Menu Wednesday

It's baaaaaaaaaack! I know you have just been waiting on pins and needles to read about all the things we ate last week. I'm still getting back in the habit of taking pictures (you know you've missed my excellent food photography skillz), so this is a pretty boring, text-heavy post.  Better luck next week.

Brown Butter Garden Vegetable Pasta Skillet {How Sweet Eats}

Super easy, very delicious. Next time could probably leave out the brown butter...it didn't add any noticeable flavor to the dish. I would probably just do a drizzle of olive oil when you toss it with the Parmesan.

Slow Cooked Jerk Pork with Caribbean Salsa {Skinnytaste}



Gina wins again. Although I used 3 tablespoons of jerk seasoning and still felt the pork was a little bland. I added in another teaspoon or two at the end of cooking, plus some cayenne, and that helped. Made a ton, minimal prep time, minimal dishes...all the necessary elements of a repeat recipe in our house.

Aunt Martha's Taco Soup {family recipe}

I've shared this on here before, but it's worth posting again. One of my favorite soups of all time! Of note, this time around I used three cans of Trader Joe's diced fire-roasted tomatoes with green chiles for the 3 cans of tomatoes and just left out the can of chopped green chiles. You could do the same with Rotel, although you'd probably need 4 cans.

 

1-2 lbs. ground meat {chicken, turkey, or beef}*, browned with
1 small onion
add:
1 can chopped green chiles
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 package taco seasoning mix (I make my own taco seasoning using Budget Bytes' recipe. I do include the cornstarch.)
1 package dry ranch dressing mix
1 can hominy, undrained
3 cans stewed, diced, or crushed tomatoes, undrained
1 can kidney beans, undrained
1 can pinto beans, undrained
2 or more cups water

Simmer for 30 minutes. {I tend to just throw everything in the slow cooker in the morning and leave it on low all day.  This soup is very low maintenance.}

*I prefer to use a shredded rotisserie chicken and brown the onion on its own.

 



This Thing On?

So...hi there. Remember me? I don't even know how to begin this post. I'm not sure that I'm "back" to blogging for good...just that I've been feeling like coming back to this long neglected-space for awhile now. Mainly because my husband and my mother keep asking me when I'm going to start blogging again, which I find hilarious because they're the two people in the world I talk to the most. Aren't you guys tired of hearing from me? Sheesh.

I'm not really sure why I stopped in the first place. We moved and our sublet didn't have internet. Then by the time we moved into our permanent address and hooked up internet, I had started a new job. And by that point I was out of the habit. I also had (and still have) some serious reservations about blogging. About what it is, what it's becoming, what it means about me. Let's be honest: you have to be a bit of a narcissist to blog. I mean, you're assuming that your vapid thoughts and observations are interesting to total strangers. Super Special Snowflake Syndrome at its finest. A lot of the people I "grew up" blogging with either don't blog anymore or have become mommy bloggers (which is fine, but not for me since I'm not a mommy) or have become total sellouts. I got to a point where I wasn't really sure who I was blogging for anymore or why.

Blogging also filled a void for me that doesn't need to be filled anymore. When I started blogging, I was fresh out of college, living in a small town by myself with just a handful of friends and friendly acquaintances. So at that time, blogging was a way for me to connect with women across the globe who I had a lot in common with when that wasn't available to me in my real life. Then we got married and moved to a place we loathed where we had barely any friends or social life and felt like there were no cultural outlets for us. We were miserable and blogging reminded me that there was a wonderful world outside of our little dump. Then we moved again. And we absolutely LOVE it here. We've started to form wonderful friendships and build a community for ourselves. I no longer have the same need to connect online because we've made so many wonderful connections in real life.

Now, though, I see blogging fulfilling a different need, one of keeping in touch with friends and loved ones far away. I got such a kick out of going to my college reunion a few years ago and having old acquaintances come up to me and tell me they enjoyed my blog. Not in an, "OMG I'm such a big deal" way, but in a "It's nice to feel like I'm making a connection with people I don't get to see" way. I miss sharing recipes and having a place to just brain dump all the random stuff going on in my head.

OK now I don't know how to end this post. Do people still read blogs anymore? Comment on them? I don't know. I guess I'll just say "Hi, Mom and M! I'm blogging again!" For now...

Checking In

Greetings from 66 degrees-in-July Vermont!  I didn't mean to go so long without blogging, but every time I sit down to post, I just kind of stare at the screen with nothing to write.  I figure this is one of those get back in the saddle things, so I'm just going to get this first post over with and hope that inspiration follows.

