Life Lately {vol. 65}

Missed me?

I know, I know - it's been too long. I had stopped blogging for a variety of reasons (job searching, exhaustion, feeling like I had nothing to blog about... the list goes on). Around October of last year, I found myself wanting to blog again, which was a nice feeling. But then we had a bunch of deadlines hit for work, and even though I wanted to blog, I couldn't find the time or energy to actually do it. I've been thinking about self-care a lot, and while blogging would have been "fun," it would have been a bigger burden on me than I was prepared for at the time. Long story short, I wanted to be here but felt I needed to give myself the space to get more important things, done. I don't regret that decision.

Ya'll know I'm careful about talking about my job online, and that's definitely going to be a practice that continues thoughout my blogging this year. There's so much that happens during the week, but so much is confidential and it prevents me from telling you about almost everything that happens in my life, Monday through Friday. Such is the burden of an attorney. Regardless, work hasn't slowed down that much (which is awesome), but I feel like I'm able to actually share what's been going on in my life lately! So buckle up, buttercup.

Life Lately {vol. 59}

I've been getting really good at roasting chicken! // Sometimes our runs rock and sometimes they don't - but at least I'm running! // I loved my birthday outfit at work! // Birthday drinks for the birthday girl - I got to spend my birthday with J and friends

I love meeting my friend, Rachel, for morning coffee to catch up! // I've been trying to document my outfits when I feel cute (and partially for my "homework" for The Curated Closet). // Inauguration Day // My friends and I marched in the Women's March on Denver! Best day ever. 💗

Trader Joe's Shopping List

I go to Trader Joe's pretty regularly to get groceries and lunches - I think J would prefer going to a "normal" grocery store, but TJ's items are a little smaller, usually a lot cheaper, and as someone who eats mostly vegetarian/pescatarian, they are sooo many options that appeal to me compared to a regular grocery store.

Someone on Facebook the other day suggested I post what I buy at Trader Joe's, and I'm happy to oblige. 😊 I do want to point out that this is not a "normal" list for me - we usually have at least 1/3 of the items at home already, so my list is usually a lot shorter depending on how many "basics" (like olive oil) I need to restock.

Easy Pickled Jalapeños

When J and I lived in New Hampshire, we got take-out nachos all the time from this local Mexican restaurant called Hermanos. We were completely obsessed with those nachos. We got the same kind every time (Betty and Shirl's - which had chicken, pickled jalepeños, this kind of garlic oil, avocados, and tons of cheese)! We always asked for baby portobellos on the nachos, while I took off chicken and J asked for blue corn chips. 

They are the most perfect nachos in the world - but one of the reasons they're so good is because of the pickled jalepeños. You can also get jalepeño salsa to go with it, which is the perfect blend of spicy and sweet. After dating/being married to a guy from Arizona for the past 6 years, I learned to love spicy food, so is it really any wonder I learned to love jalepeños?

This summer, J was having an off day and I decided to cheer him up by recreating these nachos. So first, I had to learn to pickle jalepeños. It sounded super daunting. I don't pickle things. This is not my scene. My family doesn't do any pickling as far as I know. I started by googling, naturally, and realized that it wasn't really hard after all! I don't follow recipes well (I'm always changing things), so this is a mix of a couple of the first recipes that came up.