thanksgiving 2019.

Thanksgiving has come and gone.  The kids had the best time being able to see both sets of grandparents during the break, and I think they definitely wore out our guests!

We had snow coming in little fits and bursts throughout the week, and now our mountains are nice and beautiful.  My favorite thing about winter here is how pretty the mountains look with all of the snow.

(My second favorite thing about winter here is that our garage basically turns into a giant refrigerator, which comes in pretty handy when our actual refrigerator runs out of space for all of our food.)

As far as the dinner went, it was a pretty relaxing Thanksgiving, honestly!  I made the cranberry sauce and the gravy on Tuesday, the stuffed mushrooms and macaroni on Wednesday, which just left the turkey, potatoes, and edamame for Thursday.  I didn't make any new dishes this year (always a dangerous thing to do when you have guests to impress!), so everything was pretty familiar.

(Except for the cheese plate I assembled Thursday morning, which I had never really done in earnest before!  But I thought it turned out well enough.)

Now we have lots of leftovers, which normally gives me lots of anxiety because I try really hard to lower our food waste.  Most of the leftovers get eaten just fine, but those dang mashed potatoes.  Historically, we are terrible at eating our leftover mashed potatoes, and they usually end up thrown away.

EXCEPT THIS YEAR!  Today for lunch I made "Waffled Mashed Potatoes With Scallions, Bacon, and Cheddar" from the Serious Eats website.  It's basically a baked potato waffle, and it is a GAME CHANGER.  I can't even explain what a relief it is to not have to dread leftover mashed potatoes anymore.

It may sound crazy, but I'm already thinking about next year's feast.  There are one or two new recipes I have saved that I want to try out in August or September next year to see if they will earn a spot on my Thanksgiving menu.  In the meantime, I'm just thinking about all of the mashed potato waffles in my future.

i come alive in the fall time.

It's possible that autumn isn't as great as I make it out to be.  Maybe the leaves aren't that beautiful and they are truly just dying and that's that.  Maybe getting excited about making baked goods is silly because you really could make those treats any time of year.  Maybe I don't look as good in sweaters and tights and jeans as I think I do.  Maybe October isn't more special than other months.

But the thing is, I've just emerged from ten years in a place where autumn does not exist.  When the calendar says it's time for a change but the weather does not, you feel frozen in time while everyone else you know is moving forward.

The truth about our move from Arizona to Utah is this: my driving factor in wanting to do this was Theo.  I knew it would be good for him, and already this has proven to be true.  But I also wanted to do this for me.  I wanted to get out of Phoenix, to stop feeling like I was dying in a place I found so unremarkable and miserable.  I knew it would be good for me, too.

It looks and feels like October outside!  Opening the door of a preheated oven is no longer something to dread!  I can read Theo picture books about autumn and the colorful leaves and point outside our windows to show him that his stories are based in reality, not fantasy!

Autumn is better than I make it out to be.  It's even better elsewhere than it is where we live!  But where we live right now is perfect.  It's everything I've been missing.


(Now, here are some dramatic pictures to go along with a dramatic post!)

the last two months.

We've lived in our new home for just shy of two months, and there isn't a whole lot we don't love about it.  Was it love at first sight?  Well, this is what we saw as we approached the front door:

Pretty 😍-worthy, if you ask me.

We have twice as much house as we've ever had before, so it feels like we live in a mansion.  We also have stairs for the first time since having children who are mobile, and while we don't need to worry about Theo around stairs anymore, the travels of Miss I-Refuse-To-Play-In-One-Spot required the purchase of a baby gate.

We have a picturesque front yard (see above) with a big ole porch for sitting, and a big enough backyard for a garden and a running space for Theo.  Speaking of garden, I'm already more successful as a gardener in two months here than in 5+ years of attempts in Phoenix.  (It helps that my dad, Master Gardener Extraordinaire, lives around the corner to help me when I need.)

And the kitchen, holy carp, the kitchen.  It is massive and amazing and I can't believe it's mine.  I'm crazy excited to give it a few sexy upgrades over the coming years, but for now it is perfect and I'm having a lot of fun working in here.

(Also, for the sake of keepin' it real: I cleaned and tidied the kitchen as much as I wanted for the purpose of taking this picture.  It is never this tidy.  It took me a stupid long time to realize that kitchens that are actually used are never 'gram-worthy.  I'm onto you, influencers!)

