I love that the last day of November blogging coincides with my cancerversary – it’s a great reminder of how thankful I am for the doctors and nurses – thank god for nurses! – at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
I woke up feeling grateful today, and I sent an email to my oncologist, whom I have not had to see for 15 years. I included a photo of the two of us (below) and a thank you message. I know she likely doesn’t remember me – she helps thousands of women – but she replied (!) and was so happy to hear that I was healthy and well.
All smiles on my last oncology check-in, five years after my surgery. Sidenote: I LOVED that little peplum wool jacket I was wearing. And, I STILL WEAR THAT SCARF!
We often retell the story of the day of my surgery 20 years ago; in true fashion to our family, we had some laughs for sure. Mr. KK and I arrived early, I don’t even think the sun was up, to check in. An hour or so later, my friend and my parents and my future mother-in-law arrived, and we all hunkered down in the surgical waiting room. My mother whipped out a ziploc bag of brownies and we watched the morning talk shows. It was the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. I wouldn’t leave the hospital after my surgery for 6 days.
My surgery was long – about 5 hours; this was 20 years ago and it was incredibly invasive. (Now, the surgery is done laparoscopically with a much shorter in-hospital recovery time.) While the surgeon was performing surgery, she noticed that my appendix was not looking 100% so she took it out. Bonus appendectomy!
Me and Dr. Feltmate, an amazing human, doctor and surgeon.
When I came out of surgery, I was in recovery, and only 2 people were allowed to come in at a time. Mr. KK came in first. I was mostly out of it, complaining that my lips were chapped, going in and out of sleep. Next, my parents came in. Then Mr. KK came back. “Where’s your mom?” I asked him.
“She’s in the waiting room, she’ll be here soon. She’s just watching the end of Jeopardy!, it looks like Ken Jennings is going to win and be the winningest contestant on the show!”
WHAT?? Ken Jennings?? She was watching Ken Jennings? Immediately he became my nemesis! And this became the family joke, how my mother-in-law didn’t come see me right away because she had to watch Ken Jennings win Jeopardy! (Imagine the ridicule when he came back to host! The jokes never end.)
Thanks for reading along this month, and happy cancerversary to me!
Yesterday we dined on turkeys next to trees, our house having been fully decorated for Christmas (sans trees) for a week. And guess what? Everyone survived! You actually CAN have Thanksgiving dinner while your halls are decked and the mantel is glistening.
Every year I do a Thanksgiving recap in photos, so here goes:
Our “night before Thanksgiving” partying craziness has turned into putting the leaves in the dining room table, ironing a tablecloth and being in bed by 9:30pm.
Our one drink the night before Thanksgiving because “we have a lot to do tomorrow”. Me, at 5am, mentally preparing for the day.Super proud of my Turkuterie!Frying one of the turkeys in the rain!So very thankful for a delicious meal with family, and so much more.A house full of wiener dogs.
And I couldn’t resist this, since Mr. KK is NOTORIOUS for blowing leaves on Thanksgiving when we’re getting ready for guests to come:
Except this year it was raining, so he blew “pine needles” on Wednesday, and then spent Wednesday night washing and cleaning glasses and dishes that we were not going to use on Thanksgiving! Love you, sweetie!
And now, it’s Black Friday. Though according to retailers, it’s been Black Friday since November 12th. I’m sitting on the couch, covered in puppies and a blanket, enjoying tea and typing, while Little Mister sleeps like the almost-teenager he is.
It is officially the start of Christmas! We’re getting trees! We’re decorating those trees! We’re playing Christmas music! We’re shopping online! I can barely contain my excitement!
Monday I will be hit with reality as I board a plane for a work trip. Making the most of the start of the Christmas season as I can this weekend!
I was scrolling through my camera roll the other day looking for a specific photo, and I came across a photo I took of an Easter cake that make me laugh.
The cake:
After I laughed yet again at the photo, I thought about how jealous I am of people who organize their photos in albums so they don’t have to search 35,000 photos to try and find what they’re looking for. Whoever you are, you are #winning.
The further I scrolled, the more photos I saw that put a smile on my face. So I thought I’d share them with you here.
This is the dog poop that I stepped – and slid in – walking Bruno. See how it slides there? That’s my sneaker track. I was talking to Mr. KK on the phone and a little distracted, so I didn’t see the dog poop that was literally in the middle of the road that a dog owner didn’t bother to pick up. He heard my reaction to sliding in the poop (insert vulgarities here), so I had to snap a pic to send him so he could see the evidence.
