Faith in Humanity

The park 2 blocks from our house has been closed and under construction for quite some time as part of a parks levy that passed a couple of years ago. The new park will encompass our old park as well as the enormous water reservoir next door that the city has spent the last 2 years covering and turning into a 16 acre park. To recap - we will soon have a 16 acre park 2 blocks from our house! Before having a kid, this news would have been only medium exciting, but now it's like we live 2 blocks from endless entertainment.

I loved the park to begin with, for it's convenience as much as it's old time-y play equipment. But after months of being closed, the play area portion of the park re-opened this weekend. Since opening on Saturday, we've been 4 times already and it's rocking Edie's world. The other thing it's doing is restoring my faith in humanity. Everyone in the neighborhood has been anticipating this park opening for so long - we've been watching the construction together for weeks and weeks, chatting about it with strangers in line for coffee at the neighborhood coffee shops, pausing with other families to look at the progress from behind the chain-link fence... And now it's open! And the neighborhood is ecstatic.

Every time we go, the playground is full with families and everyone is so happy that Spring is here, we aren't cooped up in our houses any longer, and I think we all feel giddy with the luck of having such an amazing park in what is suddenly an up-and-coming little neighborhood in the city. There is a zip line that is probably the best part of the park and waiting in line for this feature turns into an opportunity for the parents to chat and suddenly it's like I know everyone in the neighborhood and we are all out, flinging our children down the zip line, running them back up to the line, holding the seat so the next parent can lift their kid onto the ride and it all just feels so fabulously old fashioned. Something about the newness and excitement of this park has made us all open up and chat with the people who share our community. I can't wait for the reservoir portion of the park to open this Fall. I feel like we've pretty much secured Edie's birthday party location for the next several  years.

These photos don't do it justice and I couldn't photograph the zip line this trip because Jeff wasn't there and I was too busy giving her a running start push down the line and squealing as she zipped to the bottom without letting go to also hold a camera. I'll try for better photos next time. In the meantime: any of yous parents reading this - let's plan a Maple Leaf Park playdate asap.

Moules

Pretty much any time Moules Frites are on a restaurant menu, I order them. I fell in love with this combo of buttery, winey, garlicky mussels and French fries in France with Jeff in 1999. Usually I'm disappointed when I order it now. Either the mussels are too big and chewy or the broth is mediocre. But a few weeks ago our neighbors invited us to a dinner on their deck and our other neighbors made mussels (with buttery toasty bread) and they were AMAZING. The combination of the last-minute invitation, no expectations, warm weather and neighborly vibe made it a lovely surprise night for us. We hung out, watched all the kids play in the yard, drank crisp white wine and enjoyed the early spring sun. Plus! There was a fabulous cheese platter and bacon onion tart that I ate my weight in before the mussels were even served. And then after the kids went to bed, there were humongous chocolate milkshakes.
Since we contributed absolutely nothing to this lovely evening, I'm scheming to host a dinner of our own to thank our neighbors in June. What would you serve to a big group for a casual evening? Maybe we can do pizza on the BBQ?

Things We've Been Eating This Week

This is a boring post. True story. Sorry in advance, but I have no decent photos because I've been gone and I have no original thoughts except to freak out about my next event that I've been ignoring while focusing on the event last week. Rinse and repeat.

So I will tell you about some of the things I make for dinner at the Culver house. Specifically, the things I've made this week. I used to be a creative cook. We would eat something delicious in a restaurant and I would try to recreate it at home. Hours would be spent grocery shopping and prepping. But these days, I mostly hate cooking. Especially dinner. I get Edie home from daycare and it's 5:30. She is starving. I have no energy after a day at work with no time to plan a menu. I microwave something from Trader Joe's and viola! Dinner! I'm not proud. But on the days that I slave away on a new recipe, Edie inevitably hates it and Jeff gets stuck in a meeting and doesn't come home to eat with the family. Which means, I sit at our kitchen table looking at the giant mess I made, eating flank steak and thinking about how much worse it's going to taste for Jeff after he has to reheat it in the microwave and how I could have spent that hour and a half doing something like relaxing.

