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This week I decided it is time for me to get a proper desk. For the last 14+ months, all my work outside of the kitchen has been done on our living room couch. Mainly because I don’t have a desk but it is also very convenient. I can look outside past the deck into the woods, I have quick access to the kitchen, I can sit in all sorts of weird positions comfortably, and I have both a side and coffee table to put all my stuff on. Although it’s comfortable it’s a pain to get set up comfortably. I recline while I read emails with a pillow under my legs and two pillows behind my back. I sit cross-legged to write with a pillow under my laptop. I’m starting to learn that being too comfortable can start to get uncomfortable. Hello back support, where are you? Now that my time at the computer had doubled, it is time to make big girl moves and get a desk. A place to store my scribble scrabble notes, hoard water bottles, and go to write. Like an adult.
My dilemma is where do I put said desk? Since the kitchen is my main place of work, the easiest solution would be to write from the dining room table. Everything would be right there (what I currently love about the living room couch) but then I would have the scribble scrabble notes out on display in the kitchen all the time and I’m not into that. In theory, my desk would go in the office…but there is no plan for Marco to go to his actual outside-of-the-house office anytime soon. For everyone’s sanity, our home office will stay his office only.
Downstairs, in our den, there is an empty corner where I imagined a bonus sitting area with a bookshelf would go one day, or in the way distant future my children’s toys would go, but it is currently “the ironing corner.” As much as I love ironing (I truly do), I think that is going to be my new writing corner. The idea of moving from my tree top view to sitting facing a wall all day sounds horribly depressing. How do you pull inspiration from a white wall?! If I invest in a beautiful desk that is pleasant to look at I could face it out toward the den and look out the wall of windows “into the jungle” as my mother says. Then as people (Marco) come down the stairs and turn the corner into t̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶e̶n̶ my office I can turn my neck slightly, glare out of the corner of my eye, and say “yeeees?” like Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada. (This may or may not be a boss lady fantasy of mine.)
These are privileged problems that I am very aware of but you too can move to the Midwest and spend your days contemplating about where to put your desk. This is just one of the perks of buying a house for your future family, with no plans in the foreseeable future to grow that family. Although I could always fill the extra space in our house with more cats…
This week I made latkes just because I felt like eating latkes! A crispy fried potato is good any month of the year. I topped them with sour cream and an asparagus salad. Blanched asparagus thinly sliced and mixed with dill, parsley, scallions, mint, lemon juice, and olive oil. I’m calling these Spring Latkes and they are officially a thing. It is acceptable to fry up some latkes in May as long as you top them with asparagus and herbs. Last year I made this dish and topped it with runny eggs for brunch. Let’s all eat more fried potatoes. They spark joy.
Stuff to Read
Recipe Inspo
Places I ate
We stopped into Mission Taco Joint on Wednesday because after making latkes on Tuesday (and cleaning it all up) I didn’t want to cook anything else. The fish in my grilled fish taco was dry, same with my beef tinga taco, but the mango shrimp taco was delightful. I ordered a second to make up for the disappointing first two tacos. Marco tried the BBQ duck, chorizo, portobello, and Yucatecan Pork and thinks they were “okay” and “prefers a traditional street taco any day to one of these fancy tacos.” We will go back, there are still other tacos to try.
Thing Everybody Needs
Last year I bought a two-pack roll of parchment paper from Costco. I whip through parchment paper like crazy and was excited to have tons at home for a good price. Wrong. The dimensions of the apartment paper were so off and no matter which way I tore off a sheet I had to trim it with scissors to fit. It drove me crazy and I probably wasted a third of each roll in trimmings. I grabbed a pack of pre-cut sheets the other week and my mental sanity was restored. I’m still on the hunt for a jumbo roll with better dimensions but the pre-cut sheets have made my life easier and I am enjoying their convenience.
Animal Cuteness
I’m off to IKEA to finally get some outdoor cabinet to hold all my grilling accessories. ‘Tis the season!
See you next week, M.