Peaches

Miles bought a huge bag of peaches last week at the farmer's market...and then forgot to eat them. So last night, in an effort not to let them all go to waste, I made a peach cobbler. After a quick google, I found this recipe and followed it fairly closely, just adding a little more flour to the mix.

Not to toot my own horn (since all I did was follow a recipe) but toot, toot. It was dee-licious. 

The cinnamon nutmeg-y smell that filled the house was just one more thing that gets me excited for fall.  


Oh, an that book I mentioned in my last post? It really is keeping me up, reading, way past my bed time. So good.

Right Now:

Reading: Still too many books, I'm still beginning new books before finishing old ones. I've just recently acknowledged that book buying is my personal addiction. Right, right now I'm reading the novel Don't Breathe a Word by Jennifer McMahon. Its apparently about fairies? I'm just on chapter two, I'll let you know. I'm hoping it will be a haunting page-turner that keeps me up, shivering my spine and enthralling me, way past my bed time. Because thats what Joshilyn Jackson said it would do.

Eating: Watermelon. Why didn't I crave it during the heat of the summer? Why are they so big? Miles hasn't wanted any watermelon at all, so when I buy one I have to eat at least two giant bowls of it a day before it goes mushy. So I chop em all up like I'm Dexter.

Listening to: A lot of NPR. Sometimes I'm not so sure that thats the best way to start my day. Also, pop fitness radio at the gym. I just heard Call Me Maybe for the first time two weeks. And then had it stuck in my head for another week.

Planning: I feel like...nothing. Which makes me sad, I love planning. I feel like Miles and I have been so busy with working and house stuff, we're too tired to do anything else. This week especially, I've been falling in the bed at 9 and hitting snooze on my alarm for as long as I can.

Wearing: The one sweater I have that isn't packed up with winter clothes! Oooh fall, I can feel you coming. 

Watching: New tv pilots, and getting giddy over Parks and Rec's return tonight. Miles and I also had an unintentional mini Wes Anderson marathon this week. I want to get two dogs and name them Ari and Uzi. Mark my words. 

Loving: The cold (okay, cool) mornings this week. These past few days have been ah-mazing. I sat out on our deck the other day after work, wrapped up in my sweater, with my fairy book in hand. I think I love the change from Summer to Fall more than any other season change. I feel so optimistic and refreshed. The cool breeze makes my skin tingle and my heart flutter. I drive around with my windows down and feel like I can take on the world. I'm not sure why this is exactly...My spirit just seems to respond to the relief from summer heat, to the anticipation of bonfires and s'mores, of changing leaves and crunchy lawns, of everyday sweater and boot wearing, of haunted houses and warm apple cider, of Thanksgiving and family and then, glory be, Christmas being right around the corner. So yes, I am loving that Fall is only two official days away..and that we got a sneak peek this year.

Also, I love my Rowan kitty.

Wanting: Three day weekends with Miles every week. Labor Day weekend was just too stinkin' good. 

Confessing: I've been living in my head a lot lately. Mostly over-thinking things that I really shouldn't be thinking about, getting frustrated over things that I shouldn't be frustrated by, worrying about things that are too far off in the future or completely out of my control. While I have loved begin a nanny, I think my in-head-living tendency has really grown a lot over the past 15 months. And with 8 more months to go, I don't really know how to break that, or if I even can.

I'm not a social butterfly, I don't need, nor do I want a million people around me or in my life all the time...but I've finally come to realize that I need, and want, to have more people in my life than I do currently. But I feel like I've fallen into this weird place where I can't remember how to increase that number of people in my life, aka "make new friends", or at least be a better friend to the friends I have. Sorry friends. Sowreh.

Coffee, Books, Husband

This week, we went to Crema for our Sunday coffee. This little coffee shop quickly rose to number one on our list of visited shops so far. I wish I would've felt a little better to try their coffee, but my sore throat and groggy head needed tea, ginseng ginger to be exact. Miles went with a bagel (my head was too groggy to register which kind) & his regular black coffee, which he thoroughly enjoyed. And I had the most incredible roasted tomato and three cheese quiche. If I can remember through the grog, I think I said "woah" loud enough for everyone in the building to hear. Oops.

