What We Learned on our Honeymoon

The luxury of the first real free time we'd ever really known together meant that on our honeymoon, we learned a few things that we've tried to bring back home with us. (And you can stop with the mental pictures already.)

One was the rediscovery of how much we both love to read, along with uncovering the newfound pleasure of reading a book together. Our latest joint read is Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver. We haven't gotten very far yet, but so far the writing is beautiful, and it's a story about sisters--a topic near and dear to both our hearts, especially since the book was given to us by Matt's sister Katie. (She also gave us a box of Tazo Passion Hibiscus Tea, which we love both hot and iced, some of us with more sugar in it than others.) We're taking a (last?) trip up to Wisconsin this weekend to visit family, do a little camping, and hit the farmer's market, so maybe in the midst of all that we'll find some time to dive a little further into the book.

Speaking of farmer's markets, one of the next books I'd like to put on our list is Plenty. Subtitled "One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally," it seems like something that could be up our alley given our recent attempts to incorporate more whole and healthy foods into our diets. (And our propensity for eating raucously.) Health magazine informs me that there's a companion website. Pertinent to their suggestions, we've been thinking about trying community-supported agriculture, or CSA, in which we would pay a flat (and relatively low) fee for a box of produce from a local organic farm each week during the growing season (typically May through October). We're excited about the prospect of affordable, locally grown produce; we're a little apprehensive about the fact that you can't choose which produce you get, it's just what's available; but we're somewhat intrigued by the challenge of the latter, as well. Who wouldn't enjoy the opportunity to brag that you can not only cook turnips, but cook them well?

One of our other simple pleasures while in Mexico was taking a walk after meals. It was never especially long or energetic, but it was just enough activity to perk us up after a meal. We've tried to incorporate it as much as we can now that we're back home, and we're anticipating even more opportunity for walking when we move to DC. In the July heat, it seems a lot more sustainable than the quick-to-fade ambition of going for a run.

In Mexico, we also fell in love with the idea of a 2-hour siesta every afternoon...but that concept has proven to be a little less practical...