vacation

Our third annual October Savannah trip

/ Cate Tracey / 1 Comment

The title gives it away, but we love Savannah in October! Alex, Linley and I make our way down every October and have since 2023, and this year was a little different because our friends Courtney and Chris spent some time with us, too. But one costume and photo at Forsyth Park will always remain the same…

2023
2024
2025

We decided to stay at the same AirBnB as 2023, and it was great to be in a familiar place in one of our favorite cities. Alex, Linley and I got in on Thursday (instead of Friday as usual), for an afternoon and evening just the three of us. We strolled by our favorite coffee shop and walked around the neighborhood like we do every year. Since we were there Halloween weekend this time, it was super cool to see all the decorations and you could really feel the spookiness and haunting nature of the city.

We checked out a new part of town for dinner and drinks; Starland District had some of the funkiest bars and overall had such a unique energy. We went to a spot upstairs for some sours, but went to their downstairs Smol bar for more good drinks, an awesome atmosphere and good conversation with locals.

For dinner, we stopped at Ardsley Station for more good drinks and amazing food. We sat outside by a huge fire with Linley, and it was so great to see everyone loving on him (as usual!) As much as we love our friends, Alex and I both said how grateful we are to have each other as best friends and favorite travel partners. Of course, Linley is always the glue and being with my two favorite fellas is the best feeling in the entire world.

Halloween morning was a little lazy and we slowly got around to meet up with Courtney and Chris. I took Lin on a walk around the neighborhood again, he made some friends, and we headed to our favorite brunch spot. It was fun to start seeing the city come to life and how some people were already in costume!

We had a great afternoon with Courtney and Chris, which started with brunch at Collins Quarter, strolling through Forsyth Park and other town squares and rows of homes with Spanish moss everywhere… In other words: I was in heaven! After all of that, we kept on walking to the river and enjoyed an afternoon of catching up, people (and dog!) watching, and cocktails before our evening pub crawl.

Once we got Linley tuckered out, we dropped him at the AirBnB and we met up with our friends again for a lovely dinner and cheesy bar crawl: the perfect way to spend Halloween in a haunted city! We went to another one of last year’s spots for dinner, then had the best time at our event. We were the “Spice Girls” and our costumes didn’t arrive in time, so Alex and I had makeshift ones. Throughout the night, we learned about some wild stories, tried a couple new bars and received compliments on our costumes. We all had a blast!

Another reason why we love being in Savannah is how close we are to the water. I’ll write about how we spent our Saturday in the next post 😉

Media taken Thursday, October 30 & Friday, October 31 (Halloween), 2025✨

Upstate New York

/ Cate Tracey / 4 Comments

I struggled to write about my time in New York with Alex and his family because this was the first family trip I’ve taken in over 13 years. I remember feeling excited when talking with Alex about this trip last year – which was before we were even officially dating – and although it’s painful I don’t have these experiences with the family I was born into, it’s wonderful to have them with the family I now belong to.

Oddly enough, we never took family photos. We were living in the moment, enjoying each other’s company along the St. Lawrence River in Clayton, New York. Alex, Linley and I stayed in an awesome home on a little island — where Linley ran free and had the time of his life. The quality time with Alex and Lin meant so much to me, as did the time getting to know Alex’s extended family throughout the week.

I miss having coffee with Alex in the sun room every morning. I miss being outside with Lin and having lazy mornings together. I miss the walks into town as a trio and the places we’d see along the river. I miss hearing the waves crash against the rocks and I miss the sun on my skin — when I felt totally relaxed and at ease. I miss how Alex and I would look at each other and say “I love you,” knowing we were about to have a great day together.

I wish I could go back to those moments and vacationing with Alex and Linley all over again… until next summer 💛 I look forward to sharing more about the trip in the coming days!

Media taken July, 2024

West Side, Best Side!

/ Cate Tracey / 3 Comments

If I were to tell you that I had the perfect holiday weekend, I’d be lying to you; seeing happy families – especially parents with their daughters or siblings playing together – hit my heart like a boxer punching their opponent. BUT it did make me smile when I was able to remove myself from my emotions, and I had a pretty great weekend with a dear friend and our pups!

On Saturday, I drove to Kalamazoo (on the west side of Michigan) to visit my friend Cass and their dog Meadow. I would visit them wherever they were located, but the west side of Michigan is quite beautiful and special in more ways than one. The four of us went to the dog park before Cass and I grabbed dinner and drinks at Taco Bob’s downtown.

Sunday was a lazy morning (at least it was by my standards!), and we headed for Saugatuck Dunes State Park for some hiking and beach time. Linley and Meadow enjoyed running through the woods and frolicking on Lake Michigan’s shoreline. As our dogs were smiling and living their best lives, we were too! Watching Linley jump in the waves and attempt to drag large branches out of the water and Meadow’s first time at the Great Lake put huge smiles on our faces. The little boy who kept coming back to pet Meadow and Linley while they were splooting in the sand also made our days! Feeling the sand between my toes, the sun kissing my face and the wind in my curls was the best combination of peaceful and whimsical.

Even though we all could’ve stayed on the beach for the entire day, it was time to explore the downtown area. Saugatuck is a charming beach town that screams quintessential Michigan: local cafés, boutiques and homemade ice cream galore. The best part of our downtown exploration was when the fire truck came by and Linley howled in unison (it was adorable!).

The last stop on our day trip with the fur babies was South Haven, because we had to see the lighthouse and have a little more time on the beach. We walked the pier, enjoyed time playing in the sand and grabbed some ice cream before returning to Kalamazoo.

The pups were tired, so Cass and I dropped them off and met our friend KayLee at One Well Brewery. The three of us used to work together in college, and I’ve been individually close with both of them even though they haven’t really hung out without me. We all relished in past work memories, exchanged profound conversation and shared several laughs! I love them both dearly and being around two of my favorite people meant the world to me. I hope us getting together helped KayLee and Cass feel better about hanging out more often (which I’m sure it did!).

Photos taken on Saturday, May 29 & Sunday, May 30