Day 10: Tomato & Basil Pasta

We've been craving pasta lately, probably because we've been watching too many cooking shows on Netflix (hello Chef's Table), so we decided to just go for it and make some for ourselves tonight.

We wanted something light and fresh tasting, something that would go well with red wine and French Cafe Radio on Pandora because you know our feelings about getting the mood just right to enjoy a good meal. We weren't sure what we wanted to make, but we knew we had a tomato we needed to use up, so we started there.

Thomas' mom grows basil so we picked up some from her house and thus, dinner tonight was born. To be honest, we didn't measure anything and just kind of through it together, but here is a similar recipe to what we made tonight.  Here's the breakdown:

Ingredients:

• Pasta of your choice (we used whole wheat)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved (we used 2 whole tomatoes, diced)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• About 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, shaved (we didn't use this but it sounds delish)

Instructions:

• Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain; place pasta in a large bowl.
• While pasta cooks, heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
• Add garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.
• Add tomatoes and salt; cover and cook 4 minutes.
• Remove from heat; stir in basil and pepper.
• Add tomato mixture to pasta; toss well to combine.
• Top with cheese (optional)

It took 15 minutes to make and filled us up for the whole night. Something about fresh ingredients, French music, a glass of wine, and summer nights after it just rained makes us nostalgic for a place we've never been before. Maybe Italy. Do you know what we mean? At the same time, it makes us appreciate being home and gives us that comforting feeling of being completely content in the moment. 

We hope you've had a good weekend. Here's to starting the new week off right!

xx

Day 9: Getting Our Hands Dirty

PJ still isn't feeling that well, so we didn't really do much yesterday but work around the house and sort paperwork.

But, we did manage to drag ourselves out of the house for a little bit and head over to Thomas' mom's house to drop off a piece of furniture. While we were there she asked us to help her pot a few plants she had been meaning to do for a while now. If you know PJ, you know his feelings about plants and potting and how he's completely in his element when he's getting his hands dirty. He grew up on a farm and was always planting trees and flowers all over the place. His parents didn't mind, so he was able to stretch his creativity as far as he could. Now, any opportunity he has to work with plants he takes it and runs with it, which worked out well for Thomas' mom.

Sometimes it just feels good to get your hands in the dirt and get them a little dirty doesn't it? It can be therapeutic in a way that a lot of other things can't, and most of the time, it's completely free!

Also, we came home later that night to find this scene. Love that they all get along so well because it could have gone the complete opposite way. 

Hope you had a good Saturday! xx

Day 8: TGIF

We found a lot of beauty in our Friday, y'all.

The morning was slow, just the way we like it. There was some reading, coffee, dog walking and plenty of podcasts to listen to thanks to all of your recommendations!

We went to take photos of a house PJ is listing which happened to be close to our land, so we took a quick trip out there to walk around. We can't explain the feeling we get when we're there. It's like a whole other world to us. So free and open and it's like anything is possible out there. We can't wait to show you our plans for it.

Back home, Alyster was being ridiculously cute (excuse him) all day and we couldn't stop taking pictures. He was extremely cuddly and was giving PJ little baby kitten kisses because he could probably tell PJ hasn't been feeling too well the past couple of days. We're not sure what it is. Maybe a cold? He's been to the doctor twice and got some antibiotics to hopefully help.

Then we had a mini photo shoot with Alyster. Without him knowing because he was asleep. We don't think he would mind, though.

We are so obsessed with this cat, y'all (like you couldn't tell). 

Later that night we did what anyone would do on a stormy night that called for a possibilities of tornadoes: order takeout, drink some wine, and finally start Damages. Luckily, there weren't any tornadoes in our area, just lots of rain and wind that knocked a tree down in front of our neighbor's house, but everything else seems to be fine.

So there was a lot to be thankful for on our Friday and we want to remember each one. Hope you had a good start to the weekend, too. 

xx

Day 7: Cozy Rain Storm

Suddenly this blog has turned into nothing but pictures of our bedroom. Totally unintentional. And we apologize.

But last night after we got home, and once we settled in, it started raining, no, pouring, like it hadn't rained in months or something. It came out of nowhere but we welcomed it with open arms. If you've been following us for a while, you know that dark, rainy weather is our favorite, especially if we're home with  nowhere to be. 

Alyster seemed to be loving it too.

Maybe it has to do with that feeling of home we're always talking about. You know, the safe, warm feeling you get when you're relaxing with your love, or baking cookies in the fall, or drinking your morning coffee on the couch. It's that overwhelming sense of feeling completely content in your space, regardless of what's going on outside your four walls.. 

Do you know what we mean?

Day 6: Podcasts

Do you listen to podcasts?

We've been getting into them a lot over the last year and have since become obsessed. We started with true crime ones, the obvious and popular options like Serial, S*Town, and Up & Vanished. Then we expanded our horizon and started listening to different ones that discuss topics like politics, relationships, and well-being.

There's something about the thousands of different options available out there that is both appealing and overwhelming to think about. We all have so much knowledge at our fingertips and we're can learn so much by just listening. The best part is, they have podcasts for literally EVERYTHING. Design, cooking, relationship advice, politics, pop culture, you name it. They've got it.

We like to listen to them the most when we're driving on long road trips. Last night we listened to a new one, The Wilderness, while running around the neighborhood just as the sun was going down and it was the perfect end to the day. We find them almost therapeutic at times. Do you have something like that?

