US meets UK

It feels like an adult thing to do, which might be why I can’t bring myself to join the ranks of responsible, organized folks who send out personalized cards each holiday season.  It’s what responsible, married couples do, right? Except this year, I signed on to send cards to other lovely bees, which means I’ve actually got to get myself into gear.

Typically, I purchase holiday cards, and then place them in a drawer or box because I’ve run out of time to write them and tell myself “I’ll use them next year”. Riiight.

So I could pretend that I’m organized and purchase more generic holiday cards, only to let them collect dust. Or I could pretend that Nick and I can take a picture in front of the Capitol in celebration of our recent move, which I will never be organized enough to do. So I’ve landed on the idea of a printed photo card, which takes 80% of the work (plus mail merge labels). Maybe one day I’ll get to the level of writing a letter, but I think it’s best to ease in with the baby step of actually mailing a card. One year I wrote, addressed and stamped cards and STILL did not send them out. So, clearly I need to go slowly.

I thought I could use a photo from last year’s shoot with Muriel Silva (which, I have STILL yet to blog about). Here are the options I’ve narrowed it down to. There were so many great shots, but Nick and I are both awkward picture takers, and the best shots are either leaning a bit romantic for a holiday card, or have our eyes closed.

Option 1:

Option 2:

In an ideal world, I could use photos of our cats, but I know that really, we’re the only people interested in our cats. I love to get pictures of people’s pets, but I understand I’m not the norm.

Which photo would you choose, and what company do you use for online printing?

Which, could possibly be called TV vs Dog. Nick and I are having a competition to see who can hit 15 faster. Me to lose and him to gain.

If I win, I’ll pick out a dog! If Nick wins, we’ll be getting smart phones or a TV or something equal to that.

(how cute is Brutus?!?)

It’s a huge, HUGE bummer that I’ve gained 15lbs since the wedding. It’s tough to have to start back at square 1 ( I guess, maybe it’s square 2) and recover ground I’ve already covered.  So, clearly I’d like to lose the 15 and I’m hoping our competition can help motivate me.

We’re doing our weekly weigh-in on Mondays, which so far has helped me stay conscious of my eating through the weekend. I’ve started working out regularly, and tracking my calories on Fitday/calorie count. I am however, thinking of switching to SparkPeople, but need to check it out a bit more. My ideal nutrition tracking system would not only let me know how much carbs, protein, fats, and sodium I’m consuming it would also tell me how much sugar I’m consuming! I know that the sugar I consume will show up in the carbs I eat, but I’d like to focus on specifically tracking my sugar. An ideal system would also analyze recipes that I make.

Difference between Week 1 and Week 2? -1.8lbs.

I’d be happy if I can keep up this pace, even though -1/week is more likely! Have you gained weight since your wedding? If you’re planning on losing the weight, what steps are you taking to do it?

So many people are passionate about home buying, and it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement. For us however, buying a house just isn’t in the picture and I doubt it will be for a very long time. People are always telling us to buy, even though it makes zero sense for our lifestyle.

1. We are nomads: We just moved from Baltimore to DC, and enjoy the sense of freedom renting provides. This is especially true if we move back to England. If we bought a house in either country, we’d be stuck with a house we’d have to either try to sell or rent out. Both options are a hassle.

2. We live in an expensive area: We are truly saving money by renting. There is NO WAY we could afford to live in the area we do if we purchased a home. I love our neighborhood; I live 4 blocks from the capitol, 1.5 blocks from a metro station, I’m insanely close to 3 nice parks (>2 blocks any direction) and a short walk from a great weekend market.

3. I like not worrying about things like maintenance, utilities and taxes. Owning a home is more expensive than it appears: Someone else shovels my sidewalk, and prunes the garden in front of our apartment. Our stove had an issue, I emailed our landlord and someone is coming to fix it. I don’t have to worry about replacing water heaters, air conditioners, etc. I don’t pay property taxes and I don’t worry about fluctuating utility costs.

Also, since it’s a law in DC that new paint must be applied in between renters – our landlord let us pick out the paint and hired painters. Our apartment is covered in beautiful Benjamin Moore paint that I neither had to pay for outright, or apply.

4. Renting helps me to live with a more minimalist approach to life: Everything I buy – I will have to move. I actually love my kindle even more after moving, I won’t have to unpack 100+ books!

