This week we saw the Capitol Tree.

Posted on December 6, 2013 by Hannah

0098_Hannah and JamesThis week we walked to go see the Capitol Christmas Tree, the “People’s Tree.” It is decorated by the people, specifically the school children of Washington this year, covered in Gatorade bottles and tin pie plates turned ornament. Democracy at its finest.

I can’t stand in front of that tree without thinking about that night two years ago when I mistakenly thought James was going to propose there, when I stubbornly refused to leave that tree without a ring that wasn’t coming, and when I cried most of the cold walk back to my house and dramatically told my roommate that I was just going to have to break up with him because I couldn’t take the waiting any more. Now we can stand at the tree and look up and laugh as we remember.

Memories like that, funny memories, sad memories, happy memories, are all over this little corner of the city that we have called home for a couple years now. They mark the sidewalks and streets, the parks and gardens, the restaurants and coffee shops. As I walk through this city I pass through spaces made special, made familiar, made important, by the memories they hold.

Thanks DC, you’re a pretty great place to live and love.

0096_Hannah and JamesPS: These pictures are from our engagement by the wonderful Alumbra Photography. On a totally unrelated note, I got bold and whacked off some hair yesterday. I am now rocking some blunt bangs and new layers that have me feeling like a rockstar and have James feeling confused. I am also pumped for the Sing Off starting on Monday because one of my former students (the ones who sang at the wedding!) is competing and I am crazy excited to know a star. Oh, and our besties Stephen and Leslie, whose wedding James and I were in earlier this fall, just shared their wedding photos  and I wasted half of yesterday drooling over them. None of these things is really worthy of its own post so I’m just tacking them on here. Happy weekend.

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Making new, celebrating old.

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Hannah

“You know, humans are weird. I’m here, in a city, carrying a tree from outside, so I can take it inside. All because 2000 years ago, God was born. And the weirdest part of that is totally not me or the tree.”  – James

December-1December-7December-9December-4December-13December-12December-10December-14December-16 December-17 This week James and I went to pick up a little tree for our apartment. Despite the little size of our place, and of our tree stand, James kept trying to bring back a huge tree. Finally we settled for this one, a fat little tree that is just a little too big for our single strand of lights and meager collection of ornaments. The tree sellers in Eastern Market also let me collect a big bag of scraps that now cover the tops of all our shelves, intertwined with some festive red berries. It’s not exactly a Martha Stewart Christmas, but it’s cozy and we love it.

The funny thing about getting married and starting a new family is that you have to carve out new traditions. We can’t do things the way my family did, or the way James’ family did. Instead, we have to start our own things, have to figure out the way that we do things in this new family.  Holidays bring this making of newness to the forefront.

Last year we started some new Christmas traditions. On the day we get our tree, we bring it back and decorate the apartment. We play our favorite Christmas music and make gingerbread cookies (slice and back here — let’s not get crazy) and then drink hot cocoa and eggnog while watching Elf. We rewind at all our favorite parts, laugh, and then turn off all the apartment lights when it’s over, just so we can sit in the feeble glow of our fat little tree. It’s not much, and it’s nothing fancy, but it’s ours.

But it also has me thinking about what traditions we will put in place to protect Christmas, to keep it from being just fun movies and beautiful trees. The craziest thing about Christmas isn’t all the silly traditions we put in place, but it’s the fact that we have a reason to celebrate Christmas at all, that God became flesh and dwelt among us.

What are some of your Christmas traditions?

December-18

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This Thanksgiving.

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Hannah

vscocam1689 vscocam1709 vscocam1712vscocam1705 vscocam1719vscocam1722This Thanksgiving, we had 10 adults and 2 children in our apartment with no dishwasher and only one toilet, which is constantly in danger of breaking down.

This Thanksgiving, my mom and I pregammed by hitting outlet malls early and fortifying our stomachs with lots of kale salad.

This Thanksgiving, we celebrated Wednesday night so that we could head out of town for a wedding on Thursday.

This Thanksgiving, we pushed a card table against our regular one, sat on all sorts of assorted chairs, used two tablecloths to cover the multilevel table, skipped china and crystal, and used plastic silverware cleverly designed to look like silver.

