Missing Mom

I can't believe its been two years since we said goodbye to Mom.

While I carry her in my heart, I miss her every single day. 

There is so much I want share with her. 

And I do share in the new way, the only way I can.

But, I want her here in body to hug and touch and laugh... 

to plan our next trips to see each other... 

and to talk endlessly like we did just about every day of my life.

How much I have to miss!

Han and I started the day by rewatching the slideshow I made in honor of her. I love seeing her in these photos...always so proud of my beautiful mom and so thankful that we were such an integral part of each other's lives. 

To watch the slideshow, click here.

Doing my best to grow around my grief like I know mom would want me, too. 

Celebrating her today, and everyday, with all my heart.

🦋🦋🦋

Finn

 I’m so behind on my blog (which I’ve been missing!) but need to jump in and announce our newest family member. Introducing…..

❤️Finn Kuijper❤️

After much thought we decided to get a dog. After a lifetime of having rescue dogs who we’ve loved so much, this time we decided to adopt an “Australian Labradoodle” from a very caring and reputable breeder. With as many guests as we have, we really needed to be able to count on his temperament and we feel so lucky to have been matched up with this little sweet pea.

He was born on December 20th, 2022….

….to Manou (mother) and Kayan (father), along with three brothers and one sister.

When they were 7 weeks old, we were able to visit for “Knuffel Dag” (cuddle day) 

where we could meet them in person and let the breeder know our top 3 choices.

 It was impossible to pick. They were each so sweet. 

We knew there couldn’t be a wrong choice. A few days later we were told that we were matched with “Gruen” (green)-the smallest of the litter-who captured our hearts with his fiestiness (that you can see in this video as he jumped over his siblings to bite on my coat).

And the next Saturday (2/11), we were able to pick him up and bring him home! 

In the two weeks since, we’ve been fully immersed in all things puppy.

 It really is like having a newborn with all the sweetness and intensity that involves! 

When he is full grown he will still be small (15-16”/15-20lbs), and we know he will be a great motivator to get us out there for walks, rain or shine. He’s already helping me connect more with locals who want to stop and meet him, giving me a chance to really work on my Dutch conversation skills! 

Everyone stops us to say, “Wat een schatje!’ (What a sweetie!). It’s really fun to share the puppy love.

We think he will be a great mascot for the Mill, welcoming guests from near and far to feel more at home and grounded while they’re here.

 He’s already doing that for me in so many ways.

So welcome to the world, Finn!

We can’t wait to introduce those of you reading this to him when you visit!

❤️🐾❤️🐾❤️

Island Hopping in Croatia

After leaving Dubrovnik, we took a two hour catamaran ride to the island of Korcula. It felt like a mini-Dubrovnik, utterly picturesque, full of beauty, and so much history.

Our next stop was about an hour away by catamaran: the island of Hvar.

Each island had a distinct energy and personality.

We loved hiking up to the Spanish Fortress (construction began in 1278!) 

and taking a water taxi to the island of Jerolim (which can be seen in the above photo).

We loved this special spot!

After three nights in Hvar, we took the catamaran an hour away for six nights on the island of Brac. We stayed in a tiny little town on a bay that was just beautiful.

We rented a boat for a day and had fun exploring! 

Such a very special place!

And for our last night, we ferried over to the city of Split (and flew home from here). Another breathtaking city full of mind blowing history. We stayed steps away from Docletian's Palace (built in AD 305!!!). 

It felt so remarkable that this isn't one big museum behind ropes and glass but instead a place where people live, work, eat and get their hair cut (like Han did with a local barber):

How lucky we feel to have been able to experience so much beauty in Croatia!

To see all of our favorite photos from the trip, you can check out our Croatia album on Flickr.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

 Greetings from Dubrovnik! 

I’m posting from the road, in my desire to avoid being overwhelmed by the photos at the end of the trip. So, this will be brief…mostly a link to the photos I’m taking for those who want to follow along in real time. ;)

We departed Amsterdam on Sept. 4th for the two hour flight to Dubrovnik. By chance it was the 5th anniversary of the day Han and I first met, so it was perfect timing. I planned this trip months ago, in my desire to visit more of  Europe now that I’m based here. We thought our first big trip together would be to Greece but as we researched, we were drawn to Croatia. So the plan was born and looking forward to it all summer has been a big part of the fun.

Discovered a fun app that makes this easy to do. Love it!

Amazing what a difference a two hour flight can make! We’re going carless this trip so took a 30 minute taxi from the airport to Dubrovnik’s Old Town. We arrived at our airbnb and it was all that we’d hoped. The view was absolutely breathtaking.

Dubrovnik is a city on the Adriatic Sea encircled by massive stone walls built in the 16th century. The whole town is a Unesco World Heritage Spot. It is that special.

The scale of these city walls are remarkable and hard to capture in photos. The harbor and water surrounding it make it unbelievably picturesque.

We can sure see why this was chosen as the back drop for so many scenes in the Game of Thrones!

One of the things we love most about it are all the quaint alleyways everywhere you go. Usually with a cat or two hanging out on them. You can’t get lost here…you know wherever you are, you’re still within the walls of the city.

It was helpful to see the city from so many angles: 

in it, beside it, and above it.

We felt like we were a part of living history. 

The “Homeland War” (only 30 years ago!) was brought to life for us in such a heartbreaking way. As was the resilience of the people here and how they’ve recovered in such a relatively short time.

We could go on and on gushing about this area. A highlight was taking the water taxi 20 minutes to Lokrum Island. No cars allowed and peacocks on the roam everywhere. It was very idyllic.

Another highlight was the glorious patio of our Airbnb.

What a gift to be able to stay here.

When you find something you love, you really want to share it-and we wish everyone we know could come here! Until then, here is my album of photos. I wrote descriptions with each picture, but they are a little tricky to find on this site. But, they are there! ;)

To see the full album of photos, click here:

Croatia 2022

After leaving Dubrovnik, Han and I are island hopping for the next couple weeks and I’m striving to post here as I go. It’s so much more fun that way. And thanks to those of you reading this and taking time to share in our adventure. Sending our love to you from here. 🇭🇷

❤️