Revenge of the Nerds

First of all, I'm highly suspicious that this is incredibly nerdy. But, I made homemade jam. And homemade bread. And then I made homemade butter. It was, like, this incredibly organic process where I just knew everything that needed to come together. Also, Sam has been working nights, which has led to more than one existential crisis late at night, and I start working in the kitchen when I should be in bed.
The strawberries were purchased on an incredible sale-- too many at once, though-- so jam was the logical solution.

The bread was, well, gone, so I needed to make more. And then the butter. I saw this post on Design*Sponge recently, and it latched onto my brain and kept nudging its way into all my thoughts, both night and day: "homemade butter. homemade butter. homemade butterrrrrr." Very haunting.

I didn't even have very much cream to make the butter, but it was easy and beautiful and enough to fill me with the thrill and joy of kitchen success. I may never go back to store-bought.

Closeted Control Freak

Back in July I was talking to my sister Amy on the phone when she let slip that she thinks I'm a little uptight. Her exact words were, "we're all a little uptight, but you're a special kind of uptight." Now, you might think I was offended, because, that sounds offensive, right? But I wasn't, because it's true. And I didn't even realize it! I used to think all the time about what my family thought was my "thing." Turns out, I'm the uptight one. It's kind of like when my sister Whitney and I told our sister Lindsay that she's dramatic, and she was shocked. (Are you keeping track of all my sisters? Good.) Anyway, this whole thing has led to a revolution of sorts for me. I'm trying to be a little more relaxed and to learn how to go with the flow. It's all very exciting. The funny part is, whenever I tell people about this conversation with my sister (because I think it's funny, so I like to talk about it), everyone is always surprised. "You're not uptight!" they say. And then I laugh, because I really, really am. I think I'm just a closeted control freak, so it's not readily noticed. But not for long! I'm now engaging in Project Hippie-- because, in spite of being uptight, I am also from Colorado, so I'm naturally kind of a hippie-- so I'm embracing it by becoming more of a roll-with-the-punches type of girl.

Speaking of Colorado and people who probably do know I am a closeted control freak:
This picture was taken almost exactly ten years ago. Yes, that's me in the middle. And, no, that's not one of the haircuts I inflicted on myself. Those other girls were two of my best friends growing up. Ashley (on the left) I have known since we were babies, and Jenna and I have been friends since we were 14.
As luck would have it, in our adult years, we all ended up in Virginia. Ashley has a fancy job in D.C., and Jenna lives in Richmond while her husband is in med school. We met up last weekend to catch up over brunch, and it was simply delightful. (We ate at the Carlyle. I've been hearing about their french toast for a while now, and it was not overrated. Yum, yum.) Of course there was plenty of Colorado gossip to be had, and lots of laughter as we entertained/were entertained by the babies. There is something to be said for people who were friends with you during your awkward teenage years. It was so lovely to be with old friends who know everything about me-- and love me anyway. (uptightness an all!)