On My Writing Process + Blog Tour

There’s a Blog Tour of sorts going on, and it’s all about writing! Did you just read that sentence and go “Uh, what the heck is a blog tour? Do I get to visit your house? I feel confused.” Don’t worry, I had no idea what it was either until I got a sweet email from my friend Ellen. Ellen writes the blog In My Red Kitchen. She’s Dutch. I married a Dutchman. We like to bond over our love of all things Dutch (see: eating CHOCOLATE sprinkles on TOAST — yes, that’s real).
Anyway, she explained to me that a blog tour was a way to connect readers to blogs they might have never found, all while learning a little bit about the blogger who is writing the post. At the end of your post, you pass the torch to another blogger. Does that make sense? I’m not sure it does. Are you guys onto me yet that I don’t really know what I’m doing. Shhh. Don’t tell Ellen. I’m going to answer a series of questions that she sent me and hope I’m doing this right. Ready. Set. GO! […]

Hold up, G. You’re going to put what WHERE? | Washing Your Face With Food (Part 1)

Yes, I took the time to take a picture of me enthusiastically holding food to my face. It’s only going to get weirder… buckle up. We’re gonna talk skincare. I’m gonna be putting that food right on my face.
A few months back, I found myself in a  heated argument with my skin. I had recently come off of oral contraceptives, and my skin was letting me know that it disapproved of my life choices. It fought back with dry patches and a heck of a greasy T-zone. Then there was Carl. Carl was the angry blemish that kept on rearing his rosy head right on my chin. He was big and unsightly and a little bit of a diva. Kind of like that really loud friend you had in college that  you could never seem to lose at a party. That’s Carl. He had to go.
I was using some of the most “gentle” facial cleaners on the market, but my skin still felt itchy, dry and just stressed the heck out.  One morning,  I was reaching for my bottle of cleanser and just happened to flip that thing around to the ingredients. Whoa. I have no idea what any of that stuff is. Chemicals abound.  There were probably forty ingredients in there, and all of them seemed to just be feeding Carl and his host of real bossy friends that seemed to be joining the party with each passing day. I was hosting a rave on my chin. Enough is enough.  […]

Operation Birthday Surprise!! | Washington Or Bust!

I’ve been sneaky lately.

I’ve been plotting, scheming and nearly ruining surprises for over a month. Seriously. I’ve had to lie and cover up and bury email chains and all of these things I am not programmed to do.

My husband had a birthday coming up and I wanted to surprise the heck out of him with a trip back home to see family and friends. I wanted it to be a huge surprise. Not just like “Hey. Look. I made you waffles. Surprise.” but like “SURPRISE!! We’re going on VAYCAY!  OMG, DID YOU JUST PEE YOUR PANTS?!” That’s what I was going for. You know, something subtle.  It worked. I don’t think he peed his pants, but he was definitely in shock. It took a solid thirty minutes before it all set in and he realized he best pack a bag.

So, off to Washington we went!

My brother-in law picked us up from the airport and helped coordinate a bunch of Pete’s oldest friends to meet us at an Indonesian restaurant. There was a lot of food. This was the only picture I took that night. I was really busy stuffing my face with Nasi Goreng, drinking too much vodka, and reveling in all the merriment. At least I captured the trick candles. This is the third time Pete tried to blow out that cake. Why does that never get old?

[…]

Baking As Therapy | Cinnamon Raisin Pumpkin Bread {Gluten Free}

On Friday night the phone rang.
The voice on the other end of the line was shaky. My heart sank somewhere deep into my gut. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Grammie had a stroke.”
My brain stopped. My heart froze. My body went numb and I found my formerly-upright self, sitting on the floor, clutching the phone so hard my hand started to lose all feeling.
“Is she okay?” I managed to get out in a slightly tortured, high pitch squeak.
“She’s in the ICU. They are watching her very closely.” I could hear the heartbreak in my mother’s voice as she told me she had to get off the phone.  As broken as I was feeling after receiving this news, I reminded myself that this was her Mama. This was the woman who raised her and rocked her to sleep and put band-aids on her boo-boos and reminded her to be kind and taught her how to love everyone. All of the things that my Mama has done for me. […]