Moments 01 21 :: Week 04

We were inspired by the fresh snow, so Brian & I went cross-country skiing again! This time, just the two of us. 

That does not mean everything went smoothly. It was gorgeous (thank goodness), but somehow Brian & I got lost again! We did the big loop, and when we ended up recognizing an intersection we had been at before (on the opposite side of where we had to be), oh my gosh...we ended up skiing to a parking lot (again) and walking to where we had to go. It was fun though.

My favorite incense. Got a bunch from Brian for Christmas. Yay!

We got a bunch of snow. Always so pretty. 

Gah! She's so cute. I'm not sure how, but getting all grey faced is making her even more adorable. 

Exciting (and terrifying) news! This guy went back to in-person school on Thursday. It's been over 10 months since in-person classes were last held, and to say he was excited is an understatement. It's not the same, but he is so happy. I guess about 53% decided to come back, the rest are still remote. He had a great couple of days though. 

Moments 01 21 :: Week 03

Some oysters for our farewell dinner.

It was time for this guy to go back to college. It was so great having him around the past few weeks. 

On Sunday, C and I made saffron tagliatelle. We did good! This was the final project. Pickled jalapeno, ricotta, caramelized shallots (from the Ottolenghi Flavor cookbook). Delicious.

Gretel photo overload. She was just so cute this week. We had a couple brutal cold days. Every morning after she goes out, she waits by the fireplace asking for it to be turned on. We may spoil her a bit.

Found her like this. 

Was checking emails and next thing you know, I had a dog asleep on my foot. 

Beautiful sky, lights and colors from our walk.

And on our way home. Amazing.

Moments 01 21 :: Week 02

Best kind of mornings. 

The P4 went cross-country skiing. 

Lapham Peak has great lit trails, and even has ski rentals.

Love that there is a fire going to warm up by. 

We all agreed it was a ton of fun. But, there was a while that C had had enough. I'm not sure what was going on, but he was struggling, so decided to go back to the car while we finished our small loop. We finished the loop, looked for C, and couldn't find him! Tracked his phone -- which was nearly dead -- and saw he had gone the wrong way. He was near a road, so we told him to stay put and we'd get him. Except, he had the car keys! Brian ended up hiking up the XC ski trail looking for him. Not sure what was going on, because H and I tracked them, and they were seriously feet from each other, but C didn't stay still, and Brian was being stubborn saying his phone had him going somewhere else. Next thing you know, C comes skiing down the hill looking like a pro, saying how much fun he had on his own. And Brian's still lost in the forest. Eventually we all met up again, thank goodness. The kid in the ski shop didn't even seem phased. He said it happens all the time. Ha!

Decided to do Monday's Bake Club (first in awhile), and it was Puppy Chow! Here's my combo. Christina Tosi even highlighted it in her stories. Yay!

The Wisconsin Humane Society had a fundraiser where you donate $25 and get a "poorly drawn picture" of your animal. They did it last year too, but I missed out. Some of the pictures are done by real artists. Most are simply staff and volunteers. I absolutely love this idea for a fundraiser. Here's the photo I submitted.

And here's our masterpiece! I love it. The woman who posted said her daughter made it. 

Moments 01 21 :: Week 01

Didn't post any last day of the trip photos. Another day of all driving. Left Folly Beach at 7am, arrived home at 10pm. We were so lucky with the weather, and easy driving.

Stopped in Knoxville for lunch and a drive through University of Tennessee. H found a great soul food place called Jackie's Dream.  Figured chicken tenders were easier to eat in the car than standard hot chicken. 

First book of the year. It's a long one, so took me quite a bit again. I didn’t know what this book was about before reading it. Just that it was about four friends and has great reviews. It was haunting, powerful, beautiful. It won’t be for everyone. There were days I thought I’d never get through it, but I’m glad I did. Some of it was extremely upsetting, but love and friendship wins to make it a beautiful read.

Best part about being home. Gretel missed us so much! And we missed her like crazy too. 

Folly Beach, SC :: Day 07

Our last day! So sad. This morning, Brian AND the boys got up to watch the sunrise. When they came back, I joined them in their excursion to Crosby's for clams and shrimp, then H and I went for a run (he on the beach, me on the street) and all of us met up at the surf shop. The boys drove home, and Brian and I walked the beach back. A little later, the guys made lunch and The Frigs came over to join us.That afternoon, we went back into Charleston for a bit and wandered some different streets. On one of them, traffic was stopped thanks to a group of guinea fowl! A woman was out of her car shooing them away, so I stepped in to help. Tried to get them on one side until she told me they lived on the other, and that seemed to work. Come to find out, they are quite famous! The boys of course thought I was crazy, but the woman in the car even stopped to tell them what a huge help I was. So there. When we got back to our rental, H, Brian and I took a stroll along the beach. No sunsets that night, but, we did spot a starfish. As our last hurrah, we met The Frigs one last time at Bowens Island. Since we had a break from oysters, we decided to try those and ended up getting the very last tray. By the way, a tray like these? They cost about $28. Crazy. Sadly, we had to say our goodbyes to our bubble before leaving. Spending this time with The Frigs this past week was so amazing, it was kind of a bummer to have to go our separate ways. When we got back to the house, we decided we needed one last walk to the beach to soak it all in. It was hard leaving that too.

The next morning we woke up bright and early, ordered Lost Dog for takeout, and made our way back to Wisconsin. We stopped in Knoxville, TX for a little soul food at Jackie's Dream (a great spot H found), and took our food to the University of Tennessee so we could drive around that area a bit before finishing the rest of the long journey home. We arrived safe and sound late that night, feeling refreshed and excited to have been able to go on such an adventure, especially during these times. 

Folly Beach, SC :: Day 06

New Year's Day...it was perfect. Brian woke up to see the sunrise then made us breakfast. Afterwards, we walked around Folly Beach a bit. It's mainly a bunch of souvenir shops. Others were closed. Around noon, we drove over to The Frigs place and had a beach day! Such a nice surprise especially considering we weren't expecting such warm weather. In fact, it was one of the warmest January 1st's Folly Beach ever had. Traditionally, the town hosts a Bill Murray Look-A-Like Plunge, but the event was obviously cancelled this year. No matter. We just did our own! The water temperatures were only 54 degrees, but it wasn't Lake Michigan in freezing cold weather, so I'd say that is a win. The kids even spend a little time frolicking in the ocean. They are crazy like that. Later that afternoon, we went for lunch at our favorite place again, then had Zoom call with our Oak Park crew! It was so great seeing everyone, even if it was over a computer screen. The rest of the night we finished Hamilton, watched a little Baywatch (don't ask -- what a horrible show -- one of the channels must have had a marathon and we got sucked in a bit), and played Boggle. Before we knew it, it was 10pm and we hadn't even eaten dinner. But it was so late, and we were so tired that we headed out. A pretty good start to the new year, I'd say.