Clippings and postings by Neil and Jessica as they pursue their hobbies, live their dreams, and plan their future in incandescent happiness.
No superlatives here, just a fun end-of-year meal at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant. Pho and a super spicy marinated pork with rice.
Neil’s on-call this evening, so we are sharing a quiet night at home. I’m actually really looking forward to it, as we’ve got games and fun snacks planned, and plenty of new snow to enjoy
Have a safe and wonderful evening!
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I feel like it’s been forever since I recapped what I would consider an “average” weekend for us. I was so excited to be home this weekend. I lost all but one of my weekends to travel in November, so being home and having virtually no plans was something I looked forward to all week.
We started our Saturday morning off with a little shopping. We absolutely hate shopping, especially during the holiday season when other shoppers seemingly turn into slow-moving zombies, so we grouped all of our miscellaneous trips into one big one.
One of our stops was to the pet store for a jacket for Matilda. She of course loves it. Too bad the weather is in the 70s…
I tried to put Clive’s on, but he stubbornly muscled out of it…
We then hit up Bed Bath & Beyond for some new kitchen utensils. We’ve been holding on to more than a few that are well past their prime. I’ll spare you a photo, just take my word for it. It’s embarrassing.
By the third store, Neil was starving, so we stopped by House of Chow on our way home for veggie stir-fry and Springfield-style Cashew Chicken. They are the only people in town who really do it right, so when we desperately need an emergency homesickness fix, we always turn to them.
When we got home, I started washing and putting our new utensils away, and decided that it was pointless to just clean out one drawer, so I rearranged my entire kitchen. Go big or go home right? Oh wait, this is home.
I got rid of a TON of stuff and freed up 4 drawers and plenty of shelf space for future use. We’ve been downsizing in bits and pieces over the past few weeks. Getting rid of unused tools and appliances, and just trying to declutter a bit. We love to cook and eat just as much as ever, but I think we do just as well with less.
What does anyone need with this many pie pans?
My cleaning frenzy continued late into the afternoon and all over the house. Somewhere in there I pulled our little Christmas tree from storage and set it up. It doesn’t have ornaments just yet, but looks pretty just the same. If only I could get one Felix the Cat to stop dragging the skirt around…
While we cleaned, we tuned into the Outlaw Open, a CrossFit competition that our trainer Nate was in CA to participate in. They were awesome enough to put together a livestream, so we could track Nate’s progress and enjoy some of the WODs. At one point, we had it streaming in our living room, kitchen and the loft. Definitely inspiring, I’m ready for the CrossFit Open WODs in a few months — even if I’m only doing it for fun.
Neil put a late dinner in the oven to slow cook around 8 — a pretty sizable pork butt. It made the house smell amazing, even more so than the combination of our breakfast bacon and the evergreen candle I lit for the first time. Just a simple rub of Dijon mustard (to stick), paprika, salt, pepper, coconut sugar and garlic powder a few hours beforehand. I have a feeling it will be dinner for a few days.
I spent the rest of the night reading Cloud Atlas on the couch while Neil played computer games. It’s so good, but man it’s taking me forever to finish it. I actually had to buy a copy because the library insisted I give them back their copy. The nerve of them to go and lend me good books for free and then want them back.
Sunday morning brought us to Cafe Berlin, our favorite breakfast spot. I always order the Spinach and Swiss Omelette with fruit and a huge piece of Uprise Bakery sourdough. So worth the cheat. Neil opted for a huge egg and bacon breakfast sammie on a homemade biscuit with home fries on the side.
Sunday afternoon was spent crafting — or attempting to craft — with Chris. We’ve been wanting to have a craft day since we created the most epic wedding rehearsal bouquet in existence, but my pesky workload constantly got in the way. She worked on a DIY ring design she saw on Pinterest and I attempted to teach myself to knit for what has to be the millionth time. I made progress, but I still suck. Regardless, we definitely need to make this a recurring calendar event because it was so nice to take some time for hobbies and personal goals I’ve sorely neglected!
Afterward Neil and I settled back into the couch with a big helping of pulled pork and mashed cauliflower — so good! I’m kicking myself for not making this Paleo staple sooner.
And that was pretty much it. A good, long weekend. Now to survive another insane week!
How was your weekend?
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I can’t believe it’s already Tuesday! This weekend went by so fast. We made a quick trip down to Springfield for a friend’s birthday party. Of course, our trips have to start with a treat, and Cashew Inn Cashew Out is our favorite. Everyone has their favorite Cashew Chicken recipe, but theirs is the best. Plus the crab rangoons are to die for. Worth the cheat.
![IMG_1343[1]](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8425/7726048890_5a6868aaf0.jpg)
After dropping the pups off with their grandparents, we made a stop at Bed Bath and Beyond. I have a horrible time using their coupons (I don’t like most of their stuff), but I’d managed to hoard a few coupons I could use together and decided it was time to upgrade my tiny food processor to something more ballsy. I had been working on a new recipe earlier that day that called for dates, and my tiny processor could do little more than glob the pieces into a clump. We left the store with the Cuisinart Prep 11 Plus series which had good reviews and an 11-cup capacity. It’s a monster compared to my little 3-cup, and it can apparently do dough, I’m sold.
We then headed out to the country for a birthday/hog roast of a friend. His parents live on a gorgeous little farm outside of town and raise their own goats and chickens. They’ve recently parlayed the use of the goat milk into a profitable soap business, and his mom was gracious enough to offer us a few bars to try.
I chose Woodsy, Dusk, Flaxen Sky Blue, Oatmeal & Honey and Verbena. They smell so good.
Around dinnertime, the clouds started to roll in and the most amazing thunderstorm erupted. We’ve been without rain so long that everyone ran into the yard, some singing, a few crying. It rained for about 45 minutes. You know you’re in a drought when a severe thunderstorm is a welcome guest at a birthday party.
We dined on shredded pork, baked beans and cole slaw. I also nabbed a piece of homemade zucchini bread. The most impressive thing by far though was this cake, completely World of Warcraft-themed. It was HUGE. I’m kind of sad I didn’t get a sliver, but we left before it was cut.
We returned to Neil’s parents and spent a late night snuggled in bed with the pups, my favorite coffee and the original Little Women with Katharine Hepburn. Love!
We headed home the next morning, still sleepy with two snoring pups in the backseat.
What was the highlight of your weekend?
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Kohler Created chronicles life as we grow our freelance business and live as healthfully and actively as possible. Learn more about our miscellany here.
