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This weekend, the weather experts are predicting a snow storm with totals of around 2 feet with Baltimore and Washington, DC getting hit the hardest. It's no secret that I'm not a fan of winter weather and snow. I spent the first 23 years of my life in lake effect snow regions having grown up in northern Indiana and going to college in Syracuse, New York. And since moving to Baltimore, I've grown accustomed to enjoying more temperate weather.

However, from my many years of snow experiences, I'm quite used to still going about my daily life even if it is snowing, which apparently isn't really a thing once you get south of the Mason-Dixon Line. When it snows in Baltimore, everything stops. Take for instance, six years ago, when we got hit back to back with two storms totaling something like 47 inches. Our street wasn't plowed for a week, and there was so much snow that we just let Lilah frolic off leash in the street. Likewise, a similar storm hit Syracuse in one overnight during my last winter living there and streets were plowed that morning.

Through many a storm, I've learned much about how to prepare for such weather events, and so I thought I'd share a few tips.

1 // Before anything else, stock up on coffee. Obviously, this is an extremely important item and is the first to be checked off my list at the first hint of snow. In addition, if you have whole beans, make sure they are ground before the storm hits. This is serious business, you guys. If power lines get weighted down, you don't want to be in the unfortunate situation of having coffee beans that can't be brewed via a French press or non-electric maker.

2 // Make sure your wine stash is adequate for at least a week. Wine is already an important item. However, let me tell you, if you're trapped in your house for a week because the city can't plow you out, you'll be reaching for that bottle sooner than later.

3 // Check that you have adequate birth control. Let's be honest. First you stock up on wine, and now you're trapped in a house. January storm? Two words-- October baby. And I'm pretty sure you don't want to have to explain that awkwardness to your future offspring.

4 // Buy milk. Obviously, since you don't usually drink milk, it makes total sense to grab a gallon to put in your fridge. This way you're able to see how quickly a gallon of milk goes bad, after it sits in your fridge for a week untouched.

5 // Stock up on tortilla chips and taco ingredients. It would be a true tragedy to have to go a week without tacos. In fact, I can't think of anything worse than having to go without tacos. Plus, if you eat enough tacos, you just might come a little closer to using up all of that extra tp you thought you needed to buy.

And there you have it, my friends. Five great ways to help you prepare for a snowpocalypse. If you're hanging out in the Mid-Atlantic with me, I hope it's not as it's been predicted to be. If you're elsewhere without snow, well, you're just a lucky bastard.

We have finally finished our kitchen! We have lived in our row house for going on six years, and in that time, we completely revamped our patio space, renovated our half bath, styled our bedroom, made our roof deck into an outdoor lounge, and have now finished our kitchen. I'll share photos of the kitchen once I'm able to take some good shots. And perhaps I should give a home tour one of these days.

However, with another project under our belts, I'm ready to move on to the next room. Currently, our next plan is to paint our master bath. We have already swapped out light fixtures and hardware and would eventually like to redo the tile, but that's a bit more intense of a project. With that in mind, my focus starts to head toward our living room. So instead of making a decision about what to tackle next, I find myself browsing all things that are for living and family rooms.

For starters, we're in desperate need of coffee tables for both the living room AND the basement. Our living room coffee table is not even a table and it's the single most hated piece of furniture in our house by both me AND Andrew. I like the look of this marble topped coffee table to carry over the marble backspash from our kitchen into the living space.

Reeve Mid-Century Rectangular Coffee Table

Our cat happens to be a major turd and loves to use our cozy chairs in the living room as scratching posts. We've tried just about everything to get him to stop short of declawing him, which is not an option in my book. That being said, I'm dealing with the crappy looking chairs for now, but I've been keeping these chairs in the back of my head for when I'm ready to save for new ones. They still are large enough to curl up in, but they don't have fabric arms.

Cavett Chair

We've been looking for dimmer lighting in the evenings that doesn't require us to use our rather bright recessed lighting. Using one light instead of many make a room feel more intimate and would save energy as well. Floor lamps seems like an ideal way of doing this while also adding some extra style to the room. I nearly purchased this handmade one for Andrew for Christmas, but wanted his second opinion. He approves and it's on our list of items to purchase. The shade in the photo doesn't come with, but we'll likely opt for one that is a bit wider and shorter with less detailing.

Tripod Floor Lamp

Right now, we have very limited shelving. By nature, row houses usually have a completely open floor plan. Because of the bump out from the wall where our half bath is located, there's a space that is the perfect size for a bookcase. Again, I love the idea of bringing similar elements from the kitchen into the living room for a more cohesive look, so I've got my eye on this industrial/rustic modern piece.