It's the beginning of September, which finally means cooling temperatures and autumn just around the corner.  It's been a long decade of waiting for this again - full of infuriatingly hot days, desperate longing, and endless complaining.  But no more!!  Instead of depressed, I become giddy thinking about sweaters and hot chocolate to comfortably indulge in, Halloween specials, and baking baking baking.  (I've already done an insane amount of baking so far and made quite the dent in my frozen butter supply!) We've safely said goodbye to 90-degree days for at least another eight months, which is the exact opposite of where we've come from.  Good effin' riddance!



Just about everything these past several weeks has been perfect, save for one thing that happened last month.  Jon was laid off from his job, and though it has been stressful since that time, we have felt cautiously optimistic all the same.

(I've also felt like setting Jon's ex-boss's house on fire, but those feelings have passed.  I've now moved on to wanting to send him an exploding envelope full of glitter.  You know, taking the high road and all that.)

Regarding the whole ordeal, I mostly have been thinking about how this all would be going if we still lived in Arizona.  I'd already be at my peak complaining time because of the unrelenting heat, and given how things went with that house, we would probably also have something else to repair.  It's just nice to know that with our move here, the recurring problems of (1) the house breaking down on us and (2) my complete inability to cope with desert-living are gone and can't make unexpected life changes even harder to deal with.

We are happy here, and we are happy with what we have.  And happy to be rid of that idiot boss.  Good effin' riddance.

beanie babies!

When my family came down over Memorial Day weekend, they brought me the Beanie Babies I had when I was a kid. I happily set them all out on Theo's dresser the last week and it's fun to see this part of my childhood every time I enter his room.  I spent a lot of time playing with these when I was little and the possibility that Theo might do the same one day makes me happy.

I think it's safe to say I was totally in love with Beanie Babies.  I always took extra care of them, especially when I got a new one and needed to place the plastic protector over the tag (remember when we thought they might be worth zillions??)  There were a few I took an extra liking to and I even made little clothes for them.  I had the "Special Collector's Edition" Fall 1998 Beanie Baby Handbook that came with recipes, which I don't think I made nearly enough foods from.  And in third grade, after what my family usually refers to as "Kristin's accident," a couple of get-well-wishers gave me Beanie Babies.  Of course, it didn't make me glad for the condition I was in, but I remember being completely thrilled and so excited.

I have been realizing that there are things from being a kid that I haven't quite fully emotionally detached from.  The Beanie Babies especially, but just as special to me are all the Disney movies that our family had.  The other night Jon and I watched The Lion King with Theo for the first time, and even though Theo was not paying attention at all I couldn't help but think, 'this is an extremely important moment!!'

There is so much gear that I swear didn't exist even when my youngest sibling was a baby (which seems like five years ago, not fifteen), and this last year has been overwhelming as we have researched what is best for our kid and our wallet.  So it's such a relief to remember what I loved and have a plan for Theo's future as it applies to entertainment.  It's all just less to worry about, and who doesn't like that?

i want to marry this video.

I'll probably write a post with words eventually.

apparently, if it's not my kid i keep talking about then it's this music video.

I guess I still haven't gotten over this video because today I watched it again and nearly started crying.  You can call it hormones, but I call it "overwhelmed at how strange and beautiful this is."  It's Where the Wild Things Are meets Peter Pan meets something else I cannot quite place.  So, I guess I have to watch it again to find that third thing.  And again.

If I wasn't already stoked on having boy before, then this would ensure it.

those beautiful homes of san luis obispo.

lately i've been constantly thinking about these houses and this neighborhood:

doesn't this one look like it belongs on a beach in north carolina?

we took these pictures while we were walking around the neighborhood in san luis obispo (at night, if you couldn't tell by the dark pictures).  we walked the exact same path as we always did when i was little and my family would walk the neighborhood after dinner, and i got to see the same old gorgeous houses as usual.  i've never wanted a really huge house, but geez.  i'd do anything to be able to live in one of these.

missing this place a lot today!

reflektor.

i can usually make it several months on a single song that kills me so good it's all i can listen to for weeks.  2013 has been somewhat of a dearth on the grabbing-my-soul-with-music front... good things here and there, but nothing has gotten into my blood - until now.

arcade fire is special in our house, because every time jon hears music and then asks "who's this?" it is ALWAYS arcade fire.

anyway, i love things that are weird, and this music video is a weird thing that is also creepy but so cool and beautiful and i want to live in it.

the song gets bonus points for the addition of the horns, which is something i've long believed arcade fire needed in their work.

oh, and the david bowie feature.  and that paper mache head which looks exactly like him and is so perfect.

arcade fire is performing on snl this weekend, so look forward to that.  also, my bets (and my hopes) are on the paper mache heads being present.