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Losing a loved one is always hard. What I’ve learned from loss, so far, is that everybody grieves differently; that each one is hard in its own right; that the best of our family and friends can live on in our minds even as the last time we saw them stretches backwards in time. All of that said, losing Mark hurt, and I found myself grieving him even before he’d really gone.

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We can’t not write about our recent trip to California that we are most certainly riding a high from. This was the first trip in … a long while … that we went on just for fun! No weddings, no holiday commitments, just friends to see and good times to have!

We’ve been planning a trip to visit friends Natalie and Ryan in beautiful San Luis Obispo since 2019 (James reminds Sheila) and it …

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James: Well, here we are. Five months into home-ownership, and a full year into quarantine. Sorry we’ve taken such a hiatus from our ever-attentive readers. There’s been the tendency to look inwards in this time; I was talking to one of my best friends the other day and we both were remarking about how easy it is to accidentally not keep people in touch, since with the people you …

Well, we took a month-long sabbatical back to the East Coast — escaping the worst of the Denver (and, to be fair, national) heat wave by driving back to New Hampshire to visit family & friends in late July. Upon arriving back to Colorado, with Buckwheat capering excitedly (no dog has ever been more relieved to get out of the car), we took a look around at our apartment and realized it was time to …

From the kitchen, I look out toward our main living space (a bold name for its size) and see toys scattered across the floor. Our snake plant, once my loyal backdrop in yoga videos, is kept safe atop a tall stool. Remnants of sticks and leaves dot the carpet, along with pieces of raw veggies that were discarded by their consumer. My mind says boy I’m sleepy but my heart says *I’m overjoye …

👋 well, it sure has been a while. In some ways, it seems just yesterday that Jimmy Fallon and others were joking that after just a few “short” weeks of lockdown, it already felt like years of being cooped up. As states — including Colorado — now begin to re-open, we’re left reflecting on the last 10 weeks of Coronavirus-induced quarantine, and lives spent mostly indoors.

James previously …

Well, here we are folks! She & Jim have just moved into a new part of life — literally moving into a some stability as far as residence goes — an interesting juxtaposition against the striking instability of the greater world.

Yes, it’s true — we signed a lease on an apartment and moved in one week ago! Someday perhaps we’ll reflect on the woes of apartment hunting and the love & loss …

I first met Maryne as a freshman at Boston University at the BU climbing wall. She was part of the scene at the rock wall in a way that I was so obviously not — as one of the supervisors at the rock wall, she belonged to the upper echelon of cool kids who partied together, hung out together, and rumor had it that they even climbed outside. Plus they knew how to pronounce her name, whi …

Reporting to you live as we pass through Topeka, Kansas — the last day of our journey to Colorado!

On the rainy night of December 26th, 2019, we went to see Little Women at the charming Red River Theater in downtown Concord. Little Women is one of those movies that I’m aware of in a way that stretches back to the early days of my childhood; I know I’ve seen the original black and whi …

We are en route to Bend, Oregon and are at this moment surrounded by lush greenery, towering over the our car. Every so often there is a clearing to our left and I can see “Lookout Point Lake” as well as the dreamy Cascades capped in snow. Sun streams through the pockets between trees and mix with patches of fog to send out a radiance of color and light. This is the Oregon I imagi …

Sheila: we’ve just passed the famous New Hampshire highway liquor & wine outlet and are zooming our way to Boston. Why? Because tomorrow we fly at dawn off to Oregon! James and I are lucky enough to be enjoying the ride while our Uber driver, my dad, takes the wheel.

James: we are both very excited to be off on the next adventure! While Sheila takes her life coaching prog …

What’s that? 😲 Is that 2020 on the horizon? Yep, yep it is. I’m not one for setting “New Year’s resolutions,” but I do like to reflect on the year past — perhaps because the bounds of time (that being January 1 — January 1) helps me to focus in on what has transpired.

