Archives - July 2021

July - Stuff I did.

Puzzles. With cats. 

Beirut Cafe - I always order waaay too much food. 

Sour cream pancakes - once you make these, you'll not want to make another kind of pancake. 

Rob and Tashina were in town, in between bouncing around the globe. I had a fun time seeing their kiddos and catching up. 

Still amazed this cat can jump off the toilet, springboard onto the open shelf and get himself into this high  window. 

Went paddleboarding with Meghan out to Smith & Morehouse. Water was sooooo low. Still real pretty though. 

Last year on top to this year on bottom comparison. 

Carol was in town and we had a girl gang meeting up. Dinner at Tandoori Taqueria and dessert at Normal. 

Took a bunch of teenagers to the pool. 

If you still haven't eaten at Afghan Kitchen, get yourself there. It's amazing. 

Garden came along...

I must've gotten these new forsythia branches to put in a vase. We have a couple forsythia bushes out front and I love when they're yellow, but they're not yellow very long!

We went on the annual camping trip with my friend Rachel's family up in the Uintas. It's a fun gang and Anthony is always the kid ringleader of fun. 

And then he has to swim in the creek. 

Shenanigans with the nieces

Best summer series - Bluebird Cafe at Sundance. 

Finally upgraded my iPad so I could actually download apps again. The old one with 16G is pointless these days! Well, not entirely, it's still my main Kindle reading tablet, but it was time to get a new one. 

Best boy. 

Best girl. 

Best cheese. 

Parade of Homes rolled around again - love all the commentary. People hated on this tile, but I found myself actually loving in. 

He's too big for this but I love when he squeezes in. 

Her judgy face. 

Work had a 10 year anniversary party and flew everyone in to celebrate for a couple days. We had a fancy party at Sundance once evening, including tickets to another Bluebird Cafe concert series. The best!

Joined some rad ladies for a couple nights up in the Uintas. 

It's seriously stunning here, all the time. I love going up there. 

Katie, Naomi, me, Celeste and Sara. 

I made some killer campfire nachos that were a big hit. 

Came home to these two. 

I bought Tevas? I'm as confused as you are. Slowly completing my Utah transformation, I just need a Subaru now.

Beijing Games....2020....I mean 2021...

Now it's off to the land of dairy and lakes...

January 2021

 Can this year please be normal?! It certainly didn't start out great. 

Covid is still raging, the President tried to get Georgia to find votes for him, January 6 was just terrible, police brutality, etc etc. At least a few vaccines started to get out into the world. 

Meanwhile, at home, I'm very confused about all of these colors, which all have 'gray' in the name.  

Got out the spikes and went up into the canyon for a little walk. 

Always being watched over. 

My favorite warm spot. 

Quinoa somethings bowls from What's Gaby Cooking. I think this took more time than I wanted to spend - buy the already cooked quinoa. 

My undergraduate student loans are finally paid off. Miracle. 

It's been ages since I ate at Pretty Bird. Quick drive up to grab and go downtown - very excited for the new location closer to my house that's coming soon. 

Started a Korean drama. It's a commitment of 16 episodes that are 1.5 hours each. 

Burrowed kitty.

Hooray - mail from across the pond!

Anthony made his first hot sauce. 

These prints are what came from across the pond. Going up in the guest bedroom. 

I am very pleased. 

So grateful that other guy is finally out of the White House. What a nightmare. 

Is this the most boring meal ever?

He doesn't quite fit but he doesn't care. 

Celebration of Inauguration! I splurged for Georgetown Cupcake. 

More celebrating with Indian food. 

Added more samples to the wall. Still confused. 

Really craved some pastries - came home and watched GBBO pastry week episode. 

Yep, it's winter. 

I maybe haven't ever made meatballs until today? Inspired by watching Worst Cooks in America.

Other house projects seem to be stalling, so I did a little one. Printed out some of my favorite travel photos that I've taken, got some frames from Target, and made a little gallery downstairs in the basement. I walk by it every day and I love it. 

Also started following a skincare influencer - maybe I'm getting into regular masks. 

Baked bread! It's not half bad. 

My Miriam love. 

The things we do for our cat. Leo has these little mice that he loves so very much, but he always bats them under the stove. We dig them out regularly, but it's not fun. 

Hot chocolate bombs are all the rage these days. 

But so is this super amazing recipe. We made some for a young women church activity, and all the girls showed up! We've been limited by the pandemic, but decided to try and outdoor fire pit and hot cocoa activity. It worked. Also - did I mention that as of this month I am the new YW President in my congregation? Yeah....that's a thing now.....

Sundance film festival is coming! I watched the test film to see how the digital platform worked for everyone to watch it home. Such beautiful scenes in Columbus. 

And oh yeah, here's our hot chocolate youth activity. Even in mid January cold, they all came. We're starved for in-person interaction. 

Stare down. 

A year ago - a mostly empty room with random piles of stuff in it. 

And now look at it! We got art on the wall and furniture and lighting. Still have a few things to do in here, but it's good to have some progress into a living space. 

Started off Sundance with a documentary about Covid-19. Too soon? It was great though. Watch it on HBO. 

All the snacks for at home Sundance viewing. 

And the kitties watched too. I aways pick heavy documentaries at Sundance, but that's just the way it goes. I enjoyed Sabaya (as much as you can enjoy a film about women held by ISIS), Fire in the Mountains, Writing with Fire, and Hive, which was set in Kosovo and based on a true story. Really glad I could still do Sundance this year. 

Some healthy-ish stuff to combat all the snacks. Meh. 

Our neighbor across the street sold his house and moved. Bummer, cause we liked him. The open house was wild, and he sold for over asking, I am sure. Multiple offers. Went in a day. Someone knocked on our door and asked if we wanted to sell. 

Little sweetie. 

Watching Anthony put away his treasures. 

Always a crack up in the morning. 

This puzzle is taking forever. I will finish it, then I will get rid of it. 

At some point in the month I met up with Lacey at Wheeler Farm for a walk. The first friend interaction in a very long time - it's been a dark winter. Outdoors and animals helped.