i know that things have been a little quiet on the blog during the last two weeks, but don’t worry…it’s not because i’ve given up on blogging. i have a lot of new projects and exciting changes coming to this little space on the internet. so stay tuned and come back next week for daily inspiration.
just before you cross over the bay towards the westward peninsula, there’s a dirt path that runs along the coastline, meandering through wetlands and marsh. every time i cross the san mateo bridge (usually on our way to the airport), i look over that the vast open space of tall reeds and murky pockets of water and wonder what it’s all about. so one day, i decided to head that direction and with holden on my back, we set off to see what the salt marsh was all about.
holden and i spend a lot of time exploring areas where strollers won’t make it. rough terrain, up and down steep hills, and off the beaten path explains our adventures. and although holden loves to run ahead and explore on his own for half the time, he usually putters out just before we’ve turned around to head back home, which is why carriers have been a saving grace for me.
now that he is almost two, it’s not quite as easy for me to carry this boy of mine on my small frame and i’m always interested in trying different carriers to see what will give me the most back support. we were lucky enough to get the opportunity to try out the stokke mycarrier. while the mycarrier was a little more complicated to get into than some of the other carriers i’ve tried, it is well worth it because it was by far the most supportive i’ve ever worn (and i’ve probably tried every single carrier out there). it’s often hard on my body to carry around 25 pounds for an extended period of time, but i had no problem hiking through the wetlands for miles with holden high and dry on my back. there’s a steel bar that you insert into the carrier when putting it together and it seemed to make all of the difference. he felt so much lighter in this carrier than others and my back didn’t feel the strain i’m used to after ten minutes of toddler wearing. holden was comfortable and content and it’s just an added bonus that this carrier comes in a gorgeous, bold red color.
when the weather warms up, we start every weekend with an early morning trip to the farmers market and it’s one of my favorite summer traditions we have started as a family. greeted by brightly colored produce sitting alluringly atop long tabletops, we eagerly step underneath each and every single tent to sample what they have to offer, making our way through the entire farmers market before deciding which farmers we should buy from. we listen to farmers discuss their crops for the season, always imagining what it would be like to be one of those farmers waking up before the sun rises to get their produce to the market. holden runs up and down the aisles, eager to bite into everything within his reach (regardless of whether the skin is edible or not). we leave with a large basket full of fresh fruit and vegetables and it seems no matter how much we buy, it’s always devoured within a few hours of arriving home because it’s just that good.
while chasing holden up and down the aisles, i felt people staring. while the majority of people were clad in black spandex coming straight from a morning workout or in their favorite pair of weekend jeans, i was dressed in stark contrast, the only person there in a brightly colored skirt with tulle poking out from underneath. as i stopped to buy a basket of cherries, the man beside me complimented me on my skirt saying “women don’t wear dresses anymore. it’s nice to see a woman looking like a lady.” i received compliments at every booth we stopped in and a women even took a picture of holden and i waiting on our balloon animal and then asked if she could text it to me because she said we looked so adorable. it didn’t take me any extra time to throw on the skirt versus my favorite pair of yoga pants (my usual early morning weekend attire) and where i’d usually have a giant pair of sunnies on hoping that nobody recognized me, the skirt made me feel good about myself (altogether forgetting the fact that i didn’t have a chance to put on makeup or run a comb through my hair). i am grateful for all of the choices that women have in fashion these days, but sometimes, it’s nice to opt for something feminine and girly (or whatever makes you feel good…for me it happens to be giant tulle skirts) for an outing that doesn’t really require it.