Hi, how are you?

Last week was unusual. We had some guys working on our shower - it's almost done (we still need to get a door put in)! It's usable, and it's gorgeous. I'll show you some before and after pictures in the next email. Besides that, though, I got sick. In fact, I'm in bed right now, trying to take it easy. I overdid it yesterday, and today I feel worse. Alexander woke up yesterday sick too! So as a precaution, we're all just staying home until everyone is better. (UPDATE: Just a sinus infection!)

A few days ago, we decided to watch The Sound of Music. In reality, we watched it over 2 days (it's 3 hours long!). But I've got the songs and story stuck in my head, and I thought it would be fun to use the movie as the theme for this week's email. If you've never seen the movie and don't know the songs, it's okay; it's just a way for me to structure my thoughts this week, that's all!

The Sound of Music

I thought it'd be fun to share some of my favorite songs right now. We listen to a big mix of genres. Usually, I'll say "Alexa, play..." and then it could be several things:

• 80s rock

• 80s pop

• 90s country

• 90s pop

I'm not sure any of these songs are new, but here are some of the ones I like right now:

• I'll Be Waiting by Cian Ducrot

• In Jesus Name (God of Possible) by Katy Nichole

• Open Arms by Journey

• Jireh by Elevation Worship

• Unstoppable by Sia

What do you have on repeat these days?

I Have Confidence

I recently decided to start working on my style (I mentioned that in a recent email). As I've gotten older, I've gotten a little more confident in my style, but lately it's gotten stagnant. So I decided to change it up. Since I got a couple of blazers, some square-toed, chunky-heeled ankle boots, and some wide leg jeans, I've felt a new level of confidence in my outfits. It's really been fun to play with that!

And it reminded me of a few other times in my life when I got some new confidence.

The pink shoes. In college, I decided to really play with clothes. I got this cool red corduroy, cropped jacket, some Coca Cola bottle cap earrings, this really pretty green top (I wish I still had that one!), and some pink pointy shoes. These pink pointy shoes had a strap around the back, little kitten heels, and they were sort of mesh. They were bright pink. And I wore them until the soles pretty much fell off. I felt SO COOL! Once I bought those, I really started having more fun with the rest of my outfits!

The asymmetrical haircut. When I was living in NYC, I got a tip that the Aveda hair salon SCHOOL was offering FREE haircuts by their students. The only catch was, they got to decide on the cut. I'm sure I could have given some parameters, but I remember just going in blindly and letting this girl cut my hair. And she gave me a slightly asymmetrical cut. At first I was really not okay with it; it was short and odd. But once I realized I had no choice but to embrace it, it gave me a boost of confidence.

Spring Break to DC. This is a little different, but back in 2008, my friend Maureen (also a teacher) and I were going to take a couple-days trip during Spring Break to Washington DC. It's a 4 hour bus ride from NYC. Shortly before the trip, she canceled. For some reason, I decided to go on my own. But I didn't know what to do, where to go, where to stay. I found a snazzy hotel in a fancy part of town and decided to stay one night. Before the trip, I searched my FB friends from college who happened to live in DC. Turns out, Cameron* had just moved there. I sent him (and 2 others) a message, asking for suggestions for places to go, food to eat, that sort of thing. One person didn't reply, one gave me suggestions, and Cam said he could meet up with me and show me around. And very long story short, that turned into a long-distance relationship that turned into marriage! *We went to college together but only became FB friends because that's just what you did back then. I'm not sure we ever actually met in person until DC!

My Favorite Things

🎵To the tune of My Favorite Things, naturally🎵

Pizza and ice cream and almond milk lattesPockets on dresses and presents on birthdaysLearning guitar, how to strum on its stringsThese are a few of my favorite things

Chopping and dicing and mixing and bakingMovies at night time and lots of trip-takingButterflies, bees, and most things that have wingsThese are a few of my favorite things

When I'm so stressed, When I can't sleep,When I'm feeling sad,I simply remember my favorite things,And then I don't feel soooo bad.

Okay, in all honesty, this leaves out a lot of my favorite things (like my family haha), but it was hard for me to rewrite lyrics to that melody!

If you decide to try writing your own "favorite things" song, please send it to me!! :)

Something Good

Here are a few recipes!

Biscuits

These are a soft fluffy breakfast item. I know the term biscuit means something else for some of you!

1. Preheat oven to 425F.

2. In a bowl, combine 2 cups of all purpose flour, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp baking powder. Then add 7 tbsp cold butter, chopped. (Save that last 1 tbsp for step 6!)

3. Use a fork, a pastry blender, or your fingers to smush the butter into the flour until it's crumbly. If you use your fingers, make it quick! Your warm fingers melt the butter, which is not what you want.

4. Pour in about 1 cup of COLD buttermilk. Combine until it forms a dough. (No buttermilk? In a measuring cup, pour 1 tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar, then fill the rest of the cup with milk. Do that at the beginning so it can rest a few minutes.)

5. Roll out the dough on a floured surface, about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Cut your biscuits with a glass or circle cookie cutter or biscuit cutter if you have one! Place them on a greased baking sheet. Keep rerolling and cutting the dough until there's none left.

6. Put a tiny dot of butter on the top of each biscuit. You could also brush them all with melted butter.

7. Bake for about 15 minutes until golden!

NOTE: You could use self-rising flour and omit the baking powder.

Gravy

It's a little misleading to have a gravy recipe after a biscuit recipe because this is NOT the kind of gravy you'd make with biscuits! This is just a regular ole gravy you'd put on chicken, mashed potatoes, that sort of thing. I make it at least once a week, and I think it's one of those basic recipes everyone should know. It's so simple, no packet necessary!

You can make it from scratch, or you can make it in a pan where you just cooked some meat.

1. Add 3-4 tbsp butter to a hot pan.

2. Once that melts, add 3-4 tbsp flour. Whisk until it forms a paste.

3. Cook that paste on low heat for several minutes until it browns.

4. Now add some liquid and seasoning. I usually use broth (or water, or water + broth), milk or cream, and soy sauce or Worcestershire (not both, I think that would be SO salty). Then I add salt*, pepper, garlic, onion, herbs, whatever you think goes with the rest of the dish. Add as much liquid as you need to serve the amount of people who are eating.

5. Just let it simmer. Whisk it every couple of minutes. Slowly it will thicken up!

6. If it's really not thickening, you can whisk a spoonful of cornstarch in some water until it's fully incorporated then slowly whisk that into your gravy.

*Better to add less salt than you think you need rather than too much - it's easier to adjust something underseasoned than overseasoned!

NOTE: I know a lot of folks need specifics - I'm not great at that, so here's my best guess on the measurements for step 4. Use 2 cups of broth/water, 1/2 cup of cream, and then 2 tbsp of soy sauce or 1 tbsp Worcestershire! For the seasonings, go with 1/2 tsp of everything!

So Long, Farewell

I hope you enjoyed my Sound of Music theme. It was fun for me to put together! And if you've not seen that movie, I think you might enjoy it. It's on Disney+, but I'm sure you can rent it from Amazon Prime, Apple TV, any of those.

That's it for this week. Have a good one!❤️ Bethany