Marsell Sandal

Chloe Ballet Flat

They always say there’s a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. I found mine….

On my husband’s last business trip, my mom came up for a visit. Since she arrived on a Tuesday we had several days ahead with our babysitter on schedule. We promptly booked a shopping day at Barney’s including lunch at Fred’s. By 10 am we were out the door and by 10:30 am we were roaming Barney’s shoe department like two women on the hunt for a great treasure…well, weren’t we?! We giggled, and inspected beautiful shoes and probably tried on a million pairs. Mom settled for a gorgeous pair of turquoise blue heels by Dries Van Noten and I, a distressed golden pair of sandals by Marsell. A treat for us both.

After wondering the floors of designer clothes we made our way to one of the most delicious lunches I’ve had in ages at Fred’s (resident restaurant of Barney’s). Carrot ravioli with a tomato cream sauce and a lobster BLT…and how can I forget the most perfect steak fries I’ve ever tasted? For a moment over lunch I thought about the wonderful time we were having and it occurred to me that it had been SO LONG since my Mom and I had the chance to just be US. No baby, no pregnancy, no husband, no other family- just us the way it used to be. Two girls enjoying each other’s company. There was indeed a void in me that I hadn’t been able to define for quite some time and low and behold, this was filling it. I needed to just be myself for a day and to have my mom all to myself. To do the stuff we love to do together (shop, eat, talk) and do it uninterrupted and undistracted.

Several people have asked me what I want to do for Mother’s Day- I’d like to go to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens (something about being around flowers seems right on that day) and I’d like to have a nice meal with my family. But actually I just want to do something that my son will enjoy, because the fact is, and I suppose this makes me way more selfless than I’ve ever been before, making him happy makes me happy. My heart lifts with his smiles and when he laughs, dances, and shouts with glee, I feel complete. He is my heart outside my body so the day that celebrates my role, as mother couldn’t be spent more perfectly than watching him be his silly, exuberant self! Happy Mother’s day to all of you mamas out there- we work hard and love hard and isn’t that the greatest gift of all!?

Our recent trip to Antigua was a family vacation, minus my husband! He was on a work trip and I decided that I really needed to get away. My son’s wonderful babysitter agreed to come with us (we all needed some sun!) and to give me that extra set of hands. She took the baby in the mornings and I took him in the afternoons and of course we shared breakfast and lunch together. Dinnertime was an interesting time. After he would go to sleep for the night, we would each shower and get ready for dinnertime. But one of us had to stay with the sleeping boy so dinner inherently was a solo time for each of us. For me, this was perfect. I’d been quietly longing for some time to myself. For the time to sip a glass of wine, be with my own thoughts and to not have something to DO. I used to have trouble with the idea of having dinner by myself- almost like it was highlighting some kind of loneliness that I didn’t want to face. What a silly idea, I now realize! Time to myself is prized and to sit, calm and grounded, with myself is a pretty powerful place to be! That’s how I felt as I took myself to dinner on vacation- like I was given this amazing gift to be with myself! Looking back on the trip, these dinner moments were some of my favorite times- quiet, calm, and relaxed. Could it be that I love dates with myself? Why yes, I think I’m my favorite person to date! And how lovely to realize I’ve reached that place in my life. I’ve written about taking myself to lunch and those calm moments during an otherwise speedy day, but perhaps on this vacation, I took this idea to the next level. Dinner with myself is pure heaven!

As the redesign of the home continues, I find myself falling in love with wallpaper. I was never a fan in the past, but I now see the light- it’s a simple way to really spice things up! This wall has always been our family wall- meaningful images of our family right as we enter the front door. Before there was a simple painted wall. Now we have fabulous, bright, and retro wallpaper that absolutely highlights the images of our family that we hold so dear. I also LOVE that this wallpaper is of a green standard.  And water based glue was used to put it up. Awesome all around! Another big shout out to Rhobin DelaCruz (in photo) for his general fabulousness and wonderful design work!

Upstate this past weekend, I saw the real beginnings of spring: our magnolia trees are blooming and the daffodils are yellow and full. I created the garden map for the year, choosing which plants or seeds to purchase and planning out where they should go. Two years ago we had an explosion of cucumbers and tomatoes struggled. This past year it was tomatoes galore and very few cucumbers. What will this year be? I feel myself getting excited…

Announcing the second “Finding the Om in Mom” day long retreat! Upstate Moms, you don’t want to miss this! NYC Moms, you’re next! For reservation information contact Terri@randizinn.com!