Sunday Morning Coffee: January 29, 2017

I snapped this photo waiting on the doorstep of Charlotte’s daycare. It’s a picture of the sun setting over Boston, and I realized we’re starting to get daylight for just a bit longer. We’re coming out of the dark days of winter, and I’m trying to be present in the moments with my work and family. There’s a lot to get weighed down by this week in the news, and I’m trying to continue to listen to and amplify the voices of women and writers of color.

One of the more remarkable pieces of news I’ve read this week is author Roxane Gay’s response to the book deal by an anti-feminist, racist Breitbart editor by pulling her own book with the publisher. Literally putting her money where her mouth is, she’s demonstrating amazing strength and self-assurance in doing what’s right. She’s an amazing author, and her novel Hunger is one of the books scheduled to be released this year that I’m most looking forward to reading. I also really enjoyed this piece in the New York Times book review section.

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Sunday Morning Coffee: January 22, 2017

In a crowd of 175,000, we gathered in the Boston Common to have our voices heard, raised in opposition to the narrow vision and destructive agenda of the new administration.

Whatever your political views, do something nice for someone who doesn’t look like you this week.

And cheers to Carrie Fisher, again, a woman of enormous strength and a source of inspiration.

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Sunday Morning Coffee: January 15, 2017

Happy birthday Charlotte!

David’s mom baked the cake, and David did the lettering. It’s been quite a year: We’ve gone from having a bald head to rocking a mullet (we’re still waiting for the top part of her hair to fully grow in), having two tiny teeth to almost the full set, and she was a champ at teething through all of it. She’s learned to walk, run, jump, and she’s so talkative. She’s thrown us a few curve balls (oh my God), and she’s getting more and more vocal about her strongly held opinions, but she’s also nailed the good stuff like “I love you,” asking for hugs throughout dinner, and getting excited when we come home at night. Cheers to the next year!

 

Here’s what I’m reading and cooking for dinner this week:

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Sunday Morning Coffee: January 8, 2017

It’s been a snowy weekend, and to celebrate, I made snowflake spritz cookies and took Charlotte out to romp around in the snow. I bought the cookie press this past December because they’re a favorite Christmas cookie with my family. The kit comes with several designs, so I was happy to pull it out again for a batch of snowflakes and snowmen. I used this recipe and dusted them with a quick layer of sugar for decoration.

Here’s what I’m reading and eating this week:

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Sunday Morning Coffee: January 1, 2017

 

Tree Lit in Christmas Lights

Happy New Year!

I was lucky enough to celebrate both Christmas and the new year with my parents at their sabbatical home in southern Massachusetts. The shot above is of the festive lights outside the Buzzard’s Bay Brewing tap room. I’m hopeful that the new year brings more opportunities for us to gather together to celebrate and relax, try new food and drink, and revel in the months they’ll be living locally. It’s been a wonderful week of downtime and rest, which has included reading some excellent books and cooking.

Here’s what I’m reading and eating this week:

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Sunday Morning Coffee: December 11, 2016

We’ve been spending many weekends with Charlotte at Oma and Opa’s house. They’ve decorated for Christmas, a concept Charlotte doesn’t quite get (does she know what a year is? And that Christmas comes every year?), but she likes the festivity, all the pretty lights. Here, they’ve decorated with pears, pomegranates, and pine cones.

There’s been a lot of chicken and saffron-flavored rice dinners, made from a spice blend from the Portuguese markets and lentil soup (a recipe I’m working on). Here’s what else I’m cooking and reading this week:

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Sunday Morning Coffee: December 4, 2016

cambridge-winter-classic-5k

This morning the whole family ran the Cambridge Winter Classic 5k. It was a first for my mom, dad, and Charlotte. It’s a favorite race of mine because it’s the first formal race I ever ran (after my high school track career). It’s my fifth time running the course; my times have slowed way down since having Charlotte, but it still feels good to get out there. My family also did an amazing job – my parents especially beating their time goals, having fun and feeling great. Afterwards we celebrated with Jack’s Abby beer on the lawn until Charlotte got too cold (it was in the 30s), then went inside for brunch.

Here’s what I’m reading and eating this week:

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Sunday morning coffee: October 9, 2016

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We went apple picking this weekend with Charlotte. The orchard had all the trimmings: apple cider donuts, music, hayrides, a small-ish orchard we could walk to, and (yay!) a petting zoo. We’ve spent a lot of time recently reading books about animals and playing with puzzles and shapes of animals; Charlotte knows the names of a lot of them and is starting to make noises to imitate them, so I was excited to bring her somewhere to see animals in real life. The goats were the best, and Charlotte bleated at them through the fence. The weather was pleasant, and the apples were delicious. On Saturday night, we used our freshly picked apples to garnish some pan-seared pork chops. For the rest of the week, Charlotte will be taking apple slices simmered in cinnamon and a bit of butter as her fruit to day care (up to this point, she’s been pretty intense in her preference for strawberries).

Here’s what I’m reading and eating this week:

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