I spruced up the back porch two Sundays ago and just got around to taking pictures yesterday. Although, in my defense, the weather here in the District has not be favorable. Thankfully, we have a break from the rain. But now I'm worried because we have chilly nights ahead of us. Let's just hope these beauties were for nothing.

As you can see, the new additions have been Sammy approved. She's even suggesting guests. But for now the bigger challenge is to keep everything living and thriving.

Nothing formal. I basically want to continue the path I am on now.

In 2012, I finally reached a point where I am genuinely content with my life. So I'm wondering why mess with a good thing?

Via

We had the pleasure of meeting Sandy over the weekend. You may have heard a bit about her. When I moved to the District, I never imagined I would live to tell you about not one but two hurricanes. Of these two, it appears Irene last year was a bit worse. Although, Keith and I agreed we couldn't imagine staying home through something like Katrina.

This storm was quite a bit of rain, but not downpours. The rain was steady with some fierce gusts of wind every once in a while. Ultimately, we had a nice little break from life. We had comforting lazy breakfasts.

We were very fortunate and probably a little spoiled considering we never lost power, didn't have to head into work, and had plenty of groceries. Our thoughts are with all of those who not as lucky.

Sometimes you just have to take the time to nap, catch up with friends, run errands, and make a home cooked meal. And that's what this past weekend provided us. Well, the weekend started on Friday night with ambitious plans. Andrea and I thought we could eat all of these in one night after eating deep dish pizza.

Well, the effort failed miserably. We didn't even manage to finish one apiece. Instead, there are two whole cupcakes sitting in my freezer for the night we decide to stay in. Since I kicked the weekend off in a food comma, I basically tossed the original plan of home projects out the window. Why not continue with this theme of baked goods? Good idea, right? That's why I baked some pumpkin chocolate chip bread.


Since Sunday was the first truly chilly day in the District (I don't believe we broke 60.) with the threat of rain lingering, I figured I might as well make a big pot of chili too. Looks like we'll be eating this for at least two more meals. When will I remember that you cannot make just a little bit of chili?

I think it's safe to say fall has finally made it's way to the nation's capitol. And it is glorious...the leaves are slowly starting to change, there's a chill in the air, and football has returned with the real refs. Can you tell this is my favorite time of year?

I don't know what it is about this weather, but I want to spend serious time reconnecting with my kitchen. After the extreme heat and humidity, I guess having a small galley kitchen with a window that doesn't open can do that to a girl. Tonight I skipped the gym to rush home and get a stew simmering on the stove and a pie baking in the oven.

In addition to rekindling the romance with my kitchen, I also like to spend a little quality time with my growing collection of cookbooks. Sometimes there's inspiration in those books and others I like to just eat with my eyes especially when it's one of those wonderfully photographed ones.

All that salsa left us thirsty so there were a few cold ones. And to say I was super excited would be an understatement when I found Boulevard Brewery’s unfiltered wheat out here. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve wanted one of those beers since I moved out here eight years ago. Thinking we might have to go back this weekend with hopes of snagging another six-pack.



One of the best wedding gifts we received was the Super Deluxe edition of Scrabble from my sister. I cannot begin to tell you how many rounds have been played. When Keith and I first started dating there were many nights playing Monopoly since that was one of the few board games we had, so I’m relieved the collection has expanded.

This weekend we plan to continue this pattern of lazy. I’m planning to put another wedding gift to use and make ice cream. And maybe we’ll mix it up a bit and switch up the board game or perhaps I’ll tackle the pile of books on the nightstand since I’ve made several new acquisitions.

Do you have any big plans? Or is the heat just getting to you too?

How was your weekend? Keith and I found our weekend of doing nothing close to home to be so relaxing that we plan to repeat it again this coming weekend. The farthest we ventured was three blocks to make it to the gym. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and we made an effort to spend a little time on the back porch grilling and enjoying it. But the rest of our time was spent watching the U.S. Open and catching up on some reading.

All of this quiet time at home allowed me to finish up another book. This time I read a novel, The Year We Left Home, by Jean Thompson. The book tells the story of an Iowa farm family over the course of three decades. Your introduced to the family as the oldest is getting married and the second oldest is dealing with his feelings about living in a small town and the decision to head off to college. Thompson then takes you through all four children’s stories in such a way that you learn each child’s thoughts at the different stages of their lives over the next three decades. It’s well done in this regard as you don’t have just one narrator and the story never becomes confusing or taken off course.

Sometimes you just connect with a book in such a way that it touches a piece of you inside. This is one of those books for me. Perhaps, we can attribute that to growing up in small town Kansas. I understood the mixed emotions some of the children faced having grown up where they did and the challenges it provided later into adulthood.

The Year We Left Home was nominated for several literary awards, but I’d recommend it to you because it is a good story about a family and growing older.

Have you read anything lately that you’d recommend?

Since we returned from Georgia, I have felt right down crummy. Within an hour of being home, my eyes became all red and puffy. This wasn’t something cucumbers could fix. I figured this was just part of returning home and dealing with the ridiculous pollen counts.

The remainder of the week has been spent accepting I caught a nasty cold. Wednesday was the worst of it. Thankfully, Keith was there to help take care of me. It’s just miserable being sick when you’re all alone.

As much as I want to tell you about exotic travel plans, the long three-day weekend is devoted to sleeping and basically staying close to home. At most, I plan to venture out to IKEA and Target.

Please tell me your plans are better.

At any given point, you’ll find at least 3 books on my nightstand – more if you count all the books I’ve downloaded to my Kindle, but have yet to read. And if you check out Keith’s side of the bed there is often that many books on his along with the New Yorker and whatever magazine he’s reading at the moment. And this isn’t counting the books he manages to stash around the apartment. He assures me there is a system to his madness, although I can’t always be sure.

The latest book I finished was The Boy in the Moon: A Father’s Journey to Understand his Extraordinary Son by Ian Brown. Ian shares his story about his son, Walker, who has an incredibly rare genetic condition called Cardiofaciocutaneous (CFC) syndrome. Only one in about 300 people worldwide is diagnosed. Walker is unable to speak or effectively communicate, constantly tries to harm himself, and will need constant care for the rest of his life.

I have mixed feelings in recommending this book. Ian is honest and doesn’t attempt to cast Walker as an angel shared with him to teach a larger lesson. He shares his doubts and insecurities with brutal honesty. All of this is done in a chronological progression, taking you through the family’s journey. However, by the middle of the book, Ian shifts to more of a rambling research report with awkward attempts to tie it back to Walker and the family. I often found myself skimming over chapters to get back to back to the personal story.

Regardless, it was a moving story and nothing like the books I typically pick up so it was worth the deviation off my usual path. Do you have a type of book you tend to gravitate towards or do you read a variety of genres?

 “…There is no greater happiness for a man than approaching a door at the end of a day knowing someone on the other side of that door is waiting for the sound of his footsteps.”

via Joss & Main

I promised you pictures and at last I have them to share. We finished the back porch this weekend and it feels so good to cross that off my list. It took more trips than Keith would have liked to the neighborhood hardware store. After the organized circus that greeted us there Saturday, I'm not sure I have any more trips there in me, myself.

So without further adieu, here's what the back porch looks like for now.

I might add another plant or two. Perhaps, a hanging plant on the middle post. What do you think? Are we missing anything other than steaks on the grill and a cool drink in our hands?

Gone are the Thursday nights where we get a jump start on the weekend by going out on the town. We get a jump start still, just not what it once was. Keith and I have had exhausting weeks at work...but for different reasons. He's crazy busy. And well, I'm waiting for the busy rush to start that I keep hearing so much talk about.