guys. i’m here. grad school has just gotten the best of me, and until june, that’s where i need to be focused, so i’ve been taking a break.
14 more fridays and i will be back – and i have big plans. j and i want to show you all the cocktails we’ve been learning in faculty club fridays. we’re going to build marquee letters. there are many photos to upload. i’m learning how to garden.
i miss this spot – and can’t wait to have the space to work on it.
xo,
j
inspired by a beautiful mess‘ 365 projects and bluebird’s 52 project, one of my new year’s resolutions is to take one self portrait of j and i, each week, for one year. i am hoping it will help me think about the way i take photographs, stay in practice, and become more comfortable in front of the lens.
1/52: date night at the crest. i love him more than anything.
(Just a few from brunch yesterday).
Can we talk for a second about how much I love Deb Perelman, of smitten kitchen? And how she shares fabulous, flexible recipes that never, ever seem to fail? And also photos of her cute son? My friend Winona also loves smitten kitchen, and everybody loved breakfast, which was her spring asparagus pancetta hash recipe minus asparagus plus swiss chard and chives, and with the potatoes cut bigger because, despite taking a very expensive class, I have truly terrible knife skills. But I digress. Make this hash. Make everything she tells you to make.
And, whatever you do, bring at least two bottles of champagne.
Xo, Jess
My mom is one of the very coolest people I’ve ever met. I’ve written more about why here. Suffice it to say, she’s just great.
We celebrated her birthday last weekend by spending the day doing exactly what she wanted – brunch and happy hour and a visit to the locks. I’ve been there when the fish were running before, but never like this – they were leaping, some of them literally five feet out of the air, to get up the ladder. Pretty incredible. I can’t help but imagine what they’re thinking, and probably overthink the feelings of salmon…
It was a pretty special day that ended with steak and red wine and Oceans 11, which I think is just what my mom wanted.
Happy birthday, Mutti! We love you.
Xo, J
I am literally bursting at the seams with things to share – the amazing leadership institute I completed last week, photos of my garden, which is growing faster than I can keep up, learning to use twitter, recipes I’m excited to share, and some fun photos from my mom’s birthday last weekend. But time has actually warped into something completely rare and elusive, and, alas, I’m already late running out the door again.
For now, I’m just going to share this quick one of Claire and our mom being total rebels. They couldn’t stop giggling. It was cute. Especially cute, because those tracks are no longer in use. I love them. Happy birthday, birthday girls!
XO, Jess
A few weeks ago I asked my dad what he wanted to do for father’s day. I can’t remember what his exact words were, but they were something along the lines of having nobody bother him. So, searching for a fun-bonding-experiential-gift-idea, I asked:
“What if Jacob and Claire and I took you golfing?”
He stared at me.
“Does that sound more like fun or like your personal idea of hell?” I asked.
“Somewhere in between,” he told me.
That’s pretty fair. I’m an atrocious golfer. He took me once as a teenager, and I slipped and fell down a hill on my tush. As an adult, I tried my hand again. I didn’t mind the par three so much, but when I went to a “real” course I became so irate trying to take a shot on a hill that I declared golf a stupid game and vowed I’d never do it again. Yet, here I was, offering to pick up my clubs. That’s love.
Anyway, I can’t blame him for not wanting to spend his father’s day waiting for me to take my ninth swing and shouting compound curse words, so it was decided that Jacob will take him “real” golfing tomorrow, and we all would go mini-golfing today. Mini-golfing is something I can do.
It was a pretty wonderful morning. Grandpa Al’s in town, so he joined us. Claire and I argued over the hot pink ball, but it turned out the joke was on her, because she hit it right into a stream that carried it far, far away and she had to use a blue one anyway. My mom took every low-percentage shot she could (she always roots for the underdog), and made us laugh so hard we ached a little. I got a hole in one (!) – and even with that, my dad still won. As it should be, I suppose, on Father’s Day.
I love you, dad, and hope this was just want you wanted on father’s day.
Xo, Jess
This time of year is always a little crazy, but extra wonderful. Jammed into ten days are four of my favorite people’s birthdays: my love, J, my grandma Lolo, my little sister, and my mom. Plus, if you add extended families, I’ve got two nephews and a cousin with June birthdays. We took advantage of the opportunity to show off our new digs, and had everyone over to celebrate last week. Happy birthday you guys!
In other very exciting news, this girl made it through her first year of highschool (and I finished my first year of graduate school)!
Pretty big deal. We celebrated together by drinking Starbucks on the back porch and looking at her yearbook. Guess what, guys? High school is pretty much exactly the same as it’s always been. They just use slightly different terminology now. Anyway, I’m so proud of her, and it was nice spending the afternoon together. Then she went home and instagrammed selfies with the caption, “SOPHOMORE POWER.”
Finally, today is J’s birthday. Hey J, I love you more now than the day I met you, or the day we moved in together, or the day we got Lou, or the day I married you. I love you more every day, in fact. I’m so glad you were born (thanks, Ma), I’m so glad we found each other, and I’m so glad we’re on this journey together. Thanks for having breakfast with me and then kicking my ass at go karting.
Sometimes I have to pinch myself, because I can’t believe how pretty this life is.
Xo, Jess
(just a few pictures from recent adventures in need of a good home):
Xo, Jess
I love this guy + weekend brunch dates.
Xo, Jess
I spent a bittersweet day with my family today. We visited my sweet, fun great-uncle, who is really sick, and my amazing great-aunt. We talked about joy and equity and love and all the other things my family usually talks about. We admired Cathy’s incredible garden – she’s a true artist. And on the ferry, I caught this picture of my Grandma Gerrie, who is one of the very best and most beautiful human beings I have ever met. Each day, I am reminded more and more of how lucky I am to have the family I do.
Xo, Jess
icarryyourhart 