So, here are the podcasts we're currently listening to, in case you'd like to know:

• The Wilderness- a brand new political podcast from President Obama's former speech writer Jon Favreau all about the Democratic party, from the history of it to how we can fix it going forward. Currently obsessed with this one.

• Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness- If you love Jonathan on Queer Eye, you're going to love his thoughtful and hilarious podcast, where he interviews someone new each week on a topic he's curious about that's equal parts informative and funny.

• Keep It!- Our favorite podcast right now and the reason we look forward to Wednesday mornings each week. Ira, Kara, and Louis discuss the week's pressing topics from pop culture to politics and everything in between. They're absolutely hilarious and make a lot of good points. Definitely one you'll become obsessed with.

• The Goop Podcast- You may or may not have heard of Goop, Gwyneth Paltrow's lifestyle website that people either love or hate. Her podcast is more or less a reflection of that, and is mainly aimed at women, though we enjoy the ones that discuss health and well-being. You should check out the most recent episode where GP interviews Janet Mock about growing up as trans and becoming a role model. 

• OnBeing- A very popular and long-running podcast. We love going through the archives and listening to old episodes (it's been on FOREVER) because there's something for just about everyone here. Host Krista Tippett is always so prepared when she interviews her guests and always so invested in what they're saying. Also, her voice is like velvet, so if anything you should listen because it's the most comforting and thoughtful sound ever. We're not kidding.

• Fresh Air- a political podcast from NPR that's worth listening to to stay up to date on politics and what's happening around the world. 

• Relationships, Sex, Dating and Marriage Advice- To be honest we've only listened to one of these and it's so eye opening. If you're going to start with this one, listen to the January 31st episode called "I'm Right, And You're Wrong". AHHH cannot recommend this one enough!

• Stuff You Should Know- Literally about random stuff that they think you should know about. The one we're currently listening to? How Twinkies work. What a time to be alive!

What podcasts are you listening to? We would love to add some new ones to the list! 

Day 5: Letters

We went to our PO Box today and opened it to find FOUR letters from you guys!

You don't know how much it makes our day to hear from y'all and to learn your backgrounds and read where you came from, your struggles and triumphs and what you've gone through. And not just the rough, hard to talk about stuff, but also the good stuff. How you and your significant other are doing, the things that make y'all happy, invitations to your special events. 

We don't say it enough, but it means the world that you're here with us. When we started our Instagram account a few years ago, it was mostly about renovating our 1950's ranch house we had just moved into, along with some pictures of us documenting our relationship so we had something fun to look back on in the future. Then, once we started talking to you and meeting new friends on the app, to us it became more about community, about meeting people who know what it's like to feel different than all of your friends growing up, or feeling like you can't be your true self because you're from a small, southern town and other people there just wouldn't get it.

The point is, we're so grateful to be able to connect with people all over the world who are like us, but also who are different from us. It's a beautiful learning and we're so much better because of y'all. We hope to meet and connect with even more people in the future, but for now, we hope you've had a wonderful Tuesday. We'll see you back here tomorrow night!

xx

Day 4: Instagram vs. Real Life

It’s thundering and pouring down rain outside right now which is our best night ever but we thought the below was pretty funny. Do you know what movie the first picture is from? Hint: we get a lot of inspo from her movies and this one is one of our favorites!

The bottom photo is our room and the top is from It’s Complicated, one of our favorite movies by Nancy Meyers and stars Meryl Streep & Alec Baldwin. Have you seen it? Like all of Nancy Meyers’ films, it’s filled with gorgeous, creamy white interiors and a storyline that always works out in the end. Such a feel good movie. If nothing else, you should check it out for the set design!! 

We were joking today that the bedroom from the movie set is what it would look like on Instagram, all done up and staged to perfection, while our room is more what real life looks like 😂. In all seriousness though, we’re completely happy with our bedroom at the moment and obviously the set design of that movie was a big inspiration for us, but it’s still fun to notice how similar they are, right down to the door placement (which wasn’t planned). 

Hope your day was well, friend. See you tomorrow xx.  

(Above photo via here)

Day 3: Floating Down the River

Okay we totally forgot to take a picture of what we actually did for day 3 of the challenger so here’s a picture of yesterday morning when the sun was pouring into the living room giving us all the grateful feels for a world where Sunday mornings look like this. 😊 Moving on.

It’s mid July and yesterday was the first time we’ve floated down the river all year. We’ve been meaning to go for a while, ever since we’ve had our land and since it’s been warm enough, but we’ve been traveling so much the last two months that we haven’t made time to go. So, we ordered some tubes online, blew them up, packed a cooler, and headed out to the land with Thomas’ mom and our friend Golden to finally take advantage of the river that we live so close to. 

 We loaded up two cars and drove one to our land and parked it, and then drove a little ways up the river to the “put in” spot and parked the other car. All four of us connected our tubes together and just floated down the river and it was so relaxing. The water was freezing but the weather was hot and it had us wondering what took us so long do to this?! Why hadn’t we made time to just spend time in nature and enjoy each other’s company? One of the things we promised ourselves that we were going to do now that we’re home for a while is spend more time with friends and family so yesterday felt good. It just felt right. 

If you haven’t spent some time in nature recently, highly recommend doing so, though preferably somewhere near water, especially if it’s as hot where you are as it is here. It was neat to be able to just get out at our land (since it’s on the river) and dry off and head home. Can’t wait to get the cottages and venue up and running so we can spend more time out there!

Anyway, that’s all for today. Hope you were able to find the beauty in your day, too. xx