Just bought this gem from one of the most exclusive stores in the country.
you are welcome
top five beats
- A Love Bizarre by Sheila E. if this doesn’t make you get off your tail and jam, we can no longer be friends.
- Knee Deep by Zac Brown Band. another example of summer chill. YAAAAAS
- Send My Love by Adele. never loved her until now.
- Ride by Twenty One Pilots. like 311 but so much better.
- House Party by Sam Hunt. try to not feel like he is singing to you. F U N.
25 things
I love the prose questionnaire or the things-you-don’t-know-about-me lists. So, I have decided to share one with you about me. Here goes:
- If I could get away with being a vegetarian, I would. I love vegetables so much. But the rest of my family does not, thus…
- I have two cell phones. They each serve a super important purpose, and cannot be combined into one.
- My Audi wagon is my perfect car: fast, spacious, low to the ground, and the opposite of fussy.
- Wall calendars, lists, daily schedules are all a part of my world. I have to write it down and see “the big picture” as well as the day’s tasks.
- My drink of choice these days is a vodka martini. One isn’t enough and two are too many.
- I rarely order what I really want off a menu. Instead, I will choose what I think is healthiest. I rarely regret the nights I splurge.
- I am still addicted to hi-ball energy drinks.
- I am counting the days until our annual trip to Lake Tahoe.
- Dancing with my kids is one of my favorite things to do.
- I am so lucky to live in California again.
- My husband’s sarcasm is often only tolerated by me. His personality is an acquired taste. Most of the time, I find it super funny. Sometimes, not so much!
- I love Birkenstock sandals. They are so ugly but so awesome.
- My hair looks best 3 days dirty.
- Summertime is so marvelous, but I dread how quickly it goes by.
- I still talk with our family nanny in Utah at least once a week if not more.
- How good are ribs?
- And tacos?
- Jo Malone’s English Pear & Freesia is my summer scent.
- My toenails are sunflower yellow right now and I have never loved a color so much as this.
- Lately, my car has been my office. If it weren’t for podcasts, I would be miserable.
- I do my own eyebrows and I do not wax any of me.
- I think I bathe my children too little. They smell fine. But I have used the pool as an excuse for a few weeks now. Yikes!
- I hate the flavors of Indian food. Always have, and likely will never change.
- I have the best Mother in Law. She is like a best friend that I just happen to be related to. I would have married G just for her.
- I have terrible luck with babysitters. Ask me about it sometime.
oh hey, me again
Just being totally frank. This blog is public. That gives me anxiety. Anxiety is something I have suffered from most all of my life. It intensified a way I never knew it could after I had my first child. Thankfully, I was ready for pharmaceutical help. And boy did it help. But that was nine years ago. Today, the dose of medication I take just isn’t enough, or life has grown to be too stressful, or who knows. The reason I share this is because I go to post something, I pause. What if my boss reads this? What if I reveal too much? What if this pouring of personal life is used in a way that would hurt my family? Then I stop. There are two people that read my blog with any regularity, and it is a miracle they still do. I used to be a great blogger. Now I am trapped in fear that this blog can never be what I want. But I am going to just go for it. So all two of you can assure me that my pontificate post is nothing to worry about.
But for reals, if you suffer from anxiety, there are ways to lessen the load. If you have never talked to your doctor about it, do. It is so simple to lessen the load. Seriously. You will be no different than you are now, just more able to deal with all that life has. It can seem like there is no way to make anything better, like the world is about to set it’s entire load upon you. It isn’t, and the world continues regardless if you are in a panic or not. I can tell you as someone has considered leaving this earth by my own hand, there’s help and it is there for you. But the world keeps clicking along. It is too big to care about our silly issues. So I am asking you to take care of you with every option you have. Don’t suffer anymore.
obsession
Summer-fever is on. I can’t stop thinking of water-side vacations. Even poolside moments. With these Fouta towels inspired by the Turkish originals.
Aren’t they dreamy?
mother’s day
Mother’s Day weekend, because it is a full weekend in my opinion, not just a day, was quite lovely. We tried out a new sitter on Friday night, which worked out really well. Our collection of reliable kid care was dwindling. I put an ad on care.com and voila, a few great gals came from that. G and I went to Ca Momi and literally scooped up burrata cheese with pizza skin for a few hours while the local band played some fabulous acoustic music.
Saturday, I came home to flowers and lots of goodies from the Ferry Building. Candles, lotions, candies, honey and a new knife set were all in the mix. We grilled lamb chops and watched a movie in front of the fire, because of course, it was pouring rain.
