Currently: The October Edition

Long time, no post!  I took an intentional month-long break, which then became a not-so-intentional year-long break, and so much has happened.  So let’s catch up!

I’ve been …

Celebrating:  First, our engagement!  Then, our wedding!  We got engaged last October and got married last month.  More on all of that soon!

Reading:  I’ve read a lot since we last chatted, but there are some highlights.  I did finally finish reading The Lord of the Rings in March — I’m not usually a fantasy fan, but I got attached and I missed the books when I was done.  This summer my mom recommended The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, which I absolutely loved because it was just so beautifully written.  I finally caught up with everyone else and read Little Fires Everywhere, which was fun.  And I did a lot of screenshotting pages of Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle.

Eating:  We’ve been doing a lot of cooking (and therefore eating!) at home during the last year.  Lots of tried and true recipes (like our go-to Coconut Lime Chicken), a few new dishes (like Pasta with Sausage, Basil and Mustard and Leek Confit Pizza), and some takeout here and there.

Hearing:  I’ve listened to all of Molly Baz’s/Food52’s Sandwich Universe podcast, which is nothing groundbreaking but is fun.  I will listen to Claire and Erica talk about almost anything on their A Thing or Two podcast.  And I’m still digging Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia album.

Background Bingeing:  Still stuck on all the usuals.  Psych, New Girl, Harry Potter, you know.

(Actively) Watching:  We’re slowly working our way through Attack on Titan (heavy, gory stuff!) and Cowboy Bebop.  Now that Seinfeld is on Netflix, we’re going watch it all!  And we’re really enjoying Only Murders in the Building, which surprised me.

Wearing:  I saw this Illuminating Nail Concealer on Things I Bought and Liked right when I needed it — I wasn’t going anywhere for manicures and the state of my nails was making that pretty obvious.  It’s really sheer, but it makes my nails (both fingers and toes!) look so healthy.  The price point ($18 per bottle) gave me pause initially, but it is worth it.

What have you been loving while I’ve been gone?

Currently: The October Edition

from @thatjanebird

Happy week-before-Halloween!

I say it every year and I’ll say it again:  I love October!  Temperatures are down, leaves are changing colors, and the holidays are upon us.  Yes, I do consider Halloween to be the start of the holiday season.  Anyway, we’ve still been keeping things pretty boring and safe around here, so I haven’t been into much lately.  But here’s a peek at what’s filling my time.

Lately I’m …

Reading:  This explanation of “ugh” tasks — I have had one on my to-do list for 5 months.  Still working my way through The Lord of the Rings, but we’re making progress!  I also just finished Hey Ladies!, which I won’t say was good but which did have me laughing out loud.

Cooking:  We recently tried two new Half Baked Harvest recipes and they were so yummy!  The Baked Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls and the Oven Toasted Garlic Herb Cheese Ravioli were both easy, but a little different from the usual, and felt fun.  And both recipes kept well, so leftovers were just as good as the fresh batch.

Hearing:  Say what you want about Emily in Paris, but I think most of us can agree that it’s beautiful and now we all want to go to Paris.  My sister and I have spent the past week listening to “French café music” and the show’s soundtrack, which led us to an exciting discovery.  Did you know that Netflix has an official Spotify profile?  With soundtrack playlists for lots and lots of their original productions!

What are you loving lately?

An Ode to My Sourdough Loaves

I’ve wanted to bake sourdough bread at home for a long time.  In addition to just liking to eat it, I was drawn to the whole process.  I liked that there was some serious commitment involved — you have to actively care for your starter, you have to dedicate hours of time to the dough, and then more hours of time to the baking, and then even more hours of waiting after the baking is done!  It seemed so slow and deliberate, and I liked that idea.

And yet, I couldn’t start.  I didn’t know how.  I was afraid that it would be hard and that I would be bad at it.  What if I killed my starter!?  What if my bread was so terrible it was inedible!?  What if I actually hated doing this thing I’d waited so long to try!?  And so I stood in my own way for years.  “Years” is not an exaggeration.

