Secret messages (A giveaway & Friday Links)

What are your plans for the weekend? We’re all looking forward to seeing family—Aron’s sister and her two boys, the kids’ cousins—are flying in from Germany today! I’ll be picking Hudson up from his first overnight at camp (just one night) and have been told to expect him hungry, grumpy, and tired—but very happy—so I know having his cousins around will give him a much-needed energy boost. We’re also going to drive out to the Capay Valley to our friends’ farm for the Capay Organic Tomato Festival. It’s supposed to hit 107 degrees, so we may need to pack some spray bottles with ice water.

We will also be watching the news of the fires in Redding and Yosemite closely and hoping for some relief for our local friends and firefighters. Aron and I have been sadly remarking at the new normal of watching beloved land in California go up in flames all summer. One feels so helpless, and the forecasted temperatures aren’t helping.

In better news, that photo up there is one I asked Aron to take of my bracelets to announce a giveaway on Instagram! I’ve been in love with COATT morse coded jewelry ever since I first discovered the designs, almost nine years ago. They’re such a subtle and delicate way of wearing a little note on your wrist. Rebecca, the designer, was one of the first artisans I corresponded with when I was just starting out with the blog, and we’ve kept in touch over the years. I’m thrilled that she has offered to give away three of her beautiful, custom bracelets to three winners!

For a chance to win one COATT 14-karat solid gold and silk-cord bracelet with your chosen name, initials, or word, click over to the photo on Instagram and follow the three steps! Giveaway ends Friday, August 3, 6pm PST! (I’m curious: My dots and dashes read Aron, Skyler, and Hudson. What would yours read?)

And thank you for so many nice comments on the first travelogue from Italy! I really appreciated it, and hope to finish the rest soon.

Enjoy the weekend! Some links of note… 

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Travelogue: Return to Rome

It’s unusual that we are lucky enough to return to a major European capitol with only a few years having passed. But it appears that tossing those coins into the fountain worked their magic. I was thrilled when we decided to book tickets to Rome—and travel into the south of Italy—this summer.

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A Shark Pool Party (Happy 7th Birthday, Hudson!)

Hudson turned seven last week, so we threw a little pool party with a bunch of his classmates to celebrate! He and I came up with the “jawsome” concept before school ended, and sent out the invitations ages ago, so he’d actually forgotten all about it until a day or so before—which made it kind of like a fun surprise! (By the way, I wish I’d been clever enough to come up with that cute Jaws pun—someone else said it to me after I shared some photos on Instagram.)

We kept things super simple—just swimming followed by some pizza and cake. I don’t know if it was because the kids had been in class together all year or because of their age, but we basically just sat back and watched them play. They were so great!

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