This Thanksgiving, I made brussel sprouts so sub-par that we just quietly dumped them into the trash after dinner.

This Thanksgiving, the kitchen sink started spewing black sludgy water halfway through dinner, meaning that no dishes or cleaning could happen that night.

This Thanksgiving, James waited around for a unhappy plumber on Thursday after we all left and then spent two days doing all the dishes and cleaning up the visitor aftermath.

This Thanksgiving, we sat around and played games and didn’t leave the table for hours, partially because of food coma, and partially because there was no space in my apartment to move.

This Thanksgiving, like every Thanksgiving, I was reminded how abundantly full my life is, and how much I have to be thankful for.

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Alex & Alyssa

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Hannah

AlexandAlyssa-2 AlexandAlyssa-9 AlexandAlyssa-13 AlexandAlyssa-18AlexandAlyssa-40 AlexandAlyssablogAlexandAlyssa-43AlexandAlyssablog2AlexandAlyssa-51AlexandAlyssa-63 AlexandAlyssablog3AlexandAlyssa-95 AlexandAlyssa-97AlexandAlyssa-106 AlexandAlyssa-120 AlexandAlyssa-134AlexandAlyssablog4AlexandAlyssa-152 AlexandAlyssa-153Congratulations Alex and Alyssa!

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I am thankful that we have to eat.

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Hannah

littlethingsHappy Thanksgiving week! Dig out those fat jeans and start eating turkey and a variety of sweet foods that we call salad when they should be dessert.

I love November for so many reasons, and not only because it is the prettiest month ever. I also love how everyone gets so obsessed with being thankful during November. It’s like once a year we wake our privileged First World spoiled selves up, look around, and think, man, I have it good. People explode social media with thankfulness and blessing counting, and I love it. Like my friend Ashley said, “I‘m so thankful that everyone is so thankful! !hat a unifying human moment!”

I try to make thankfulness a regular thing around this blog, sharing with you the truly ordinary things that I am thankful. This week is no exception. I could tell you about how thankful I am for a sale at Old Navy on their ballet flats, because they are my absolute favorite and the most comfortable shoes ever. I could go on and on about how thankful I am for fall leaves, the beautiful colored houses in our neighborhood that leave me so happy, or the fact that I have finally found some salon recommendations to to cut this mangy head of hair that plagues me daily. I could talk about how thankful I am everyday that I married James, and not just because he cleaned the baseboards this weekend and let me watch all my stupid TV shows all Sunday afternoon without lecture or comment.

But what I am really feeling thankful for right now is food. And not just because it is delicious. I am thankful that we have to stop and eat, that our bodies force us to slow down and have a meal, and that this need often creates space and time where we can be with the ones we love. The real problem with food in our country is not that we eat too much, not that we are killing ourselves with gluten/hormone pumped meat/partially hyrdrogenated whatever, but that we have divorced food from community, from the role it is supposed to play in bringing us together.

I am thankful for brown butter dark chocolate cranberry cookies consumed with friends as we passed around their new baby on a cozy cold evening. I am so thankful for them that I made them again Sunday night, just to eat the dough while James and I cleaned our apartment. I am thankful for weekly lunches with old friends who are expecting new life, and for lunches after church on Sundays where we laugh over chips and queso or pizza. I am thankful for long dinners where you don’t want to break the spell and leave the table. I am thankful for pomegranate kale salad eaten with former roomies where we can catch up and touch base in this crazy busy world. I am thankful for those nights where you eat pizza on the couch straight from the box so that you don’t have to waste time doing dishes. I am thankful that we have to stop and eat, and that we get to stop and be together.

This Thanksgiving, let’s remember that. The point is not to wow everyone we know with the food we serve, but to gather around whatever food there is and be together. To those of you who buy the pies so you have more time to spend together, you’re amazing. To those of you who serve store bought rolls so you don’t have a melt down when the homemade ones didn’t rise, you’re so smart. To those of you who are letting the food be the thing that brings you together, rather than making you run faster and farther apart, you’re doing it right.

As for me, I have a confession: we will be using plastic silverware. Yep, I know, Martha Stewart would kill me. She isn’t invited. There will be 12 people at our place for Thanksgiving dinner (yeah, check out the picture of our living room to appreciate this) and we have no dishwasher. We want to be together, not doing dishes till midnight.

