Happy Friday, friends! I’m so excited to finally be sharing my new and updated website, complete with fresh branding. Everything was done by my genius still-have-never-met-before-in-real-life-but-knows-me-like-a-sister designer/friend Kelly, and I couldn’t be more thrilled with all of it.

Last year I took a lot of time to really think about what I wanted this blog to be, and I kept coming back to a general theme of “home,” and more specifically “food + words.” I’m usually happiest with the content I put out when it’s a delicious recipe or a personal essay that allows me to share little bits of my life with my readers, so that’s what I plan to focus on the most. I’ll still share the occasional product post and more short-form pieces (Five Favorites, Sentences, Some Things You May Not Know About Me, etc.), but I’m hoping to post more regularly in 2019 and zero in a bit more.

I’m also really enjoying sharing some of my motherhood journey so far, and I’ve been really pleased with the response those types of posts have gotten. It’s a wild ride and I’m always so happy to share mine and hear from you about your own experiences. Thank you for always being so open and helping me create a safe space to share.

A few housekeeping items: I’ve been wanting to start a newsletter of sorts—not so much a recap of what’s on the blog (although I’ll probably include that here and there), but an honest-to-goodness letter that I sit down and write to whoever subscribes. It might be monthly, it might just be quarterly—I’m still not too sure of the details but if it sounds like it might be interesting to you feel free to sign up here.

And finally, going forward I do plan to continue to partner with brands, although I hope to remain picky and really only work with companies that I love and who speak to me in some way, on content that I’m proud of and excited to share. If you are interested in working together in 2019, please send me an email.

That’s all for now! Wishing you a wonderful weekend—please feel welcome to stay a while and click around the new site. Let me know what you think!

As always, thank you so much for reading! This blog has seen me through so many life changes and ups + downs, and it has always been such a gift to have this space to share with you all. Every kind comment and email you guys take the time to send truly mean the world to me—I really do love hearing from you! I hope you continue to feel at home and uplifted here.

This is one of my all-time favorite recipes when I’m trying to cut down on my carb intake. It’s delicious and filling and so easy to make! Almost every week I make one cheeseburger casserole (and one roast chicken—usually at the same time) and it does really well in the fridge for a few days—I’m usually able to get a couple meals and maybe even a few snack portions out of it! It does usually go fast at my house so I like to make a double batch whenever I can.

You could also add bacon, mushrooms, more veggies, or a different kind of cheese if it sounds good to you! The basic recipe is great but I love how easily you can customize it however you like. My new favorite thing is to serve it with a side of pickles!

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1/4 of a white onion, diced

• 1 pound of ground beef

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• 2 eggs

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 1 cup of shredded Cheddar cheese, divided in half

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil.

2. Add the onion and sauté for 5-7 minutes or until softened and translucent. Add the beef and cook for another 5-7 minutes, or until browned, stirring well to break up meat. Season with salt and pepper. Drain and transfer to a baking dish.

3. In a medium bowl, mix together the eggs, cream, tomato paste, and half of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Pour the cheese mixture over the beef. Gently shake the dish and tap on the counter to ensure the cheese mixture makes it through to the bottom and sides of the dish, covering the beef. Top with remaining cheddar and bake for 25 minutes, or until the top is set and the cheese has melted. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

It’s as easy as that! You can serve it right away but I actually think it’s better the next day, which makes it great for meal prep. This is one of the most popular recipes in my keto cookbook, so if you like this one make sure to grab a copy for yourself—there’s lots more where that came from!

I’ve been having a hard time lately.

It started a few weeks ago—I was restless and irritated, like I wanted to jump out of my own skin. I stopped drinking my afternoon coffee and started running again and it subsided. Last year I wondered if I might get postpartum anxiety or depression since I’ve struggled with anxiety in the past, but I more or less felt “normal” after Sophie’s birth. For a week or two I felt weepy in the evenings, but I had prepared for it so I just kind of rode it out until it went away. Caring for a tiny human who needed us so desperately actually helped me put things into perspective, and for a long time I stopped obsessing over irrational fears the way I used to. I put things into baskets—worry about this now because it’s a real thing, worry about that later because it’s not happening yet, don’t worry about that because you made it up and it’s silly.

But then Thanksgiving came, and I was so excited to go home and see friends and celebrate Sophie’s birthday that I wasn’t even looking for the wave of anxiety that crashed over me and knocked me down. All day I was fine, but then the sun would set and I’d find myself thinking breathe in…breathe out, like I had somehow forgotten. I laid on the floor of my mom’s bedroom for what felt like a minute but was actually twenty. It was so familiar: a panic you can’t explain—or worse, a fear that you try to explain and realize it makes no sense as it’s coming out of your mouth, but even still you can’t shake it.

Reading and podcasts and therapy and also just years of experience have helped me get to a place where at least I know this isn’t forever—but I also know I have to work through it. Talking about it helps, and it makes me feel less crazy, which is why I always end up writing about anxiety when it hits because being transparent about my struggles seems to resonate and I think we could all use a little more support when we’re feeling overwhelmed.

Every time we come back from a visit to the East Coast, I spend that first day back home with the blues. Yesterday was that day—so I cleaned, and I put up Christmas decorations, and I poured heavy cream into hot tea and took bone broth out of the freezer. I went to Palo Alto to teach two classes and then I worked out. Self care for me isn’t a massage or a face mask, it’s good food and clean floors and exercise and an appointment request sent to my therapist.

It’s been a big year for me—I became a mother, we moved (twice), Rob took paternity leave and then went back to work, I tried to balance blogging and barre with being a stay-at-home mom. Sometimes I still don’t really know who I am or what my days should look like, but my family and the love and gratitude I have for this life we’ve built keeps me rooted even when the tide comes in.

Wishing the best for all of you this holiday season. Take care of yourselves, and remember to reach out for help when you need it—you deserve that.