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Vienna: All the Details

This May, to celebrate our 50th birthdays and our 22nd anniversary, Dave and I took a huge 15 day trip to Europe. We started in Vienna, Austria where Dave's ancestors immigrated from. Then we drove to Basel to meet a group of close friends for a 7-day cruise up the Rhine. And we ended this dream trip in Amsterdam for a few days.  It was busy and exciting and so much fun. We'll be thinking about the adventures we had on this trip for years to come.  Vienna Let's start with Vienna, a city Dave has been to for work but never quite explore, and I've never been.  We stayed at Imperial Riding School Autograph Hotel just outside main town. I was excited to check-in with our last name that is very Austrian -- not having to correct someone is always great.  The hotel was beautiful and updated. Our room was perfect. Small, for sure, but comfortable with a little sofa and table for working or laying out snacks and an updated bathroom. It was a little too far outside the cente...
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Chopping my Fiddle Leaf Fig

Embolden by a plant expert Instagram influencer, I chopped my Fiddle that had a temper tantrum this winter and dropped 80% of its leaves.  Here's what was left of it after it decided it was angry with me:  So I cut off all the leaves and down to these three twigs. I moved it outside for the best summer light and heat to keep it happy and warm. Keeping my fingers crossed that I didn't just kill this plant baby.  Then, I dropped the chopped limbs into some water to see if I could get it to propagate. The expert said it wasn't always easy, but give it a try anyway. Why not?!  I'll post again soon with an update on the progress. 
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Our Backyard Tree is Gone!

Did I love this tree that provided so much shade in the backyard, near the backdoor and around the patio? Oh yes, very much.  Did I keep up with its maintenance to keep it a manageable size so it didn't get too close to the house offering a bridge for animals to crawl around my roof and attic? And danger of dropping a limb onto the house? No, no I didn't. I looked at Dave and said "Ok, ok, if you want to remove this tree, it's fine. I think it's time." And within 48 hours he had a few estimates and was scheduling a crew to come and remove it. So quickly, that I couldn't even second guess it.  Here's the tree and you can see how close it got to the house. LOVE all the shade. Not loving all the danger it posed, especially with this strong storms blowing through more frequently.  And then our NAKED backyard with out the tree. Such a big difference! I keep saying:  "this is what was best for the yard and our house in the long run. Big trees shouldn...
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Overthinker Packer Here

 One of my favorite topics is back. PACKING .  We're celebrating out milestone birthdays this year with a friend trip: A 7-day river cruise in Europe with three other couples. And I AM EXCITED. Plus, Dave and I tacked on a week in Vienna because, heck, why not.  I'm in FULL PACKING MODE which you know means starting a least a month out and overthinking everything.  The challenge on this trip is to sincerely pack light for two-weeks abroad. Lots of re-wearing outfits, minimal-but-great walking shoes and layers I can pull on and off.  Let's review my packing phases:  Phase 1 : Planning, scheduling and research. I sketch out what we're doing each day, estimate the weather and guess what I'm going to want to wear each day.  Phase 2 : Sort, Buy, Stack. With my list in hand, I go through my closet picking out my very favorite, top-tier clothes that I love the best. Then, I start to see color similarities and what's missing. Then I buy a few things to augm...
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Guitar Lessons Together

 These nerds are taking guitar lessons together! Every Monday.  They were dressed a like, until Alice realized and pulled on her cardigan.  I love it. 
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Visible Mending Project

I recently learned about VISABLE MENDING and I thought it looked so fun, I couldn't wait to try it. I have a few jeans with holes in the knees that just left out of style to me. Perfect for patching!   I have so much fun fabric for hole mending, I didn't know how to decide!  I cut the piece of fabric to fill the hole and used iron-on interfacing on the back to keep it in place.   Then I figured out what color floss worked the best. All while watching the Winter Olympics, of course. I liked the subtle of the navy and cream colors.  I ordered "visible mending transfers" from Etsy. They iron on so you have a pattern to follow. And are water soluble, so they disintegrate once you're done. It was easy and relaxing hand-sewing the patterns into the denim.  I used a few different styles on these patches, to see what I liked the best. The needlepoint acts like a cool pattern but also keeps the patch in place.  Here's the final result! With Pepper looking ...
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Processed Food You're Doing it Wrong

 I was out to dinner with a bunch of friends and a news item came up about protein powder having too much iron or zinc or something. And there was some incredulity and back and forth (like, how could this seemingly "heathy product" not be good for you, what?!?!) and here's the thing ...  When are we going to stop being surprised that processed food isn't good for us?  The thing is, all ultra-processed food is not good for you -- for any number of reasons. Let's stop being shocked. It's not a surprise.   Even if it's packaged in a cute box or has the word "organic" or "all-natural" it's still not doing you any good. Sure, it's delicious. But did you look at the list of ingredients? Anything you don't recognize as food? Can grow in your backyard?  It's not what your body should be eating. From protein powder to my favorite sandwich cookies.  Sure, we all eat processed foods now. Since the Industrial Revolution when the foo...
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