10-Year Rewind // Before the Blog

You know how everyone always asks what’s in your 5-year or 10-year plans? Do you ever know how to answer that question? I definitely felt like I was super goal-oriented and ambitious 10 years ago. I’d daydream about what direction my career would take, where my personal life would meander, and when kids might enter the equation. I thought it’d be fun instead of projecting what my next 10 years might look like . . . to take a step back and examine myself 10 years ago. When I was 24.

Stephen and I were married a couple months after I turned 24 (he was 23! We were BABIES!).

We lived together in a 2-bedroom apartment on the outskirts of Ithaca, NY, at the time. Scully (R.I.P.) lived with us, and I took a lot of photos of her back then. It was in this apartment that I really started cooking and baking up a storm. I started my first blog (Method) here, and I’m pretty sure this photo is from some pumpkin muffins I posted.


I used to love how the sunlight would stream into our kitchen from the sliding doors leading out to the tiny balcony. I think we MAY have been able to see a sliver of Cayuga lake from this spot. Oh, by this point, I had lived in a whopping 10 different houses/apartments in my life.

Scully had already lived in five, so that shows you exactly how much I had moved in the three years since college graduation (I adopted Scully a few weeks after graduating in 2005).



Stephen and I were big into running shorter distance races back then. I think we mostly did 10Ks, but we’d do long runs like up to 8 miles. Our apartment was in a hilly area with mostly country highways, so I didn’t like going much farther than that. It was a good area for biking, though, which is why you see those bikes on our balcony. We’d go for hours-long rides and look at the lake.

We especially liked trekking to a nearby park that had a lighthouse.


We also did a lot of kayaking. I don’t remember what it’s like to have so much free time!


So, when I was 24, I was working at a software company in the marketing department. I absolutely loved the people I worked with. In fact, I’m still very close friends with a few of them.

LOL. Sorry, guys. I love this photo.



Professionally, though, I was sort of a mess. I was in over my head trying to go from a communications person to a marketing manager. I had no idea what I was doing half the time. I was traveling often for work (which really stressed me out).

Here’s a photo from a campus visit where I helped film our products in action.


Anyway, it got to be too much. Around 10 years ago I did make the decision to leave that job and pursue a different path. I first left and started working as a professional writing tutor at a community college. I won’t go into my career progression (I covered it in a video, if you’re interested). But that was a big transition for me in 2007/8.

What else? I was getting really into photography. I bought my first DSLR and would take long walks just to find photo opportunities. I learned a lot through trial and error.


I was also in community orchestra.


We had moved to downtown Ithaca at some point during that year because we were unhappy in the country. But that ended up not working out either because Stephen was commuting to his first teaching job, and it was killer for him. So, one of the biggest changes that year was the big move from Ithaca about an hour away. It was still close, but we knew nobody, so intimidating and somewhat a mixed bag of emotions.

Also: Moving multiple times in a year SUCKS.


We bought our first house, so you can see that this meant I had moved from house/apartment 10 earlier to 11 and then 12. Phew. But it was cool to dig in and do some DIY home stuff.

Like ripping up #allthecarpet


Wow does style change. This was a mood board I had made for the living room plan at the new house.

Holy orange and blue!


I was super into mid-century style.


And this was our bedroom. I was so proud of it back then!


And then some short while after we moved in, we adopted Rivey.


And then at some point, I started working at the university library. This was my usual style there. I always wore scarves, too. For some reason, I have this photo titled “zero-dollar outfit” -- so I was into frugal fashion even 10 years ago!


I also started (never)homemaker around the same time in my small, carpeted kitchen. A few of you have been following me since then. Wow. Thank you. Can you believe this is 10 years ago?!?!?!


What a blast from the past. Thanks for reading if you got this far. I am hoping to put up my gift ideas for kids post soon!

What were you doing 10 years ago?

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Our First Family Photos

As I mentioned on Monday, we got our family photos taken by a photographer for the very first time on Thanksgiving. It's a funny story, but I've known Elizabeth of Elizabeth Compton Photography since she was like eight years old. I used to be a crossing guard (more of a babysitter) for elementary school kids who went to a different school on a bus that departed from the high school. Lizzy was one of these sweet kids. We reconnected years ago, and I've been so proud to watch her photography business develop over the years.

