In March, we made a trip to see family in Seattle and tacked on a few days in the San Juan Islands. I’ve not spent much time in the Pacific Northwest, and as a person who doesn’t like rain, I was admittedly a bit nervous to go in March. When I found out the San Juan Islands are in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, however, I started making plans. Plus, I’m kind of fascinated by island communities.
Read MoreThis sailboat was our home for four days. Brother Trevor captured this with his drone.
Florida Keys Sailing Adventure
We usually don’t have New Year’s Eve plans beyond sitting in front of our fire and staying warm. However, my brother Trevor was turning 40, and he’s a New Year’s Eve baby. His girlfriend planned a 4-day, 3-night sailing trip to the Florida Keys and they graciously invited us along. We couldn’t say no!
Read MorePatio at The Getty art museum
Los Angeles: An art + design trip
Since J had a work conference in Los Angeles this past May, I decided to fly out to recreate the LA magic. We stayed a couple of nights downtown in the weirdly disorienting but wonderfully photogenic Westin Bonaventure hotel. Then, we were graciously hosted by my friend in Long Beach, where he had just bought a house. We made it to The Broad, The Getty, Grand Central Market, ROW DTAL, Little Tokyo, Chinatown and more.
Read More
Mexico City // CDMX
On the plane home from Mexico City (CDMX), we were already planning our next trip back. The food was amazing, the neighborhoods vibrant and walkable, the art and design culture thriving, the weather was perfect, the dog watching was unbeatable, and the coffee scene on-point. We were here for Art Week, which was the cherry on top.
Read More
Iceland: Ring Road in 9 Days...In a Camper Van
As a photographer, Iceland has loomed large in my imagination for years. I was leery of locking this trip in, given how popular a destination it’s become, and with that, how expensive it is. However, I’m so glad I made this trip happen. It was otherworldly. We could drive for hours and barely talk, there were so many jaw-dropping views to absorb. From the charming fjord towns to steaming earth hot spots to geothermal spas to art-infused Nordic cities, this was a dream trip in so many ways.
Read More
A Florida Escape
This is going to be one of those years where spring never comes to Minnesota. We’ll slip right from winter into summer, with only a long, grey, wet, cold blur of a March and April. Given everything going on — family health issues, the decline of a beloved cat, a bad case of Covid, not to mention the war in Ukraine and Elon’s purchase of Twitter — the weather feels apt. But as a person who barely makes it through February each year without a seasonal affective breakdown, I was never more thankful my dad decided he didn’t want to go to Florida to see my brother. I got his ticket instead.
Read More
The Parlour at The Charmant Hotel
La Crosse, WI Winter Weekend Getaway
One goal for 2022, especially after two years of the pandemic keeping us close to home, is to travel more. First up: La Crosse, WI. I took the recommendation of my driftless sister Courtney and booked a night at the Charmant Hotel. We almost exclusively stay at Airbnbs these days, so being in a hotel felt like a true luxury. Also, La Crosse is just a two-hour drive from Northfield, so it felt like enough of a getaway, but still doable for a weekend. The Charmant is a 67-room boutique hotel in downtown La Crosse, and housed in a former chocolate factory (so of course you get fancy chocolate upon check-in). It is right off the Mississippi River, and even in the negative temps of January, there were still runners jogging along it.
Read More
A Winter Repreive: Wild Rice Retreat Center
As a child, I used my allowance to buy my first architecture book: Thomas Fisher’s profile of Duluth-based architect, David Salmela. I had forgotten about it until a few years ago when I went to a panel of women in real estate at The Coven in Minneapolis. There, one of the women talked about a new development she was working on near Bayfield, Wisconsin. A retreat called Wild Rice Retreat Center, perched on the shore of Lake Superior near the Apostle Island National Lakeshore. She was partnering with Salmela as the architect, who had designed the original restaurant on the site years ago. Since then, I’ve been biding my time, waiting to see what it is actually like inside one of his spaces.
Read More
Whitetail Woods Camper Cabins for the NYE Win
We were lucky enough to snag one of Whitetail Woods’ new Prairie View camper cabins to ring in 2022. If you can get one, these camper cabins are one of my favorite winter camping options in Minnesota. They are the perfect distance from home, heated, cozy, well-designed, and peaceful.
Read More
Canada + New England Fall Road Trip
By January 2021, I allowed myself to start dreaming about what a vacation could look like. One that wasn’t confined to a few hours’ drive to a remote place where we could hunker in a cabin. We had a family wedding in Chicago in October, so I used that as our jumping-off point. I wanted to go someplace that felt truly foreign (read: speaking another language), but I also didn’t want to book plane tickets just yet. So, Montreal rose to the top of the list.
Read More