This is Marty. (His real name). He’s our grocery store robot. On this particular day, he was dressed up like a chicken. Personally, I feel the robot is costume enough, but perhaps Marty was feeling a little frisky this day. Also? Marty is always in my effing way when I’m shopping.
Little Mister likes hot dogs, but I don’t make them for him very often. So I keep them in the freezer and use them periodically. This is how I defrost his hot dogs. Imagine if once the hot dog was out of the water, and the glass was accidentally left on the counter, someone mistakenly took a sip of hot dog water? Gross right. (Hypothetical question, I swear).
This photo tells the story of a morning after a party, and the glow necklace left behind as the evidence of a good time. The real story was that there was a type of creature (insect? I can’t remember) that was on the driveway and I put this necklace around it so no one would step on it. The next day, the creature was gone (a miracle!) and only the necklace remained.
Is there anything more disgusting than an airport bathroom? This particular stall looks like it should be submitted as evidence in a murder. WTF happened in this stall in the Charlotte airport? There was a struggle…with a toddler?
This card speaks for itself. It’s awesome.
This scene is from the movie Identity Thief, starring Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy (from 2013, I don’t see a lot of movies). I took this photo because I went to college with this guy in the movie, and had to send it to my college friends. Like, “WE KNOW HIM!” (Or at the very least, “WE GOT DRUNK WITH HIM!”)
Not funny, just a humble brag.
Me, voice texting to Google, “Skinnytaste Acini di Pepe soup”, and Google being funny.
And lastly, me. During senior week in college, where 10 girls stayed in a 3 bedroom house on the Cape. This outfit is how we went out. If college girls could see this now, they would have heart attacks. The chunky heel white sneakers (perhaps from Payless?). Shirt from The Gap. Cuffed jeans because I’m so short. Oh yeah, total babe.
Anyone is welcome to organize photos for me. Not sure where I’d put these…
This past April we took our second trip to Disney with Little Mister. Now that we had our first trip under our belts, we felt better prepared to take on Disney. We knew what we liked, didn’t need to do again, and what we had skipped the first time around. I planned park days, booked restaurants, researched, listened to podcasts, read blogs, drove Mr. KK crazy. And now I will share all that knowledge with you.
(everything here is my opinions only!)
Where to stay in Disney World
On our first trip, we stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, because Little Mister was – and still is – obsession with animals. We knew we were doing two park days at Animal Kingdom (1 park day too many) and that park is a 5 minute bus ride from the AK Lodge. Plus, the AK Lodge is a gorgeous hotel, with animals on the property. We saw giraffes out our balcony every single day. And the lobby has the most amazing scent. Walking in and taking a deep breath was luxurious after a day in the parks.
This trip, we opted to stay closer to the other parks. Our hotel requirements were this:
Great pool
Good location
Deluxe hotel
The deluxe hotel is well worth the money, if for no other reason than you’re staying on property and have early park entry, AND you are able to take advantage of extended nighttime park hours at the parks that have them available. More on that later.
We chose to stay at the Beach Club, which was a 5 minute walk to Epcot, the same 5 minutes to the Skyliner that could take you to Hollywood Studios, and other hotels, and a 20 minute walk to the Hollywood Studios (which is how we chose to get to that park). The location could not be more perfect. Highly recommend any of the hotels in that area (Beach Club, Yacht Club, Boardwalk).
Getting the Most out of your Disney World Trip
The most important thing you could do when planning a trip to Disney is to know your audience. Plan for your family, and your family only. There is so much to see and do, but not every attraction or park or restaurant or experience is for everyone.
Here’s what worked for us:
Plan your park days. Know which park you’re going to on which days so you can plan your restaurants
Plan your restaurants. If you don’t care where you eat, then you probably don’t have to do too much planning. But if there are restaurants you definitely want to hit, plan ahead and book them when you can (currently 60 days prior to your trip).
Take advantage of early entry. If you can get up early, DO IT. We did early entry every day at the park we were going it. Not everyone has this perk, and fewer people like to get up early. Getting to the park 45 minutes before early entry starts (that’s right, you can’t get there at the exact time early entry starts, but even earlier than that) means you can probably knock out 2-3 of the “big” rides before the park opens to the general public. Those extra 30 minutes in the morning can make a real difference.
