Ace Is Wild

I tend to fit in wherever I go.  This is because my usual spots consist of home, church, school, and our neighborhood McDonald's with the grimey indoor playground my kids can't get enough of.  So, when my husband and I recently jet-setted for the weekend to Los Angeles, we decided to make the most of it and stay at the swankiest downtown hotel recommended to us.

The ACE Hotel opened in downtown LA (#dtla) just a few months ago, and it is no doubt the diamond in the rough on Broadway.  This part of the city has changed a lot in the last several months, and it is still in the early stages of its hipster re-gentrification.

While Umami Burger and the historic-Rialto-theatre-turned-Urban-Outfitters clearly designate this as a hip-among-hip part of town, Broadway is still home to many suffering souls huddled on the sidewalk and dilapidated office spaces waiting to be turned into the next Anthropologie or two-story H&M (it's really only a matter of time).  This is to say, LA wouldn't be LA if it didn't redefine hipster by keeping its dirty roots and taking its own sweet time to develop the next trend.

Headquartered in Portland, ACE also has hotels in New York, Palm Springs, Seattle, Panama, and London.  It seems to have found the perfect location to manifest itself in the historical United Artists building downtown LA.  With a vibrant marquee and ornate street front greeting it's guests, there's no question you're about to enter the Narnia of being too-cool-for-school when you walk in.  

As the guy dressed in flannel plaid and skinny jeans introduced himself as our bellhop, I could immediately tell I was not nearly hip enough for this place.  (Which only enticed me all the more.)  I get it, guy with the bolo and blonde mustache, and I am just going to play the part and let you think I don't have two kids back home who are probably watching Mickey Mouse and eating Tinkerbell fruit snacks right now.  

The black and white glam-deco lobby was sporadically spotted with little whimsical sketches.  There was a fat kitty in a bow-tie drawn over the elevator, a chubby bear falling with a cup of coffee between doorways, and little palm trees dotting the landscape up to the high ceiling above.  

This dose of silliness amidst the spectacular architecture was a sure sign to take a deep breath and enjoy my stay; nothing was to be taken too seriously in a place where hand-drawn animals were spying down.

The room we stayed in was pleasant, with the best part being the exquisite attention to detail.  I'm a total sucker for attention to details.  The tv screen said "Welcome to your room, Emily Pardy" and even the tiniest of items had some kind of ACE font/logo scripted on it.  

The colors were calm and consistent.  The lines of the room were minimal and clean.  The entire room was a crisp combination of industrial (concrete exposed floors and ceilings), post-modern/euro (blocks of muted color with sufficient, well-utilized space, but compact at best) and art deco (gold hardware, black lacquer, splashes of ornate detail hidden in the historic leftovers here and there).

The bed was cozy, the robes were divine (like giant, body-sweatshirts), and the service was fantastic.  While the ACE details were simply impeccable (hey, I worked just long enough in marketing to fall in love with typography and consistent branding) it felt polished, not pushy.

The feel of the experience was upscale, with just enough pretentious notes to make me feel like I got my money's worth.  And, while I didn't get to try the food at their slick eatery, LA Chapter located just off the lobby, I did partake in the Stumptown coffee (a nod to their Portland roots) offered at the adjacent bar. 

The rooftop bar, however, was a few steps beyond our cool factor.  While the view from the top was the stuff Hollywood dreams are made of (Hello, Skyline. Hello, hot tub.  Hello, that one B-celebrity that we recognize but can't quite place) the scene was still a bit loud and crowded for my taste.  

Thirty-something singles who can't remember they're not in their twenties anymore filled the rooftop long after their bedtime (Go home and watch Fallon, people).  But, I'd imagine the daytime being far more inviting with such a primo location (I didn't get a chance to see it in the sunshine).

Let's be honest.  We don't get out much.  This hotel is definitely in the top five of amazing hotels Josh and I have ever stayed at (the Roosevelt, another iconic place to stay in Hollywood, also ranking high among the list) and it was a refreshing getaway to play ultra-cool hipsters for the weekend.  All in all, it was totally worth it.  And, it was a great reminder to spend moments with the love of my life sharing experiences that usually only pre-kid-having-with-extra-money-spending-yuppies tend to splurge on.  

It's okay to reach beyond your cool factor now and then!  And while we felt like parents-in-the-wild who got loose from our cage of homeostasis, it was invigorating to stay somewhere we didn't totally fit in.  

If you're considering a weekend away, I say just Go for it, and take a chance on an experience you didn't think you'd ever share as a couple.  Travel beyond your norms and hold each other's hands like teenagers again.  Book a room with your spouse somewhere, and just get OUT for a night or two.  You might find yourselves sipping espresso, staring at silly animal sketches, totally giggling at how you are geeking out on the bellhop's bolo.  

It might be wild, and I think that's just aces.

Roadtrip

We just packed up our lives.  We’re moving from California to Nashville, TN.  BACKTRACK here.

Josh and I had a long road ahead of us.  We romanticized the idea of traveling the 1,300 miles to get to our girls on the way to moving to Nashville.  I mean, who doesn’t love the idea of a roadtrip?! 

Road TRIP!!!!  Tunes and snacks galore, not to mention the many mindless hours to just chill and see God’s creation.  It all seems so poetic until you are actually on the road and you just find yourself eating out of boredom and having to pee all the time.  Not exactly the pioneering paradise we dreamt about. 

I’ll admit, I was mostly clinging to my husband’s expectations.  This was actually my fourth time to drive cross-country, and so I knew the lack-luster feeling of just wanting to GET THERE.  As much as I tried to revive the Jack Kerouac in me, I grew anxious and annoyed with each mile, trying to summon my patience with beef jerky and twizzlers. 

