Simple Things #12

Here are 5 magically mundane things I've noticed this week...

Hello from Switzerland! I can’t stop cheesing over how happy I am to be here. As I wander the European streets pushing a stroller with a babbling toddler across cobblestoned streets and buildings that are older than my own country, I can’t help but feel gratitude radiating from me. Travel has always been my best medicine and the way I take a bird’s eye view of life and what needs to shift. I also get my best ideas and inspiration while on a trip. I think it’s a good reminder that when we feel stuck in some area of our lives, sometimes something as simple as changing the scenery can do wonders for the movement we need.

I am coming up with ideas on how I want to share this trip here (probably on Sunday? If I can get it together by then) but in the meantime, I’m trying to post daily on my Instagram stories & some in-feed pictures from my camera to keep everyone updated. I’m also trying to update on Notes if I think of it! Needless to say, I’ve been having the best time with gelato trips & endless bowls of pesto pasta, and we’re only a few days in!

Onto this week’s simple things…

1. I had anxiety over the plane ride for a few weeks. The last time Maverick had done an international flight, she was 6 months old and not mobile at all, so we just bounced her and she slept almost the whole time. This time, I had visions of her running down the aisles and trying to get into everyone’s seats. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case and she was an absolute delight. She looked around (and watched her iPad) until the lights went out, and then got 5 hours of sleep until I had to wake her on our descent. I love how adaptable kids are, and how they surprise us when we least expect it.

2. The peonies here in Switzerland are just gorgeous! I need to get a picture of them on my camera, but I can’t stop staring as we walk past every florist and grocery in town. I think it’s official that peonies are my favorite flower. What’s yours?

3. It’s been a while since I’ve taken photos on my camera for me, rather than for my photography clients. I think when I’m lugging my big camera around most days to capture other families, on my own time I just don’t think about carrying it. I’ve been intentional during this trip about bringing it with us and loving the creativity of capturing these special moments. I use the Canon 5D Mark IV camera body with a 24-70mm lens. I really want to upgrade to mirrorless sometime this year, so hoping the extra photoshoots can add to my ‘new camera’ money pot.

4. I’ve been shuffling between books this whole trip, not really digging into one in particular. But the days of sitting on the porch for hours don’t really exist when you’re chasing an almost two-year-old from throwing her paci into the toilet for the 100th time. So, I’ve just been reading a few pages here or there. Except for last night, when I sacrificed sleep to spend a few hours reading Anna Kloots’s new book, My Own Magic. It’s the story of how she went from being a famous magician’s wife to him leaving her and having to start all over, so she decided to follow her childhood dream and move to Paris. I followed along with her sister, Amanda’s, story during the pandemic as her husband sadly passed from covid, and have been following Anna’s journey ever since. It’s been a really sweet book to read and I love her positive perspective on life.

5. My favorite part about being here in Europe is the slow, seemingly endless, long dinners we have every night. Growing up, I remember spending summers in Italy and falling asleep at the table while my parents chatted and drank wine for 4+ hours. I’d read my books and play with my sister, and we lowkey hated how long they were. But now that I’m older, they are my favorite way to connect with my family while we’re traveling and just enjoy being together. I love that Europe has such a slower pace of life, naturally in tune with this rhythmic nature of slow living, and almost as soon as I stepped off the plane I immersed myself in those same habits.

And there you have it! I’d love to know what magically mundane thing you’ve experienced this week that has brought you joy.