…it’s been a while, I guess! The past several months have flown by, in a way. My husband and I went on a vacation to San Francisco at the end of November, and we had a blast. LOVED the area…so much to do and see, and the food is amazing. Even though I’d had several reintros at that point, it’s still not that easy to eat out at restaurants. But SF has it made…!! Ate fresh seafood at two Fisherman’s Wharf restaurants and fought insane traffic to eat at two Paleo-friendly places. All food was fantastic, and being able to order off the menu with no modifications is a rare (and much welcome) occasion…coming back to Houston was tough in that aspect!!
Our touristy highlights were Alcatraz (behind-the-scenes/night tours), Point Reyes National Seashore, Presidio, Lombard Street, and the “Full House” house. We can’t wait to go back to do more things!
A month later, my Grandpa passed away of cancer. Over the next few months, we had three memorials for him. It was bittersweet to know that he was no longer in pain, and it was great to hear everyone’s stories of the man that he was.
My husband and I went to Detroit at the end of April to visit family, but we also explored the area more than we did last time we were there nine years ago (can’t believe it was that long ago!). We hiked around Seven Lakes State Park and Indian Springs Metropark, and went to the zoo and Belle Isle Aquarium. A few of my family members are also gluten-free, and it was so awesome to be around people who understand! I didn’t feel like the odd duck for once…although I’m used to taking responsibility with my food, it was comforting to not be the only one with food restrictions.
And some of the biggest news…WE BOUGHT A HOUSE! OMG, what an entirely exhausting process!! We started looking in 2016, but then I lost my job. Being unemployed for six months definitely hindered that. We started looking again this February, and after many false hopes and sifting through cleverly-disguised “Harvey homes,” we finally found one that we BOTH loved (quite a feat). We closed on it June 22nd and moved in at the end of July. A fellow AIPer friend helped us strip wallpaper…we took out over a total of 20 POUNDS of that freakin’ stuff!! We hired painters, since we didn’t have time to do that ourselves along with packing (see Instagram for before/after pics). One of my absolute favorite parts of the house is the plantation shutters! And no toxic carpet!! Oh, and my library (see below).
Getting excited for Halloween…especially now that we have a huge front yard (and an actual walkway)! Sorry for no recipe this time…would love to get back to experimenting! We still have quite a bit to unpack though. And I’m dealing with a much smaller kitchen; the storage space is incredible (even all my kitchen stuff doesn’t fill it up), but the counter space…not so muuuuch. We definitely want to remodel eventually, but for the time being, we’re learning to coexist!