Buckhead, Atlanta

I just read an article in the New York Times travel section (albeit a year old) about Buckhead, which is just north of Atlanta’s central downtown area—or we say “uptown” since it tends to be classier, more upscale, and a lot more expensive. According to the NYTimes article, it’s “one the of the nation’s wealthiest [...]

California Outlet Malls

I’m not going to lie: I like wearing name brands. I work in an office where what you wear somewhat defines who you are, and pathetic as that sounds, if you don’t play the game, you won’t get the gain. When you’re wearing something nice, you act differently, more professional and more secure—and those things [...]

Malls in the Atlanta area

I usually get all my back to school shopping done with well before school actually starts. And I THOUGHT I had done so this year as well, but apparently, as the kids tell me, especially my oldest, I did it all wrong. School supplies are a bit off, shoes are “so last year” and clothes [...]

5 Ways to Celebrate going back to School

It’s not easy going back to school after a fun-filled summer. I remember from when I was a kid, but more, I see it every morning during these last few weeks as I try and drag my kids out of bed, into clothes, and to the bus. Here are a few ideas of how to [...]

The Parsons are in Minneapolis!

And we are having a blast! We only got here yesterday and have already explored the area around our hotel (we walked all over Downtown Minneapolis), went to the Walker Art Center, and out for a nice family dinner. Today Rick started his slew of business meetings and the girls and I spent the entire [...]

Tampa and Tampax

Uh-oh. That’s all I was thinking when Katie pulled a tampon from my purse yesterday and asked if it was a souvenir from our recent trip. I immediately saw the confusion and got all flustered myself in trying to answer. She already “kinda” knew what it was, so the explanation wasn’t too painful. And first [...]

Flashback to my Dolly Parton days…

I was never SO into Dolly, but a few years back I went through a little Dolly phase that brought me around Tennessee to all the famous Dolly hotspots.
So first on the list is Dollywood, one of the cheesiest and happiest places on earth. I don’t know why I’ve been thinking about Dollywood so much [...]

Ambivalent in Atlanta…?

It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? Time is really flying, which I guess is good—no hurdles slowing down time is always appreciated. We’ve already been to Antioch and back, which was both fun and relaxing, but also difficult—Alex cried so hard when she had to say goodbye to her friends again, and it just broke my [...]

Maybe a word about where we actually live…

…“Back to the grind” of our everyday life is not nearly as depressing as it sounds. We travel a lot, but we also happen to have a house and a hometown and a bit of stability believe it or not! We live in Bethesda, Maryland, but we used to live in Annapolis until recently when [...]

Adjusting in Atlanta

We’re been in Atlanta now for a few months, and thank God, everyone is adjusting quite well. I think it’s hardest for Alexandra. Being 12 and in middle school is hard enough, but having also to make new friends and try and “fit in” just makes it harder. But she’s such a sport. I always [...]