For over a year now, we’ve been living without cable television, and I highly recommend it. We used to pay about $80/month for DirecTV and, despite having over 200 channels, we hardly ever found anything we wanted to watch. Still, it took awhile to commit to cancelling. Chris was worried about missing football and basketball on ESPN. I was a bit reluctant to go cold turkey on HGTV. Having cable television felt like something that we wanted to keep around, mostly just because we were used to having it! But, finally, we decided we’d give it a try and go... Read more →

I got hooked on This American Life in high school when I heard this episode on my local NPR station. It was completely different than the news and jazz I was used to hearing on NPR and I thought it was SO cool. Now I love to listen to podcasts of This American Life, especially if I'm cooking or cleaning at home by myself. They're such good company. Sometimes I put one on for Chris and I to listen to in the morning - although it can make it hard to leave the house if we're really into the story!... Read more →

When Chris's grandmother passed away two years ago, I inherited her sewing machine. At the time, I didn't even know how to sew but no one else wanted the machine and Chris knew I had an interest in learning. The machine is a 1950's Elna Supermatic in avocado green and it's in great condition. I felt so honored to be given something that Chris's grandmother used so often and I love that it's something that I can continue to use, instead of something that will sit on a shelf. The sewing machine also has special significance to me because Chris's... Read more →

Today was a difficult day. I now know what it feels like to 'survive a round of layoffs,' a phrase that I've heard so many people say before but now know the gut-wrenching reality of it. The inclination is to think, "I should feel thankful that it wasn't me." But it doesn't feel right to have emotions like thankfulness and relief when people who you know, people who you saw for 40+ hours every week, who you walked with every day to get coffee, just won't be there any more. With no warning that today they would have a job... Read more →

For my art purchase in August I bought a print from the Etsy shop of Lucy Snowe Photography. The photo print cost $25 plus $5 shipping, so a fresh new piece of art for $30. I love the conrasting colors, simplicity, and the desert mid-century modern feel of it. As we've been decorating our house over the past two years I've found that I love the mid-century modern look. (Lucky for me, I'm not the only one in the valley who feels this way.) I don't have a spot picked out for this print yet but I think it will... Read more →

This month is flying by! I was traveling for work again at the beginning of the month and Chris launched a business venture called Chow Locally that he cofounded! It's been exciting but busy! In the midst of the busy-ness here's how I did on my goals for July: Send birthday presents to my Dad and good friend, who both have early August birthdays. My dad is incredibly hard to buy gifts for, I ended up just calling him and having a good chat. I sent my good friend a subscription of Everyday Food which I also just started getting,... Read more →