What I've been reading lately and is actually worth sharing:
This Is Where You Belong: The Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live by Melody Warnick
This book was the kicking off point for my "Make It Home" goal. My two biggest takeaways: 1) You can love where you live, wherever you live. 2) You should carefully choose where you move to fit what makes you happy. It seems contradictory, but I think they're both true. For example, Brad and I need to live somewhere with access to nature.
Elizabeth Is Missing by Emma Healey
I thought this was a great book if you want a thriller/mystery without violence. (Though there is strong language. Semi-frequent f-words.) The narrator has dementia which made the whole book feel disorienting, but I thought that was a really interesting idea. The way the pieces come together in the end is so satisfying.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
I would recommend this to fantasy lovers. There is a sex scene, but it's pretty easy to see coming and skip a page or two. As always, the love story was kind of annoying to me, but the other characters' relationships were more interesting.
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
So snarky and delightful. I can't believe I have never read this before now.
Hilbilly Elegy by JD Vance
I thought the cultural analysis in this book was fascinating. It was a good reminder to me of the hidden privileges I have from growing up middle class; things as simple as knowing how to dress for a job interview to having hope for my own future. It also made me grateful for the way the commandments keep me out of so many miserable situations and the community I have through going to church.
The One-in-a-million Boy by Monica Wood
This would be a good book club read. It is kind of a feel-good book, if that is what you enjoy, but be warned of a bittersweet ending.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
This was a reread for book club. I hadn't read it since junior year of high school. I liked it so much more this time, though I remember enjoying it then. The audio was great.
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
The writing in this is so beautiful. It is a collection of short stories about the author's experience in the Vietnam War, so obviously there are language and content warnings. They didn't bother me very much because they were there for a reason. There is no way to describe war without making a reader feel sick.
Favorite recipes lately:
Ham and Cheddar Waffles. With later church, we have been having breakfast every Sunday because it's so fast and satisfying, which is mostly when we've been making these. We've also made them with bacon instead of ham. So good. We've made them multiple times in the past couple months.
Herb Roasted Potatoes. I love herbs. I love potatoes. These speak to me.
Broccoli Pizza. It sounds weird, but it is not. It is just absolutely delicious.
Winter Minestrone Soup. A great meatless meal. I froze half of it because it makes a ton, and that worked well, though the pasta did break down a little bit.
Slow Cooker Refried Beans. Our favorite way to make refried beans, even more than the instantpot. Gasp!
Skillet Lemon Chicken Pasta with Broccoli. I made this for Lauren's birthday because she loves Broccoli Casserole and lemon flavors. It was delicious, fast, and not a ton of dishes. Win!
Baked Chickpeas with Pita chips and Yogurt. This meal was definitely a highlight of the first quarter. I need to make it again! There are a few different components to it, but I love all of them.
Fudgy Coconut Oil Brownie Bites. You know how brownies take forever to cook, which is extremely tragic when you need your chocolate fix now? Make brownies in a mini muffin tin. Life changing. We have made these probably 5 times in the last two months, and I'm not even embarrassed, because they are so good.
Multigrain Bread. Cheat by starting with a 7 grain cereal mix, go ahead and do all whole wheat with 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten. It is delicious.
30 Minute Asian Garlic Noodles. I almost always make this meatless. A delicious way to pack vegetables into your belly.
Perfect Pot Roast and Gravy. I made this for dinner after Tommy's blessing and it was a delicious way to celebrate the day.
Pressure Cooker "Roasted" Whole Chicken. I was intimidated by cooking a whole chicken, but it wasn't that hard, and, as Amelia says, "Dis is num!" (This is yum.)
Pink Lady Cake. Amelia's birthday cake this year. It was too much cake, so next time I'd probably half or 3/4 the recipe. Brad didn't like the frosting but I loved it.
Grapefruit Yogurt Cake. I'm not a big grapefruit fan, but this cake could make me one.
Goal Update:
As part of my "Make It Home" project to learn to love where I live, I'm alternating between our house, our neighborhood, and our state.
January's project was a goal to clean the kitchen every night. I've always had a bad habit of doing dinner dishes in the morning because I'm exhausted, but turns out, I really love waking up to a clean kitchen. I love it so much, that I'm still keeping this project going.
February's project was to reach out to our neighbors by taking treats to 2-3 families in our ward once a week. We missed one week but it was really fun to connect with our neighbors and think about who we could show gratitude towards. Our ward has been so kind and helpful in the past year we've lived here.
March's project was to see more of the state. That was accomplished through two road trips, one of which was an accident. That merits a blog post of its own.
There have been some things this year that have been really challenging, but for the most part, the first three months of the year were very happy. I feel like I'm starting to fall into the rhythm of taking care of two kids, and I think I fall more in love with Brad, Thomas, and Amelia every day. I really love these people I live with.
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| Amelia reading to Tommy. |
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