So far, we are absolutely loving it here.  Minus the nonstop rain our first week here and the less-than-ideal conditions of our temporary rental, everything has been wonderful.  We've met wonderful new friends, started a running list of restaurants to try and checked several off the list, and enjoyed our unbelievably beautiful new city's weather.

I'm still searching for a job and I'm about to hit my breaking point. I have my third interview today with one company and a phone interview with a different company today.  I have every possible extremity crossed in the hopes that one of these will pan out and I can actually make some money.  I quickly learned I am not cut out for the ladies who lunch lifestyle.  The first week of not having to work was pretty fun.  Sleeping in, baking cookies, running errands whenever it suited me...all very enjoyable.  But not I'm just bored.

The dogs are settling in nicely.  Honestly, they're doing better than we expected. Ozzie is still...Ozzie, but his anxiety attacks haven't been anywhere as severe as I had prepared myself for. Jake is a champ...he's fine as long as he has his bed and food dish.

I'm hoping to ease back in to some regular posting if I can get my act together. As crappy as our temporary living arragements have been, our neighborhood is a dream come true and I'd love to share some pictures of the adorable houses that we drool over on our nightly walks.  That said, M has to have outpatient surgery on Monday, so I will be playing nurse most of next week.

I promise I'm still here and still reading.  Stick with me!

Updates

Hola! It's been awhile since I checked in.  Things are absolutely bonkers around here right now.  Today begins my last day of work at my current job. Which is mild-moderately terrifying since I'm still searching for employment in Vermont. {If you have any connections in Burlington, feel free to send them my way.}  One week from today I will be waking up in a different state where we LIVE. Crazy talk.

We have lined up two places to live. Because we really love drama, we are moving into a temporary home on July 1 and then again on August 15 into our permanent residence. Which means for 6 weeks, we'll be living out of like 3 boxes. Very exciting. I love our permanent place...at least, what I've seen of it in pictures since I haven't actually been.  It looks like the neighborhood and location will be a great fit for us and it's a similar layout to our current house.  Now if we can just find someone to rent our current place so we can get out of our lease...

I've been such an emotional basketcase the past few weeks that I'm wondering if this is what pregnancy hormones will be like.  I'm all over the place. Really hyperactive and happy and packing and dreaming of nesting one minute, overwhelmed, stressed, and crying hysterically the next.  Last Monday I have a cry session the likes of which haven't been seen since my toddler days. And I'm an ugly crier. No bueno.  I really am tickled to bits about our move, but heaven forbid I mention that there's anything I'm stressed/scared/worried about and everyone I know is like, "But you wanted this!"  Yes...yes, I did. And I'm thrilled that it's happening. And I know it's all going to be worth it in the end. But just because we pursued this doesn't make a 600-mile move in 3 weeks any less stressful.  So please everyone...just let me have my pity party cake and cry over it too.  K?

Mainly I'm just getting emotional at leaving Virginia. I have never left. Ever. All of my life is here. My family has been here for generations. We're talking back to George Washington's time. Virginia is in my blood.  I grew up here, I've experienced all of my joys and losses here.  All of my firsts and lasts have been here. I graduated from high school and college here. I had my first "grown-up" apartment here and I adopted both of my sweet dogs here. I met, fell in love with, and married my husband here and we started our life together here.  My entire being, who I am and everything that has shaped me, is inextricably linked to Virginia. I know we'll be back. And it's not as though we're moving that far away; we're in the same timezone and just a quick flight home.  And I have never thought of myself as someone who was afraid to be far some home. I'm still not afraid...I'm just sad. I feel like I'm leaving a large part of myself behind.  It truly is the closing of a chapter of my life, in a way that feels more tangible and permanent and defined than any other chapters.

But with all of that said, I can't wait. We are so excited to just go somewhere as us and, in a way, start our life together all over again.  Away from where we grew up and met and had all of these experiences. It's a chance to redefine our marriage, our careers, and ourselves. What an adventure that will be.  

I don't plan to post again until we've made the move. I want to enjoy every last second in Virginia and then there's that business of never-ending packing.  Enjoy your week and see you in Vermont!

Third Time's A Charm

Yes, that's right, we're moving again! For the third time since our engagement. {The fourth time if you count the fact that we moved in together 2 weeks before M proposed.}

source

I haven't made it much of a secret that we've been pretty unhappy with our living situation for the past 2 years. We knew that if an opportunity presented itself this summer, we had to jump on it and go. As it happens, just such an opportunity presented itself a few days ago in the form of an incredible job offer for M.  So in a little less than 4 weeks, we'll be driving our dogs and all of our worldly possessions to Vermont.  I'm becoming a Yankee!  After our somewhat nomadic lifestyle over the past couple of years {4 moves in 2.5 years}, we are looking forward to putting down roots in New England.