What are you all doing for Thanksgiving?

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Out-takes: Christmas card edition

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Hannah

“James, we need to get some pictures for our Christmas card.”

“Aggggg — are we going to be those people who send cards every year?”

“Obviously, yes.”

“Can’t we just use another wedding photo? We have so many.”

“Absolutely not. We didn’t get married this year!”

“Can’t you just photoshop me in?”

“Nope.”

“Does my face have to show?”

“Yes. But we can dress in costumes!”

“Absolutely not.”

And then I had my brother snap some pics of us when he was here last weekend. It was pre-coffee for James and pre-breakfast for me, so needless to say, there were MANY out-takes that won’t be making this year’s card, like the failed jump shots, the ones where I am being bossy and giving instructions, the ones that could double as our angsty covers for our couple musical duo that will never happen, ones where it looks like we are choking each other, and the ones that are just bad — all  classic James and Hannah out-takes.November-14 November-21 outtakesNovember-40

According to Real Simple, my authority on everything, you should just skip the holiday card or traditional Christmas family newsletter, as it is outdated and time consuming. I just can’t accept that. I love getting Christmas cards and letters, actual physical ones that I can pour over and then hang on the fridge. Last year I just used some of our wedding photos on a post-card, but this year I am looking into some other card options. I love these from Suzie Stationery, where you get a customized image that you can reprint from wherever. This one and this one from Etsy are a similar idea and I like the verses. I also like a lot of the styles from Minted, but they are a little pricier than I want to spend. A friend just had some done by Tiny Prints that were adorable, but then I occasionally consider just designing our own again, maybe doing some cool hand lettering using my new SigNote app (Thanks Mary Beth for sharing! I’m obsessed).

What about you, are you sending Christmas cards this year? Where are you getting them? Give me all your tips!

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Temporary Permanence.

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Hannah

November-49November-45 November-48November-50November-51 November-53November-56November-57November-52November-58 November-59 November-60 November-61 November-62 November-64This past weekend we had family and friends in town and I love the comfortable joy of sharing our home with the people we love. By home, I mean our little apartment, but also our neighborhood with all its weekend joys. My older brother and his girlfriend came up from Charlottesville and we succeeded in cramming in all the very best things to eat in a span of 12 hours. We had dinner at Founding Farmers (seriously people, it’s the best — and way better for dinner than breakfast… maybe the only time you’ll hear me say that), and then hit Ted’s for breakfast the next morning. There was also a little pregaming at the hot donut stand in Eastern Market. We wandered the stands of the flea market, browsing old prints, contemplating cool furniture that would never fit in our apartment, and taking in the colorful fall foods, meeting up with old friends who were passing through. The rest of the weekend had a lot of homework and grading, some cleaning and laundry, but we also managed to squeeze in a Sunday night dinner with friends and a chance to see Gravity, from which I am still recovering.

I just can’t stop feeling so blessed.

Blessed that one brother lives less than three hours away and the other only two metro stops.

Blessed that we can count so many good friends in out life.

Blessed to be enjoying this beautiful season.

Blessed to live in this city, in this neighborhood, on this narrow street, in this little second floor apartment with creaky plumbing and drafty windows.

It was always supposed to be temporary, this living in DC thing. I came to get my MA, James was going to work here for a couple years, and then… then life. We always just assumed, we still assume, that we would obviously move back to somewhere with yards and garages by the time we want to have kids and buy a house. Because seriously, can you even do that in a city? Yes, that’s our country selves talking.  It’s not that we are having kids or buying a house anytime soon. But sometimes, sometimes I can’t help but think of how non-temporary life feels here, how wonderfully anchored we feel in our little corner of the city, in our little apartment, in our little group of beloved friends and our not-so little circle of beloved brunch spots. Sometimes, this place feels like it could be the perfect spot for a forever home. That both scares me, and warms my soul, both seems impossible and feels like it could be an option. And that, that makes me feel beyond blessed. November-34

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Spiced Chili

Posted on November 15, 2013 by Hannah

Chili-8

Confession #1: I hate concerts.