Part of the reason this seems like a decent post idea is because I'm hopeful that some of you will take pity on me and tell me what YOU make for dinner. And hopefully it will be something easy and good, something my kid will maybe eat. So, I'll show you mine if you show me yours!

Drum roll please....

Monday: Greek Chicken. This is in regular rotation at our house. Here's how it works:
Buy a bottle of Penzey's brand Greek Seasoning, don't cheap out with an alternative because Penzey's is the best thing ever. Liberally season chicken with the Greek Seasoning (skin on or off, bone in or out - doesn't matter) and squeeze some lemon juice on it. Brown one side in the skillet using olive oil. While doing this, roast some chopped bell peppers, onions and quartered new potatoes after tossing them in olive oil and a little Greek seasoning. Then add the browned chicken, raw side down, tucking the pieces into the veggies and cook for 10 more minutes. At the end, throw in some greek olives and crumbled feta.

Tuesday: Spaghetti Carbonara with roasted broccoli on the side. If you don't have/like broccoli, you can substitute a salad, zucchini or pretty much anything green for the broccoli and you've got dinner. This is a huge hit with the 3 year olds. I follow Tyler Florence's recipe (Link HERE) to a tee and it is super easy, fast and epic proportions are consumed by husband and child (and me). The other bonus is that I almost always have all of these ingredients on hand: spaghetti, egg, parmesan, garlic, olive oil and ham/bacon. Don't you just want to eat a big bowl of this carb fest:

Wednesday: Greek Chicken leftovers. I thinly slice the chicken and reheat it in the oven with the peppers and onions. Then I toast buttered pita/naan in the skillet, open a tub of tzatziki sauce and/or hummus and we have chicken gyros. In other words: Leftovers totally rebranded! And I haven't met a 3 year old that doesn't eat the crap out of buttered, toasted pita bread. Just don't buy those lame pita pockets that are dry and crumbly, buy the real bread kind that get soft and puffy in the skillet. If ambitous, you can also make a greek salad to go with this. My greek salads include chopped tomato, cucumber, green pepper, green onions and olives and feta. The only problem with this is that I love greek salad but Edie doesn't and Jeff only pretends to.

Thursday: Corn salad with Trader Joe's chicken and cheese tamales. Edie gave this dinner 2 sour creamy thumbs up. The tamales are from the freezer section and just get microwaved. Then I boiled 4 corn cobs, sliced off the kernels, added cherry tomato halves, chives, a whole avocado sliced up, half a can of black beans and some lime juice. Edie ate tons of the salad (minus the tomatoes which she haaaates) and ate half a tamale that she dipped in sour cream.

What are you making for dinner these days?

On Getting Older

When I was in my late 20's I used to like to make self deprecating comments about getting older. But now that I really AM getting older, it's not as funny. I look in the mirror and for the first time, I'm really startled by how quickly things are deteriorating. Oddly enough, my immediate response is to throw money at the problem - surely some sort of face mask or peel can bring back some sort of glow to my skin?

Also? I'm starting to have "old people problems". Like shooting back pain from bending over wrong. Or my personal favorite - how to moisturize my newly forming wrinkles without giving unneeded moisture to my adult acne.

It's ironic, because in so many ways I've never felt better. I feel like I'm in charge of my life. Like I'm really coming into my own with regard to career and motherhood. Sometimes I'm driving around, on my way to a meeting or something and I think, "I'm DOING it!" This stage of parenting was so intimidating before kids. I couldn't fathom teaching someone how to read, or navigating the preschool enrollment process. But here I am and here we are and I AM 34. I own my own company, we're moving into a light-filled office in two weeks, and I'm getting shit done on the daily.

But the price my face is paying is not a sale price. It is a little more like an Anthropologie-type price.