Take advantage of extended park hours at night. Select parks will stay open late for Deluxe hotel guests on certain nights. During our trip, that was EPCOT and Magic Kingdom. This means that when the park closes at let’s say 10pm to the public, deluxe hotel guests can stay TWO EXTRA HOURS at the park. It was pretty magical walking through the deserted countries in EPCOT after the park closed on the way back to the hotel. And riding Big Thunder Mountain over and over and over again with no line in the dark was pretty cool, too.
The Birthday Button
Perhaps the best part of our trip was my Birthday Button.
When we checked into the hotel, guest services asked if we were celebrating anything. And since my big birthday was the week prior, I told them it was my birthday trip! And they gave me a green birthday button.
I pinned my button on my crossbody bag, and wore it every day. Disney cast members are trained well – when you see a green button you wish the person happy birthday. And that’s what happened…all week long. Mr. KK and Little Mister would get so worked up every time someone wished me a happy birthday. “It’s not even your birthday anymore!” Little Mister kept saying. But it didn’t matter. I had the birthday button and I was wearing the birthday button.
But the real pixie dust happened on our second to last day. It was our Magic Kingdom day, and we arrived really early for early entry morning. We were the first people at the gate in our line, and we chatted with the cast member until she could let us all in. We were the second family inside of the Magic Kingdom that day, and we speed walked over to the rope at Fantasy Land because we wanted to ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train first. We were so early that we were right up against the rope. We had our mickey shirts on and I was wearing my Minnie ears and – of course – my birthday button.
About 10 minutes before the park was going to open for us, a cast member approached us and said, “Each day we choose a family to be our family of the day and today we choose you!” He then took us under the rope and announced to the crowd of hundreds and hundreds of people that it was my birthday (THE BIRTHDAY BUTTON!) and had them all sing happy birthday to me. Little Mister was ready to DIE of embarrassment until they told us that we could be the first family to ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train all by ourselves!
What a dream come true! They took us into the ride, let us take pictures in front of the cottage, and then we got to choose our seats and ride all by ourselves! (True story: this was our first ride on our Magic Kingdom day and it was also our last on our way out of the park at midnight!)
Memorable Disney Moments
Every day I took a pic of my watch to see how far we had walked!
We saw so many characters!
Should I be jealous?
Just a girl and her giant turkey leg.
We are not big fireworks people, but this show was pretty cool.
I hate that that guy’s hat is in my photo! I lose too much photo if I try and crop it!
FACT: I will never grow tired of seeing giraffes.
This was a great second trip, and we got to do everything we wanted to do including riding TRON, Guardians, Everest, and Slinky Dog Dash (my personal favorite; and we got to ride it at night, and while we were on it we could see the fireworks from Hollywood Studios AND Magic Kingdom!). Until next time, Disney!
The comedian Jim Gaffigan does this bit where he talks about having 5 kids. He describes it as, “Imagine you’re drowning, and someone hands you a baby.”
I compare that to what it’s like adding a third dog to your home pack.
When we told people we were getting a puppy, most of them responded something like this:
US: “We’re getting a puppy!”
THEM: “Don’t you already have two dogs?”
US: “Yes!”
THEM: “You’re insane.”
It is quite possible they were correct.
Meet Lucy!
First, look at that face. How do you say no to that face?
Lucy is a rescue. She was brought to a shelter with her siblings when they were 1 day old – read that again, ONE DAY OLD – and were left there. The shelter bottle fed them until they were old enough to go to a foster home. Lucy was fostered with her 4 brothers for a few months before she was transported up north directly into our hearts.
Lucy is our first female doggy. She was only 6 pounds when we got here at 4 months old, but she’s thriving and growing big and strong and was 10 pounds at 5 months old. (Seems Lucy and I gain weight at the same rate.)
Lucy and Bruno at playtime. Bruno is literally smiling that he has a new playmate.
We were confident that Lucy’s two big brothers – Rocco and Bruno – would be good role models when it came to showing Lucy the ropes on how to behave like a good dog. That hasn’t exactly happened yet. Bruno likes to play with Lucy, mostly putting her entire head in his mouth and chewing on her leg like a chicken drumstick. Rocco can’t stand her, and constantly growls and tries to escape. Lucy is nothing if not persistent in geting Rocco to like her. She’s a stubborn one!