Obviously I don’t mean all concerts. Here, for instance, I have compiled a list of the 6 concerts that could tempt me to go:

  • Celine Dion/ Josh Groban, because they are the same person in two genders
  • Beyoncé
  • U2
  • A compilation of country musicians singing exclusively patriotic ballads or break up songs.
  • NOW 2000 turned into a concert
  • A capella ensembles covering pop songs

So yes, I just mean that I hate most concerts. I realize this is ultimately a personality flaw, something that makes me decidedly less cool than my hipster concert going counterpoints. I used to pretend, to put on lipgloss and pretend to be psyched as Mindy Kaling would say, but I’m over that now. I just don’t like concerts. I would pick any dinner party, any TV marathon, any ballet or opera or musical  or quiet night at home in pjs drinking herbal tea over a concert. Sorry y’all, this isn’t one of those cool blogs where I go to indie concerts and wear ironic t-shirts.

But back when I tried to hide this distaste, I went to a giant Christian music festival near our house every year. And I enjoyed it all — except the concerts. The funnel cakes, the wearing t-shirts advertising free hugs (because yes, that was a Thing), the card games in camp sites — I loved it all. Luckily for me, almost every year I was in high school the festival was plagued by terrible weather. Horrible storms would inevitably drive even the most diehard concert goers from the grounds to my parent’s house where we would sit cozy by the fire and have good conversation. Basically, I won. chili9

And one time, my mom made chili for us poor concert refugees. Perfect, spicy, non-fancy, hearty, tomato-y chili. The type that warms the body and the soul and can be made with the ingredients that you always keep on hand.

Confession #2: We turned on the heat this week. We wanted to make it till Thanksgiving, but after James tried sleeping in the giant gloves he would wear when he worked in an ice  cream factory, we decided to cave.  In the weeks leading up to this decision, we just made lots and lots of chili. James got sick a couple weeks ago and wanted chili, and I, having never made it before, just threw things in the pot until it tasted like my mom’s does, capable of driving away cold winds and grey days. Chili-4 Chili-6

Chances are good that a lot of you had to cave and turn on the heat too this week, had to dig the wool socks and hats out of hibernation. This is a chili for that. Some of you might have even seen snow flurries, might have had the first hope of a snow day. This is a chili for that. A simple chili with nothing fancy, but still accentuated with a couple dashes of those cozy fall spices. A hearty chili, one that can be a meal all itself. An easy chili, one that can be assembled quickly and then just grows better the longer that leftovers sit in the fridge. A comfort chili, one that everyone will turn to at some point between now and spring. Chili-1

Spiced Chili

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • diced garlic cloves
  • 1 can tomato sauce
  • 1 can Rotel tomatoes
  • 1 can red kidney beans, rinsed
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • 1 dried chipotle pepper, diced
  • chili powder
  • cumin
  • cinnamon
  • Cook and drain beef.
  1. Sauté onions and garlic cloves until soft. Use as many garlic cloves as you want… I toss in about a tablespoon of the canned ones.
  2. Add meat and spices.  How much you add is really up to you. I do about 1 tablespoon of each, but you can tweak as needed. Cook 5 minutes.
  3. Add tomatoes, sauce, beans, stock and simmer for 20 minutes.
  4. Serve with sour cream, cheese, cornbread, etc.

Chili-7

Note: In the pictures above I was doubling the recipe. 

What are some of your favorite cold weather comfort foods?

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November.

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Hannah

November-4If you were around the Internet much last month, you were probably slammed with October love. Everyone was loving on not just fall as a season, but October as the embodiment of that season. Everyone suddenly started quoting Anne of Green Gables and gushing about how lucky we are to live in a world where there are Octobers. (Resisting urge to turn this into a post all about how you can’t trust Internet quotes taken out of context. I can find no actual citation for the quote “attributed” to Camus about fall being a second spring where every leaf is a flower.* Even if he did say that, it was probably sandwiched in between things no one wants superimposed on a pretty photo about the meaninglessness of life. And that Hamlet quote about love that supposedly exists? False. Let’s go back to finding quotes in books, rather than the internet, deal?)

Confession: October is kind of a lame tease, and I am so thankful to live in a world where October mercifully gives way to November.
November-6November-8Every year I, like the rest of the world, get prematurely excited about fall. September 1st rolls around and I am putting pumpkin in everything and throwing back seasonal Starbucks beverages at an alarming rate. I too am guilty of Instagramming every read leaf I saw during those September weeks.