Unfortunately, I'm only JUST NOW (as in, today) understanding what my Mom said when I told her in my 20's that I hated my knees (she was trying to talk me into buying a skirt that ended above my knees). She said, "But at least they are YOUNG KNEES."

In the words of Nora Ephron:

“Oh, how I regret not having worn a bikini for the entire year I was twenty-six. If anyone young is reading this, go, right this minute, put on a bikini, and don't take it off until you're thirty-four.”

Shit! Even Nora Ephron knew that 34 is the year you get old. And FYI, I'm not interested in hearing from people over 50 who want to tell me that I'm still young. Thanks anyway though. Because this isn't actually meant to be a complaining post - it's a post to say that I've decided that before I'm SUPER DUPER old, I'm going to start wearing dresses that maybe, possibly show my knees. And also, I bought these cute tan, strappy wedges that are comfortable on my old feet but also make my legs look... less short. Which will perhaps make my knees look less like the knees of a fat baby. 

Sandi Bruton

A day late but...

My Mother:

1. Has the funniest and most enthusiastic laugh ever. It frequently starts with a shouting-like exclamation and almost always ends in a snort (or ten).

2. Drives all the way to Seattle every Monday to be with my kid for 5 hours before driving all the way home to Bellingham. I've tried to talk her out of this nonsense, but she won't have it.

3. I recently learned from my sister in law that she ALSO drives to Seattle every Thursday to take care of her other granddaughter. She never complains about the commute.

4. While driving me home from ballet carpool as a pre-teen, explained to me that 'love was love' and if you were lucky enough to find it, you should hold on tight and that no one should care whether the person you loved was a boy or girl.

5. Let me buy my own clothes in middle school and didn't laugh in my face when I came home with a peach and baby-blue gunny sack with a sailor neck and floral knotted bottom. She later told me she laughed behind closed doors, but I never knew.

6. Gave me the hard-core silent treatment for like 2 whole days when I graduated high school and didn't go to the church service that honored graduating seniors (I forgot it was that week). When they called my name to come to the front and pick up the ugly candle that had been made for each senior, my Mother was publicly shamed for having a heathen daughter. She threw the candle at me when she came home and found me lazing on the basement couch.

7. Can peel an apple in one curly stripe and makes a mean tuna casserole.

8. Was a tireless advocate for me growing up and always took the abuse I hurled at her.

9. Likes to send me photo texts of her in the mirror wearing different outfits for me to help her choose what to wear to different events.

10. Is a font of relationship knowledge that I never appreciated growing up. The more I learn about myself, the more I understand her and feel retroactively grateful for the childhood I had. After years of preaching our differences, I now feel lucky to be finding more and more similarities between us.

Show time

I'm leaving at 6am tomorrow morning for a week of work on the East Coast. Wish me luck!

I'll check back in next week when I return.

My Turn

A few weeks ago I dropped Edie and Penny off at ballet class and walked the 2 blocks to Top Pot Donut for a maple bar and Internet access when I noticed a beautiful Queen Anne home across the street announcing office space for lease. 

Today, Todd and I signed the lease. Tiller Events moves in June first.

Cue hyperventilating. 

It doesn't quite feel real yet, but it will soon. 

Our unit has windows (you can see three of them on the first floor in the front!), natural light, parking, old world charm, a friendly landlord, and donuts across the street! Aaaand a Molly Moon's ice cream next door to the donut shop. And a pizza shop next to that! And a Trader Joe's just down the street. Oh my god I just got super excited! And I haven't even said the best part --- my stupid cats won't be there trying to sit on my keyboard all day and send emails with their butts before I've finished typing them.

Seriously though, this is only slightly more impulsive than it seems. Tiller has saved the money, discussed the possibilities and toured other office spaces for rent. Todd is moving out of his house to live aboard a boat and needs office space regardless, so the timing felt right. I promise more photos when we move in!