Industrial Modular Bookshelf

Our current ceiling fan is much too traditional for our tastes. When we swapped out some of our bathroom light fixtures, we also discussed swapping out the ceiling fans as well. Ceiling fans are a must have for any Baltimore home due to the hot summers and wonderfully long and warm spring and fall seasons, and we love the modern look of this one.

MinkaAire Light Wave

Lastly, about two years ago, we finally decided to pitch a rug that we'd received as a hand me down from my aunt. It really wasn't our style and it made the living room so dark. Our only regret is that without an area rug, the floors are incredibly cold in the winter. We'd been eyeing this rug from Crate and Barrel for quite some time with the intention of it being our replacement. However, very recently Andrew's mom purchased the same rug for her new living room set. Now we're trying to decide-- stick with our choice, or go with something else? Regardless, we still enjoy looking at it for inspiration.

Alvarez Rug

For now, we'll stick to painting our bathroom next, but it certainly doesn't hurt to have a vision in mind for the direction I'd eventually like to go with the rest of our row house. As you can see, we love warm wood tones and clean lines, probably a product of Andrew's architectural influences.

Have you been working on any new home projects lately?

 

 

 

 

As one of many that struggle with the burden of student loan debt, that situation is exasperated by the pay cut that I took in order to take my card business full time. However, I have always been a fairly cautious spender, so we have always made it work even while paying extra each month toward those loans. I did not have much money growing up, and my family always made things work on a budget. We didn't take fancy trips to Florida during spring breaks. We didn't often get name brand shoes or clothing. And we didn't spend large amounts of money eating out. Generally, for my entire life, I've stuck to the basics.

During the transition from teaching to running my business full time, Andrew and I made some major lifestyle changes in order to make things work. We stopped eating out and watching football at the bar. We cut cable completely without the addition of any subscription services. We only purchased new clothes if we actually needed them. We traveled less out of pure lack of money to do so or opted for destinations within driving distance instead. And we did as many free activities that we could. Generally, these lifestyle changes were not too drastic since we already didn't watch much tv and a lot of the activities we enjoy, such as hiking and being outdoors, were already free. Perhaps our biggest money saver was simply not eating out and the lack of travel.

In the past three years, while making these small budget cuts, we became acutely aware of how others around us were leading much different lives. One friend mentioned that they hadn't been to the grocery store in almost a month because they hadn't had time to go. Another friend purchased a new car, not because they needed to, but because they wanted to. We were asked to fly out of town last minute for a long weekend to celebrate a friend's birthday, as if it was normal for the average person to have money on hand for random airfare. Friends that asked me about how to cut their budget also were posting monthly on social media about their mani pedis.

These realizations made me wonder-- When did luxury become the new basic? Things that I had always just assumed were extras were now being viewed by those around us as daily needs. Just by not eating out once a week, we have saved nearly $300 a month. I can't even imagine eating out almost every night simply because there wasn't time time to shop for groceries. Not purchasing a new car means that we pay nothing for car payments and very little for maintenance as our cars are still in good shape. Planning for vacations rather than spur of the moment trips has helped us save money on airfare and budget in a way that we can even afford to travel. And not having a monthly mani pedi has easily saved me at least $40 a month-- almost the equivalent to our internet bill.

These are things we simply don't do because it isn't in our budget. And they are mostly things that we never even thought to do when we had a bigger budget because they are luxuries. Yet these things don't seemed to be viewed as luxuries by those around us. Somewhere along the line, we've grown accustomed as a society to luxury. Luxury homes, luxury cars, monthly salon upkeep and new clothes for a luxury look, luxury meals, luxury everything.

Luxury has become basic. It is normal to buy coffee every morning instead of making your own. It is normal to buy an expensive SUV instead of going for the budget friendly compact. It is normal to have granite counter tops in your kitchen instead of opting for a house that you can eventually make your own. It is normal to buy a new iPhone even if your five year old iPhone still works beautifully. It is normal to pay for Netflix or Hulu instead of using an antenna or reading books from a library. It is normal to pay for a mani pedi instead of using that same $5 bottle of nail polish on your own time and again. It is normal for us to consume, consume, and consume.

If I'm being honest, the closest thing I've ever had to a manicure was a paraffin treatment on my left hand after a nearly broken finger suffered during high school basketball. Gasp! I know! How could I have never experienced anything like that?! Easy, I say. I have never viewed it as a need. And while some might say that it's the downtime or pampering that is a need, I've found that downtime in other ways without having to pay someone for the luxury of it all.