We stopped at his folks in Arizona the first night.  That was emotional in and of itself, because it would be the last of the good-byes that fell into the category of “not-knowing-exactly-when-we-will-see-you-next” and I just hate that.  It’s always so much easier to say good-bye when you can at least tell yourself how long it will be until you say hello again.  But, we forged ahead, 6 hours down, and many more to go.

About 13 hours later we ended up in Tucumcari, NM.  We stayed at a crappy hotel (hey, I call ‘em like I see ‘em) where I’m pretty sure there was a coyote graveyard in the back and meth being sold in the ditch out front.  In other words, it was lovely.  But, we survived and showered, and got back on the road as soon as possible.  About 5 more hours into the next day, we got a flat tire on the moving trailer.

Now, let me tell you, if you are going to break down somewhere, you probably aren’t going to want it to be in a place named Hooker (Oklahoma).  But, seeing as we had no choice to the matter, we did break down there.  So, as we waited for Penske to come to our rescue, I climbed up into the moving truck and kept Josh and the cats company.

Ah, yes – didn’t I mention?  We were traversing with 2 CATS.  They were just as giddy about the long car rides as I was (okay, not even that much) and thrilled to be parked on the side of a windy highway where we were suddenly at a halt.  Ugh.  The only thing worse than sitting in a car and traveling at a slow pace is sitting in a car and not moving at all. 

But, we made it.  Penske came to our rescue, changed out the tire, and we were back on the road having lost only our patience and two hours of travel time.  All in all, we were grateful to be in one piece and keeping our cats alive.  Not only that, but we were inching our way closer to sweet reunion with our girls.

I’ve never been happier to see such silly, squealing girls.  They ran out to greet us, and it was like Christmas and my birthday all in one.  They looked bigger and louder and much more happy than I remembered them.  They molded like butter into my arms, and my aching heart that was so empty from all the good-byes in California was urgently bursting with completion. 

Our family was together.  Our family was whole again.  Our family was ready to embark on the final adventure towards our new life.

Nashville or bust.

Family Ties :: Kansas Trip Finale

Living away from family has its pros (no sudden, unannounced drop-bys from the relatives at the exact moment you get out of the shower only to discover your cat threw up on your only clean shirt and the baby just woke up with a serious diaper leakage issue) and its cons (no last minute babysitter for that midnight showing of Harry Potter your husband just scored tickets on)...

But, there is no time in life when this feeling of far-away-ness is most deeply felt than right after a new little bundle of joy is born. Everyone wants to help you. And everyone wants to hold her.

And there are simply just not enough iPhone pictures in the world to make up for the tangible touch of a little hand, and no app (yet) for that sweetnewborn scent that you would do your laundry in if you could just bottle it up.

So, when it came time for Daphne to be born, the plans got-a-cookin', so to speak. My sweet Grammy had just passed away, so everyone (except for me) had just gotten in their rounds of hugs and kisses from far and wide with the relatives that gathered in Kansas for the funeral. Since I was great with child at the time and couldn't be there, it left all the more longing for people to want to reach out and get their hands on this new baby - a precious symbol of life after such a sad loss in our family.

My brother's family had already decided to make a Kansas trip out for the State Fair, something his wife and kids had only heard legend of. Since I only get to see them about once a year now (that would be the sound of my heart breaking that you hear right now) I figured it was all the more bonus to get my babies out there at that same time - a two-for-one/killing-birds-with-stone sort of thing.

Unfortunately, since my husband had just started a new jo

b and taken three weeks off for the birth of our second daughter, he wouldn't be able to accompany us - hence the flying out of my mother and then sister to help me on what, from now on, would be known as "the voyage of insanity".

Pause. Upon our return, and now discovering that Josh was able to completely hibernate during the full 5 days - not to mention a couple trips to the driving range and movies - I'm starting to think that either A) this was his master plan to be able to finally make up all that sleep he's been losing, B) he's finally seeking his revenge on me since my pregnancies have forced him to be the one to have to ta

ke the chore of changing the kitty litter for the last two years (you can't change litter when prego) or C) he's smarter than I am after all. Hmm.

It was a sweet reunion when we all finally gathered in Kansas (sans Josh).

Above all, I finally got to see my Grandpa on this trip, and he got to meet sweet Daphne for the first time. At 90, this man continues to impress us all. He still does amazing woodwork (sending Matilda home with a new jigsaw puzzle) and had a smile on his face the whole time we visited...something that would make my Grammy very proud.

It was awesome to see everyone finally able to love on sweet Daphne for the first time...and get tackled by Matilda as well. At almost 2, Tilda is just getting to the age where she can really play with her cousins and yet young enough to still be completely doted on. My nephews range from ages 9 to 14 (how OLD does that make me feel?) and both my nieces are 7...so, it's been long enough since there were tinies in the family for Matilda and Daphne to be novelties to the rest of them.

They had so much fun playing "get chased by Matilda" or "get climbed on by Matilda" or "try to out-scream Matilda", and many pics were snapped as they took turns passing around Daphne, coating her chunky cheeks in kisses. With 15 of us total, it is always chaos trying to get anything done or go anywhere. Even meal times become loud, dragged-out events that resemble a circus more than a Norman Rockwell paint

ing. But with my mother's amazing cooking and a table that is always impeccably set, the effort outweighs the bedlam.

I think it was around day 3 that the novelty started to wear off. Don't get me wrong - everyone loves us. My family is nothing if not adoring over my girls. But, by the third night of wailing before bedtime and tantrums during supper and questionable smells from suspicious bottoms...well, that's when everyone is counting their blessings that they are related to you - and not you.

Still, there's no sweeter feeling than seeing your loved ones love on the ones you love. That's a lot of love. And that's exactly what made this voyage of insanity totally worthwhile.