The Homesteady

Currently

Currently, I'm...

Watching: We're eagerly awaiting the return of "Scandal" tonight, and watching "True Detective" in the meatime. Also, "House of Cards"? Do you like it?

Reading: I'm going back and forth between The Goldfinch and Wonder Women: Sex, Power, and the Quest for Perfection. I started The Goldfinch when we were in Montrèal last month and was immediately hooked. It's been a long time since I've fallen so in love with fiction. Donna Tartt's writing is incredible, inspiring, and totally captivating. I'm already sad that someday I'll be done reading this book.

Thinking about: Feminism and gender in the workplace. (Thanks, in part, to reading Wonder Women.) I realized this week that even though I was raised in a decidedly feminist household, attended one of the most empowering women's colleges in the world, and consider myself a proud and informed feminist, sexism (the patriarchy?) has had more of an influence on my life/behavior than I was aware of. My boss is an incredible mentor, and when she responded to my caution and hesitation about whether I was skilled enough to tackle a new project by suggesting I think about it from a traditionally male perspective, I realized if I'd approached it that way, I'd already have completed it (likely with success, because I do possess the taste, skill, and commitment required). She understood that I take shelter in over-preparation and caution, but I realized that this might come from an insecurity about the work I produce. Being female in the workplace puts a lot of pressure on my expectations of myself -- which I didn't even realize until we had this conversation. I strive to produce something perfect, above average, perhaps because I feel like I need to go above and beyond to compensate for my gender. Perhaps because I feel (subconsciously) that my work is already being judged as "less." And the surprise here is that (aside from a three-month-long hostessing gig at a chain restaurant) I've never experienced overt sexism in any workplace. Which means that maybe sexism and misogyny is so entrenched in our media and culture that I've been absorbing it all these years and never knew it. I feel kind of pissed about this! Whatever. I'm embracing the work project, signed up for a workshop to help me get better at it, and now I just want to watch this (pretty unrelated but it makes me feel better about life in general) video a million times and take a nap about it. Can you relate to this at all, or is this just me?

Celebrating: The year of magical travel! That's how we're I'm referring to this year (it hasn't really caught on yet at home). Planned trips include Maine, North Carolina, Provincetown, New York City, Hampton Beach, and hopefully San Francisco by the end of the year -- and more that I have the sneaking feeling I'm forgetting about -- and (if all goes according to plan) we'll be rounding it all out with a big trip in April 2015. I'm planning on sharing lots of photos and video, so stick around!

Making me happy: How warm Samson is all the time (it almost makes it okay that he sleeps in bed with us). Belonging to a gym. Mexican food for lunch today. The possibility of another snow day next week. Really truly loving a book. Drunk-texting with best friends. Making progress on a knitting project. Learning how much of the costs for this blog are tax-deductible!

Thank you Danni for the inspiration for this series!

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Best kitchen tool ever

Samson's favorite spot with his favorite aunt

Playing with the camera remote I got for Christmas

Currently, I'm...

Watching: "Scandal." After hearing about how good it was from literally everybody I know who's seen it (except for one of my friends whose dad looks just like the President, making it a little too weird for her), Kristie and I started watching from the beginning on Netflix. And we're obsessed. Really. I had been watching "Big Love" ever since we realized we somehow have HBO, but "Scandal" has totally taken over our TV, and I'm not complaining.

Reading: Right now I'm reading Wonder Women: Sex, Power, and the Quest for Perfection by Barnard president Debora L. Spar. It reminds me of a lot of the classes I took at Mt. Holyoke, and the culture there in general. I'm enjoying it, and finding it a little more readable than Lean In. Next on my list is The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, which I've heard is amazing. I called my local library to reserve a copy, thinking I'd pick it up on my way home from work, but there was a waiting list of more than 600 names! So that's one I'll be buying for my Kindle. I think it will be a great book to have on hand when we go to Montrèal next month.

Thinking about: Some big changes coming up in our lives. I don't want to jinx anything, but there are a few decisions on the horizon. I'm trying to plan, prepare, and not get my hopes up (too much). And be patient. Always trying to be more patient.

Celebrating: New opportunities for this blog! I know sometimes people criticize bloggers for writing sponsored posts or selling ads, but I love writing this blog. I love the DIY projects, the photography, the people I've met, the design...even the coding. And if it's possible to make a little bit of money doing what I love, I'm going to do it. I've always been picky about the brands and companies I partner with, and I promise that will continue. But those decisions up there? That I just wrote about? They're going to be expensive ones. Plus, it makes me feel really good when people think this place is as cool as I do!