Anyway, here are just a few of the gorgeous shots she took of us in my favorite town on the planet. I think Wellsboro is the perfect backdrop for Christmas. Don't you agree?

That last one was taken on the spot where Stephen and I were married back in 2007. Surreal to stand there with our two beautiful daughters (who were on the verge of simultaneous meltdowns!). They both did a great job, though. And I cannot wait to get these photos printed and up in the house.

Tomorrow is December 1! I'd better get those remaining gift lists up soon.

Happy Wednesday, friends.

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Digging Out

Whew! What a wild last week or so it's been. The last I updated, we had a glorious snow day full of playing outside, warming up inside, and generally enjoying what's coming this season. And then Tuesday happened. I forget if I wrote about how Eloise just didn't sleep for many days last week. I mean, like no sleep at all, no exaggeration. Monday night was the worst it had been, so I decided in the night I'd take her to the doctor to see if anything was bothering her.

Well, Tuesday morning Ada also woke early screaming about ear pain. So, I ended up making my very first double doctor appointment for both girls. Milestone. The verdict? Both girls had double ear infections. And Ada had pink eye (as a result of her virus, the doctor thinks). We left the appointment with more medicine than you can imagine. I actually had to make a spreadsheet to keep track of all the drops and syrups, none of which seemed to be given in similar amounts at similar time frequencies, etc.

We were feeling a bit better for the day before Thanksgiving, so we drove down to Pennsylvania to be with my family. That only lasted a day because, of course, then I started getting super sick. On our drive back -- in the middle of nowhere PA -- we discovered that our van was hemorrhaging oil. I had a fever. Eloise and Ada both cried for almost two hours in the car. It was definitely a low point in the parenting of two children. There are days when I feel like maybe I am starting to get it . . . and then days when I feel woefully out of control.

We still managed somehow to cook our vegetarian Thanksgiving meal this year:

• Tofu short ribs
• Slow cooker mashed potatoes
• Green bean casserole (recipe soon!)
• Pumpkin garlic knots
• Peanut butter Oreo truffles

Anyway, today is the start of a new week. My head is still quite stuffy. I don't have much of a voice. But I'm determined to get back to my working groove AND to get this house in order and to start enjoying the Christmas season. For me, that means decorating the outside of our home, which I did yesterday. Then there's getting the tree up and decking the halls, of course. It's a joyful process and it doesn't last nearly long enough. I look forward to sharing photos!

And speaking of photos, my photographer friend back home took family photos for us before we left town on Thursday. She's amazing. If you're in the Wellsboro area, check out Elizabeth Compton Photography. I should be getting the rest of the photos tonight and hope to share maybe a few more.

Here's a peek:


The location -- having them done in Wellsboro -- is particularly special to me. I love my hometown. I'd move back if I could. But I still have roots there that are deep. It's nice sharing this place with my kids, and I hope to do more of that in the years to come.

I hope you guys are all happy and healthy and had good holidays!

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Weekend Scenes // Apple Picking

How about that moon, right? We watched the different stages of the lunar eclipse last night, and it was super cool. Then I woke up randomly in the middle of the night and looked outside. I shot straight awake because it was so bright. Whoa. Did anyone else check it out?

Here are some scenes from this year’s apple-picking fun:

I’ll be back soon with some delicious apple recipes. We got 15 pounds in all!

Anyone else go picking this weekend?

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Last Day

Ada’s last day of her 3-year-old program was today. Her class is actually in session until the end of the week, but we’re headed to my hometown to enjoy the PA State Laurel Festival. I realized toward the end of the year that the festival dates will conflict with NY’s class schedule seemingly forever . . . so I made the tough choice to skip her end of the year party. Next year she’s going to the same place, so we’ll make sure to give her a great Pre-K graduation!

Anyway, you know me with my photos.

The teachers had prepared a few gifts for parents. One of them was this collage of photos taken on Ada throughout the year doing different things in the classroom. I started crying out of nowhere, silly hormones (CD1!!!). I can’t believe how much Ada has grown in all regards from September until today. It’s absolutely astounding. I am so happy we put her in school early, but we’re still mulling over when she’ll start kindergarden. A discussion for another time.
I hope to pop on here with another post before the end of the week with some photos from my hometown. Any of your kids still in school? I am fascinated by the start/end dates across the country. Is NY going kind of late? Stephen is still working until next Friday.
Ciao for now!
PS: I printed out that first day/last day photo for the teachers with a candy bar as a little gift :) It was simple and extremely cheap, but I think it’s cute!
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Family Photos // 2015 ed.

