After seven years in the South, I have come to love SO many things about our sweet, sweet adopted homeland (despite what you may have been thinking after my last post!). Some of the 15 I’m sharing today are about the Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill), some are specific to North Carolina, and a few are about the South in general, but I’m grateful for all of them. Here goes!

1. Vibrant churches. I’ll start here because though all of these reasons are fun, this one has been truly life changing. It’s amazing to live in a place where the default is that people are actively engaged in living out their faith, and to have access to earnest, active, flourishing church communities. I have learned and grown SO much by being around the Christians I’ve met since moving here.
2. Biscuits and barbecue. Y’all, the food in the South can’t be beat. Biscuits and (Eastern North Carolina) barbecue are two of my favorite examples, but there’s also fried chicken, pimento cheese, deviled eggs, hushpuppies, red velvet cake… the list goes on, and it’s all finger licking good.
3. Amazing restaurants. The Triangle is overflowing with amazing, innovative restaurants that are constantly striving for excellence. (And I’m not the only one who thinks so: Southern Living named Durham the tastiest town in the South a few years ago!) Between the empires of Ashley Christensen (Poole’s Diner, Chuck’s, Beasley’s, Joule, Fox Liquor Bar, Death & Taxes), Andrea Reusing (Lantern, The Durham), and Matt Kelly (Vin Rouge, Mateo Tapas, Mothers & Sons, Lucky’s Deli), you’ve got more quality spots than most towns can claim.

4. Bluegrass and country. I never listened to either genre before moving South, and now they’re two of my favorites! The Triangle is a great place to listen to bluegrass, especially; I got to see Steve Martin and Edie Brickell play with the Steep Canyon Rangers at Wide-Open Bluegrass a few years ago.
5. Warm ocean. This one’s pretty simple, but worth mentioning: the ocean is C-O-L-D in the north, and W-A-R-M in the South. Makes beach days even more pleasant :)
6. Greenways. The Triangle has miles and miles and miles of greenways, which are perfect for bike riding and evening walks. There’s one in our neighborhood, and we also love the American Tobacco Trail – 22+ miles of trails that wind through three counties.
7. Proximity to mountains. There are plenty of mountains in New England, but they’re all pretty far away from where we lived in Connecticut. Here, we can get to Boone in about two hours and Asheville in four — perfect, since hiking is one of our favorite activities!
8. Weekend trips. The Triangle is a fantastic launching pad for weekend trips! Greenville, Asheville, Charlottesville, Atlanta, Beaufort SC and NC, Charleston, Richmond, Wilmington, and so many more destinations are all options for weekend exploring. (Another one of our favorite activities!)
9. Community events. With three world-class universities, enterprising businesses, and awesome arts organizations in the area, our calendar is stocked with fun and often low-cost activities. Festivals, Durham Bulls games, antique fairs, pop-up shops, outdoor concerts, choral performances, and outdoor movies are a few of my favorites.

10. Duke basketball. Speaking of world-class universities :) John has been a Duke fan since middle school, and it’s a pinch-me kind of thing to live so close to Cameron. Tickets are still hard to come by, but we’ve been to several games since moving here!
11. Swimming holes. I’d never been in an honest-to-goodness swimming hole until I got to NC, but they are delightful — the perfect antidote to blisteringly hot summer days.
12. Warmer winters and springs. I think this is the classic reason to love the South, and definitely the one that most convinces John! We have four solid seasons, but cut out the bitterest cold and the rainiest, most depressing days of “spring” that New England gets in March and April. Instead, we might have a 70 degree day in January, and switch on reliably delightful days in mid-March. John is also very proud of the fact that the sun never goes down before 5pm here.
13. Southern architecture. Creaky farmhouses, gracious front porches, snuggly bungalows, plantation drama… yep, the South sizes up pretty well against New England.
14. Great chains. The mall near my house in Connecticut is sad and the butt of many jokes, so the opportunities that come with living in a more metro area still kind of blow my mind. Pretty much every awesome chain you can think of, including Whole Foods, Anthro, Crate & Barrel, J.Crew, Madewell, West Elm, and Sephora, is an easy drive. And of course, NO list of great Southern brands would be complete without mentioning Chick-fil-a — I could write an entire post about all the reasons I love them!
15. Innovation. (Almost) nothing ever changes in my corner of Connecticut, which is both a blessing and a curse. The opposite is true in the Triangle, where things are always changing, growing, trying, failing, building, and experimenting. Sometimes it can feel like a whirlwind, but it’s also exciting, exhilarating, and inspiring. One of my favorite examples? The American Tobacco Campus, which was transformed from urban blight to one of my favorite spaces in Durham a few years ago.