I am a bundle of nerves right now. I'm excited and scared and stressed and happy and stressed and nervous and stressed.  Did I mention stressed? Coordinating a 600-mile move on 3 weeks' notice to a place I've never set foot in is causing me to consume a lot of Tums. It will absolutely all be worth it and we're lucky to have friends and family connections in the area, but woof. Throw in the 100+ pounds of neurotic coonhounds who will be moving with us and I am a bonafide mess.

Things I Am Excited About:
*Christmas in Vermont {Hello..."White Christmas" is only one of my all-time FAVORITE movies.}
*Fall in Vermont. Duh.
*Summer in Vermont. Goodbye Southern heat and humidity. Won't miss you at all.  Except in months November-May.
*Proximity to Canada. No, seriously. I have never been. And we will be 90 minutes from Montreal. So basically 90 minutes from France Lite. Just go with it.
*Proximity to Boston. 3 hours from many dear friends and one of my favorite cities. Yay!
*Proximity to seriously amazing skiing. Can't wait to hit the slopes.
*J. Crew, Trader Joe's, Williams-Sonoma, and TONS of adorable little locally-owned shops and restaurants. {I realize I've probably just committed a major Vermont sin by listing large corporations as a reason I'm excited to move there.}
*Being the most conservative person in political conversations for once.
*Finally justification for my obsession with coats.
*Living in a fun city with lots to do and lots of people our age. I am going to go on a friend binge. I can't wait.
*ALL THE CHEESE.

Things I Am Nervous About:
*I have never lived outside of the state of Virginia, let alone outside of the South.
*I have never lived more than 3 hours away from my parents.
*Winter in Vermont. I am terrified.
*Our heating bill. See above.
*Lack of Duke's mayonnaise.
*Lack of "y'all" in the vocabulary.
*Moving somewhere I have never been and renting a house I have never seen. All the makings of a potential disaster, or at the very least, an interesting living situation for the next year.
*Finding gainful employment. Vermont has a rather small economy and people hold on to full-time jobs with both hands.
*Money. As if I wasn't already nervous about that, we're moving to a place with a higher cost of living.
*ALL THE CHEESE. {I don't do moderation very well.}

The positives far outweigh the negatives and we are both over-the-moon excited. I've promised the dogs that Mummy will buy them some snow boots and jackets and they're not so sure about the whole thing, but I promised them there would also be dog treats, so they're on board. This will be an exciting adventure for us and a place to start over after a challenging couple of years.

Native New Englanders, any advice on what cold-weather gear I should start stockpiling now?

Friday Favorites Lite

It's been light on the blogging around here lately. We've entered the home stretch in our fiscal year at work and things are crazy. Add in M's crazy schedule this time of year and I'm lucky to stay on top of the laundry.  In lieu of anything more substantial {or as substantial as my usual FF posts about clothes and decadent food treats are}, here is my current favorite commercial. I dare you not to smile.

Happy weekend, everyone!

Budget Bride

WARNING: GRATUITOUS WEDDING PHOTOS AHEAD

I've come to the decision to sell my wedding dress.  I've gone back and forth about whether or not I want to keep it for sentimental reasons, but it just seems like a pain in the ass to have to move it with us wherever we go in life on the off chance that a} we have a daughter{s} and b} said daughter{s} would even want to wear my dress.  If we do have a daughter who wants to wear a family dress, we still have my mom's dress, which is beautiful.  So that solves that problem.


So if you know a bride-to-be who's in the market for a wedding dress for less than $1k, please share, tweet, email this info!  The link to the Once Wed posting can be found here, but here are some additional pictures and information:

Designer: Manuel Mota for Pronovias

Purchased at Betsy Robinson Bridal in Baltimore, MD

Purchase price: $1910 + alterations

Asking price: $975 + S/H

PayPal Only

The dress came with optional straps, which I used and had sewn in, but they can be removed to make the dress strapless.

Dress size is 8, altered to fit a street size 2/4.  I am 5'2"; it was hemmed to fit 5'6" with heels. 

The dress has been professionally dry cleaned.  There is some faint staining along the bottom of the dress and underside of the train, but it is only noticeable upon close inspection.  

Please send this on to anyone you think may be interested.