The last time I took a good number of family photos was way back in 2012! I figured it was about time (OK, well over) to take a few more. So, we got a little dressed up, headed down to the creek, and struck some poses. For those of you who are interested, I used the same tripod method (mine is by Sunpack) as I did the last time I shared family photos with you guys.

Here they are!

We didn’t set out to take photos in the water, but Ada started playing and then fell in (yeah -- that last one is a blooper) . . . so we went with it. I really like how these pictures capture our family’s personality. I think we’ll have to make yearly creek photos a tradition.

Hope you had a great weekend!

(Oh, and if you’re interested -- I’m still shooting my Nikon D90 with the kit lens. But I also have a 30mm lens I use frequently. Like I mention above, my tripod is by Sunpack. I very lightly edited these photos -- lighting, mostly -- in iPhoto.)

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$400 Kitchen Update

I know I mention it almost every post, but our house is on the market. And it's slowly driving me insane. We're only on two weeks, but since we put a contingency offer in on the place of our dreams (in the rough!) -- we're getting our game faces on. We've had 7 showings so far, and at least three of those potential buyers have had a beef with our kitchen.

Here's what it look(ed) like.

I admit that when we were getting stuff together for our listing, I sort of neglected staging the kitchen simply because the rest of the house took so much work. The kitchen was clean and still very functional in the way that I use it (heavily) every single day. We loved putting in the open shelving a couple years ago, but definitely knew it was going to be a love or hate thing once it was on the market.

So, I did a little crowdsourcing with my friends on Facebook and got TONS of helpful opinions on ways to spiff up our space to make it more friendly to potential buyers. Stuff like "clear off those counters!" and "paint the cabinets white!" or "add cabinets" (which is also what our realtor suggested) and "take down that awful light above the sink!"

It all made sense. But with budget on my mind, I cautiously got to work. And by "I" I really mean me, myself, and I. Didn't quite get a chance to tell Stephen when I was up to, so I got a very confused call from him in the middle of the day (in response to the following photo) when I was out with my dad picking up the cabinets.


I think my aggressive decision-making paid off. After considering a variety of options, I ended up going with what I felt we could handle in a day's time. I got two new hickory cabinets for either side of the window and a can of white paint to brush over the black chalkboard wall. I cleared off as much clutter as humanly possible. I got a cheap set of new, clean pans to hang over the oven, and hung some blinds over the window (they were in our basement).

I think it looks a lot better for just 24 hours.


In all, the cabinets and other supplies cost around $400, so we're really hoping it helps attract some buyers in the next month (or sooner!). Time will tell, and we know there are still some major issues, like the blockage of the bottom cabinet space to fit in the dishwasher. Honestly, our house is positioned and priced as a starter home, so I'm having trouble doing much more than what we did yesterday.

I mean, when we moved in, the kitchen was carpeted. It lacked ALL the cabinets that are hickory in these photos. It had old appliances and zero dishwasher -- plus the refrigerator was jutting out into the space. We're not asking much more than our purchase price, so I'm just hoping to get some level-headed people without a huge "MUST-HAVE" list. I've obviously done well cooking in this space, and I think it's pretty good for a starter kitchen!

Here's the before/after:


I think it's a dramatic difference for it being so quick. I just hope all the work was worth it! It's definitely come a long way since our first attempt to refresh the space.

There's another "phase" of the project, though, if our realtor thinks it's a good idea. I'd switch out the ceiling fan and kitchen island for WHITE to match the rest. It was an overwhelming request of my friends -- and I purchased an inexpensive fan. I just can't find a kitchen cart of island locally that's the right size in the price I'm willing to spend. We'll see.

I'm interested, though:

Do you think the kitchen makes the cook or the cook makes the kitchen? 

I'm in the camp of not needing tons of space or fancy whatevers to make most of my meals. And my life, for that matter. Plus, in the place we're looking to move next, the kitchen is WAY behind this one. Maybe we're just weird, but I can always look beyond a home's flaws to find its true beauty.

Fingers crossed we'll find some creative buyers with a little imagination. Also: If your house is on the market or will be soon, ask your friends what they think. I'm so grateful to mine for all their help!

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