5/12.
Just here to unload a month’s worth of small moments from my iPhone’s camera roll, don’t mind me.
May was great!
First off… Ryan turned 33 this month. I took the day off work and stayed home to make him his favorite Black Forest cake. Happy birthday, Ryan!
A huge bulk of my website modernization project at work is complete — and while there’s still so, so, much of it to get done — it’s not quite as imperative that I get it done immediately, and I’m finally able to step away from my monitor long enough to do other things at work… like field days! I had a chance to swing down to Grasshopper Point, which is a day-use area located on my forest. It was really nice to spend a day outside of the office, but that day did also make me wish I was clad in a bikini and jumping off cliffs instead of scrambling around rocks in my hiking pants, snapping photos of people fishing over waterfalls and having all the fun I wished I could be having.
We tried a new restaurant, which happens oh so infrequently here in Flagstaff. Sosta just opened up in the former Brix location. It’s run by Pizzicletta (our favorite pizza restaurant here in town) and it specializes in breakfast and lunch, with a heavy emphasis on both vegetarian and vegan food. I had the breakfast sandwich, which was incredible. Ryan’s french toast was also phenomenal.
I’ve been really, really into cooking with Butler Soy Curls lately. They’re incredible. They make a great substitute for shredded pork, beef and chicken. I toss them in my “chicken” noodle soup, rehydrate and air fry them to serve in a Mongolian “beef” vegetable dish, and they’re a staple for half of our make-ahead lunches: “chicken” Waldorf salad, “chicken” caesar wraps, etc. They’re so versatile and affordable. I ordered half a dozen bags a few weeks ago and used all of them, so the next logical step was to buy a 12-pound bag of them. Send your soy curl recipes this way, please.
Two of our friends here in town, Adwait and Mariel, hold an annual Kentucky Derby party. While we’ve aged out of the bourbon fountain, we have not aged out of funky fascinators and dollar horse betting. All the girls got together the night before the derby party to take advantage of the JoAnn Fabrics closing sale (😭😭😭) and make fun headpieces for the party. Ryan and I brought pimento cheese and maple bourbon Impossible meatballs, and we all had an awesome time.
I finally got around to grabbing cocktails with a friend at High Country Motor Lodge’s bar, which is something I’ve been meaning to do forever. High Country Motor Lodge is a renovated old motel from the 1960s, and — while you can definitely tell what it used to be by its architecture — the entire interior has been completely redone in a gorgeous mid-century modern design and it’s such a cool place to hang out.
Ryan and I tried a new pizza recipe with our Ooni! We used a traditional dough spread with a San Marzano sauce, parmesan, burrata, torn basil, vegan pepperoni and hot honey. It was a version of our favorite at Old County Inn, and it was amazing.
I got new glasses! My eyesight is absolutely terrible. I’ve been wearing prescription lenses since probably sixth grade or so, but I’ve mostly stuck to two-week contact lenses since high school. I go to the optometrist every year for a vision exam, and every year, my eye doctor tells me I should wear my contacts less to give my eyes a break. Every year I tell myself I’ll do that, but then I end up spending my insurance allotment on new contact lenses. This year I finally decided to just get a new pair of glasses (my first in more than half a decade, at least) and they’re so thick and heavy I was immediately reminded why I always go with the soft contacts. These suckers, as beautiful as they are, are cumbersome!
The third Thursday of May is traditionally Vyshyvanka Day, and I celebrated by wearing one of my favorite embroidered blouses from Ukraine. I haven’t typically had a chance to celebrate here in the U.S. since I’ve spent the past few years either working from home or clad in Nomex on the fire line, so it was exciting to wear my hand-stitched vyshyvanka to the office.
My sweet, sweet friend Jane sent me a beautiful engagement gift: A wonderful dove-gray ceramic ring holder that perfectly matches the plant potters lined up along our kitchen windowsill. I was seriously touched by the gift because I tend to cook (a lot) and was getting worried about dropping my engagement ring behind my stove or into my garbage disposal when doing dishes or kneading dough. I’m so thrilled with this thoughtful gift; thank you Jane!
Going back to work for a second… our office HVAC systems have been under repair, and as a (hopefully temporary) side effect, my office has been frigidly cold. I did some redecorating to indicate my feelings toward the matter.
YogaSix Flagstaff had our annual spring picnic in the park. It was a bit chilly but it was so nice to see everyone outside of the studio!
It’s farmers’ market season! I was able to head downtown to check out a few of them this month. I swear every year they get bigger and bigger. Our most recent one probably had about a dozen food trucks, and I saw a few familiar faces which is always nice. Ryan and I grabbed some pastries and I admired some jewelry.
We had an absolute stunner of a sunset here in Flagstaff the other day!
And, finally, here’s one more photo of Ochi just being Ochi.