Where was I January first 2019 … ah yes, I was on the coast of Florida soaking up the sun with my family, my best friend, and an a …

Whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home. - J.K. Rowling

As Sheila and I flew home from England at the end of August and the trip came to a close, we were presented with a veritable host of movie options as part of our in-flight entertainment. Perhaps because we’d had our chance at a Harry Potter tour while in Londo …

Sheila: Hi there, James

James: 👋 Hi my friend, here I am. What’s on the docket for us today?

Sheila: Well, this will be the starter post to a weekly series — an idea I had to hold us accountable to talking and writing about various topics. Topics will be chosen either by us, or by readers (so feel free to comment or …

“Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary.”

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If you’ve ever asked yourself:

• what’s the best way to save money?
• how can I afford the things I want and still pay my bills?
• is it possible to stop living paycheck to paycheck?

You are not alone. Money remains a taboo subject, even amongst the best of friends, while simultaneously existing as the subtle requirement for the vast majority of social events, outdoor activities, travel dre …

The word “Home” isn’t something I’ve ever put a lot of thought into when used — I suppose it’s really the outcome of, over a certain amount of time, a feeling that is cultivated within me. Home is comfort, Home is safe, Home is where I am most myself but also am inspired to explore the depths into what that means. Ever since moving into my freshman dorm room at St. Lawrence University in 2011, I …

Sheila: Gooood morning James.

James: 👋 hi my friend.

Sheila: Here we are, at our favorite coffee shop in London, …

Double post Friday! Welcome to our long awaited United Kingdom update from our somewhat rainy, consistently charming lodging in Sopworth, a town that even people who live near it have never heard of. That is to say — we are now well off the beaten path, and loving it. We’re here with Sheila’s dad, who is visiting us for the week! It’s hard to believe that he booked his tickets during our [ …

Gerard and I met while on the Bow High School Nordic Team. We were likely doing arm circles at the time, making conversation and singing songs to forget the pain. That team was one of the most special groups I’ve ever been a part of, as it tightly bonded people that may never have met through suffering, cold, and winning. I’ve been fortunate to stay in touch with many of those that were on …

When I woke up in my bed on my birthday in Chamonix last year, I imagined how fun it would be for Sheila & I to spend some time in this amazing outdoor playground. I had no idea, then, that our traveling plans would be set into motion so soon afterwards, and that we would indeed make it back there so soon. A year later, and after four months on the road, I can honestly say that this trip ha …

Sheila: I first met Palma because we sat next to one another at work. Instantly I loved and was amused by her — her chic style, her marketing know-how, and hilarious honesty in reviewing American culture. We were quite opposite in our daily energies, as I rose around 5:15am and she was still as she said “turned in the bed” at 8am, and she was active in the evening whereas I turned into a se …

We just spent the last four days exploring Chamonix, the mountain town straddling the French-Italian border that I first visited on my very first trip to Europe in 2011. I remember staring upwards, transfixed by the snow at the top of Mont Blanc and the ponderous glaciers high overhead. Though I was only there for a little over an hour, that initial glimpse into this charming Alps activity Mecca …

It’s not so often that a single day is packed with serendipity. Our first day in Chamonix certainly was!

First off — We arrived to Chamonix off a nearly 10 hour train + bus trip that was actually pleasant due to a nice stop in Annecy (which we’ll touch on in a future post!), lots of leg room, and an abundance of snacks. We were ready to explore!

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Sheila: Bonjour, James

James: Hi, Sheila!

Sheila: Just practicing the very few words of French I’ve picked up.

James: That’s OK you already know pretty much as much as I do.

Sheila: Ha! Not so sure about that, as I can’t order a sliced bread loaf or tell a cab driver where to stop. It’s crazy how many areas of language we’ve passed through in …

We are one week into our Parisian chapter — crazy, we know! Here are a few words to describe what the experience has been like:

• walking. 🚶‍♀️ lotsssss 👣 of 🚶‍♂️ walking 😴 .
• sunrises
• sunsets
• bread. 🥖 lotssss 🥖 of 🥖 bread 🥖.
• ideal weather

Paris has been a “definite” on our list since the beginning of our trip planning. We are very fortunate to have access to the …

Relationships are a lot like chairs. In this post, I explain that sentence, dive into how Sheila & I have benefitted from love and communication over the course of our travels. Hopefully this post will encourage you to think critically about new ways you can support your partner (or nourish that idea for, perhaps, a future partner of yours), both on the road and in general.

