This week has been full of good things: donuts, big cups of coffee, and crunchy leaves. Here are a few things that have been going on in our corner of the woods (no election talk guaranteed!).
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1)Donuts
When I was ten, my Grandma and I sold donuts to people around town. She would make them, and I would deliver them. You might say donut-making is woven into my genetic makeup. There is nothing like the gift of a homemade donut, because they are so very rare.
I am teaching three classes at my alma mater this semester, and I told my students that I would be bringing them homemade donuts at some point in the semester. I finally decided that this past Monday was D-day (get it? Donut day? Anyone?). What I hadn’t planned on was that I had also promised to bring a homemade dessert to a friend’s house, and make homemade rolls for small group that same day. This rather harried series events left me baking all Sunday (from before church to late into the night), and caused me to find myself sitting crying on the floor with my favorite mug which I had broken in my haste. However, this is why you marry a sweet man, because my hubby swooped in, told me that my mug now had “character” proceeded to wash all the dishes, and then promised to get up at 3 a.m. to pull the donut dough out of the fridge for its first rise.
What a guy.
When I first promised to make donuts I hadn’t realize that I would need to pull them out of the fridge to rise at 3 a.m., be shaped at 4 a.m., start frying them at 6 a.m. and glaze them at 7 a.m. just in time for me to take a quick shower, post pics on social media (because when you work this hard, you deserve to get an excellent instagram pic out of it, amirght?), and box up the donuts before hurrying to my 8.m. class.
However, once all the donut making was o’er, it was incredibly fun to hand them out. It was a particularly gloomy dark Monday, and seeing all the smiles the donuts put on people’s faces was worth it. I gave them to neighbors, students, my coworkers, people at our favorite Mexican restaurant, and even profs who had seen the pictures on Facebook. By the end of the day I was completely exhausted.
I am not going to do that again next semester, I will probably make cookies or cream puffs: anything that can be made the day before, but it was fun this semester!
to see pictures of my donuts head on over to my instagram here (@mrslotulelei)!
2) Aeropress
For the past few months I’ve been trapped in a frustrating dichotomy: I love coffee, but I make terrible coffee. Pretty much every morning I would make coffee with my french press, and then complain to hubby about how terrible it was. Then at least once or twice a week I would get coffee at our local coffee shop, and then feel guilty about spending those extra bucks for something we could easily make at home.
Finally, I talked with one of my coffee-aficionado brothers, and he told me that I should get an Aeropress: “it makes good coffee easy”, he said. Good coffee + easy sounded like an excellent formula to me, so I ordered it. I knew that spending $30 on a coffee maker would quickly pay for itself once I stopped buying all the expensive coffee drinks. We have had it for two weeks now, and we are in love. It is so much faster than the french press, makes much smoother coffee, and is even better than you (because it is less acidic) then french press coffee. I haven’t purchased a coffee shop drink since! Score!
I bought the THIS Aeropress, and it is my new favorite kitchen item!
3) Photography walks
Nebraska has had an unusually mild October and November. For the past couple of weeks we have had temperatures in the 60’s and 70s which is unheard of! As a result, hubs and I have gone on many walks. I have started taking my camera with me, and even gone on photography walks on my own to capture the beauty of this time of year. We are soaking in every sun-kissed day, because we know that winter is just around the corner.
4) Hygge
On the topic of winter, one thing that has helped me get excited about the snowy months that are to come is the Danish concept of “hygge”. People in Denmark have harsh, long, cold winters. And yet they are reportedly the happiest people in the world. Why? Because they focus on cultivating hygge (the closest translation is “coziness” or “hominess”) in their homes during the long winter months. They see winter as a time to draw close to one another, snuggle under blankets, enjoy the warmth of a fireplace, and eat comfort food. I first heard about this on my favorite podcast of all time, Sorta Awesome, and since then I have read several other articles about it, joined a Facebook group on cultivating hygge, and generally tried to make my home more comfy. I have placed more candles around my home, turned on the lamps as opposed to the fluorescent lights, bought a few cheerful-colored throw pillows, and added comfy blankets to our couches. When I go shopping I have an eye out for anything that will make my home cozier this winter. I feel like I have a new passion for winter, and a renewed sense of purpose for these next few months.
5) The Crown
Hubs and I have started watching Netflix’s new series The Crown, and we have quickly gotten caught up in this excellently written british drama. We are learning so much history about the Royals, and I have found myself spending my spare time reading about Queen Elizabeth and her family. It has been an interesting conversation point over the past few weeks as we compare and contrast the UK’s political structure to our own. I highly recommend this series, and we’ve had a lot of fun watching it together!
One thing I miss about American houses is the ‘coziness’ factor. Houses here are designed to maximize cool temperatures–since the climate is so ridiculously humid and hot and we don’t have air-con, I do appreciate the white plaster walls and the ceramic tile flores and the openings that are covered with metal bars instead of window glass to allow ventilation…but this home is definitely not designed for coziness, nor does curling up with a hot cocoa and blanket and lighting a candle ever sound fun, haha! Even cloth-covered furniture is all too likely to mold in this climate which means wood, wicker, or plastic furniture is chosen instead…none of which is cozy. Oh well–there’s a time for everything, and I’m appreciating avoiding winter while I can!
Rachel, it would be hard to create comfort without soft textiles, cooler weather, and hot beverages. You may be missing out on some of Nebraska’s hygge, but I definitely wish I didn’t have to scrape the ice of my car every morning throughout the winter. There are definitely some benefits to living in a warm climate, too!
My grandfather use to make homemade donuts. They were so good. My girlfriends and I are gathering on Friday nights to watch The Crown. It’s so good!
I am so glad you are enjoying The Crown, too! It is so well done, isn’t it?