Making me happy: The sun. #100HappyDays (I'm posting mine on Instagram). Crossing things off my to-do list. My friend Jess becoming a mama. Seeing my parents tomorrow. Planning. Everything that's coming next.

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This picture is a month old, but I just came across it. My brother Max and I celebrating my birthday at our parents' house!

Currently, I'm...

Watching: "Supernatural." No, really! This show is so campy. I love it. Thanks to Netflix, Kristie and I have started watching it again from season one. We're also thoroughly enveloped in the new season of "The Walking Dead." 

Reading: I have a confession: I've officially given up on Game of Thrones. I was 89% finished with the third book (thanks for the accuracy, Kindle) when I'd just had it with the gratuitous violence. I'm done. Now I'm a few stories into The Color Master by Aimee Bender, a collection of short stories: loved one, hated one, and liked two. 

Thinking about: Going to Virginia in two days (we'll get there just in time to go trick-or-treating with Kristie's nephew!). A little bit of snow in the forecast for tomorrow. Daylight Savings Time coming up. All the things I want to do around the house. Buying/making Christmas presents (I've already started my annual spreadsheet, ha!).

Celebrating: Kristie and I started a savings account last month (I know, how could we not have had one before?), and it's actually doing pretty well. We've been working really hard to save as much money as we can, and I'm proud of us! I've also been easing myself into shooting manual, and enjoying it so far. 

Making me happy: White peony tea. My "Feist" radio station on Pandora -- the perfect mix of Cat Power, She & Him, and music from the '40s. The Pinterest app on my phone. Coming home last night to a delicious dinner and nothing to do but lounge around after a busy day. My Neti Pot (too personal? I know that's what's keeping me from getting sick!). Making plans, even if they're far in the future. Getting to do something I love (video) at work. "This American Life." Putting together care packages for people I love. How fast my hair is growing.

What are you up to?

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Fruit smoothies with my dad

It's been quite awhile since I've written a "currently" post, so it seemed time to do another! I realized I've been making mental notes the past few weeks of all the things I appreciate, celebrate, et cetera, making me extra grateful for this post series, inspired by Dani of Sometimes Sweet.

Currently, I'm...

Watching: We're finally caught up on "Breaking Bad"...only to be leaving on vacation this Sunday when it starts up again. Oh, well. Thank goodness for iTunes! I'm also loving "The Killing" (even though I fell asleep in the middle of last Sunday's two-parter...back to iTunes again) and "Shark Week," of course.

Reading: I'm halfway through book two of the Game of Thrones series, and can't wait to keep it up on the beach next week. I should be continuing the foray into Lean In for my book club, butGoT calls to me!

Thinking about: A little bit of flight anxiety. How to pack a week's worth of clothing and shoes -- along with some gluten-free groceries -- into a carry-on bag. Learning how to understand myself as something of an introvert. How cold it is in my office today, and how nobody else seems to mind! Honeymoon. Honeymoon. Honeymoon.

Celebrating: 10 ears of corn, two pounds of bush beans, four green bell peppers, three jars of homemade pesto with basil from the backyard, all processed and in the freezer. It's the beginning of my yearly late-summer effort to store as many local (or homegrown) vegetables as I can. We have a favorite farm stand that opens up in mid-July and offers the cheapest and best-tasting produce I've ever bought, so we stock up on whatever's fresh there, combine it with what's been growing in the backyard, and then I perform some Laura Ingalls Wilder-inspired magic and try to save as much as I can for winter. (Winter is coming...see? Too much Game of Thrones.) We also got some canning equipment as wedding gifts, and while I'm terrified a little nervous, I'm looking forward to trying my hand at canning some homemade tomato sauce, salsa, and maybe even peanut butter? I'm planning on looking to this book for help. Do you can? Do you have favorite resources or tips? And most importantly...is it possible to can apple pie filling?

Making me happy: Four things right this minute. 1. Our friend Lauren will be staying at the house and watching Samson while we're on our honeymoon next week. I'm so grateful to her for always (seriously, always) being willing to hang out with him. It's a weight off of our shoulders to know he's safe and loved while we're away. 2. My mom and aunt are driving us from Connecticut to LaGuardia for our flight on Sunday, and picking us up on Friday when we return, which is making planning this trip so much easier. Plus they're a blast to hang out with. I'm excited that we'll be spending the night before we leave at my parents' house. They're the coolest. 3. Last night Kristie and I watched The Last of the Mohicans. It was pretty good, but what made me really happy was just hanging out with her while we watched it -- no Facebook, no blogging, no photo editing...even no knitting. We turned down the lights, drank Sleepytime tea (I know, we're old), and just made each other laugh. 4. On Sunday night, my brother's girlfriend Sasha was playing fiddle at a local brewery, so our parents came up, and we all went to go watch her. She's so talented! Afterward, my parents, brother, Kristie and I wandered downtown a little bit. All I have to say is I love my family. I love them.

