this adorable street with shops and restaurants felt like discovering an unexpected treasure. This is one of the things about road trips with my family that I remember as being so memorable. We would stop at random places - whether it be rest stops, a little town, or even a fast food place - places that we would never have gone to except for the fact that we were traveling through, and the novelty of that place and the experience was made so much more fun because we were doing it together. 

Across the street from the lunch and ice cream shop was a bookstore! They had both new and old books, and Sloane and I went into explore while Lola stayed outside with Ken to work on her ice cream cone. 

Sloane insisted on wearing the crown from her flower girl outfit all day. It looked so sweet on her!

Lola had ice cream three times this week! It was because it was her birthday week and we were on vacation. She rarely actually finishes her ice cream though because it melts all over her while she is taking her sweet time beholding it and taking little licks.

I got Sloane the "Little House in the Big Woods" book at the bookstore (we were listening to it on audiobook in the car) and she immediately wanted to leaf through to look at all the pictures. 

This reminded me so much of myself when I was a kid. I used to walk to school like this, reading a book.

On the way we back, when we had about two hours to go, we stopped at a rest stop to use the bathroom and stretch our legs. We happened to have bubbles from the wedding the day before, so we spent some time blowing bubbles, which felt like a welcome break from the car.

It was such a good trip, and I'm glad that we got to enjoy even our travels there and back. I'm already itching for another trip! 

WHAT I'M READING V. 26

The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines

Who doesn't love Chip and Joanna Gaines? I've been curious about their origin story so I put this book on hold at the library, but it was so long ago that I had forgotten about it until I got the alert that it was my turn to check it out. Chip and Joanna wrote it together and they narrate the audiobook version, which is fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing their individual stories, the story of how they met, and the story of how they worked their butts off to get to where they are. It's inspiring!

Love Wins by Rob Bell

I had tried reading one of his previous books, "Velvet Elvis" a while back and remember not being able to finish it because I couldn't stand the style of his writing.  It is all written in short paragraphs, short and partial sentences and sometimes it felt like I was reading a series of tweets. I picked up the book in the first place because Ken recently learned about Rob Bell and started becoming interested in who he was and what he was doing, and I only had a vague knowledge of what he'd been up to recently, so I thought I would read this one since it's the one that became his most controversial book. I won't go into all that here, but I made it through this one! It was a struggle because I was so annoyed with his style and the way his approach to each topic was to ask pose a question about it instead of addressing it full on, but I think that is the strength of Rob Bell. His value may not be in giving you the substantive meat, but he asks hard and interesting questions and makes it okay for you to do so as well. It opens dialogue and prompts conversation, which is really important.

Euphoria by Lily King

This book is about a sort of love triangle between three anthropologists in the 1920's in New Guinea. It's a historical fiction based on the life of Margaret Mead, an anthropologist, and her love life and the narrative alternates back and forth between two perspectives. It's a great read in that it takes you to the place and time, and is descriptive of the environment and also the the inner thoughts of the narrator. Some of the themes include the idea that learning about and studying another culture sheds light on your own culture, and the idea of whether the need to possess is always a part of love.

Too Heavy A Yoke by Chanequa Walker-Barnes 

I first heard about this book when Rayshawn recommended it on an episode he did for our podcast on the topic of "Racial Reconciliation." I was intrigued when he described it and ended up borrowing a copy from him. I'm about a third of the way through and appreciate how well written and well thought out it is. There is plenty of food for thought, and I'm thinking through things like whether culture has forced black women to be "strong", and how she says black women "bear the burden of constantly disproving stereotypes." It's a fascinating and well done study on a specific type of women in a particular race, and I think it has so many implications for our culture as a whole.

EXPLORING COLUMBUS

Some thoughts recently:

1. My highest priority this week, along with keeping up with the regular things, is going to sleep early. I am two days in, and so far so good.

2. I am not a coffee snob but it is becoming difficult to drink the bland coffee at work everyday. Should I get a mini espresso maker? Or should I cut down on coffee? 

3.  We are already nearing the end of July, and I have deeply entrenched anxiety about the summer ending.

4. Speaking of counting down, there are 47 days left until Sloane starts kindergarten. I have so many feelings about this, although I haven't named them yet.

5. My parents are going to be here next week and I am so excited! 

These photos are more captures from our time exploring Columbus a few weeks ago. One of the must-do things on my list was to go get some Jeni's ice cream and you guys, SO good. We tried to squeeze a second trip in there before we left but couldn't make it happen. Thankfully, you can order pints of it online but it was definitely much more fun going to the shop and getting it scooped into cones. 

We also checked out this area called Short North, which is a street filled with an assortment of shops and restaurants. We perused for a while and ate lunch here before heading to the wedding rehearsal on Friday. 

Other things of note! We had lunch at this place called Sweet Carrot, which is a barbecue place that gives you the option of getting your choice slathered upon a corn cake. I got the fried artichoke option and it was really delicious. 

We had breakfast at a place called Fox in the Snow and the bakery items there had my eyes as big as saucers. The chocolate croissant we got there was divine and the egg sandwich was perfect. Yes, perfect! 

I was able to get a quick appointment in at The Blowdry Bar before the wedding on Saturday and I loved how quick and easy it was. I loved the results and the price was very reaaonable. I wish we had one of those in Richmond. 

We also had some of the best tacos I've ever had at this place called Los Gauchos Tacqueria. Ken's cousin told us Food Network had ranked their tacos #3 in the nation and were like 'really?? In Ohio?' But really, in Ohio.  It was all so good, my particular favorite was the fish taco, and it was so cheap, which somehow makes it taste even better. 

We will be back, Columbus!