Poco-Cocoa

Today I really meant to start packing for the big move. However, I really needed to go to Jo’s Chili Cookoff to support my F&D team! Ned and Joel cooked up venison chili with garam masala.

Twas quite delicious. I decided to have a beer to celebrate the occasion. I’m not really a beer drinker, so I sipped a bit and tossed the rest. But I felt really cool holding a beer.

Afterward I did some shopping (for the love of all that is holy, keep me away from Anthropologie already), and then J and I headed to Olive & June for some patio time. We had cocktails and snacks.

I have to say, those legs in the background were quite distracting. They were paired with super short shorts, 4-inch plus platform heels, and a crazy mane of hair. I was so excited to see what her date looked like – turned out she was meeting a friend. Do you dress like that to meet a girlfriend for happy hour? Maybe I’m doing it wrong. 🙂

So seriously, TOMORROW I will start packing. Really.♥

So we’re moving. Our lovely rental home is up for sale, and rather than wait to see whether the new owner will renew our lease, we decided to find a new home. And we did!

We’re moving to a cute little apartment in the same neighborhood, with a super-tiny kitchen and walk-in closets, and most importantly, A SWIMMING POOL. I am SO excited about this.

I will miss having enough space to host parties, and our sunlit bedroom, and our large in-home office, and my beautiful, airy kitchen. But I am excited to pare down to just the things that we love, and to replace old and broken things with good quality new things. We’ll be purging clothes and dishes, bags of who-knows-what from the freezer, old spices and empty frames, and all the little junk we have somehow seemed to hoard in this big space.

So goodbye, big kitchen. Goodbye, big spice rack. Goodbye, microwave cart and too many dishes and extra coffee cups. And hello, smaller, simpler life!

I am hoping that our new tiny kitchen will encourage a simpler cooking style, which I am slowly learning from my friend Kate. I mean, a simple egg salad sandwich and rum punch poolside sounds fantastic, don’t you think?♥

This morning there was ice. Maybe a bit of snow. Austin slowed to a stop, because we are unprepared for any weather other than hot.

Roux was unfazed by it all. He sat on my phone, as usual. I think he’s trying to hatch something.

I had chai with a bit of milk and read from a book or two.

Everyone was cozy and snuggly. Little took up her spot on J’s lap.

I decided maybe it was time to pick up my camera again. We’ll see.

We bought ballet shoes and tuna melts. We remembered old movies and moments from our honeymoon. I had dinner with girlfriends and celebrated birthdays (all turned 29, of course). There was bubbly and rosé, moscato de asti and margaritas at home.

I’d say it was a very good Friday. I’m so happy to know that Saturday and Sunday are yet to come.♥