Thanksgiving 2014

This busy Thanksgiving weekend knocked me flat. But it was wonderful.

Thanksgiving looked a lot like last year, except with the addition of my beach ball belly, swollen feet, and 80 degree temperatures, and I was generally a little more tired this time around. I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked - I mostly sat chatting with our guests, a cold drink in hand, and my feet elevated. But as this holiday weekend winds down, I am thinking about all the things I am grateful for right now. A husband who brings me multiple servings of mashed potatoes, rubs my feet, and sings to my belly. Parents I don't just love, but actually really like - my parents are our friends. A mother-in-law who injects stories and music into every gathering (and planned me the most amazing shower -- more on that soon). Silly Thanksgiving games, including turkey trivia and Thanskgiving Scattergories. The softest Australian Shepherd who snuggles up next to you, gives you kisses, and loves you unconditionally. A beautiful celebration of our baby and tons of wise parenting advice at my shower on Saturday. A visit from our hilarious Norwegian friend David. A bounty of leftover cheese and crackers. And pie. I don't have photos of all of these things, but they exist.

{matching!}

{after dinner chatting}

{games!}

Weekending

Even though it's raining and cold right now, the weather this weekend was gorgeous! We spent our days collecting sunbeams and on Sunday afternoon, after a lazy outdoor brunch here, we snuggled in the grass watching palm trees sway and jointly declared: we never want to move. Most of our close friends have left San Diego for cheaper cities, and we've talked (quite frequently) about relocating to a place where we might be able to afford a mortgage that gives us a dishwasher and two bathrooms and a big yard. But, look where we live! To own a house, or to live in paradise? That is the question. Priorities change, but for now, we never want to leave. Renters for life.

Weekending, quick notes

Although there aren't photos to prove it, this was maybe the best weekend we've had lately. Last Thursday I was feeling anxious about having too much planned/being over-committed (I need downtime scheduled in, too), but from Friday - Sunday, we were on the move and in the end, we had a lot of fun and it made the weekend seem longer. Some highlights:

:: Some of my students were in a play, so it was fun to go see their talent and support them in their production of Balm In Gilead.

:: We pretended we were in Vietnam/France and went to Zion Market for their "Paris Baguette" pastries with friends. (Note to self: Friends report the coffee is amazing there. When we're back on the juice, I can't wait to try it. Pastries divine - like those we had in Paris.)

:: We partied at a BBQ on Saturday night.

:: I was a wee hungover Sunday and woke to the smell of bacon as Flav surprised me with breakfast - sweet!

:: We're sort of getting into Friday Night Lights and we binge-watched in pajamas Sunday morning - Flav is really into it - I'm sort of a fan. Reminds me of high school culture in El Centro.

:: We celebrated Jan's birthday with wine and delicious Thai food Sunday night.

Even though we were out late last night, I woke up this morning feeling oddly refreshed. Nothing got done at home this weekend, but who needs clean clothes, anyway?

{Sunday morning chef}

{paleo pancake breakfast a la Flav}

Pi(e) Friday

Happy 3.14! I am so throwing paleo to the wind and eating a piece of pie tonight to celebrate pi.

There has been a lot of midterm grading, a bit of cooking, a romantic date night, a horrendous dental appointment, and a couple of moonlight walks happening around here.  I am thrilled for a restful weekend ahead, and it's supposed to be gorgeous out. Dog beach here we come!

No photos to share this Friday. So, I'm sharing mouth-watering pictures of pie. Enjoy. xo

{Cherry}

{strawberry-rhubarb}

{lemon icebox}

{dad's favorite berry}

Weekending, In which Guiri has a cold

It was a somewhat stressful weekend, and I tend to not take pictures of stressful. On Friday Guiri started coughing and by Saturday morning she had what sounded like full-on bronchitis accompanied by fatigue and phlegm. We debated taking her to the animal ER as our regular vet was closed, but decided to make her our magical chicken soup with extra bone marrow and let her sleep in hopes she would heal herself. Sleep she did. All weekend. It was sad to see our usually bouncy, smiley girl looking so miserable. She slept most of the day Saturday and Sunday, but then would be up all night coughing and snorting. We were so worried - I kept asking Flavio to get up and make sure she was breathing - so needless to say we got very little sleep. We think she might have kennel cough. On the upside, our friends brought over a humidifier, so hopefully we'll all rest better tonight, and Flavio's taking her to the vet first thing tomorrow morning.

