Normally, we get to see Roxanne in DC, but we missed her this last time in October. Luckily for us, she travels to the Bay Area frequently for work and was able to schedule us in while we're in California! California raised, now living in DC, we love talking about 'west-coastedness' with Roxanne, particularly while she drank an off-the-menu kombucha at lunch.
Roll over 'Good Dog, Carl,' we have Bon Appetit's Thanksgiving issue! We're liking the hassleback butternut squash with bay leaves, black pepper sauce for the turkey (or maybe the bourbon and brown sugar glaze?), and stuffing fried rice! We'll see what my aunt Lisa and Frank have to say though, as they ultimately command menu veto power:)
We flew down to California with Xanna, Grandpa, Meryl, 'and' Lummi! We made it! Now both Meryl and Xanna can have morning pajama time for two weeks! And Lummi gets to romp in the vineyard.
Dads and babies strike again! Lauren, Dan, and Maya had us over for dinner earlier this week. Lauren made a beautifully plated dinner of braised short ribs, roasted carrots, and mashed parsnips. It was all delicious! Maya, here, is crying for joy because she and Meryl are going to share a nanny come January! (They're two weeks a part.)
Noelle + Meryl + Caleb
This week, Meryl discovered her thumbs! Hello, self-soothing!
Lummi always wedges herself in to make sure Meryl's feet are clean.
Mouni, Kim, and Jordan stopped by to visit today. Couldn't resist this shot with Meryl and Jordan! They're a week a part in age.
Hooray! It's pork pickup day with our little pork chop! Last year we bought half of a pig, and we're back again this year for another. We're making more and more of a conscious effort to source our proteins wisely these days. And in another month, we'll be back for a quarter of a cow! Thank goodness for our extra freezer.
Lola came over today and started talking to Meryl in Tagalog. Learning two languages at once is hard work! One of her first words was drool (lah-wai), because Meryl is drooling competitively these days.
We went to our first kids music class today! It was basically a drum circle, but Meryl did enjoy watching everyone banging on the drums and shaking maracas.
...With one spooked burrito!
Everyone pretty much only posts fun and happy pictures on Facebook, right? Well, our friends Erin and Kristi were recently nicknamed 'Party' and 'Travel' because of their posts...hence their Halloween costumes! So we threw the burrito into the scene:)
Last night, Carrie, Joel, and Elliott came over to visit. Our last Meal Train dinner! Carrie made a delicious sausage and lentil stew, along with dia de los muertos decorated sugar cookies by both herself and Elliott. It's been a long time since we've caught up with a lot of people, but it's been a looong time since we caught up with this crew. We go way back to Niketown days, and we of course had to talk about t-shirt folding; it was like a right of passage there. So good to see them! And we can't wait for Meryl to wear her new 'halo halo mix mix' onesie...our little mix mix!