I’d love to hear: What’s your favorite part about the South? Did any of my reasons particularly resonate with you?

I almost never say this, but I’m a little bit glad to see July go. My Mom flew down in the middle of the month to travel with me and June for work, and as soon as she was in the car from the airport I started spilling out all the things that were weighing on me… June being sick (again and then again), John being sick (pretty much all month), being behind with work because of sickness and vacation, being behind with grocery shopping/laundry/cooking/cleaning/Etsy orders/Em for Marvelous/personal emails because I was working on my day job after hours to catch up, one of my teeth randomly hurting every afternoon (??), Lisa’s shower looming over me… it was just a lot.

Since June was born it’s been fairly easy to maintain our balance, but with all the sickness this month, it felt like everything suddenly careened off the rails–which made me extra thankful for our usually healthy household. This month, I’m praying for the germs to stay away, for work to stay at work, and for a little extra time to make some progress on my August goals!

Despite all of the craziness in July, we were thrilled to make it to Cow Appreciation Day — a Thomas family tradition at least five years running!

Revisiting my goals for July:
Finish our will
Master an updo from the Small Things archive
Move forward in our backyard renovation project
Check more things off our summer fun list
Finish planning and host a baby shower for a dear friend
Relish our time in Maine
Email our neighborhood recreation committee about my luminaria idea
Finish our June in June movie
Feed June her first solid food!!

August goals:
— Finish our June in June movie
— Try out a yoga class at the studio near our house
— Go to an outdoor concert or movie
— Relish our time in Connecticut
— Read at least one book (has been a challenge over the last few weeks, so I’m keeping it simple!)
— Book accommodations for our camping and Asheville trips
— Master an updo from the Small Things archive
— Finish our will

As a reminder, here are my 2016 guideposts. If you’ve posted your goals somewhere, I’d love to see – or just drop them in the comments!

As of last week, John and I have lived in the Triangle of North Carolina for seven years. That is a long time!! I grew up in Connecticut, and I think if you had asked me as a child where I would live when I was an adult, my answer would have been somewhere in New England. But, here we are :)

To mark seven years, I thought it would be fun to share a few things I miss about New England, and a few things I love about North Carolina. First up, 12 of my favorite things about New England in general, and particularly the lovely corner of southeastern Connecticut I call(ed) home:

1. Living near the water. There’s a reason this one is first. Growing up, the ocean was 10 minutes from our house, and a backdrop to so many of my childhood memories. I think living near the water just makes everything better and more scenic — a picnic, an early morning or early evening walk, ice cream, a first job selling shaved ice (speaking from experience here), a bike ride… I really miss not having easy access to the ocean, the sound of crashing waves, and that wildly beautiful salt air smell.
2. Dels. The perfect accompaniment to a day at a Rhode Island beach!
3. Plush, soft grass. In New England, the cool, green grass just beckons you to sit on it — unlike Southern grass, which, if you’re able to keep it alive at all, is usually dry and scratchy. The smell of fresh cut grass is also my favorite smell in the world, so I like that it has to be cut more often up north!
4. Charming downtowns. Every coastal community in Connecticut is more charming than the next — from Stonington, to Mystic, to Noank, Madison, Chester, Deep River, and right on down the line. Quaint storefronts, flag-lined streets, stone seawalls, beach roses, general stores, geraniums overflowing their pots, picket fences… you know the look :)

5. Screen doors. I miss screen doors so much!! A neighborhood full of screen doors just seems friendly – it’s easier to see who’s home, and you can hear that lovely summer mingle of sounds (insects buzzing, kids laughing, lawn mowers mowing…) even if you’re inside. Unfortunately, screen doors are just not practical here in the land of AC and spring pollen!
6. Giant trees. Because the neighborhoods in New England are older, they generally avoided the fate of new neighborhoods down here — where every single tree gets razed to make way for building :( (I can rant about this for hours.) I LOVE New England’s huge old trees, tree-lined streets, and tree-shaded lawns so much.
7. Better ice cream shops. For starters, on balance, New England ice cream is just straight-up better than North Carolina ice cream. The shops tend to be in more scenic locations, too. Secondly, I have found that New England ice cream scoopers are uniformly more delightful than Southern scoopers. In New England, scooping ice cream is at the top of the teenage job pyramid — the best, brightest, most smiley and sparkling get the jobs. In the South, those kids go to work at Chick-fil-a :)
8. Stone walls. Few things warm my heart more than a centuries-old stone wall. My parents’ house and John’s parents’ house both have them in abundance, but that’s nothing particularly noteworthy — they’re everywhere! They run along the road, divide pastures, border hiking trails… and look adorable and stately while doing it.