The first two months with a puppy
Three things are happening in the early days with a puppy:
You are (hopefully) house training the puppy. I’m talking fully house training, none of this “wee wee pad” stuff. That’s like training the puppy two times: once to go on the pads and once to stop going on the pads and going outside.
You are finding teeth everywhere. Puppy teeth just fall out – while they’re playing, when they start eating and also just when evert and hell they feel like it.
You are learning your puppy’s personality and cues. Lucy’s personality is – and I quote Ava Max – “Sweet But Psycho!”
But look at that face! It should be illegal to be this cute.
We were so very lucky that when we brought Lucy home, she slept through the night. She was just about 4 months old – so not a teeny tiny puppy – but still, having her sleep for a full 8 hours was magical. And she’s done it ever since.
Have our lives been turned upside down? Yes.
Do we forget all about that when she snuggles up under our chins and breaths that deep sign of comfort before falling asleep on us? Also yes.
People have been very vocal about how crazy we are having three dogs.
So I thought I’d answer some FAQs here for everyone.
Q: Is it hard potty training a puppy while you are working from home? A: Working from home makes it easier than if I were at an office, but it’s still very difficult.
Q: Do your three dogs all snuggle together and sleep curled up with each other like those dogs on Instagram? A. Not even close.
Q: Do your dogs all get along? A. Also, no. The big one plays with her and the smaller one can’t stand her.
Q: Where do your dogs sleep at night? A. Lucy sleeps in a crate next to our bed. The other two dogs go to sleep with Little Mister, but migrate to our bed in the middle of the night.
Q: Will you get yet another dog? A. NOPE. We’re happy with our little triumvirate.
I am a voracious reader. I am usually reading a book on my kindle and also listening to a different book on audible.
Lately I’ve been slacking in the reading department. But I did manage to read some good ones this year, as well as revisiting some favorites.
The Women and Summer Island by Kristin Hannah the women. Both books were good, but The Women really stood out
Swan Song by Elin Hildebrand. You know I love her, and this was her last Nantucket boom.
I also reread almost all of her novels including the St. John series, Castaways and The Rumor, Summer People, The Five Star Weekend, and The Matchmaker
Everything by Abby Jiminez
It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
The Summer Pact by Emily Giffin
The Guncle Abroad
Birdie and Harlow. This one got me, about the life of a pupper.
Second Chance Year by Melissa Weisner
We Are Experiencing A Slight Delay by Gary Janetti
For my birthday this year, Mr. KK and I indulged in a long weekend in Nantucket.
“The best gift you could give me is to let me plan this entire trip,” I told Mr. KK.
Nantucket had been on my bucket list of trips for a decade, mostly thanks to me reading (and re-reading, and listening to) Elin Hildebrand novels. From the pages of her books, I fell in love with the island of Nantucket, and I just knew I would feel right at home when I finally got there.
I planned this trip for almost a full year. And by this, I mean I researched, read blogs, followed restaurant Instagram accounts and referencing Elin’s “The Blue Book” she put together in her book The Hotel Nantucket.
Me and Elin Hildebrand at her book signing, just a few days before I headed to Nantucket!
Planning 3 Days in Nantucket
I planned our trip for the third week in June, before the summer crowds but when it was warm enough that we could have a beach day. My list of places I wanted to go, restaurants I wanted to eat at and things to see was so long, I may as well should have been planning a month-long sojourn.
The excitement I felt seeing that lighthouse from the ferry (after reading about it in so many books) was incredible. NOTE: Elin Hildebrand’s “Swan Song” in my bag!
The Best Hotel in Nantucket
If you’ve ever looked at hotels in Nantucket, you know that it can cost a small fortune for lodging. I knew we wanted to be close to town so we could walk everywhere, and while I was willing to splurge a bit, I wasn’t White Elephant splurging.
I booked a room at The Salt Hotel in June of 2023 for the following year. When I went to share the website with a friend, the website no longer existed and redirected to a hotel called The Brant. After a quick panic attack I found that the hotel was under new management and had a new name. And after a quick phone call I discovered that they did indeed have our room reservation for the following June. PHEW.
I cannot even begin to describe how amazing The Brant Hotel is. First, it’s an easy walk from the ferry (even dragging a rolling suitcase). Second, it’s an easy walk from the hotel to Jetties Beach. Third, it’s a quick walk to town. Basically, the location is perfect.