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Greetings from the airport in Barcelona. We’ve grown to know this place well, after flying to and from Mallorca, and now on our way back to the states. We arrived a bit early so that we could relax in the airport and not run to our gate like last time, and also so we could shoot out a quick update!

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We waved goodbye to Switzerland a few days ago and have embarked on a different sort of travel style — the country hop.

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It’s hard to describe how friendships form; harder, again, when the relationship begins over email and Skype. Such was my experience in 2013 as Simon (pronounced “see-moen”) and I began working together. His work ethic, unfailing humor, and diligent humility impressed me from Day 1, and as we had the chance throughout the years to see each other during business trips to Lucerne and Boston, an e …

I first met Hue while training for a ninja warrior competition in 2016. No really, I’m serious. Our company (my previous, his current) had put together a ridiculous competition/summer party where people could opt into throwing themselves through an obstacle course in front of hundreds of their coworkers. Hue and I are both the kind of people that are crazy enough to say “yes” to such a prospect …

How I made small life changes to save for travel

I should not be one to offer financial advice. Budgets stress me out, I only started investing in the stock market this year, and I don’t care about my credit score. Most of my life I’ve adhered to an internal dial for my financial status and I’ve taught myself little ways to pivot from a spending state to a savings state. At …

Here we are in Europe! As we began to write this post we were literally driving through the Austrian Alps, making our way from Bovec (northern mountainous region of Slovenia) to Ljubljana (capital of Slovenia). In order to get from here to there we actually traveled through both Italy and Austria. When we did the initial trip up to Bovec just 3 days ago, we were met with snow and snow p …

Spring cleaning is getting real over here! I’m home in New Hampshire and officially moved out of my Somerville apartment. Over the past week, I’ve been taking time to purge, donate, and organize, so that I can travel without literal and metaphorical baggage of the possessions I’ve left behind.

What does this look like? A beautiful clutter of the past. I’ve sifted through photos, reread le …

Sheila: Hi James!

James: Oh hi! 👋

Sheila: Well, we’re finally getting around to this blog post. And we have SO much ground to cover it seems. What sort of things have happened since we posted in Moab?

James: Here’s a little bulleted list:

• Monument Valley
• Navajo National Monument
• Flagstaff
• the Grand Canyon
• Kayaking on Lake Powell
• Hiking in Sedona

**Sheila …

We flew into Salt Lake City on Sunday, got our rental car, and went in search of coffee.

While caffeinating, we quickly read up on the most important facts about Salt Lake, including the inversion effect and that the roads in the city were built wide enough for ox cart drivers to be able to make u-turns.

We stopped in Temple Square but mostly enjoyed the tulips, which were in full bloom. Ha …

James: We’d like to record some thoughts about our expectations prior to visiting each destination - hopefully this is something we’ll be able to do throughout our trip!

Sheila: Yeah! As we go along some places will be completely new for us and some will be a revisit, and surely have a few new things or new perspective to gain… James, have you …

I’ve been planning an international adventure for as long as I can remember. Even as a kid I would daydream about the day I would shake off the webbing of my life here and go on some uncharted life exploration of new lands, people, places, and experiences.

I moved to Boston in 2015 and thought I’d stay maybe a year. Then I fell in love with my job, my friends, and my new lifestyle of easy acce …

Both Sheila and I look back fondly on our university days, writing term papers. In keeping with the theme of wordsmithing, the mental picture of meaning and intent gets slowly refined from raw stream of consciousness into something solid, contiguous, and understandable. It’s been a rare pleasure to be able to reflect on our thoughts prior to committing them to digital paper - time being the …