I’m Back + Life Update!

Hello! It has been a while since I have been posting. After my accident, I just never found a rhythm to write but I am excited to be back. One of my goals for 2021 is to be more vulnerable and to create more, so blog posts are most definitely coming your way. I’m  aiming for one post every tuesday and a recipe every sunday!

My elbow is now 99% healed, with just the scar in its final healing process. I also wrote a long post about what happened and answered your questions for you to read here. 

The lockdown in Copenhagen is still very much ongoing, at least until the end of February. As of now, restaurants, bars, and indoor cultural institutions are closed. While take-away is allowed, many restaurants have decided to remain fully closed. Gatherings are limited to five people, and face masks are required indoors. Visit Copenhagen  is an excellent English friendly resource for more information. 

Over the last many months, we’ve done our best to remain positive during the lockdown. We have a tight bubble of friends so we’ve had many dinners and game nights together. On sunny days, we try to get outside and go for long walks and meet a friend or two for a cup of coffee. 

It’s now been over a year since Jesper and I were back in the US and coming up on a year since we last saw my dad,who came for a week at the end of February 2020 right as Corona was first being talked about. Like most of you, we’ve done our part in hosting and participating in zoom birthdays and celebrations, weekly calls with family and friends. I’ve added an automatic calendar reminder to check in with my grandma and friends who aren’t on social media as it’s easy for them to sometimes feel out of sight, out of mind. 

We definitely have found our rhythm in this new “normal” and have adjusted quite well to both being home and together 24/7 but at times it is really challenging and hard to figure out how to navigate it all. Remember to reach out to your loved ones, even the strong, happy, and fun ones, because everyone has been through something difficult in regards to COVID. 

I have resumed back taking Danish courses twice a week, which has been a really nice way to structure my week and help me get a bit closer to my goal of fluency. 

Celebrating:

This is a special time of year because lots of my loved ones were born in February, but this one is extra special because Jesper is turning thirty. The big 3-0 is a defining moment in a person’s life and with it comes with lots of traditions in Denmark. One of which is to get sprayed with pepper by your friends if you aren’t married. Luckily, Jesper  can escape the ambush of pepper, but his friends do have a few tricks up their sleeve. 

We have a tradition of traveling for Jesper’s birthday and last year we invited 6 of our closest friends with us to Rostock, Germany for the weekend. This year’s trip, unfortunately, had to be cancelled because of the new 5-person limit. Instead, I am surprising him with a weekend getaway up north with our closest couple friends in a Danish summer house. 

Eating + Drinking

After the holidays, I really felt like my body needed a solid refresh. I hosted a lot of different small gatherings and really felt burnt out in the kitchen and uninspired by the winter vegetable selection at our local supermarket. I haven’t been drinking as much alcohol after the holidays and making a point to get my 2-3L of water a day. I can finally feel my body saying Thank you Kails. My husband and I are big into craft beers and did purchased a beer bundle from Alefarm Brewing, which has been such a treat on the weekends. If you’re looking for a cocktail to help you through lockdown, you can check out some of my past recipes on the blog here. 

I am finally off the antibiotics (first time since August), which means I can now eat anytime I want, which has resulted in more snacking and less structured meals around here. But I’m slowly going back to our regular cooking program. In the mornings, we’ve started making green juice, which I am absolutely loving but it’s slightly time consuming to make in with a blender and strainer. If we keep up with it for three  months, I told myself we could invest in a juicer. 

Lately, I  have been super inspired by Melissa Norton, @cucinamelissa_ on instagram. She’s a Californian native who studied culinary arts in Italy. I actually discovered her account right as she finished her culinary program while I was actually on a trip there. She now does meal kits for people in the Los Angeles area and holy moly, they look amazing.  If you’re in the area, you need to try it and can order your kit here.  Her posts make me want all the fresh, crispy greens I can’t get here and also makes me miss the Thursday farmers’ market that I had back home. 

How is lockdown going wherever you are? Hope you’re hanging in there friends!