Everything was new. They had just built this gorgeous barn that served as a front desk/bar/breakfast/gathering place. Just the craftmanship of the building, and the attention to detail was pure Nantucket. They had copper gutters!
The Brant’s signature color was orange (my favorite!) so it felt like a perfect match! They had these cute bikes you could use, however I didn’t think riding around on cobblestone streets was the best way to reintroduce my body to a bike after 25 years.
We arrived around 10am from our ferry – way before check in time – and not only was our room ready, they upgraded us! The hotel wasn’t very busy, so we had the opportunity to spend a bit of time chatting with the staff and enjoying the beautiful quad area with lounge chairs, corn hole and fire pit.
After our stay, I noticed that The Brant started to get quite popular, even winning a Michelin Key! It is likely out of our price range now, but I’m so happy we had a chance to stay with them when they were just starting out. The staff was superb.
Day 1 in Nantucket
Because we arrived so early, we had a full day ahead of us. Once we were checked into the hotel, we changed into bathing suits and borrowed chairs from the hotel and walked the 3/4 of a mile down to Jetties Beach. It was a beautiful, sunny day, but a little windy.
We spent a few hours on the beach then headed up to The Sandbar for lunch. The Sandbar is the quintessential beach bar. I loved everything about this place – from the retro 1970s logo to the frosé to the amazing spicy swordfish sandwich. They had me at homemade potato chips. Seriously, I could have gone here every day of our trip. There is just something about hanging out in a cover up, skin salty from the sea air, sand on your feet, drinking the day away.
The drink menu at The Sandbar
Three cocktails and one t-shirt later, we were on our way back to the hotel to relax on the comfy lounge chairs. I think I even took a quick nap in the sun, it was glorious.
Dinner our first night was at the coveted Nautilus. We had eaten at the Nautilus in Boston, but knew we had to try and snag a table at the one in Nantucket. We luckily had an 8:30 reservation. Before dinner we did a little cocktail hopping, first at or, The Whale on their beautiful back patio. Then we scored two bar seats in the dark and cozy Pearl, where I had the most delicious martini called the Ooh Mami Tini, which was made with vodka, fine sherry, umami bitters, olive brine and blue cheese olives. FANTASTIC.
Our cocktails at The Pearl. Check out my fancy coupe glass for my martini.
We arrived at Nautilus starving, only to find they were running behind and our table wasn’t ready. We grabbed (another) drink while we waited, which turned out to be about 45 minutes (!) – did I mention how hungry we were?
Nautilus has one of those menus where everything sounds amazing, and you usually just start ordering and dishes just start appearing at the table. We ate many delicious things, but the stand out dish for us were the Romano beans. Sounds silly, but these beans were prepared in a sauce that was so tasty, here we are 5 months later and Mr. KK and still talk about them. They were that good. We ate them so fast we didn’t even get a picture of them! But I did get a photo of the blue crab fried rice, which was also delicious.
Day 2 in Nantucket
Well, Day 1 was pretty damn near perfect, it was going to be hard to top it on Day 2. We woke up to sunshine and blue skies, and still talking about those Romano beans (seriously, so delicious!). We grabbed a quick breakfast at the barn (did I mention that they offer a complimentary continental breakfast that is actually good?) and we hopped on a bus to ‘Sconset to do the Bluff Walk.
Nantucket has a pretty robust bus system that can take you all over the island that is free during the summer months. The ride out to ‘Sconset was about 30 minutes. From drop off it was a short walk over to the start of the Bluff Walk, which is a path that runs a few miles along the ocean and basically in the backyards of waterfront homes. You are literally walking behind houses and waving to people on their back porches. They are, of course, used to people all up in their privacy, as it comes with living along the bluff. We walked all the way to the Sankaty Head Lighthouse in the blazing sun, but it felt good exercising and working off those Romano beans and 27 cocktails.
Us, sweating along the Bluff Walk.
After we got back, showered and cooled off, we headed to Cisco Brewers. There’s a convenient free shuttle right from town that was a 5 minute walk from our hotel. If you go to Nantucket, a visit to Cisco is a must. The place has a vibe. If you don’t drink beer, there’s no need to worry, because they also have wine (and frosé!) and Triple 8 distillery with mixed cocktails. Plus, multiple food trucks. There is literally something for everyone. The place was jamming on a late Friday afternoon; the crowd was bachelorette parties, locals, Chads after their rounds of golf, tourists, couples, and everyone in between. We hadn’t eaten since breakfast, so once we secured our first drink (beer for Mr. KK and – you guessed it! – frosé for me), we shared a lobster roll from one of the food trucks. There was live music and OH MY GOODNESS the people watching. That was probably my favorite part.
