•4 min read
February self-care
It's that time of the year when typically, as a born-and-raised Northerner, I'd be yearning for spring. That yearning isn't quite so pronounced here in Austin, but nonetheless, February is a month of almosts. Winter is almost over, spring is almost...
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2018: A year in review
Every January, when many are looking forward to the next year, I like to take a few moments to look back. I dig into what the previous year meant for me personally and what it meant for me and Nicholas in the context our our family and community....
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Thanksgiving weekend & Christmas preparations
Hello! It's been awhile!
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Homemade chili
I love the cooler months for the feel of them, in every way. I love cold-weather clothing, and candles, and the idea of slower, soothing months, where life doesn't feel so hectic. I love the anticipation of Thanksgiving and Christmas. And I love a...
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A lot of ordinary, a little bit special
This morning, we woke up to my alarm at 6:30, then snoozed a few times, sluggish to get out of bed. It was a foggy, dreamy morning. The kind where I could almost pretend there were snow flurries falling, if I closed my eyes and thought about it. But...
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Hello, fall
We're a long ways off from sweater weather, but I'm determined that in the middle of a season change, good things happen. There's hope that so easily couples with anticipation, even if the thing anticipated is inevitable.
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Baked peanut butter oatmeal (our favorite breakfast)
Baked PB oatmeal or just "PB oatmeal" as we fondly call it, serves as our breakfast at least 300 mornings of the year. I've mentioned it about one million times on the blog, since I've been making is for us ever since Summer posted the recipe almost...
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A placeholder life
These are quiet days in my life. Whenever people ask me, "What's new?" I'm not quite sure how to answer. The reality is that nothing is very new, but nothing is wrong, per say. People around us are having babies and moving and buying houses and...
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Life lately, July 2018 edition
It's hard for me to believe that it's already the end of the July. Even though it's still very much summer, with strawberries and watermelons and high temps, today was a mere ninety-two degrees, which was nice, and it just barely hinted at cooler...
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Late June's bread & butter
I'm not entirely sure why, but writing hasn't felt particularly easy for me since my last blog post. That, coupled with a joyful and full schedule, and I've been prioritizing other things over writing. There is no danger of me not blogging, in case...
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Little victories
I've never considered myself a "spring person." And yet, every year, when the weather warms and the green comes back in waves (truly earlier here than pretty much anywhere else), I find it fills me up and surprises me far more than expected. So...
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It might be a Sunday at our house if you...
We both had the day off today, and it was a lovely balance of rest and preparation for the rest of week. These are my favorite kinds of days, filled with little things. If you were over at our home on this particular Sunday, you might:
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On eating well
I like to bake a lot, which anyone who reads this blog on a semi-regular basis will not argue. But cooking? Overall, we have a good relationship, but we also have our more difficult moments of avoidance and food waste. What usually happens is that I...
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January manna
Hello! Apart from my creative goals for 2018, I haven't made a list of resolutions for the year. I'm not sure I'm going to, but that hasn't stopped me from practicing a few new healthy behaviors. I hesitate to call these behaviors resolutions,...
Read more•9 min read
2017: A year in review
For the last few years*, at the very beginning of the new year, I write a post summarizing the previous. And this year, while many people are writing out their resolutions for the next year, I want to look back and remember all the details of this...
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Christmasing 2017
This was the first Christmas season ever that we spent at home, just the two of us. It's true that that was hard for us to be away from family this year, and there were moments when we felt sad about it all, we did still manage to have a really...
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Simple sausage & egg breakfast casserole (overnight optional)
As the temperatures cool and the holidays approach, I dream about having a simple, savory, throw-it-in-the-oven, baked breakfast casserole. I had some specific criteria in mind:
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Roasted broccoli (for the faint of heart)
Happy November, friends! I've never disliked broccoli, per se, but I'm not enamored with it. I'll eat it steamed, raw and dipped in ranch or something, or cooked as a side. But I never crave it and Nicholas won't go near it, so I rarely buy it.
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An unembellished life
This is the post I've mulled over for several weeks, well, actually months. It was a post that was inevitable, I just wanted to write it at the moment in which I might burst if I didn't start typing, and here we are.
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Fall things
It doesn't feel like fall here in Austin yet, but I enjoy welcoming the season into our home, bit by bit, knowing the temperature will follow suit eventually.
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Christmas (cookies) in July: Almond shortbread drizzle cookies
I've been on a Christmas kick over here for over a month, but as it turns out, I feel a bit less odd, thanks to the whole Christmas in July phenomena. Yay! To get into the spirit, I played around with a cookie recipe, and thought I'd share it as...
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Turkey, kale, & sweet potato skillet
I haven't posted a recipe in quite awhile, but I wanted to share a meal that been in frequent rotation for the DeVries family lately. It's fast, satisfying, served in a bowl, and colorful, and these are a few of my favorite things. Also, the heat...
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Tuesday love, lately
I don't have a lot of words for today, but it's a still a good day! Rather than in paragraph form, I wrote a list of what I've been up to:
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The daily joy
I've felt a bit like I'm floaty lately, unmoored. This happens periodically, typically when I fill up my days—for weeks on end—with busyness and distraction. Too much media and not enough things that fill me up in a lasting way. I've hear it said...
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Lately: What I'm loving right now
Simple, protein- and veggie-focused meals.
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