baby drivers

Last weekend I had the great fortune to be invited aboard my lovely friends' party barge for a floating Sunday brunch. It was a gorgeous day and such a treat to be out on the water, even for the 2plus bottles hours we loitered at the dock before pushing off.

We were wise to wait, because although my lovely friends and I had each other to talk and laugh and drink with, we had but one offspring between us, which is a far, far cry from our usual haul. When Beth and her lowly singleton showed up to join the fun, it was a perfect storm of kindred friends for all of us. 

Plus, we had designated drivers.

It was one of those brunches that ends at 8pm, after jumping into a fancy hotel jacuzzi. You know the type. 

My God, look at the gorgeous faces surrounding my shadowy troll mug

I tried to drag them down to my level and ugly them up 

It didn't work. I did well though, don't you think?

Cheer up, Eric. 

I really love these people, and their beauty runs deep. As does the beauty of our backdrop.

The Hedgehog

We've got a friend who turned 8 last week.

She's pretty cool.

One of the best things about this kid is she knows what she likes, and she likes good things, because she's an artist at heart. Just like her mom.

Her mom and her Aunt Patti do this thing every year when they pretend to heed the kid's wishes but really provide excellent coolie cups for all their reprobate friends.

And we appreciate it.

Her fifth birthday?

The Unicorn.

Sixth?

The Penguin.

Seventh?

Oh, just neveryoumind about that.

And her eighth?

Why, The Hedgehog, of course.

Wait, did somebody say hedgehog?

Mermaid Cupcake Goddess Rachel strikes again.

But why you ask. Why? Why The Hedgehog this year?

Simple. The eight-year-old asked for it. Brilliantly:

Voilà.

kaaboo'd

I have a very random assortment of images from Kaaboo, and what I hate about them is that in most cases I can't really tell who or what is the subject. What I love about them is that I mostly kept my phone tucked away in my back due to spotty cell service, so I really only made an effort to whip it out when I was really feeling whatever moment I was in. So this is a little peek at what was making me happy at Kaaboo. For your pleasure:

okay so this one is less about a happy moment and more about remembering where we parked

loved capturing a blank canvas - the art was amazing

what nirvana is this? 

no words. 

I skipped Saturday for this

this was where I wanted to snap a repeat photo of Beth and Aq, but they preferred a starnger's vision. sigh. 

Randy is fun

love. 

I had to post an instagram photo a hashtag to get one of these, so I did. 

Yellow Flowers, Redux

We wait all year for this.

Okay, maybe not all year, but certainly all summer.

I mean, it's not like we stand around, fretfully staring into space, waiting for the Yellow Flowers to bloom . . .

. . . because we know they're coming . . .

. . . and when finally they arrive?

. . . we are joyful.

Like many species one hasn't seen in a year . . . they have gotten tall.

And thanks to their prolific and abundant generosity this year . . .

. . . they've joined us on the deck.