It can be just as fulfilling to spend an evening cooking with friends at your house than eating out a restaurant with them. It can be just as fulfilling to travel somewhere by car than by airplane. It can be just as fulfilling to finish a house project on your own rather than purchase a house that was already finished. And it can be just as fulfilling to soak in that quiet of the morning while your coffee maker runs instead of making a hustle and bustle into the coffee shop on your way to work. And in many ways, it may actually be more fulfilling than the luxury version.

This is not to say that we don't partake in luxuries. We enjoy going to the coffee shop once in a while on the weekends. We still go out to eat maybe once every couple of months. And yes, our house came with granite counter tops, though we certainly have also done quite a bit of work on our own to make it more beautiful. For me, it's more about thinking about how these luxuries bring value to our daily lives. Did these things really make your life more fulfilling? Or did they only create the illusion of fulfillment? Those are the questions that it really comes down to, and for us, the answers are easy.

How do you feel about luxuries? Do some of the things I view as luxuries seem basic to you? I'm curious to hear a varying perspective.

 

In recent weeks, we've been back on a Tuesday and Thursday night gym kick by Andrew's request. Heading to the gym for a workout right after he gets off from work means that we get a late start on our evenings. By the time we get home, it's about 7 at night, and we still need to take the dog for a walk.

The first week we tried to get back into this routine, we found ourselves eating dinner at 9:30, which left us little time to relax before going to bed. I decided that in order to give us a little bit more time to enjoy in the evenings, I needed to be a bit more intentional with the way I planned meals for the week. Enter, my crock pot and this amazing coconut ginger chicken recipe.

This recipe was a little more time consuming than I tend to like for meals made in the crock pot. During Valentine season, I need all the time I can get during the day as well in order to stay on top of orders and the like, so I made some adjustments that make the recipe much more quick and easy. I also love a decent dose of ginger, so I upped the ante a little there as well. The final product is a delicious meal that also makes for very tasty leftovers.

What you'll need:

• 4 cloves of garlic
• 3 to 4 inch cube of ginger, peeled and chopped, depending on how much ginger you'd like
• 1 small onion, roughly chopped
• 2 chicken boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cans coconut milk
• 1 can of baby corn cobs
• 2 heads of broccoli, chopped into bite sized pieces
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground tumeric
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

In a food processor, puree the onion, ginger, and garlic into a paste and set aside. Place the chicken in the bottom of the crock pot. Open the cans of coconut and scoop off the solid coconut cream into a bowl. Cover the bowl and set aside for later. Melt the butter, and mix in the olive oil and spices in a small bowl. Cover the chicken with the ginger paste and the spice and butter blend. Pour the remaining liquid from the coconut milk over the chicken. Drain the mini corn cobs and cut in half before adding to the crock pot. Cook on low for six hours. After the six hour mark, use a spoon to slightly break up the chicken. Stir in the coconut cream that was set aside and then add the broccoli. Cover and cook for about an hour more, until broccoli is slightly tender. During this last hour of cooking, I also usually make a pot of rice to serve with the chicken.

Do you use your crock pot frequently? Do you have any good go to crock pot dinners? I'm trying this crock pot recipe from my friend Kristen this week.

I sort of like ending the week with some good music, which is why I wrote about Kamasi Washington last week. As I had mentioned in my post about David Bowie on Tuesday, I had planned on writing about his latest (and now last) album, and so I decided that I'd still do that. By now, if you're anything like Andrew, you're probably sick of hearing me talk about Bowie. In fact, on Wednesday night, he told me that I was in my third day of mourning, and I was allotted only four more. I guess today would be the fifth, so I'll take it while I can.

After listening to Blackstar multiple times last Friday on its release day, I was most drawn to the song Dollar Days. I think it was the track that was most recognizably Bowie. While he had always experimented with music and I've certainly heard songs of his that were much more out there than this album, something about Dollar Days felt comfortably Bowie.

Now that I understand the context of the album as a farewell from his death bed, I like Dollar Days even more. While the lyrics are incredibly sad, the music feels light and airy, which makes me feel at peace despite the circumstance. Dollar Days is the second to last song on the album and is followed by another lighter finale. This leaves listeners with two happier memories after listening to the heavier, darker tracks. And somewhere in the middle of Dollar Days is a chilling saxophone solo that is so reminiscent and characteristic of many of his preceding works. It is perfectly fitting. If we're to remember him through this album, I'd choose this track before the others.

What have you been listening to these days? Have you been on a Bowie binge like me? I promise next week I'll be back to much lighter, happier, non-Bowie blog posts. ;) Happy Friday!