Scattered Sundays

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Oh, friends, I had such an amazing time in Denver last weekend! In a world where most of the friends I am closest to live far away, getting to hug someone in person is fantastic. My heart is so very full.

I flew in late Friday night, and despite a very long security line at SeaTac, the flight and travel were a breeze. We see horror stories right now about travel, and while I fully believe those things happen, I was lucky to avoid them.

Due to public transportation schedules, I got to the airport pretty early. In my mind, earlier is better than rushing. I was able to take my time and was not remotely panicked when I hit a wall of people in the screening line.

Being somewhere surrounded by people, but not needing to take care of any of those people, was a giant treat. If you’ve never been to the SeaTac airport, there are parts of it that are so lovely. Big windows, great food, and nice places to walk.

To avoid the dreaded “jet bloat”, I grabbed a giant Sweet Greens knock-off salad (side note: it randomly had pickles on it and now I always want pickles on a salad) and sat in a big airy space, drank lots of water, and read my book. I ate at the speed that I wanted to. It wasn’t controlled by another person. Heaven.

I did a few laps in the terminal (terminal A is my favorite) before boarding my plane. I’m never in a position to sit for three hours at a time, so getting all my wiggles out beforehand really helps. I’m essentially a toddler stuck in the body of an (almost) 41-year-old.

The next few days in Denver were so fun! We tried some lovely restaurants, hiked, made some great food, tackled a few projects, worked out, and did a lot of reading. I’m never in a place to just sit and read for an extended period of time, so we’d each just hang on a couch and read at our leisure.

We also went to Meow Wolf, an interactive and hard-to-explain “museum”. I told Troy it was as if Willy Wonka, The Fifth Element, RoboCop, and Bennett had a fever dream and put it all in one place. It’s hard to explain without being there in person. But it’s rad.

I got home on Tuesday evening and got lots of hugs from the boys. I think the trip was wonderful for everyone…but mostly me. And I’m ok with that! Putting your oxygen mask on first is a great way to keep up healthy breathing.

A new thing I took with me on this trip was a set of packing compression cubes. Compression cubes are different from normal packing cubes in that they’re meant to condense your clothes into a smaller footprint.

I’m not 100% sure how much room they actually saved me, but I loved that everything was organized (pause for shock…) and secure in my carry-on. As someone who never checks a bag, I loved that all my stuff was tucked away should I have to open it up for security.

A few days before my trip, I hit up Goodwill. I’ve been searching for the perfect pair of jeans at the thrift store for about 5 months now. Heck, I can’t even find the perfect pair of jeans brand new at a normal store. Jeans are having a moment and I’m not along for the ride.

Our Goodwill has a section called “Fashion Forward” where they put all the nicer brands that they receive. They’re definitely priced higher at almost twice the cost of the rest of the clothing. But I start there on my hunt because I know the clothes are more likely in good shape.

I saw a few pairs of jeans that intrigued me, and per usual, almost none of them fit me. But, my friends, there was a pair that fit like a glove. As if these jeans had been custom-built for me. They were $19 (yeah, that’s $$ for Goodwill) and I happily bought them.

I mentioned to a friend that I had never heard of the brand before. She’s a friend with a lot of brand knowledge and she informed me that I likely hadn’t heard of the brand before because they were $200 brand new. Of course, they had never been on my radar before!

And just like that, suddenly, $19 didn’t seem like all that much to pay. I was so freaking pleased with these jeans that I hopped onto ThredUp and found that there were a ton of gently used pairs for $20-30. I ordered two pairs and they’ll be here in a week or so. Fingers crossed they’re as lovely as my Goodwill pair.

I will say this – whoever owned these jeans prior to me, had a straight-up addiction to super stinky floral detergent and fabric softener. Holy smokes, please step away from the scented laundry products, my friends.

I have now washed these jeans at least 8 times and have soaked them in Defunkify and the waistband of these jeans still smells like Gain extra-strength. People, detergent should not burrow into clothing and hang on even after 8 washes. Please join us in the unscented detergent club. xoxo, my allergies.

After three glorious months, my photography break came to an end this week. It was so lovely while it lasted. It took me a solid 15 minutes to remember how to set up my flash system, and much like the amnesia that moms get after giving birth, I forgot how many dishes were involved with photographing three recipes.

I eased back into it by taking two photos of old recipes for a future “glow up” to each post. I only did one brand new recipe and not only did it turn out very well, but it was so simple to make and photograph.

Not having to take photos for three straight months was an absolute gift. I fully intend to avoid photography next summer as well (and during school breaks!), which means I need to be hustling during the school year to make sure I’m working far enough ahead.

In the Garden This Week

The theme of this week was blueberries! Allllllll the blueberries. We have 26 total blueberry plants and two of them produce as twice much as all the other bushes combined.

On Wednesday, I spent some time during the afternoon picking 8 cups of berries, and then another 4 cups that evening. After all that hard work…it doesn’t even look like I picked a single berry.

Someone on Instagram asked me if we had issues with birds and the berries. There are a few blue jays that come around and steal some berries, but honestly, there are just so many on the bush that the birds don’t even make a dent. It does keep them blue though. #science.

After a purely disastrous (lack of) tomato growing season, I’m ready to just pull the plants and give them to the chickens. Next year will be better. It always is.

It’s time to start putting the rest of the garden to bed for the season, and I’ll be pruning the cucumber vines back in the next week or so. One of the raised beds needs to be cleaned out and amended with chicken crap compost to be prepared for more lettuce, beets, and carrots.

What I’m reading this week

I finished What Happened to the Bennetts and I liked it a lot! The plot reminded me a tiny bit of the Junior Bender series (seriously, one of my favorite series ever. Maybe I should reread them soon).

With my trip to Denver, I got a lot more reading done and finished The Love of My Life in two(ish) days. This one kept me guessing and you never really knew where you stood with the plot. I can usually see twists coming a mile away and this one had some surprises.

I started Epitaph on my last day of the trip and thought I was reading pretty slowly until I realized it is almost 600 pages. When you read on a Kindle, the number of pages can be deceiving.

I’m enjoying the book, even though I am not remotely a fan of the Western genre. That being said, I do love the movies Tombstone and Open Range and the TV show Yellowstone…so maybe I’m just a liar about not liking Westerns.

READER SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK

Sam left this five-star review on our Air Fryer Turkey Burgers {Pin this recipe}:

Thank you for sharing this recipe!! My family loved it so much that they can’t stop talking about it. All because of you. 

ON SUSTAINABLE COOKS THIS WEEK

This old beloved post got a glow up this week!

Instant Pot Mac and Cheese – This is the creamiest Instant Pot Mac and Cheese you’ll ever make! Even better, it can be made in one pot – no muss, no fuss. Pressure cooker macaroni and cheese is so easy (no roux!), and is ready in under 20 minutes. {Pin this tutorial}

Boursin Mashed Potatoes – These delicious Boursin Mashed Potatoes are the best mashed potatoes ever! Creamy and lump-free, these heavenly mashed potatoes with Boursin cheese will be the star of any meal. {Pin this recipe}

Vegan Pesto – A simple recipe for Vegan Pesto made with garden-fresh basil. This homemade dairy-free pesto recipe is wonderful in so many different dishes. {Pin this recipe}