January This Year - Brady

I don't have anything particular to check in about today, but it's been awhile since I posted, so I thought I'd do a roundup of all that we did last month.

January, 2014, in photos:

We spent New Year's Eve in Nashville, Tennessee and had a really nice time. We heard some good live music, did a lot of walking and eating, and rang in the New Year with champagne at a nice restaurant downtown. 

Once the holidays were really truly over, we settled into a frigid winter in Chicago. We've been enjoying the city as much as possible in the cold, taking Molly on adventures, drinking lots of hot coffee, getting work done, hanging out with family (the pretty sunset photo below was taken from Kevin's sister and brother-in-law's deck).

What else? I've been doing a bunch of yoga - it was my New Year's Resolution to do it everyday, and so far I've stuck with it. I baked some pretty amazing chocolate chip cookies using this recipe. I work from home on Mondays and Wednesdays with Molly napping next to me. During the Polar Vortex, I threw boiling water into the air and watched it turn to snow. Fun stuff. 

January is not my favorite month. It may be my least favorite month, actually, but life was pretty good around here this year. 

These Boots Are Made for Walking (In The Slush) - Brady

Grandma and Grandpa, Fred and Cindy - thanks!

I just wanted to show off the new snow boots I bought with the money Santa left at both of your houses for me this Christmas. I used it to buy these heavy duty Sorel snow boots.

I have a bad habit of buying cheaply made stuff in order to save money and then hating it and having to spend double to correct my mistake. So goes my relationship with snow boots. I bought some inexpensive ones at DSW several years ago. They're cold. They leak. They're flimsy. I actually broke my ankle in them two winters ago. I was goofing around, kicking Kevin, tripped and twisted my leg until my fibula cracked. I 90% blame me and 10% blame the boots for having zero structure. I was being an idiot, but I was being an idiot in shoes whose lack of support is rivaled only by flip flops.

Anyway, gross, I don't want to think about broken bones anymore. The important thing to know is that my ankles are safe and sound and supported in these awesome new boots. Plus my feet are cozy warm. I've found living in Chicago that surviving and even enjoying winter depends heavily on having the right gear. I'm having lots of fun breaking these in, stepping in all the slush puddles I want, stomping around with Molly, looking like a serious Midwesterner.

So Grandma and Grandpa, Fred and Cindy - tell Santa I said thank you next time you talk to him!

Happy happy holidays! - Brady

Oof, I did too much over the holidays to write about it in depth. You'd be bored out of your mind. But I did have a lovely Christmas and a fun New Year's Eve down in Nashville (which I'll write about later). I'll post some photos below.

(Grandma and Grandpa, if you want any of the photos of your beautiful house printed out, let me know and I'll make it happen!)

First! A few photos from our family shopping trip in Chicago, mid-December:

As soon as I was officially done with school/work for the holidays I begin my first duty of Christmas: making limpa (Swedish rye bread) for Christmas Eve. Here are photos of the process:

The ingredients.

Everything all mixed together.

Limpa has to rise for a LONG TIME. It's a two day process to make it.

Ready for the oven!

Baked and braised with butter.

The final product, at Christmas Eve.

And the big day itself. Christmas Eve at my grandparents', Christmas morning at my parents' house in La Porte, and Christmas day at my in-laws':

Getting ready for Christmas Eve!

My grandparents' beautiful Christmas house.

Around the fire.

Six handsome gentlemen.

Our big Swedish meal.

Siblings.

Cousins.

Post celebration. 

Getting ready for bed, Christmas night.

Molly and her present.

The chaos.

At the Rasps'.

Merry Christmas!

And that's it! I'll leave you with two pictures of Ms. Molly.

This is how we felt during the holidays. 

And this is how we feel now that they're over. :)

Thanksgivings - Brady

We're solidly into the Christmas season now, but I wanted to share a few of my favorite pictures from our two Thanksgivings - the Vegetarian Thanksgiving Kevin and I hosted a couple of weeks ago and "real" Thanksgiving with our families in La Porte and Fort Wayne.

First, Vegetarian Thanksgiving. We held this event the Saturday before real Thanksgiving at our condo in Chicago. We've done this for several years now, starting back when we lived in Fort Wayne in a beautiful house that was much bigger and better for hosting! But we make do. And it's nice and cozy to have everyone in our little space.

We decided to put the bar outside on our balcony to free up traffic in the kitchen area. It was cold, but I think it worked out okay!

Table centerpiece.

My plate! This was Kevin's best year yet - he does all the cooking, I chop, make coffee, park cars, and pour drinks. Everything was delicious.

Meal time.

Everyone who attended.

Now for real Thanksgiving!

My grandparents' beautiful house in the snow. One of my favorite places in the world.

One of two looooong tables. at my grandparents'.

Kelly and Nate.

Cute. Grandma got a set of these for us, too.

Who are these two? Especially the blond one? Wouldn't it be fun if she posted on this blog sometime?

Grandma and Grandpa's yard.

The drive to Fort Wayne.

High five for a great Thanksgiving!

A walk in the woods in Kevin's parents' neighborhood. So beautiful.

And now Thanksgiving is over and we feel like this. Exhausted but ready for Christmas.

Love to everyone who reads this - I'm thankful for all of you!