Okay, really, this is a coffee date spanning November, December, January, and the very beginning of February.

I kind of can’t believe it’s been that long – I love writing these posts and look forward to sharing them every month. But as usual, life has been very lifey, and Sugar Free January has been very delicious, and all the things have just been kind of intense, and the other day Eman on our team was like, “hey, we got an email about the coffee dates – are you still doing them?” and then I kind of had to do a double take when realized it had been a few months since I just sat down for no other reason than to say hi and connect.

So anyways. I’m here, with my decaf Americano with heavy whipping cream because I had some leftover from this beauty and it’s very simple but also feels like luxury. Very luscious and warming and rich.

What are you drinking? What have you been up to? Any SFJ-finishers or recipe favorites as of lately? Let’s catch up.

---

The Big Thing: We Moved!

In our last coffee date, I mentioned that we had bought a house. Now in this coffee date, I’m here to tell you that it’s official. WE MOVED. We live in a new house now.

I’m also here to tell you that we are closing on our old house next week, and in the most charmed turn of events, our very very good friends are the buyers! We feel so lucky to know that these amazing humans will now make this house and this neighborhood their own.

The moving process has been – well, honestly, I think the fact that I haven’t done a coffee date in almost three months is a good indicator of how it’s been. It’s been amazing, emotional, difficult, and all-consuming.

My mantra as we get settled has been: “Good Enough.”

Like, the boxes in the basement are overflowing with unorganized contents of Solvi’s babyhood and Bjork’s random assortment of rarely-used tools and my high school swim team memorabilia, and you know what? For now, for, like, the next year maybe? er, five years? that’s okay. Can’t do it all right now. It’s good enough.

If you’ve found the secret sauce to moving and settling in to a new home without your life also feeling like a small tornado… speak up.

---

A Reusable Coffee Cup

This is the gift my Work Party Secret Santa got me (thanks, Emily!) and it has gotten so much use. I love it and would highly recommend it.

Here’s a link. (affiliate)

It’s cute, compact enough to go in my backpack, and more pleasant to hold onto than a paper cup because it’s nice and toasty-warm.

Also, it’s not an overnight earth saver, but it has kept 7 disposable cups out of the garbage in the month of January and yes I did keep track of the exact number because LITTLE THINGS MATTER. I don’t remember to bring it with me every time, but I remember it a lot of times, and I feel like this is how it has to be done. Baby steps to better.

Do you have any baby steps to better? For your health, work, environment, etc? Baby steps are easier than big steps. Maybe I can borrow some.

---

And Now I am a Creative Director

Up until now I’ve done, like, 98% of the photography that you see here on POY. I love photography. It feels very personal and would be hard to share that with someone who is not… well, me. But it’s a new year and I am ready to give some things a little friendly shake-up.

So this month we hired photographers (our friends!) to do a photo shoot with us for some POY recipes. As in, I didn’t take the pictures!

I got to prep and cook food, styling it, and help with edits, but I was not actually standing behind the camera. Instead of being all the things, I got to limit my role to just “Creative Director.”

Reflections:

A) It was SO FUN.

B) It was less stressful.

C) Can we keep doing this please?

Cheesy-sounding but actually very important challenge for you based on my own personal experience with this – is there something in your life that you can release and let someone else take care of for you? Something that you can hire for? Or maybe just something that you’re holding tightly to that you can let go of?

This was my thing this month and I had a lot of fears with it because change is hard and all that, but dang, one round in and it feels really good.

---

Traveling with Toddlers

… is a marathon!

We went to Florida last week for a few days with Bjork’s parents, and I cannot even begin to describe to you the amount of sheer anxiety I had walking my very fiesty and independent 17-month-old down the jetbridge and onto a small, crowded, enclosed airplane for the first time. And getting delayed FOUR HOURS at the gate did not help the cause.

But the lil baby Solvs did beautifully. She fussed, but she didn’t scream. She resisted, but she didn’t melt down. She was busy, but she stayed generally contained. She got compliments from seat neighbors after both flights which felt like the equivalent of receiving an Olympic gold medal even though I had absolutely no control over any of it.

I watched so many YouTube and Instagram videos and read so many blog posts on traveling with toddlers – are other people like this? I think I might just be kind of extra in this way.

Some things we did:

• Stuffed a pill box with approximately 200 small snacks
• Packed lots of brand new toys that she had never seen (or that we just pulled out of her toy bins several weeks in advance so they *felt* new)
• Packed lots of random items from around our house – ribbons, paint sample cards, tissue paper, keys, punch cards, etc.
• Bookmarked tons of videos of her and Sage

Worth mentioning: we did have to straight-up leave a restaurant one night. Like, pack up our just-delivered food, down the drinks, and file out the door in a very loud walk of shame due to an irreversible meltdown, so it’s not like we came out of the trip unscathed, okay? Don’t be getting the wrong idea here.

Traveling with toddlers or kids? Horror stories? Victories? Yay or nay?

Speaking of Sun

This winter has been rough. The feel-bads have been really running rampant for me this month thanks to the longest stretch of cloudy days in what, 70 years or something?

Being in the Florida sun for four days was like… it was like becoming a new person a little bit. It felt like a reminder that there is life out there, things are thriving, the sun is shining, faces are warm, plants are green and growing, birds are singing.

This morning as I looked out the window and surveyed the flat, grey-brown-white suburban landscape all around me, I texted Bjork that it’s amazing how quickly I start to feel blah again when I’m back in this.

We would probably never move away from Minnesota because this is where all our family and friends live, and we have a healthy attachment to the good parts of winter, and I think what we’d gain in warm weather, we’d lose in close connections and emotional satisfaction. But it’s just a LITTLE BIT TEMPTING RIGHT NOW, MINNESOTA.

I know a lot of you understand this hardcore. Maybe some of you have even actually made the move? Talk to me.

Sage Says

Sage just wants you to remember that your people are the main thing. She sits here with Solvi almost every day and waits for me, and then Bjork, to come home from work, and then she gets the zoomies and greets us like we are the best thing in the whole wide world.

I think there’s a life lesson in there somewhere.

---

Okay, February (+ Jan + Dec) coffee date. There it is! I’m sorry it took me three months to make this one happen.

I love reading your comments on these posts. They are my favorite.

Thank you for joining, reading, connecting, and just being you, exactly as you are! xo

The post February Coffee Date appeared first on Pinch of Yum.