That night, we had reservations at Dune (which I just now learned has permanently closed, which is so unfortunate because the food was delicious!). We were able to walk to dinner (again, GREAT hotel location) and we were ready to eat! We shared a few appetizers, and I ordered the chicken and Mr. KK ordered the pork tenderloin. Once again, everything was delicious, and the presentation was beautiful. We were seated inside, but it looked like the restaurant had a pretty lively patio as well.
Food coma!
Day 3 in Nantucket
We woke up excited for the day, but also with a little sadness that this was our last full day. We grabbed iced coffees in town and walked to breakfast at Island Kitchen, which was a decent walk to mid-island. We sat outside and enjoyed a few bloodies.
We also walked back to burn off our breakfast burrito and avocado toast, and then spent the day wandering the cobblestone streets, popping into stores, and being tourists. Mr. KK bought more souvenirs for himself on this trip than he has on every other trip we’ve gone on together over the last 25 years.
My favorite photo from our trip. If you don’t see hydrangeas did you even go to Nantucket?
We were booked on The Endeavor sail boat that afternoon, for a two-hour tour of the harbor. The day was overcast for the most part, but when we sailed out we say some hints of a blue sky. We enjoyed relaxing on the boat as we cruised around Nantucket, dodging yachts and ferries.
Us, chilling on The Endeavor. I’ve never met a boat I didn’t like. If there’s a sailing excursion where I am, I will be on that boat.
We had some time to kill, so we headed back to Jetties Beach for buck-a-shuck oysters from 3-5pm. Talk about a good deal!
Our last dinner was at The Proprietors Bar and Table, or “Props” as the locals call it. The restaurant is in what looks like an old house, and we were seated upstairs. We had a delicious meal (once again) and were talking about how we wish we could just teleport back to the hotel, when the waitress came over to see if we wanted dessert. We said no, and then she reminded me that we were there celebrating my birthday, and I had to have dessert. “I’ll bring you a dessert!” she told me.
Dessert came with a candle, and Mr. KK captured the moment for me.
The dessert was…fine. I’m not a big dessert person, and none of the desserts were really jumping out at me to begin with. We ate a few bites, took this momentous photos, and then both threw in the towel. The biggest surprise was when the bill came. The birthday dessert that the waitress insisted I have and that she “bring me”, was charged to us for $20! No dessert is worth $20, especially one I didn’t really want in the first place.
Day 4 in Nantucket
We were on the 12:30 ferry home, so we had enough time to head out for one last delicious meal on island before heading back to reality.
We chose to eat at Black Eyed Susans and it was delicious! We sat at the counter and were mesmerized watching the cook handle the volume of breakfast orders. With full bellies we headed back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and check out.
We were going to miss The Brant so much! I’m not bougie but I can slip into that lifestyle like it was my job.
I give our Nantucket weekend 10/10 stars. Each thing we did or experienced was so much better than I had imagined it would be. It’s the kind of place you visit once, and you never want to leave…or you can’t wait to come back.
It’s easy to see how so many people come for a short period of time and never end up leaving. I can’t wait to plan a second trip and come back.
About a year ago, Mr. KK and I splurged on a new bed. We finally got to the point where we were tired of waking up each morning like we were in crippling pain (which we were) and not being able to stand up straight.
After much research – and recommendations and reviews from friends – we landed on a Sleep Number bed. We each have our “number” that we can independently set on our phones to give us the best night sleep. Not only do we no longer dread having incessant back pain and getting up in the mornings, we can’t wait to go to bed at night. Plus, we are now in a healthy competition to see who gets a better sleep score (9/10 times it’s him).
Even though we’ve gotten our sleeping and backs on track, that didn’t stop old age from creeping in. While some things tend to be harder when you get older – understanding technology, seeing, leaving the house after 7pm – the one thing that continually gets easier is the frequency that you can pull a muscle.
Here are all the ways I’ve pulled a muscle this year:
Sneezing
Putting on perfume
Turning over in bed
Coughing
Putting on my seatbelt
Unbuckling my seatbelt
Breathing
Picking up a grocery bag
Putting away groceries
Picking up the dog
Sleeping
Stepping over the dog gate
Putting on underwear
Blowdrying my hair
Inside, I don’t feel old. But man, is my body trying to tell a different story!