And then October comes, and we all act like fall comes with it.November-5Maybe it does… in places other than where I live. Because in DC, and in a lot of other places, October is just a fickle tease, where the leaves hover a greenish yellow, and the temperature waffles between hot, and just cool enough to make you think you can wear a scarf and sweater and then you sweat all day long and have to dry-clean pit stains. Every year we think October means committed fall, but it just doesn’t. We can’t count on October. And premature season excitement leads to Starbucks Christmas cups before we even get through Halloween. I think we can all agree on the tragedy in that.November-7November-9 But November? November can be trusted. November blows in with cold drizzles, grey days, and carpets of colorful leaves on every sidewalk. November brings chilly nights and golden late afternoons. November is Thanksgiving and cornucopias and pilgrims. November is committed to being fall, and I love it for that. November-10 November-11 Last week I went for a run and couldn’t get over all the beautiful leaves carpeting our neighborhood. I grabbed my camera and headed back out for some pictures…
November-12… but then I decided that wasn’t enough and I spent an eternity gathering leaves of every hue to drag back to our apartment and arrange on my table.photo-1Totally an excellent use of my time.

Thanks November, for kicking October to the curb.

*Update: A French lit studying friend succeeded in finding the reference that has become that quote. In the second act of Le Malentendu, a character asks another what fall is and the response is “Another spring where all the leaves are like flowers.” While this quote is in one of the few positive passages, the optimistic character who says it is soon killed by his sister. Because this is Camus, and that’s how he rolls. 

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The things that are ours to do.

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Hannah

novemberweekendleavesFall2013-36Fall2013-38 Fall2013-39 Fall2013-40donutsFall2013-42 Fall2013-48 Fall2013-52 Fall2013-53If a weekend could encapsulate all that is good about fall, it would be this past weekend.

We spent lots of time with friends, and the chilly fall weather meant that we sat inside around the table longer than necessary, something you don’t do when it stays light later and summer evenings call. Saturday morning I convinced James to come with me for The Best Breakfast Sandwich in DC (in my opinion) at Batter Bowl Bakery. Seriously people — come to DC and eat this sandwich. There is absolutely nothing special about it in terms of ingredients, but it is so tasty. I’m pretty sure the croissant is made entirely of butter. Walking back I had to stop and throw leaves in the air because I’m just not strong enough to resist acting like a child during fall.

That night we hosted the 3rd Annual Donut Night. Y’all know how I feel about donuts. We first made donuts during my first fall in DC and now it has expanded into one of my favorite fall evenings, full of good friends, hot cider, and more Canola oil than should be allowed. This year we made the original pumpkin donuts and we added some apple cider ones. I managed not to start a grease fire and everyone got to squeeze Susannah and Josue’s fresh baby girl Elise. She’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen, even if James was a baby hog and she liked him better than me. Let’s be real though, he looked so precious holding that little squishy baby that I wasn’t really ripping her from his arms. We also made way too many donuts… if that’s even possible. I am a little distressed that the FDA is discussing banning trans fat, because it basically held together my weekend and I don’t know what I’ll do without it, other than live healthier.

We finished our weekend with a bloomin’ onion  after church (I know..I was so bad this weekend and promise to eat kale all week), and an engagement shoot around Eastern Market. Last night, James and I made homemade pizza (I promise there were veggies!) and sat transfixed watching Olympus Has Fallen. Did anyone else notice that it was like every season of 24 rolled into one film? Did I care? Nope.

But what made this a great weekend, not just a good one, was that in between all the really unhealthy eating and fun, I managed to get a lot of work done. Saturday was productive enough to make Sunday really restful. And aren’t weekends where you work hard more gratifying than ones where you just laze around? I mean, I love lazing around, but we weren’t meant for just lazing. We were meant to do well what is ours to do. Sometimes that means fun things like long dinners with friends, laughing and enjoying fall, exploring our city, and deep frying way too many donuts. But other times it means writing midterm papers, grading tests, and laundry. These things are mine to do. And this weekend, enough of both types happened around here.

I hope you all had wonderful November weekends, full of all the best things.

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