Despite this bummer, we did carve out a few happy moments. We brunched with dear friends this morning, watched Thelma and Louise and a lot of House of Cards (holy crap! Season 2 is blowing my hair back!), ate way too many chocolate covered treats, and generally lazed about at home while nursing our little lady. It was nice quiet time.

Get well soon, Guiri girl. xo

{Valentine's squirrel from Anya}

Weekending

We spent Saturday in Temecula at a friend's wedding, which was lovely. The groom is Flavio's childhood friend, so it was like a high school reunion for the guys. It was a love-filled night, with great food and lots of celebratory booze and in the midst of the party, a couple things occurred to me. (A) We are getting older - lots of people there, our age, have children who talk and play and entertain themselves. People kept asking whether we have kids and I just showed multiple photos of Guiri. :) I know I've said it before but it was a reminder: It's time start making some decisions about children, but this book is scaring me off.  Also, it shocked us all to realize it's been 18 years (!) since Flavio graduated from high school. Whoa. Yep, getting older. (B) Flavio gave a beautiful and heartfelt toast to the newlyweds and I couldn't have been more proud. There were multiple points in the night where I'd look over at him telling a story or a joke, and I'd be struck by how handsome he looked, and how funny everyone thought he was. Sometimes, in a crowd, you get to see your partner through other people's eyes, and realize how lucky you are.

Nothing too terribly exciting on this Sunday, actually, but it was nice. Flavio went to play paintball with his friends in the morning while I slept in and lazily nursed my hangover with eggs and a marathon of DC Cupcakes (so embarrassed to admit I love that terrible show). This afternoon, we went to the dog park, cooked this delicious chicken, and slowly got ready for the work week ahead.

Valentine's is a comin'! I'm excited. I think I might do a week of heart-filled goodness on the blog. I realize some people are skeptical, or hate the holiday, but maybe just play along. I promise I'll try not to trigger your gag reflex.

{tulips, Trader Joe's}

{wedding, end of the night}

{toast!}

Weekending, quick notes

It was one of those beautiful wintry weekends, with moody skies that were sometimes sunny, sometimes cloudy. If only I'd gotten pics.

Saturday Flavio worked so I held a cleaning party at home (I like to add music and/or movies and snacks to my cleaning extravaganzas) while this awesome chili bubbled on the stove. Saturday night we warmed up with said chili and then watched Drinking Buddies on Netflix, which we both liked. Cold nights at home together, in socked feet tangled on the couch, are my favorite.

Sunday morning I baked cookies for a friends' Super Bowl party. I was really there for the company, snacks, drinks, and commercials - while everyone else was really into the game. My favorite part: Bruno Mars and the Chili Peppers in the halftime show. Dancey!

We're now home for the second half of the game, Guiri sleeping on the floor, Flavio with beer in hand, eyes glued to the TV. Meanwhile, I'm watching highlights from the Puppy Bowl, blogging, and eating leftover cookies fireside. Delightful.

PS: I haven't seen all the Super Bowl commercials yet but I did see this one and loved it. :')

PPS: I love the time capsule aspect of blogging, that I can scroll through the archives and see what last year's Super Bowl weekend looked like. Re-reading old posts brings past memories and feelings right back.

{Sunday night, cookies and crackling fire}

Guiri Sleeps Upside Down

It's been a great week. The first few days of classes are always so exciting, I enjoyed a teacher-friends' happy hour at Polite Provisions (my fave), and we had a fun dinner last night with our lively friend visiting from Norway. And it's Friday. Woot!

What are you up to this weekend? We're taking a cue from Guiri and chilling out. We'll be hanging with our Norwegian visitor this evening and hitting up a party at our gym tomorrow night, but other than that I'm hoping to relax with some baking, snuggles under a blanket with this book, and time outside in the sun.