So far no muscles were pulled in writing this blog.
Mr. KK and I both come from Italian families. On both our mothers’ and fathers’ sides, all Italian.
When we started dating approximately one million years ago, we would compare the Italian traditions our families had. While some were the same – fish only on Christmas Eve and ham pie on Easter – we discovered that while both families were Italian, there were different recipes and traditions each followed.
First, Mr. KK’s grandmother would put hard boiled eggs in her meatloaf and top it with bacon, while our meatloaf was unstuffed and naked on top. My grandmother would put pepperoni in her escarole and beans, and Mr. KK’s family made a no-meat version. Mr. KK’s family enjoyed basket cheese on Easter (eaten sliced with salt and pepper?), while my family put the basket cheese in the Pizza chiena (aka: Italian ham pie).
In sharing our families’ traditions, Mr. KK told me how his grandmother would make pasta with anchovies. Prior to this courtship, anchovies were not part of my food repertoire (unless you count the ones in caesar dressing).
Fast forward a bunch of decades, and I’m listening to Ina Garten’s podcast “Be My Guest”, and she has Bobby Flay coming to visit her in the barn to chat and cook. And what does he make for Ina after they talk, pasta with anchovy butter!
It just so happened that I found myself with an open can of anchovies with two missing (that I had used for a salad dressing); what better way to use them up than in a delicious pasta.
Bobby Flay’s recipe was a little more complicated, involved a food processor that would be caked with butter and impossible to clean, and used fettuccini. I used his recipe as a guide, but modified it to be less labor intensive, and to use fresh pappardelle pasta, one of my personal favorites.
Pasta with Anchovies Recipe
This pasta dish is easy to make with just a few ingredients. Serves 2.
Ingredients:
1 stick of unsalted butter 8 anchovy fillets (removed from oil) 9 oz fresh wide pasta (I used pappardelle, but fettuccini works too) Lemony breadcrumbs (recipe below)
Lemony breadcrumbs:
1 Tbsp unsalted butter 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 clove of garlic, minced to a paste 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs Zest of one lemon Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Make the lemony breadcrumbs. Melt the butter and oil in a small frying pan together. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant (don’t let it burn!), then add the breadcrumbs and stir until coated. Continue stirring and toasting until golden brown. Add lemon zest and stir. Let cool.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. Once water is boiling, start melting the butter.
Melt the butter in a large frying pan and add the anchovies. As the butter melts, break up the anchovies with a wooden spoon or spatula. Add the pasta to the water. Fresh pasta usually only takes minutes to cook. Once cooked add pasta to the butter and anchovies and reserve a cup of pasta water.
Toss the pasta with the butter until evenly coated. Add a small amount of pasta water to help coat the pasta. Divide pasta into two shallow bowls. Top with breadcrumbs.
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If you’ve never had anchovies I suggest you try this. It’s not fishy and has more of a rich, salty taste.
Each year when we host Thanksgiving, we like having a signature cocktail for the day. Something that embodies fall flavors, is relatively easy to make in batches, and that can give that little turkey day buzz we all need.
And because we can’t just serve a cocktail cold turkey (see what I did there?), we have a day or night where we’ll test out cocktails to see which ones makes the cut. Last year’s cocktail – the Brown Sugar Cranberry Bourbon cocktail – (and the entire cocktail tasting day) was delicious.
This year, Mr. KK and I were taste testing on our own, and we started with just one cocktail. And it was a winner – no further testing needed! (However, I should probably drink a few more of the chosen cocktail to make sure it’s exactly perfect).
This year, we will be shaking up the Fig Bees Knees.
Fig Bees Knees Cocktail
Makes 1 cocktail.
Ingredients:
2 oz gin 1 oz honey syrup (see note below) 1 oz lemon juice 1 Tablespoon fig preserves Sprigs of thyme Fig slices (for garnish)
Directions
In a cocktail shaker, add the gin, honey syrup, lemon juice, fig preserves and 2 sprigs of thyme. Add ice and shake vigorously.
Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a sliced fig and thyme sprig.
Honey syrup:
Combine 1 cup of water and 1 cup of honey in a small sauce pan over medium heat. As the honey starts to melt, continue stirring until the honey and water are completely combined. Store is air tight container.
