Cup of Coffee with Katie

Soy. It is something I rarely thought about prior to my Celiac days. I vaguely knew it had something to do with tofu, but aside from that I knew very little about it. Fast forward to my dairy-free/soy-free diagnosis and suddenly soy became a very important concept in my life. You see when you become dairy-free, things that are labeled vegan catch your eye...because even if you're a carnivore like me, that designation means that there is no dairy and hence you can check one of your allergens off the list. Of course, you soon learn that vegan products more often than not contain soy (and sometimes gluten too) so as someone who has to avoid the magic trifecta (gluten, dairy, and soy), you are left standing in a gluten-free, vegan cafe where you can eat next to nothing, bewildered and wondering how eating out became this complicated. I feel you...virtual hug from me to you, my friend. Now for those of you with immune systems that react to gluten, casein, and soy, there are rarely o...

When we think back on childhood Christmases, I bet there are a few common memories many of  us share: a stack of beautifully wrapped presents just waiting to be torn open, the delicious scent of dinner mixed with the last few batches of Christmas cookies wafting from the oven in the kitchen, and of course the hugs, smiles, and laughter shared between family members who may not have seen each other since last Christmas. Now that I have you feeling nostalgic for the holiday season, you're probably asking yourself why I'm talking about Christmas on a 90-degree day in July. Well, that's because my Christmas in July is quickly approaching and I want to invite you to join me...or at least to find your own Christmas in another month (before December!). Before you think I've completely lost my mind, I'll answer the question, What the heck is she talking about?, for you: The Gluten Free & Allergen Friendly Expo , of course! Now you may remember my posts about this event...

I know. April…how did we get here? I came back to you for two brief posts last summer and then disappeared off the face of the digital earth again. I can promise you it was my intention to get back into posting this year. I couldn’t wait to share all my tips for traveling to out-of-state weddings (we had 5 this summer/fall); I was going to document the challenges and triumphs of married life (namely sharing a kitchen with gluten and dairy products again); I was going to take you on my adventures around Boston, discovering new Katie-safe hot-spots to take the temporary place of the ones I had to leave behind in Baltimore. I was going to regale you with tales of my days back in a 2 nd grade classroom, navigating a daily life that once again involves morning snack time...and of course 7-year-olds only love gluten-filled, dairy-filled snacks. I still have half-written wedding advice posts that are sitting in a folder on my desktop, just pleading to be finished and shared. However, as you...

If you have been living in the U.S. over the past 2 weeks, chances are you have also been living under one of the now-famous heat domes. (Seriously, what are all these new weather phenomena? Polar vortex, now heat dome...what is next?) This kind of oppressive heat and humidity poses a variety of challenges, especially in a city where many public places lack air conditioning (Boston is too cold most of the year to warrant the expense I suppose). There's the need to shower multiple times a day, the struggle to find enough outlets to power multiple fans, the limitless need to refill the Brita filter and the ice trays, and of course the hastened ripening (and often spoiling) of your otherwise delicious, expensive perishable food items.  Summertime = quickly ripening bananas We have a few staple items you can always find in our kitchen; one of those is bananas. As you probably know firsthand, the 90+ degree temperatures combined with excessive humidity transforms the kitchen into ...

That's right...after several months of radio silence, I'M BACK!! There is plenty to discuss (considering we have nearly 7 months, including gluten-free wedding planning/interstate moving tips, to cover)...but all those things will come in due time. For those of you who don't know, the title of this blogpost is more than just the refrain of an Augustana song circa 2009 , it has been the mantra of my life for the past few months. We knew that most likely the Physicist would wrap up his Ph.D. this academic year and so the summer of 2016 would involve a big move for us (hence why we decided to plan our wedding in March, even though that meant mid-school-year AND mid-Lent). However, I'll admit there was a little piece of me that was hoping the "big" move would entail a short trip up I-95 to Philly, or even a position in Baltimore which would allow us to stick around for a few years. There's something about familiarity, especially when it takes years to figure...

...of waiting. Waiting in lines that stretch longer than usual; waiting in traffic that doesn't seem to budge; waiting for those gifts purchased online to arrive on our doorstep...there's no doubt that the holiday season is full of waiting. You don't have to spend much time in stores or traffic to realize that most people are not good at waiting...or at least that it incites quite a few negative emotions. Now I'm not going to sit here and say I love traffic and crowds, but I can say that the increase in both during the Christmas season has never really bothered me. I distinctly remember the moment when I began seeing holiday traffic as less bothersome and more of a blessing. It was a Sunday morning in December of 2002 and I was sitting in an unbelievably long line of traffic between early morning mass and my shift at the chocolate shop in the local mall where I worked throughout high school. I still remember Britney Spears' attempt at a Christmas song was playin...

You may remember back in January I deemed this to be "The Year of Fiscal Responsibility". You may also have noted that in the 9 months which have now passed since that post, I have yet to add a single money-saving tip to this blog. I don't want you to think I've abandoned the theme...I can assure you I didn't...I just somehow ran out of time to share the wealth! And by that I mean the money-saving tips. I may have lived frugally but I'm not that good :-) I just looked back at that post from January and chuckled to myself. Literally. (I startled myself actually when my laughter broke the silence of my apartment.) I laughed when I read the now seemingly-prophetic final line of my original post:  What if 2015 is the year that changes everything ?.  I'd say 2015 has been that kind of year for me. When I wrote that post, I had no idea that I'd be getting engaged in less than 8 weeks...and I certainly didn't know how fitting the Year of Fiscal Respons...