Wishing you a weekend so relaxing it's upside down. x

Weekending, briefly

I'm back to a very busy first week of school, all is going well and I'm feeling some good energy from my classes. Some quick notes on the weekend before I forget (is it already Wednesday?!)...

Friday night our friend treated us to "Ballroom With A Twist" at the Symphony (pays to know people in high places:). Lots of salsa, samba, fun music and a crazy amount of talent. We even got to go to an after party with the stars. Super fun night!

Other weekend highlights included delicious breakfast at Snooze with our friend visiting from out of town, multiple evenings at the dog park - which has sort of become the center of our social world, some cooking and relaxing, and a trip to the movies to see Her. Have you seen it? The story is beautiful and sad and haunting and has the most gorgeous cinematography I think I've ever seen. I was worried it might be too sci-fi for me but I loved it and think this NYTimes review is spot on.

No pics from me, so I'll leave you with the dusty, dreamy beauty of Her.

Weekending, Hibernation

I have had a looong winter break and I am itching to get back to work, which is a good thing, right? I feel like I've been in hibernation since the New Year and I am realizing something about myself: I need hibernation, a complete disconnect every now and again. I think we all work differently, and I find that I like to operate at 110% capacity for about 85% of the time, surrounded by people, and then spend the remainder doing absolutely nothing by myself. Flavio seems to operate at a slightly lower intensity all of the time, and thus doesn't need to completely shut down every now and again. I think we get about the same amount of stuff done, so it all evens out.

I've spent most of the last week in hibernation mode. Some people might call it lazy but I'm rebranding it as hibernation. After a crazy semester and busy holiday season and generally being super-efficient for the last four months, I realized I was barely pushing through at the end - there was no more powering through - I was exhausted. And basically, I don't want to be just barely pushing through my life.

So, I am going to pay attention and give myself more permission to take breaks, including on the blog. When I started this blog last year, I had a self-imposed posting schedule and would try to get on here 5 days a week (which let's face it, barely ever happened).  I love writing here, but sometimes I am so tired that I cannot be asked to make decisions, about anything, including blog posts, so I need to allow myself to take sporadic breaks from blogging and from everything. I might lay in bed and read books and watch 3 rom-coms in a row and take a one hour hot bath if that's what's needed. And I refuse to feel guilty about it (see this post on the importance of calm and this one on the busy trap.) And always, after some time in hibernation, I suddenly find myself wanting to blog, cook, hang out with friends, and generally rejoin the living world, ramping back up to my 110% self. That's where I am right now - ramping up and recharged.

Does this seem crazy? I know this might sound like a dysfunctional cycle, but I'm realizing this is how I've always worked, I'm forever on a semester system, so I'm embracing it. Now that I'm all recharged, I'm ready to share my weekend with you, but alas, hibernation does not make for great posting. Here are the bits that I do have...

We've been mostly Paleo eating since the New Year but took a break Friday night to gorge on El Comal's heavenly Mexican food.

Saturday we did chores, went out to lunch, hit up the dog park, and came home for wine and cheese paired with the movie The Guilt Trip. People, Barbara Streisand in that movie IS my mother in law. It was so hilarious to us, only because we can relate so closely. Haha!

{Saturday night movie}

Sunday morning we cooked up a storm, went for a long family walk, and then Flavio went to a bar with his friend to watch the Charger's game, while Guiri and I snuggled on the couch to read books. I've been a gluttonous reader over this holiday break. In case you're looking for a few good reads, I loved The Dinner, The Tender Bar and A Spot of Bother. All three about families, but all three very different from the others and each very good.

It's a sunny Monday morning, I made us a paleo pancake breakfast, and now I'm off to walk Guiri in this unseasonably warm weather. No polar vortex for The Whale's Vagina. I hope you have a great day. xo

{sunny Monday morning}

Weekending, Christmas!

As expected, Christmas was quiet but lovely this year. I am usually in charge of something - desserts, appetizers, cocktails, playlists - but I was a complete Christmas Eve guest, responsibility-free, which was sort of nice. The relaxation spilled over to my blog and as much as I missed being here, it was a good little break.

