Spring

What happens in three weeks time --

-- borders on miracle. Having only grown up in the desert climate of southern california and arizona, I have not known many springs. Three months of winter is just long enough to get used to bare trees, to begin to expect the gray, crooked branches and the look of cold sunlight. Now the trees are budding and coming up with all different shades of green and purple and pink and white, different little flowers are popping up along the roads and sidewalks, and the sun...actually warms your skin. I have found myself several times saying, "I feel like I'm coming alive again!" Spring really is a wonderful thing.

Saturdays are for...

Four (!!) mile runs, on Four Mile Run (the name of a trail near our house),

making granola,

and enjoying the trees that have blooming everywhere we look, including this cherry blossom tree right outside our bedroom window.

Sundays are for

-doing homework while listening to Bon Iver

-sunshine streaming in

-yogurt and granola and bananas for breakfast

-second and third cups of coffee

-talking about and planning for things of spring, like bicycle-riding and vegetable gardens

-taking walks around the little forest by our neighborhood

Valentine's Day love.

 

Yesterday I took a little time to make these heart garlands and hang them in the stairway. All those J.Crew catalogs finally came in handy. I'm thinking I just might leave them for all of February, since they're so cheerful, and since my heart misses the sun cheerful colors are nice. This morning, in celebration of the holiday, I made this bread. Too bad all the rising time meant that Alex was already gone for work by the time it was ready. It will have to be a pre-dinner valentine's snack for him.

Citrus

In January I took one afternoon to make citrus marmalade from this book. I used grapefruit, blood oranges, lemons and navel oranges. It has been delicious in scones, on toast, even mixed into plain yogurt with a little honey...I also thought the colors of all the different citrus were just so pretty...

lunch

Kale sauteed in olive oil and lemon juice / poached egg / toasted homemade sourdough bread  / parmesan cheese / s + p

Alex has decided to start making sourdough bread weekly. I must say, our meal times benefit from fresh baked bread.

Kitchen

Our current kitchen has been a nice update from the itty bitty galley kitchen on Commonwealth. As I've mentioned several times, there is a window over the sink, plus a dishwasher, increased counter space, and...a washer and dryer. People always comment on the washer and dryer being in the kitchen and ask if it's weird, but I kind of like it. Our kitchen is a hub of productivity.

A couple weeks ago I decided to use some of my free time to rethink our meal plans once again. I think I have an ideal in my head that involves superb organization that will allow for maximum nutrition at minimal costs and without an extreme amount of time invested (at least, once the organization part has been accomplished). This time I took the approach of streamlining our most frequently used recipes, which allowed me to streamline our grocery lists, dividing them into bulk shopping and weekly shopping, and printing them out for fridge. We are going to try buying things like pizza dough, black beans, shredded cheese, tortillas, etc., in bulk since I tend to use them a lot. I also printed out calendars for each month to list out meal ideas. It was kind of fun, so even if it doesn't work out perfectly, at least I am learning as I go...and at least looking at the side of my fridge makes me feel organized and happy.