9. Apple picking. It’s not fall for me without a visit to a pick-your-own apple orchard and a cup of cider and a cider donut at Clyde’s. There are orchards in North Carolina, but the best ones are a few hours away, in the mountains — as opposed to Connecticut, where there’s almost literally an orchard in John’s backyard! Delicious apples + crisp, cool fall air and blue skies = fall perfection.
10. New England architecture. Give me weathered shingles, classic colors, granite front stoops, and copper lanterns anytime! Of course, this house is my favorite example :)
11. Larger lots, woods, and open space. Growing up, my house sat on an acre of land, and our lot backed up to an overgrown farm. This is very common in Connecticut, and I adore it. I think having the freedom to roam through woods and streams is so important for kids, and I wish more of these types of neighborhoods existed in the Triangle.
12. Proximity to the Island. Finally, being just five hours from this pretty place would be a dream!!

This post might make you wonder why I don’t still live in New England — but I assure you, there are many things I love about North Carolina! They’ll be coming to a blog near you very soon :) In the meantime, I’d love to hear: if you’ve visited New England, what was your favorite part?

June has been on an impressive number of road trips in her short life. Over the last six months, she’s driven to Charleston (4.5 hours), Atlanta (6 hours), Hilton Head (5 hours), Cashiers (5 hours), White Sulphur Springs (4.5 hours), and Maine (14.5 hours!!). And that’s just the straight driving time — all of those trips were longer with stops! We’ve learned a few things along the way about taking a road trip with a three- to six-month-old, and I’d love to share our tips with you today…

1. Don’t take the scenic route. This one pains me, because seeking out interesting and beautiful routes is in my blood! (It’s one of my Dad’s favorite things.) But, our main strategy for a successful road trip at this age is to have June napping for as much of it as possible. If we time it right, she has been known to take a three and a half hour nap in the car! (Gold, people!!) Stopping or even changing the sound in the car by dramatically slowing our speed is something that will wake her up, so we stick to the most direct highway route for long, uninterrupted stretches of road.
2. Consolidate stops. We try to make sure that when we do stop, we take care of everything: feeding June, feeding ourselves, a stretch break, a bathroom break, and a gas fill-up. That way, we don’t have to risk waking her up an hour into a nap because our tank is running low.
3. Dress her lightly. June tends to get very sweaty in her car seat, even with the AC blasting, so I always make sure she’s wearing her lightest outfit – usually a thin bubble. This helps her stay cool and comfy!

4. Picnic for meals. We learned early on that expecting June to sit in our laps or in a high chair when we stopped for meals was not realistic – all she wanted to do was roll! (And I don’t blame her.) So, instead of eating in a restaurant, we always pack a picnic blanket, get food to go (usually from Chick-fil-a!), and eat outside. Even at side-of-the-highway fast food restaurants there’s almost always a little grass and a tree for shade. So far we’ve been lucky to avoid rain on our travel days, but in the case of rain or cold, I’d probably bring our blanket into the kids’ play area and let her roll around in there while we ate.
5. Ride in the back. When June is awake, we try to have one adult riding in the back with her, to help her stay busy and happy. We can read to her, hand her different toys, sing, make funny faces, etc. And on the subject of toys, we’ve found that while she’s still interested in her usual suspects on a road trip, she particularly seems to like “unusual” toys: popular items in the past have included an empty water bottle, her stroller fan (she loves to have it blow on her face!), and a board book (smacking the cover with her palm kept her occupied for a good 45 minutes on our last trip!).
6. Keep your schedule loose. The only time I was stressed on our drive to Maine was when I thought we were going to arrive in time for a cocktail party but the traffic was making that less and less likely. If at all possible, try not to have a time you NEED to arrive — that way, if you have to make extra stops because someone’s screaming or has a diaper issue or just CANNOT be in the car seat anymore, it’s no big deal. It’s just part of the adventure!

7. Plan a really good destination. This especially applies if you’re on a multi-day road trip. On our recent trip to Maine, we stayed with John’s sisters and brothers-in-law halfway through, and seeing them at the end of a long day of travel was the best! Then, on our way home, we stayed at an AMAZING waterfront Airbnb with a tree swing, soaker tub, and several small water craft :) We ate takeout pizza on the dock while the sun set the night we arrived, and took a family canoe trip in the morning before we got back on the road! We loved having something so fun to look forward to even though we were leaving our “real” vacation.

I know road trips with kids of any age can seem intimidating, so I hope these tips help! If you have tips that work for your littles (or even remember a good tip from when you were little!), I’d love to hear!!