Flavio and I try to be minimalists about Christmas. There are no oceans of wrapping paper, no endless rounds of opening, no piles of presents. Just some small stocking stuffers and a couple of meaningful things each - a nice scarf here, a good book there - and then we always choose something we can do together - an experience. So this Christmas we planned and booked a trip to Playa del Carmen for April.  Yay! Our formula for Christmas fun: food, music, movies, and simplicity. For us, it's the way to go.

{Christmas morning light}

Christmas Eve we had posole dinner with Flavio's mom.  We watched hours of A Christmas Story, ate a ton, and the three of us toasted at midnight. There were the usual family quirks, but it was a cozy night and we were happy to be there. I was missing my family but then something huge occurred to me... Flavio and Guiri are my family! This realization gave me a bunch of warm fuzzies and I went forward enjoying the holiday, feeling happy for my parents that they were in Hawaii, adding my own Clinton energy to my newish little clan.

{giant pot o' posole}

{Christmas Eve}

{posole, lime}

Christmas day we woke up late, opened presents, made a big breakfast, and went to our annual Christmas day movie to see The Wolf of Wall Street - which reminded me of Goodfellas, but funnier. I loved it and thought Leo did an amazing job keeping us entertained for three hours. We finished off the day with a sunset trip to the dog park, Guiri looking festive in her Christmas scarf.

{Guiri's present}

{new toy}

{She loves sleeping, playing and hiding behind the tree..?? Haha!}

{dog park, Christmas day}

Each Christmas, we try to get a new ornament and it's one of my favorite traditions. Here's 2013's bauble - a porcelain santa bell. Isn't he sweet?

The week between Christmas and New Year's always feels like limbo, waiting for more holiday fun. Friends were out of town and Flavio had to work, so I entertained myself with a lot of at-home movies, cooking, long walks with Guiri, and some obsessive de-cluttering and organizing. Sometimes, nesting alone in our sunny house feels blissfully meditative.

{lounging}

Highlights of the weekend included a mystery date to The Haven for pizza, sightseeing downtown to visit the new Central Library (gorgeous!), library book reading, lunch with friends from out of town, dinner with Jan and Gary (our San Diego parents), and hours of our new TV obsession, Homeland. It's totally addictive and is partially filling the Breaking Bad-sized hole in my heart.

{top floor, Central Library}

{Coronado bridge, Central Library}

{The greatest gift is a passion for reading. Central Library}

{book, blanket}

{just in case there weren't enough Guiri pics in this post}

{Sunday night, Homeland, wine}

I get to see my best friend of 22 years tomorrow. Anchorman II, tooling around, and a lot of laughter all on the itinerary.

Weekending

The weekend: merry and bright.

I've been starting every morning (and afternoon) with a cup of my favorite holiday tea.

And tea must be followed up with a leftover cookie...or three.

Friday, Flav became a US citizen! I wasn't able to attend his swearing-in ceremony because I was giving my last final, but such a momentous occasion couldn't go by without proper celebration.

So we went out for pickle marys and Saturday morning brunch at my new favorite spot, Great Maple.

{I love a giant pickle!}

Guiri was showered in gifts this weekend by her uncles, and she always buries her most prized possessions. We caught her hiding her bone under the Christmas tree. Silly goose.

{the ornament on her head makes her look like a behatted Christmas elf}

We went to a couple of great holiday parties, including a white elephant (we won movie tickets - woot!), and a Christmas Soups party on Saturday, where the hosts made 12 different kinds of delicious soup - how fun is that?!

{white elephant}

Saturday night our friends treated us to Holiday Pops at the San Diego Symphony. It was a magical night filled with sounds of the season, including an all-audience carol sing-along (I brought the house down with my vocal contributions) and a snow finale!!! New Year's resolution: attend more cultural happenings. My favorite song of the night was "Somewhere in My Memory" - the song from Home Alone. Sung by the San Diego childrens' choir, it gave me chills. I love the lyrics: "Precious moments, special people, happy faces, Christmas joys all around me...feeling that gingerbread feeling." It pretty much sums up this weekend.

{snow!} 

We're off to the dog park and then for a hot chocolated drive around Christmas Circle to see the lights. Gingerbread feeling, indeed.