On Saturday, Chris and I hosted a little happy hour for our neighbors in our backyard. It was so fun! This summer, we'll have lived in our house for five years (five!) and I'm on a quest to be more neighborly. I'd love to live in the kind of neighborhood where people know that you can count on your neighbors if you need them, whether it's for a cup of sugar for a recipe or offering comfort and a hot meal during a hard time. We thought a happy hour couldn't be a bad place to start. We are so... Read more →

Eating salads for dinner more often is something I've been aspiring to do for a long time. I love the idea of eating salads for dinner. I even love actually eating salads...at restaurants. But making salads at home that I'm excited to eat happens rarely...until recently. I figured out something that has taken us from eating salads almost never to eating them regularly at dinner. Are you ready for this? It's whole hearts of romaine. That's it. Buying hearts of romaine and having them on hand has been the key factor to our recent salad craze. I used to always... Read more →

Chris bought me a rad yellow bike and bike trailer for Dash this past Christmas. They were that illusive perfect gift in that they were a complete surprise but I immediately realized that they were exactly what I wanted. Since December, family bike adventures have become our new favorite thing. This past weekend, we biked to the farmer's market as a family for the first time and it was the awesomest. We are able to ride along a beautiful multi-use trail for the 5.4 mile (one-way) trek and saw interesting sights and even goats, cows, and horses. Hi, animal friends!... Read more →

We are so lucky to have a gorgeous public library just down the road. If you didn't know already, I heart the public library with a capital HEART. I love that it's a public institution (your tax dollars at work!) dedicated to making knowledge accessible to everyone. In that way I see public libraries as essential to elevating the intelligence, creativity and empowerment of a population. Isn't that what being in a democratic society is all about? So clearly I have a bit of a crush on the library. My mom took my sister and me to our local public... Read more →

When I shared our Team Wharton workout calendar I mentioned that we've been doing some family CrossFit-style workouts. I'd love to share more! Surely you know someone who's obsessed with CrossFit; it might be our generation's Jazzercise (minus the awesome workout wear). CrossFit workouts consist of high intensity interval training. High intensity = it's really hard! Interval training = but you don't have to do it for long! During a CrossFit workout you'll do lots of functional fitness exercises. That's what Chris (the nutrition professor) told me. I said, "What the heck does that mean?" He said, "Multi-joint movements that... Read more →

You know I love to celebrate the seasons so I thought it would be fun to start a new series to share what I'm loving and looking forward to this season. These are just the little ways that I'm appreciating what the season brings or ways I hope to make it special. Today, of course, it's all about SPRING. SOUNDTRACK // birds in the backyard, American Authors, St. Paul and the Broken Bones FRAGRANCE // radish and snap pea CELEBRATIONS // Our four year anniversary on April 1! Dashiell's first birthday on April 9! EATS & DRINKS // Trader Joe's... Read more →

In the past month I've noticed Dashiell become even more engaged in his surroundings. He notices so much and is always pointing things out to us with an emphatic "ba!". I see him building independence and getting frustrated when he can't have what he wants. He will also shake his head "no" when he doesn't want to eat food that we offer. This is my cue that Chris and I need to take some more time to create an environment of yes for him in our home. Essentially, the more we remove things that he can't have the more he... Read more →

On Saturday evening we flew back home to Phoenix after a week in my hometown of Austin. As usual, I had a knot in my stomach at the airport as I anticipated leaving. It's always hard to say goodbye to my parents and sister, the house and wooded yard where I grew up, friends, and that funky city of Austin that I love so much. Even as I felt sad to leave Austin and all that I love there I started to think of the routines of home and how I thrive on them. Getting out of my routines is... Read more →

Hi friends! I had hoped to keep up the regular programming here while I'm in Austin for the week but alas! I'm not sure why I always think that somehow I'll have extra time when I'm traveling. I think I fall in love with the idea that I'll have all this time that I need to fill but of course in reality I'm enjoying visiting with my parents, seeing friends, soaking in Austin, and of course keeping up with my busy baby. I do hope one day I might get to do a little writing retreat here to my hometown.... Read more →

It's the end of an era! In the nearly six years that Chris and I have been managing our finances together we've maintained several joint and separate accounts. As we've been re-examining our finances as we get serious about reducing debt we've questioned the need for so many accounts. You can read about our former bank account set up here. Ultimately, we decided to simplify and we now maintain the following: + Joint checking account. All of our bills, including our student loan payments, are auto-debited from this account. Previously we had our student loan payments debited from our separate... Read more →