5. If we need to downgrade – or want to upgrade, it’s easier! If our financial circumstances shift, we’ll be able to shift with them. Since Nick is freelance, this really works to our benefit.  Yes, we can and should, buy a house (or rent an apartment) we can easily afford, but in this case I’m not referring to just a temporary loss of employment, what happens if Nick or I develop a catastrophic illness or have a serious accident?

6. I’m not comfortable getting into long term relationships (mortgage) in uncertain conditions (housing market): Until we make our last payment, the bank still owns our house no matter what.  We can take the money that would otherwise go into equity and invest it, or place it in a high yield savings account. If we ever decide which country (let alone state or metro area!) we want to live in long term, then we can use part of our savings to purchase a house.

Our situation is not conventional, and most people probably have a different outcome for themselves. I’m not saying that renting is (for everyone) better than buying-but it is the right decision for us. Also, I am certainly not saying our choice is right for everyone, or I know better. Owning a dog is a large expense, and the benefits are not quantifiable-and yet-I still want one!

What do you think of?

Marisa wrote a post, which made me think of my all time motivator. Nick and I quote this to each other when we’re down, or stuck in a rut.

(I love Gavin and Stacey, supposedly it’s coming to America!)

Have you read this article yet? No, go read it, I’ll wait for you to read all 6 pages.

Yesterday I received my baby fix. We were at my cousin Megan’s house and their friend had his baby over. She was just 2 months old and at that stage where she isn’t too picky about who holds her. It’s funny how babies have the ability to make you feel like a monster pariah-WHAT?! YOU WON’T LET ME, A STRANGER, HOLD YOU!? JERK! I don’t know why baby rejection makes people feel so bad, it just does. But thankfully, this baby loved me and that of course, made me feel great. This baby loves me, ME! ME! ME! ME!

(I’m self-banned from touching babies-this is what they do to me)

I had started to read this article that afternoon, but only hopped onto page three before we left. So while I held, coddled and cooed stranger baby into loving me, I couldn’t help but think about it. Additionally, since I had only reached page three I didn’t have (ha) the full story.

I thought about how of course she was great at 2 months… but what about the future? I’m so empathetic I cry at hallmark commercials, I can’t even watch war movies because they affect me for days. How on earth will I be able to relate to my child’s successes and failure without losing my mind?

After reading the last page I think the takeaway is this (from Tom Gilovich)”Should you value moment-to-moment happiness more than retrospective evaluations of your life?” This is important, because as a parent it appears that your moment to moment happiness is lessened by children, but that your retrospective evaluations of your life are pretty great.

As someone who literally went from saying “I like other people’s kids, but am unsure about having my own” to “ooooo! Baby! ME HOLD BABY?!” I’m just not sure what my answer is in regards to children. When you have children, you give up so much for them. I wonder if I will ever feel it is the right time. Will we ever have “enough” money? Will I ever lose “enough” weight to become pregnant?

Not to mention, deciding which country to raise children in. Talk about a big decision! Hypothetically speaking, say we decide which country to have them in, are we tied to our familial geographical locations? Can we raise our nonexistent kids on our own, without familial help? Would we even want to? My cousins, aunts, uncles and certainly grandparents were a large part of my upbringing. I can’t imagine life without them. Will our kids have to? Will they know the close ties that cousins can provide?

When it comes to kids, there are too many questions and not enough answers.

ps. Sorry this post is old, but I am clearing out my drafts!

It’s the D’orsay first anniversary, as far as anniversaries go the 1st is a great one to celebrate but the whole paper thing? Well, it had me pondering for a bit. I know I don’t have to follow traditions, but I like having a theme as it narrows the field for decision making.

First up? A calendar modified from YHL’s template (thanks to Mrs. Bunny for modifying it for me)! Sadly, it was a struggle to come up with 12 quotes that would fit/look nice/have meaning. At first I had 12 quotes all from Superbad (long story) but figured while funny it wouldn’t be a very romantic gift. I sourced from our favorite movies, past emails and ceremony music for the final quotes.

(YHL version)

Mr. D is into typography, design and he has a penchant for vintage design so when the travel book store near my office closed for business I popped in to say goodbye and to peek around. I found this deserted lonely transit map book and snapped it up!