Sunday, we took my mom to Bottega for lunch. I had not been to Bottega in a long time, and it did not disappoint. Even their take on the Bellini was fabulous: prosecco with Cabernet foam on top! We all had a great time nibbling and laughing. No Mother’s day would be complete without a good two hours at the baseball field. Harris had a game, which means lots of cheering and sunflower seeds. Kind of a fun way to finish the weekend.
Here are some photos of the fun.
want
may
Wow. It is already May. I am not too sure where April went, but it is gone and I am already feeling behind. This month started “off” because the first day of the month was on a Sunday, a day I reserve for cooking, prepping and planning for the week ahead. We had family in town on May 1st, and while I loved every minute of it, the double whammy of a Sunday that’s the first day of the month really fouled with my focus.
Also adding to my disarray, there are just 23 days of school left. Summer break is really a break for no one. Because I am a full time working person, summer just means camp and extra organization. We take one trip to Tahoe at the end of July, which I literally start planning again for the day the trip ends. A week in Tahoe without responsibilities sounds amazing. Well, the only thing that needs to be done is lunch making. Laundry, because it is sandy at the beach. That’s really it. I think about the week in Tahoe all the time.
But you know what I realized today? Greg and I never, and I mean ever, go anywhere just the two of us. We go as just adults to meet other friends for a weekend. But there’s others and we have a pretty structured plan when we do those trips. Every other time we go out of town, or even out of the house, it is a full family affair. Heck, lately we don’t even go on date nights, just the two of us. I have a handful of friends that don’t have kids and I wonder what they do with all of their time! Because of the work I do, I am constantly taking care of others. It is my job, and I love my job. But I have completely forgotten about me. I get my hair done five or six times a year, that’s all about me. So I guess it isn’t so bad. It was just sort of in my face today, and I got sad about it.
I will try and perk up. I will face May 3 with verve and gusto. I will try.
risotto
I know it is sort of 90s early 00s cuisine, but I love risotto. It is the perfect combination of a starch (that can even be gluten free), fat, veg, and protein. The problem is, my husband has never liked it. He has always had not-so-great versions of it. Having sort of given up gluten for the most part, I have had to get creative with what to pair meat and veg with. So recently, I bought a box of risotto and made it by the instructions, served it with a filet of beef and grilled asparagus – G went bonkers for it. He didn’t even ask where the bread was, because I made the risotto with parmesan, butter and garlic. It was so creamy and delicious, he swore that I had added cream to it.
With this new door of exploration open, I have been dabbling here and there with risotto. Earlier this week, I make this simple grilled chicken over roasted tomato and mozzarella risotto. We ate every last bite, and it was so very easy to do. Even better, most every ingredient I already had on hand.
Loosely: I marinaded the chicken with olive oil, garlic, italian seasoning, salt and pepper for about an hour prior to simply grilling it. I cut the breasts in half, almost like palliards, so they weren’t so bulky and they cooked faster. I roasted grape tomatoes covered in olive oil in the oven for 40 minutes at 400. I sauteed a ton of spinach on the stove top until barely wilted. And of course I cooked the risotto to the directions, adding white wine for the first liquid dump (instead of chicken stock) after toasting the rice in olive oil. When it was al dente, I added in the roasted tomatoes, sauteed spinach and blobs of mozzarella (the small ball ones) and folded it together. G grilled the chicken, we sliced and served it over the risotto. I topped the whole dish with a little parmesan cheese, some chopped parsley and basil, and a drizzle of olive oil. It truly looked like a restaurant dish, and tasted so much better. G was floored at how good it was, he even asked for it to be put into rotation. WHAT!
dear blog…
I have ignored my sweet blog that I actually pay to produce. I love to blog! But a few things do get in the way when I sit down and start to write. This blog is public, meaning anyone can read it. Why does that matter? Well, what I do for a living can’t be written about, that would be wrong on so many levels. In the past I would show pictures of my home, talk about my neighborhood, use my children’s actual names, because those that were allowed access to read my blog were hand selected friends and family members. I am cautious now. Guarded. And that’s tough for me. If you know me personally, I am private to those I don’t know well and completely transparent to those I do. It makes writing a chore, just a little bit. So I am working on it, and am going to just go for it. Mainly because literally no one reads this blog, and hardly anyone knows it even exists. So, from this point forward, minus a few things, I will be me. No more hesitation. If it pisses you off, so be it. And at this point, there isn’t even a “you” to piss off! How about that?!?
same new song 