Miles has this rule that I've had to learn to live by: wherever we go, if at all possible, he likes to have the seat facing the door. To better people watch with, my dear. Alas, to every rule there is an exception, and I learned the exception to this particular rule on Sunday. Miles took our mugs to the table and placed mine at the seat facing the door, I questioned this, to which he replied, "I do always need to sit facing the door...unless I can sit facing downtown". So there you have it. Downtown beats doors. Bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica.

Tasting Like Home

Miles and I ate at Bombay Palace on Sunday. It was Miles' second go with Indian food, the first time didn't turn out too well, so we gave it a few years, and tried again. This time he loved it!! I'm so happy that he liked it, I've been seriously craving Indian food for a while now. My family used to eat it all the time in Hong Kong and I can't believe how long its been since I had some chicken tikka masala, naan, and aloo gobi. I took one bite, and it tasted like home...when home was Hong Kong and my life was very different. It was strange to be transported back to such a distinct, different time in my life while sitting across the table from my husband. Strange in the best, bittersweet way possible. But for now, we've found our Indian go-to in Nashville and I am one happy girl!

Coffee, Books, Husband

We went to Dose last Sunday for our weekly coffee shop exploration (we got up late and just went to Bongo the Sunday before that, old habits die hard). I loved the atmosphere, and that we snagged one of the booths before it got too busy. Miles got a cinnamon raisin bagel and I had toast with Amish apricot jam and both were delicious. I'm surprised I got a picture in before Miles inhaled his bagel.

Although Miles isn't the best "sit at a table forever" kind of guy--he's pretty much dying to go after 45 minutes tops, I am really enjoying these Sunday mornings with him. Even if I could always stay for hours longer.

He's so handsome. Like all the time, gah. And after I saw the pictures he took of me that morning, I got it in my head that I wanted to chop all my hair off again. We'll see, I've been growing it out forever--with not as much as I'd hoped to show for it.

Opa!

We went to the Nashville Greek Festival over the weekend and had the best time! The weather had just cleared up and it ended up being such a beautiful day. We ate gyros, drank greek beer, cheered for the dancing children, explored the stalls and took a tour of the Greek Orthodox church that hosted the festival. I absolutely loved being surrounded by such a beautifully vibrant culture with such a rich history. You could feel the sense of community between everyone, and I think that is just such a wonderful, magnetic thing to experience. 

We will definitely be going again next year!

Chick Flick Night

I (unintentionally) tricked Miles into a chick flick night last week. Unintentionally, because he was unaware of the difference between a romantic comedy and a chick flick. The movie we watched was not even remotely funny. It was a still fair trade, we didn't laugh...but more importantly to Miles, I didn't cry. Why do I even try anything else--The Notebook is all I need. But the couch was cozy, my drink was delicious, and my boys were cuddly.

Miles fell asleep at one point, but Ro stuck with me through the end.

I love evenings in with these two guys, its centering, calming and slowly helping this house feel like our home. 

First Cookout

We bought a grill over labor day weekend, because thats just what you do, right? We had Miles' mom and best friend over for our first cook out--not too many people in case Miles ended up being a terrible grill master (he wasn't). Matty brought one of my greatest weaknesses, cheese dip, and I snacked on that like nobody's business. We had delicious corn, burgers, jalapeño dogs, fresh watermelon, salad, homemade fries and good company. Here's to many more cookouts in our future--hopefully soon with a fire pit for my other weakness, s'mores!

 Rowan also enjoyed being the cutest center of attention, obvi.

 I can already tell that finally having a grill has changed the way we think about meals. Miles wants to make dinner every night--hallelujah! And I'm so excited to think of all the yummy grilled veggies we're going to have this fall!