(clearly from Amazon)

The last paper related gift is the book of..um… childish adult drawings from the movie Superbad (again, long story).

(Amazon)

So perhaps only 1/3 of these gifts will work for your first anniversary. I had also considered framing maps of our hometowns… but I had a really difficult time finding Mr.D’s village on a map that made sense. What are your favorite paper related gifts?

Biscuit? I think Biscuit is adorable!

In the event Biscuit isn’t available, I think Sydney is pretty sweet.

Or Huxely?

*Biscuit, Sydney and Huxley  via MAPR

In case you’re concerned that Nick is unaware of my puppy pug obsession. He knows. Oh, he knows. Perhaps I should work on a more realistic list? I guess.

Anywho…

I’d like to meet Shiloh

We aren’t exactly in the right place for a dog, what if Nick goes to work for an agency instead of working at home? What do we do with the dog when we travel? We live in a smallish one bedroom apt-is that big enough? le sigh. No dog for now.

Even if it’s a great price and is completely adorable.

Just because it’s on a target block, with incentives to purchase and renovate…. and my dad is a contractor, and we have a great handy support system of people who could help us…. that’s no reason to buy…right? right?

F bombs. We have a 3 year plan, one that doesn’t include buying a house-but does include moving to another country. Of course, like any plan worth it’s salt, it’s liable to change at any moment. But still. I will not buy a house. I will not buy a house.

Are you a renter? Home owner? Do you have house lust?

A few weeks ago I headed up to New York to visit with friends. We checked out the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn, which was loads of fun. Cathy wrote a brilliant recap and I’ll direct you to her for the fun parade we had.

(she says to make me one with bacon… she is correct!)

Before I started killing ducks, I first killed an oyster.

With the amazing instruction of Nellie (she of Canary and Pinkblot fame) Nick (Mr.Dahlia, not my Nick) and I were able to shuck a few. Did you know when you get Oysters they are alive, and when you shuck them-you’re killing them. I did not know this, and found out on Oyster #2.

We did not do the majority of shucking though, that part was done by the time the Swans and I arrived. Oh the glory!

The Canaries, Swans, Dahlias, a Penguin and a Shoe all made quick work of the amazing spread. Nellie is amazing and so, so, SO well informed. She teaches occasional classes in (I think) Brooklyn and she was also interviewed for Serious Eats.

Her seafood was so amazingly fresh – I really don’t think I can buy from anywhere else. Which is sad, because I live in DC and not NYC. Would it be wrong to bring back mussels on the Megabus? Probably…

Want more on Nellie, W&T Seafood, or Oysters? Check out the video and the article!

A Native NYer Makes the Case for West Coast Oysters: W&T Seafood’s Nellie Wu from SkeeterNYC on Vimeo.

PS. ALL, ALL the photos are from Cathy at Wifey Lifey. Stupid me brought a dead battery camera. Genius!

PPS. Don’t read Weddingbee? We all have monikers – hence the purple shoe over to the right!

Om nom. Holy moly these are good. We were pretty tired after our fourth of July weekend and I wanted to make something quick and easy with whatever we had on hand. Which happened to be a few peaches, green onions, jalapenos, garlic, and some limes. and some coconut oil.

Spicy Peach Marinade:

Grocery list- 2 peaches, 2 green onions, 1 jalapeno, 2 limes, 3 garlic cloves,

Put 2 peaches 1.5 green onions (I mostly used the white part and a little bit of the green), 1/2 the deseeded jalapeno, 1/2 a peeled lime, and 2 garlic cloves in a food processor and puree.

Squeeze the 1.5 limes and chop the rest of the jalapeno, single garlic clove, into a bowl and pour the puree from the food processor.Set aside a 1/4 of a cup to brush on while on the grill.

Let your coconut oil heat/cool to liquid stage and pour 1.5 tablespoons in to the bowl with the majority of the marinade. Stick your peeled shrimp into the bowl, cover and marinate for an hour or 2.

Pop them on the grill and grill till you see the first side begin to get pink and flip. Brush the marinade on the newly grilled side and remove once all is pink.

We like to put the vegetables all on one set of skewers and the meat on another since they cook differently. In this case, the veggies take a bit longer than the shrimp.

Enjoy!