heather & olive

Strawberry pie workshop with Joy the Baker.

Lounging with a pre-sneeze Olive.

Views from a freezing and rainy Chicago architecture tour.

Kinoko Mochi from Slurping Turtle.

Oh, hello! I'm currently typing this in a very sleep deprived state while waiting for a flight to northern California for work. It's been a long day, and I'm wiped.

But things are good--I spent the past weekend in Chicago for a Mother's Day/sister trip. We had a great time staying at the Drake, hit up some old haunts and had the best meal I've had in a long time at Roister. It was so good to have some mother/daughter time, especially now that we're living farther apart.

The weekend before that I was in Boston making strawberry pies with my mom and Joy the Baker, and it was seriously the best--she is so nice and down to earth and a truly incredible cook/baker. I think it's always a little scary meeting people you've followed online or admired from afar (lest they be total assholes) and I can say without hesitation she is a total sweetheart of a person. And, we made delicious pies which was icing on the cake of the day.

Other than that, my weekends and work have been super busy, but really great. I think the only thing I can complain about is the weather, which has been hovering in the low 50s with near-constant rain (but if that's my only gripe, that's not too bad).

Here's to a good week--I hope spring has sprung where you are.

On Friday I turned 37. There was little fanfare but there was a delicious dinner at Street & Company with champagne and some pot de crème, which is always a good way to celebrate in my book.

Before I went to bed I wrote in my One Line A Day journal and in reviewing the previous years it dawned on me that this was the first birthday in a very long time that I didn't have a total mental breakdown. Birthdays have generally been tough for me: for whatever reason, I take the passing of each year as a moment to reflect and think about all the boxes I haven't checked, and all of the things I should have accomplished by a certain age. I get down on myself and think "this will be the year that x, y or z happens and then everything will be great". And then it doesn't and another year has passed and I spend what should be a celebratory day feeling crappy. It's a vicious cycle and quite frankly, it's dumb.

For whatever reason, this was the year that I decided that I've had enough of the annual pity party nonsense. It's one thing to have goals and work towards them, and it's another to think that accomplishing one of them will magically solve all of your problems and everything will be amazing. I've come to realize that I'm exactly where I should be in this very moment, and just because my life doesn't exactly look like others at my age, doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with that. Things are actually pretty amazing, and I need to celebrate that.

So here's to 37. Life is good.

catbird earrings.

j.crew sophie open-front sweater-blazer.

blundstone boots.

everlane work pants.

maple duck confit hash at Chaval.

Happy Monday--did you have a good weekend? Mine was pretty low-key, and I was totally fine with that. On Friday I went to Mi Sen Noodle Bar with some friends. I was wiped after a long week but it ended up being great to get out and catch up. We shared chive cakes (so good), crab rangoons and then I had drunken noodles that I requested to be low spice but ended up being super spicy. I was as red as a tomato, but it was worth it.

Saturday I took a Pure Barre class, grabbed lunch at Pai Men and watched The Inventor on HBO, which was insane. I had read Bad Blood, but no amount of descriptors can truly capture her deep voice. I highly recommend. And that evening I decided to just hang with pizza and The Favourite, which I also recommend--it was great.

Sunday called for laundry and a long walk with Olive in the 50 degree weather, and I also went to Chaval for brunch--it was Maine Maple Sunday so they were running a special of maple duck confit hash and I had to have it. So lucky to have such a delish restaurant right up the street.

And that was it--this week is going to be a little nuts with some travel for work but I'm looking forward to mixing things up a bit. 

Richard Avedon exhibit at the PMA.

Bibimbap bowl special at the Honey Paw.

Hopefully the last snow of the season.

Early morning empty street views.

You guys, March is tough. I don't know if it's my least favorite month, (do people even have a least favorite month?) but it's been really difficult to plod along these last couple of weeks. Although I will admit, the time change has certainly helped--the fact that it's light out when I get home from work is a game changer.

And today is the first day of spring.

I'm treating this as a fresh start of sorts. I know that January is the month for resolutions and doing better and working out and blah blah blah, but I've decided that this year, I'm going use the first day of spring as an opportunity to refresh. And what better day? It's the time of growth and renewal and buds and all of that other positive stuff. (Not that things have been bad--not even close. I just think this time of year calls for a little revitalization after winter winds down).

So, what are my spring resolutions? #1 is run--I know this has been an intermittent theme throughout this entire blog where I say I'm going to run and I miss it so much and it makes me feel great...but there is little to no follow through. But I resolve to run! #2, and this is somewhat minor, but do a deep clean of my closet. It's going to be a combo of Marie Kondo-ing and also facing reality that things, including my body, change and I should get rid of things that don't fit. It's a process, and I'm ready to face it.

Happy spring!

I'm optimistic and ready (for now).

a mezcal cocktail while waiting for takeout at The Honey Paw.

$3 slice of pizza at Bonobo.

a desperate attempt to channel spring with flowering branches.

Hello! I'm back after finally getting over a rather ridiculous respiratory infection. I don't usually get sick, but when I do, I get sick hard.

This weekend was low-key, but very productive. On my way home from work on Friday I stopped by The Honey Paw for cocktails and takeout. I had their lime, chili, coconut wings while I waited (they had just won best wings in Portland and did not disappoint) and then I brought home lobster toast and pork and crab mee goreng, which was delish and super flavorful.

On Saturday Olive and I went for a very long walk. She's very particular about where we go and doesn't like things to be cut short--the end result is usually me picking her up and carrying her for a bit to stop a very stubborn standoff. It was good to be in the fresh air despite the cold. I did some laundry and stopped by Bonobo in between loads for $3 pizza and a $7 beer--I might have to make it a regular thing. I also finished Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup (about Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes) and it was insane--highly recommend.

Sunday started with Trader Joes, then Pure Barre, and I finally did my application to get my law license in Maine.

It was all in all a successful weekend, and now I'm bracing for snow. I can't wait for clean sidewalks sans ice and sand and salt.

Mixing things up with a Martini Monday.

The most delicious bibimbap bowl during a work lunch (half eaten because I have no self control).

View during my (walking) commute home.