Today’s linkup to Monday Listicles is a quickie (meaning I’m not going to be blathering on, for once) because we are heading down to the beach this morning. We survived Hurricane Irene (boy, was that scary!) and despite the fact that Ocean City was evacuated, they are apparently open again so we are heading down there today for our first East Coast beach/boardwalk holiday.
10 Places I Love
1. Being in the company of good friends.
Notice how they're all blonde, and I'm the only eejit wearing black in California.
2. Being at home with my children, not having to go anywhere or do anything.
This is the only good picture of me with my kids at home I could find of myself in a hurry. Please note that I'm wearing black again.
3. Seadrift.
Even though we're at the beach I'm probably wearing black while taking this photo.
4. At a writers conference, sitting around a table workshopping fiction. It was at a writer’s conference that I met Audrey Niffenegger (before she even had an agent, before Brad & Jen bought the film rights to The Time Traveler’s Wife). I workshopped her novel – TTW – and she workshopped mine and ended up writing the cover blurb for the back of my novel!
5. Ella’s new bed. It has this little fairy curtain that when you are inside it, makes you feel like you’re in a special place all your own.
6. Reading a novel I can’t put down. Most recent reads I recommend are:
- Little Bee, by Chris Cleave (refugee in London)
- Incendiary, by Chris Cleave (mom writes a letter to Osama Bin Laden)
- A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain, Robert Olen Butler (Vietnam shorts)
- The Help, by Kathryn Stockett (of course!)
-When You Are Engulfed in Flames, David Sedaris (If you want to pee your pants laughing)
- Bossy Pants, by Tina Fey (Ditto to above – hilarious)
7. Gran’s kitchen in Dublin, Ireland, having a good conversation with her, drinking a cuppa while sausages are cooking on the fat-buster.
Inside Gran's cupboard. This is not 7UP, it's a bottle of holy water.
Gran with Ella in Dublin.
8. Business class on British Airways, heading to Europe. (I’m sorry, but I’m a whore for Business Class, even though the next time I fly Business will be after we put the kids through college and I’ll probably be too old to enjoy it. I could spend an entire flight sitting by the toilets in Economy, pining for Business Class.)
I'm so tacky I had to take a photo of myself in Business Class. Note that I am wearing - surprise! - black.
9. Bewley’s Cafe, on Grafton Street in Dublin. I could sit there for hours.
10. Paris.
We look happy here but Ella was jet-lagged & pissed off. Please note that in Paris everybody wears black so at least I fit in there.
11. New Zealand.
Here I am at the top of Mt. Cook, NZ, with my dad & sister. You can see that it was a last-minute trip up as we are wearing shorts & sandals, in the snow.
12. My children’s AMI Montessori school.
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love your pictures!
Thank you Ginger!
Twitter: Adothemomalog
It’s funny, there are many pictures of me in black too!!
Pssst, I took photos in business class too when we went to New Zealand last year. Hehe.
Twitter: MamaWantsThis
You went to NZ last year??!!! Did you love it? How far away from Malaysia is it – from here it’s like 24 hours. PS: Did you wear black in NZ?
Twitter: Adothemomalog
What is it about being in an Irish kitchen, drinking tea and talking for hours on end? It’s got to be the most comforting thing in the world. I wish we did more of that here.
Dana – you are so right. There’s this saying; Americans order their lives around their work, but the Irish order their work around their lives.
I love how in general in Ireland everybody is still in love with – and open to – the idea of having long, drawn-out conversations. We don’t have time for it anymore where I live.
Twitter: Adothemomalog
I love these photos
Where is the black in the last one? It’s so adorable! My daughters share a queen bed and have a big pink canopy over it, too, and I love laying down in their bed with them reading books or snuggling. I never had a canopy as a little girl, and it is quite magical!
oh i love the photos. and seadrift house= awesome!
Twitter: finallymom
10 Places I Love http://t.co/eNVcFGL by @AdoTheMomalog #MondayListicles
Judging by your outfits I would never have guessed the mountain visit in NZ was last minute
Your girls school making the list says a lot, I am SO happy you feel that way. For you and your girls.
And you look great in black. Maybe going to Paris in First class more often is in order. And yes, I just upgraded you, it is the least I can do…
Twitter: NorthWestMommy
What a wonderful list and great pictures!! I’ve never heard of a “fat-buster” that you cook on, but it made me smile
And I say, wear as much black as you want!
Okay, I’m jealous! Seadrift looks like something out a movie. While Paris, New Zealand & Dublin made your list. Beautiful!!
Twitter: notwifezilla
Shorts and sandals but no black!
I always wore black for the longest time as well. It’s because I’m too lazy to coordinate an outfit. 
Twitter: TheMamamash
Wearing black, visiting 10 Places She loves! Love this list http://t.co/eNVcFGL by @AdoTheMomalog #MondayListicles
Black. It’s the new…black. Always appropriate, even in Seadrift. Although whenever I’m out there (in my New Yorker black) I feel like I’ve wandered in from a funeral and all the earth-toned Chico clad ladies sort of stare at me. Ha–out here in the UAE with all the ladies in their black abayas (in the 110 degree heat, no less), I fit right in! And as for business class, oh yes yes yes!! After 3 round-trip flights in business class (someone else’s dime, of course), the idea of ever flying coach again makes me want to weep. And black is always the right color for travel, so that works too.
Great list!
Twitter: mannahattamamma
I can totally see why you love all these places – they are wonderful! I can’t believe you met Audrey and workshopped TTW – I LOVED that book!!! And please tell me, what have you written???
Twitter: SusannaLHill
These pictures were so peaceful!
I love black too, by the way!
We’d do fine together, seeing as how I tend to wear a lot of black…
Love the ‘fairy curtain’!
Twitter: normalmomally
Those were great. Certainly lots to love. The black clothes thread throughout was funny. I’ll have to look to see if I have a theme to my photos of late. (Went through a terribly weird phase of having to flash the “Peace” sign in every photo a while back.) Glad that’s over with.
Twitter: southmainmuse
10+2 Places I Love http://t.co/eNVcFGL because that is the kind of cool @ is! #MondayListicles
Those are fabulous pictures, and they look like fabulous memories!!
P.S. I’m always wearing black these days because I’ve convinced myself it is slimming. Notice I said I convinced myself…and not anyone else! LOL!
Twitter: HStayingAfloat
oh, I just love Ella’s bed!
What a GREAT list! I understand the 7UP bottle with Holy Water…my mother had the same sort of thing!
Twitter: AnnHolly
Great pics. I could totally see myself sitting in that little cafe. And the holy water in the 7up bottle! Funny! We used to have blessed salt in our cupboard and I had to always try and remember not to use it for cooking! hahaha
Twitter: mommyslounge
Astonishingly useful cheers, I’m sure your current subscribers might probably want further articles like this maintain the great work.
Add me to the list of those enjoying the great photos, not knowing what a fat-buster is, and loving the black! And oh, yeah, totally recognized the holy water in the cupboard. Fava beans in the frig, too, from St. Joseph’s Day.
It’s the new…black. Your girls school making the list says a lot, I am SO happy you feel that way. LOL!
My daughters share a queen bed and have a big pink canopy over it, too, and I love laying down in their bed with them reading books or snuggling. Dana – you are so right. How far away from Malaysia is it – from here it’s like 24 hours.