View more Currently posts here, and if you do this series too, post a link in the comments!

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look, this quilt!

currently, i'm...

watching: kristie + i have made it to season 3 of "breaking bad," but i can only watch so many episodes per week. that show is stressful! we're excited for the premiere of "the fosters," though. are you going to watch it?

thinking about: how well "married" fits. trying to be patient while our amazing photographers are hard at work on the wedding photos. how nice it is to sleep with the windows open at night. a summer full of small dinner parties. how much happier i am as soon as the temperature goes up. a dog at home who really needs a trip to the dog park.

reading: i'm reading "the forgotten garden" by kate plimpton right now which, while not the most well-written piece of fiction in the world, is entertaining. next on my list is "wild" by cheryl strayed.

celebrating: kristie + i got married last weekend! we are celebrating marriage, family members, friends, an awesome party + the happy fact that it's all over + we can now move on with our lives! i'm so thrilled to have time now to knit in the evenings, take long walks with samson + generally just feel no pressure whatsoever when i get home from work. it's nice. i missed that. also, i got to say "my wife" at the bank the other day. it felt so good.

making me happy: rain on humid days. lilacs blooming in our backyard, however briefly. a new quilt. a tried-and-true chili recipe. weekend plans. brainstorming new ideas. a kitchen table brimming with flowers leftover from the wedding. friends who know just what to say (or not say). bursts of fresh creativity. driving to three different restaurants so everyone could eat exactly what they wanted for dinner the day after the wedding. buying our honeymoon tickets tonight. talking to my dad. sweaters way on sale at old navy (i got 2). small acts of spontaneity. 

*inspired by nicole from rose runs wild + dani from sometimes sweet!

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a gold striped notebook from target. i'm using it as a planner.

today marks 30 more days until the wedding; just one month. i'm feeling so ready to be married, to move on with our summer + our lives. there are a lot of big changes looming on the horizon, but i'm so excited to tackle them together. 

currently, i'm...

watching: kristie + i have been catching up on season 2 of "breaking bad," but we can only watch so much at a time (or else i get nightmares). lately...embarrassingly...i've been kind of majorly into that new reality show, "ready for love." i'm normally not drawn to reality tv at all, but this one kind of reminds me of "the hunger games" and tila tequila's dating show wrapped up into one. it's pretty much a disaster. very entertaining. 

thinking about: getting our liquor license for the wedding. where to get my dress pressed the week-of. how long shellac nail polish really lasts. how we're going to pay for our honeymoon. ways to be more patient. organizing everything + everyone. (my) control issues.

reading: there are three non-fiction titles on my nightstand right now. i just finished the unconquered by scott wallace. he's a national geographic writer who traveled deep into the amazon in search of one of the last groups of uncontacted indigenous peoples -- not with the intention to make contact, but to determine where they live so that the land can be properly protected. it was a great adventure story + i made sure to tell kristie all the juicy parts (did you know there's a snake in the amazon whose venom causes blood to seep from all the pores of its victims? because there is.). this morning i started last ape standing: the seven-million-year story of how + why we survived by chip walter. it's about why -- out of the 27 discovered (there are probably more) hominid species, homo sapiens sapiens (us) were the only ones to survive. so far, so good. it's a book about serious scientific inquiry, but is written in an approachable, entertaining way. third is the god delusion by richard dawkins, which i've been working on for awhile. for some reason i'm always already really tired when i pick it up, so i don't tend to last very long. i agree with pretty much all the points dawkins makes in the book, although sometimes i think he can be unnecessarily crass. 

celebrating: the good weather! finally! it's been in the 60's the past few days. what a welcome change. i worked late last night, so got to start late in the morning, and samson + i had an awesome run. i don't know what changed, but all of a sudden i had found my perfect stride that i could have stayed in for quite a while, i think. i'm really looking forward to doing this road race with my sister next month. for some reason, as soon as the weather gets nice, i get super motivated about everything: running, cleaning the house, waking up in the morning. it's nice!

making me happy: yoga. i'm upping it to twice a week starting tonight. every class makes me feel stronger, better about myself, more peaceful. during tuesday's class i realized my body wasn't shaking anymore during planks. i felt so proud. 

*inspired by nicole from rose runs wild + dani from sometimes sweet!

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someone please tell me that's not mold...