When the end of 2019 came around, I was feeling antsy.  Life was feeling kind of heavy (I obviously had no idea what was coming for us this year …) and I wanted an outlet.  I needed to feel in control of something and I wanted to create things, and so I decided that 2020 would be the year I finally made sourdough bread.  On January 3rd, I emailed a local bakery asking if they would be willing to share some of their starter.  By noon on January 4th, I had a little jar of their starter in my hands.

Currently: The August Edition

from @helloimcait

How are we doing?  I’m feeling a little restless, a little tired, and a little overwhelmed by all that’s still happening in the world right now — 2020 is not playing around, y’all.  But I’m still here, still healthy, and still lucky, so I’ll take it.  Plus, I’m already getting that tingly ready-for-fall feeling!  Before I know it, the weather will be cooling down and the leaves will be changing colors.  Something nice to anticipate.  🙂

Lately I’m …

Reading:  Lots of long food-related articles.  This is a thought-provoking take on what quarantine sourdough was supposed to do and how that gets all tied up in what was happening in the real world.  I loved this dive into plant-based protein’s intent, impact, and trajectory (and the author’s complicated feelings about being published in Bon Appetit right now).  This was an eye-opening and educational conversation about whitewashing in recipe development, also on Bon Appetit.  I have also finally finished reading The Fellowship of The Ring — I’m planning to take a little break for some non-fantasy reading before I dive into The Two Towers.

Following:  I followed along with Tyler’s #normalizethenopes stories in real time, but I’ve returned to this Girls’ Night In post and Tyler’s Story Highlight a few times since then.  I’m still very much in strict-social-distancing mode and there have been some get-togethers/outings I had to let go because they just didn’t feel safe — there’s a nice sense of community (and relief, since we are still very much in this!) that comes from seeing that other people are doing that too.

Cooking:  It’s been so hot lately, so I’ve been trying to keep most dinners easy and light.  This Herbed Chicken Salad Over Crispy Rice was great — I used handfuls of leftover summery herbs, not just the cilantro and mint the recipes calls for, and it was delicious.  I also recently made this Israeli Couscous Salad with Marinated Artichokes for a little picnic dinner.  I’m on a marinated artichoke kick and they really shine in that salad!

Undertaking:  Marie Kondo’s 8-Week Tidy Challenge.  Okay, well, I haven’t actually started yet.  But I’m preparing to launch a purge of my joy-less stuff — it’s been on my mind since the start of my quarantine and it’s time to get started.

What are you loving lately?

Currently: The July Edition

from @lindsaybriadams

Hi everyone.  I hope you’re all okay.

Here we are, halfway through 2020.  COVID-19 is still a thing and so is systemic racism.  I’m sure we’ve all be doing some reckoning with both and it’s hard.  I took some time away to learn, listen, and reflect, but I’m back for a little sharing.

Lately I’m …

Reading:  I’m working my way through Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad, which “leads readers through a journey of understanding their white privilege and participation in white supremacy, so that they can stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on black, indigenous and people of color, and in turn, help other white people do better, too”.  The book is easy to read, but the work is hard to do.  Also, if you’re having trouble understanding where time is going lately, you’re not alone.

Appreciating:  I love these shots from Fictitious Dishes, shared on Brain Pickings.  What a fun idea — I especially love the spread from The Great Gatsby!

Cooking:  We make pizza about once a week — preheating our pizza stone, shaping the dough, loading up on toppings, and then usually eating one slice too many.  We often choose a recipe from Suzanne Lenzer’s Truly Madly Pizza (which I highly recommend!), but I’ve also got an entire pizza Pinterest board.  I’ve got my eye on this Grilled Shakshuka Pizza and this Crispy Shredded Sprouts, Cider Short Rib, and Caramelized Shallot Pizza.

Wearing:  A fanny pack!  My sister and I often take pretty long walks on weekends.  Now that we have to carry our phones, keys, masks, and hand sanitizers, we needed some help.  There are all kinds out there, but I’m a big fan of Kavu and I decided to try their Spectator pack.  I love it!  It’s comfortable and big enough to carry my walking basics.

What are you loving lately?