We finally have to tell you about our whirlwind weekend. In just over 48 hours we crossed four states, visited family at four stops and even hit two IKEAs nearly 400 miles apart. It was hectic, but packed with moments worth sharing — and several posts that will be coming soon once we’ve recovered enough to write them up. Below is a clear, chronological recap of who we saw, where we went and what we got up to:
Friday, August 7:
- 6:00 PM: We kicked off the trip with a two-hour drive north to spend the night at my parents’ place in Northern Virginia.
- 8:00 PM: A home-cooked meal and quality time with my cousin’s new baby girl — the perfect start to the weekend.
Saturday, August 8:
- 8:00 AM: Left Northern Virginia and headed toward New York City. Stopped at Target to pick up a baby gift for our new nephew John, whom we’d be meeting that night.
- 9:00 AM–2:00 PM: Slogged through traffic across Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey, yet somehow still arrived ahead of schedule for a family barbecue in New Jersey.
- 2:00 PM: Killed time before the barbecue by visiting the IKEA in Elizabeth, NJ. Spent an hour exploring new products and snapping photos for an upcoming post highlighting what we liked at IKEA.
- 3:00 PM: Headed to the family event where food, conversation and bocce took over the afternoon.
- 7:00 PM: Another dog joined the gathering — Yoda. Our dog Burger and Yoda did not become fast friends; Burger provided plenty of embarrassing noises. We forgave him.
- 8:30 PM: Said our goodbyes at the picnic and drove toward Manhattan with Almost-Dr. Dan and his new fiancée in the backseat. We brainstormed a post where Dan combines science and home-decor advice.
- 9:30 PM: After a few unplanned detours around New Jersey, we crossed the George Washington Bridge to drop off the happy couple near Columbia, then continued to Inwood to visit my sister, brother-in-law and our new nephew John.
- 10:00 PM: The two Johns finally met. Sherry and I immediately fell for our newest family member. Burger and the family cat Lulu, unsurprisingly, had a less warm introduction.
Sunday, August 9:
- 10:00 AM: Remarkably, we slept through the night even with a newborn in the next room. Sherry got up early to photograph my sister’s kitchen remodel before breakfast for an upcoming before-and-after post about a tiny NYC kitchen that almost doubled in size. Here’s a shot from when the room was completely gutted (don’t worry — it looks much better now).
- 11:00 AM: Breakfast was devoured quickly — it was delicious, and we wanted more time to oooh and aaah over the new baby. It was a close call whether we tried to smuggle him back to Virginia.
- Noon: Left Manhattan and, after a few additional unplanned detours through New Jersey, finally got settled on the right route along the NJ Turnpike.
- Noon–6:00 PM: Spent the drive reviewing the new IKEA catalog and calling my little sister Carrie to strategize décor for her new apartment now that she’s transferring from Philadelphia to Northern Virginia.
- 6:30 PM: Met Carrie and her roommates at the IKEA in Woodbridge, VA to pick up items to refresh her space (similar to the help we gave for her last place). This time we were tackling a sunroom that’s being used as a bedroom — complete with sliding glass doors that offered zero privacy from roommates.
- 8:30 PM: Back at Carrie’s Arlington apartment, we received curious looks from the concierge as we hauled tools, IKEA boxes and a tiny chihuahua hidden in a purse past the front desk.
- 8:30 PM–Midnight: Assembled furniture, hung curtains and did everything we could to turn one of our toughest rooms into something livable. We hit many roadblocks and fought through exhaustion, but made significant progress.
Monday, August 10:
- 1:00 AM: Carrie’s room was finally finished. We snapped victorious “after” photos for an upcoming post, then piled into the car — two tired travelers and one semi-hyper dog — for the final drive home.
- 3:00 AM: Arrived home, checked the blog and collapsed into bed.
- 9:30 AM: Woke up and went back to work, as if the weekend hadn’t been intense enough.
So that was our chaotic, fun-packed weekend and a preview of the posts headed your way this week. What about you — did you do anything intense or exhausting last weekend? Any big plans coming up? We’d love to hear.