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watching: season 7 of the x-files. this was one of my favorite shows as a kid...i loved staying up late to watch the "scary" episodes. it saw a revival in my life during college, and now i'm taking my time + making my way through the whole series again! dana scully was my first girl crush.

thinking about: whether to be happy or stressed that everybody who has rsvp'd to our wedding so far is coming! we're very, very lucky to have so many people who are happy that we're getting married + want to celebrate with us. i'm also thinking about starting a new knitting project. it's been awhile + i'm itching to have something to do with my hands! hopefully i'll be starting a sweater for kristie soon...maybe even tonight. i love this pattern. 

reading: i'm working on "the year of the flood" by margaret atwood. it's a little sci-fi-y for my taste, but i love a good post-apocalypse novel. 

celebrating: we're ordering the seeds for this summer's garden on friday from johnny's selected seeds! there's always so much promise with starting a new garden. i love that laura-ingalls-wilder feeling of eating what i've grown + i can't wait to put more effort into preserving our own food this year to hopefully last us pretty far into winter. 

making me happy: we had the most perfect rainy day today. all that pretty gray light...my drive to work this morning was lovely, dark + foggy. i listened to radiolab + enjoyed the solitude. samson + i are lounging on the couch now, enjoying the x-files + thinking about breakfast for dinner! does anybody else have a dog who refuses to go outside + pee if it's raining? he just sits there in a puddle + cries until i bring him in! so silly...but honestly, i don't think i'd want to pee in the rain either.

*this post series inspired by nicole from rose runs wild!

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source

watching: season 3 of "downton abbey" on pbs.org! i'm home sick today with a little cold (thanks to working at a high school) so i'm ready to bed down with a cup of tea to find out what happens next to my favorite english family. 

thinking about: new year's resolutions (see above...i love suann song's simple, inspiring list). with january almost over, i'm taking stock of how the first month of the year has gone. in terms of my resolutions, i think the one i've been best at so far is taking better care of my body. i've been going to yoga once a week, to the gym at work every morning, + running with samson once a week. i've also been paying more attention to what i've been eating...including drinking a ton of emergen-c, although i still manage to catch every cold that goes through our office. i didn't start out with any specific goals in terms of losing weight, but i feel like my changes have been a success so far because i just feel better...healthier, more energetic, prettier. all good things.

reading: i haven't had much book time lately unfortunately, but every morning during breakfast + on the elliptical at the gym i've been working my way through the february issue of national geographic. i'm loving this article especially.

celebrating: another check off our wedding planning list! last night we had our cupcake tasting with the amazing ladies of the sugarbakers cupcake truck. we still have to narrow down our flavor choices, but the cupcakes were so delicious. they even packed us up a little to-go box of our favorites!

making me happy: sickday cuddles from samson. one of my favorite tea combos: chamomile with a few tiny drops of vanilla extract + honey. finally having a working laptop at home so i don't have to feel completely disconnected from the office even if i can't go in today. the comments i got on this post...making me very happy indeed!

thanks to nicole at rose runs wild for the series inspiration!

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the moon made an appearance during a dog park trip on sunday

post-dog park, sacked out on his mamas' bed like a frog, tail still wagging

watching: snow melting, then falling again, then melting, then covering everything up. i'm feeling a real yearn for spring/summer. like a maniac, i've already finished season 2 of "downton abbey" + i'm missing those characters! other than that, we've been catching up on "modern family" + "law and order" thanks to hulu plus. believe it or not, i watched part of a football game the other night, and we celebrated the bruins' win this past weekend too! i'm happy hockey is back.

thinking about: being healthy. valentine's day. having the record player on more often than the tv. cooking. what i want our bedroom to look like when we're done redoing it. planning the wedding. paying for the wedding.

reading: our johnny's selected seeds catalog has arrived! that means we're busy planning this year's vegetable garden. our first year in this apartment, we planted everything we thought we liked, or that we thought had a chance thriving in new england. a lot didn't (+ we ended up with more than enough veggies we only "kind of" liked) + we've been paring down on what we grow ever since, to make more room for the things we really love, + the things that are easy to process for winter consumption. this coming summer we'll have a nice crop of tomatoes, basil, onions, bush beans, peppers, carrots, lettuce + zucchini (still kind of sounds like a lot when i write it all out, huh?). 

i'm also reading "ecothrifty: cheaper, greener choices for a happier, healthier life" by deborah niemann. i was pleasantly surprised at how many things are in there that we already do! but there's definitely room to improve. i've been thinking about trying to make my own lotion or body butter...or even soap. do you make your own toiletries?

celebrating: this.

making me happy: how well my little car does in the snow. new opportunities. james taylor's greatest hits on vinyl. my slow cooker. how full my life is lately. long weekends that mean a little extra time with kristie.

thanks to nicole at rose runs wild for the series inspiration!