Hi how was your weekend? A nearby wildfire made the air quality awful so we only left the house once to collect a package from the main post office. Navigating the collection center should have been adventure enough for the day but since it was near Chinatown we decided to stop by a cafe/art gallery that I had read about called The Warehouse. Right across the street is the oldest Hindu Temple in the city, Sri Mahamariamman. We didn't go inside but wow is it striking, definitely worth going back to.

We then headed to the mall to pick up the dress shirts Joe had custom-made for him because he's too tall for the off-the-rack options here (ha!). I'm glad we had to pick them up because a few floors below is our new favorite donut shop, J. Co. They have crazy good concoctions but the best is simply their giant cups of coffee served with a free glazed donut. When they're fresh out of the oven they taste better than Krispy Kreme, no lie.

The donuts were a definite highlight but nothing felt better than opening up our snail mail and finding two drawings from my nieces. I immediatley held them to my chest and starting crying. I'm such a sap. I pictured them both holding the crayons with their tiny little fingers, scribbling around, and chit chatting like they do when they get excited about something. Did you notice the creative corner foldings on Juliana's art work??? Oh my sweet girls. Being away from them is the toughest part of this expat adventure we're on. I miss them like crazy but I am thankful for every digital kiss I get from them when we talk via FaceTime. Isabella even hugs the iPhone and I of course hug it her right back.

If you got to spend time with your family this weekend I hope you enjoyed every moment of it! Those truly are special moments.

I gotta love my sister for sending me a recent J.Crew catalogue, too. She knows me well.