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Category: Personal Essay

Personal Essay

On Celebrating the Complexities of Motherhood

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May 13, 2021
Personal Essay

On Liberty and Justice (for All?)

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July 5, 2020
Personal Essay

On Privilege, Racism, Advocacy, & Action

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June 1, 2020
Personal Essay

On Miscarriage

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January 28, 2020
Personal Essay

On the “New Mom” Expiration Date

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December 9, 2019
Personal Essay

On Finding Time for Free Time

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May 1, 2019
Personal Essay

On Finding a New Holiday Norm

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December 28, 2018

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Daily life in Essaouira’s medina. 🌊 If ‘medina’ Daily life in Essaouira’s medina. 🌊 

If ‘medina’ makes you think chaotic and claustrophobic, Essaouira’s will convince you otherwise. Maybe it’s the adjacent oceanfront that lends a calming coastal vibe to the city, or maybe it’s just a longstanding air of confidence with who it is—the oldest international port in the country that has long attracted travelers and traders, artists and musicians. 

Though I know it’s a major tourist destination, it never felt like one. Everything is more relaxed. Shop sellers yell greetings instead of prices; restaurants build a menu from the day’s catch and ease you through a meal; streets are quiet enough to allow a rest and idle conversation. 

Just look at the resident cats. In every peripheral corner, in every stretch of sunlight—there they are perched or stretched, calmly and happily taking up their due space.
Window views in Tamri, a small-town “Banana Villag Window views in Tamri, a small-town “Banana Village.” 🇲🇦 

We stopped here specifically for a snack, the driver still running the engine as our guide hopped out to cross the street and buy a bunch. According to him, the bananas from here are like nowhere else. They’re small and sweet, the perfect size and consistency compared to the over-engineered ones from my suburban American grocery store. 

In those few short minutes waiting, I thought about the snapshots of life you could capture just from a car window. Incomplete, but full moments lived.
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#morocco #tlbestshot #afarmag #travelersnotebook #strideby
2025 adventures: posting for posterity before the 2025 adventures: posting for posterity before the month is half over!

We started the year with snow days and enjoyed winter around town. Visited 4 new state parks and NYC twice. Checked off a life-long dream destination with my entire fam in tow. Crossed state lines multiple times to see friends (and Beyoncé). And ended the year on a new continent!

We never really start the year with many adventures or destinations in mind, so I don’t know exactly where 2026 will take us. As always, we’ll just stay open to adventure, follow our whims, and embrace spontaneity. 

Happy new year!
Souk El Had (Sunday market) in Agadir: my first je Souk El Had (Sunday market) in Agadir: my first jet-lagged introduction to Morocco. 

As a first-time visitor, it’s everything you expect from a place you’ve only read about. Vendors yelling their prices in Arabic; sales happening in French, broken English, whatever language necessary for these quick negotiations. The crowds roll slowly, like a wave, pushing through the crowded aisles past magnets, rugs, pottery, bananas. 

For many, it’s a stop on a tour bus or a stroll from a hotel, an eye-opening and memorable immersion into a new locality. But for others, it’s a weekend shift or family outing—a tidbit of everyday life that will be forgotten by the time the sun rises on Monday.
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#morocco #gadventures #agadir
Hunting for Christmas trees in downtown Nashville! Hunting for Christmas trees in downtown Nashville! 🎄

Plan a walking path that hits the boutique hotels (we usually start at @thefairlanehotel and head down 4th), grab cocktails as needed, end with dinner at @gannonsnashville or @opheliasnashville. 

Highly recommend this outing on a weekday evening to avoid the usual downtown crowd. 😵‍💫

📍Vinyl Christmas pop-up at @thefairlanehotel 
📍Lounge seating @noelle_nashville 
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#nashvillegram #madeinnashville #nashville #christmastree
Time to check in and put some holiday cheer on the Time to check in and put some holiday cheer on the grid!🎄

📍annual holiday decor at Cheekwood historic estate
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#cheekwood #nashville #vintagechristmas #historichomes
The Couchville Lake Loop is one of my favorite (an The Couchville Lake Loop is one of my favorite (and easiest) family hikes, but I’ve never seen the water so low! Apparently, this is a norm for the winter as the lake is fed via underground channels from the Stones River and Percy Priest Lake. 

The walk here is 2.1 flat, paved miles with a dozen trail benches as well as restrooms, picnic shelters, and a playground nearby. 10/10 for the whole fam. 

@longhunterstateparktn 
@tennesseestateparks 
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#tnstateparks #nashvillehikes #naturaltennessee #outdoorfamily
@hopsandskips

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