Friday Five: Fall 2015 Wishlist

Friday Five: Fall 2015 Wishlist by ashleyamak 

H M pajamas /  Emerald Ring / Soho Ponytail Holder / KAVU Flannel / Capri Leggings

Comfort is the name of the game this fall! Those H&M jammies look fantastically cozy. That emerald (May Birthstone) is a contender for a ring hand ring. Some fun hair ties! A great layering flannel for both home and venturing out in the woods. I recently found some awesome (and affordable) leggings from Kohl's that I am living in and I would love some capri length to wear with boots this fall. 

SoSoBa Noodles

When I first started my Flagstaff Bucket List there was a building listed that has housed four different restaurants since I first started my list. Every time we made plans to go to one of the restaurants we would find out that it was either closed or had become something else. The building is located in a small alleyway downtown facing Flagstaff Brewing Co. After four years we were finally able to enjoy food in this establishment. Currently it is the home to SoSoBa Noodles and I am crossing my fingers that it stays that way for a long, long time.

Flagstaff has no shortage of "Asian" cuisine. While we have plenty of Chinese, Thai, and Indian places all across town, the self-proclaimed "non-stop noodle shop" delivers some of Flagstaff's most authentic Asian food. SoSoba focuses on awesome ramen, soba, and udon noodles. You can enjoy your noodles sauced, glazed, or swimming in a bowl of house made broth. Each bowl is made to order using fresh ingredients from local vendors whenever possible.

So far we have been twice for dinner, hence the dark photos. The first time I had the Karl Katsu. It was a ramen noodle bowl that included panko chicken, carrots, corn, nori, and soft boiled egg in a miso broth. It was hearty, warm, and perfect for slurping. The second time was the SUV (shown above) which is a vegan noodle bowl that features local ingredients that change regularly. When I went it had mushrooms, onions, potato, and chickpeas in a light broth. It was great. And if you have a bigger appetite or just love meat you can easily add chicken, beef or pork. 

Long story short, I highly suggest you make a point of stopping in at SoSoBa for a bowl of noodles! With all they have to offer, you surely won't be disappointed. 

September | Currently

settling into our new home

finding a new normal as a family of three under one roof

adjusting to the quiet life in the country and all the new noises

waking to the community rooster daily

enjoying the views 

following the news closely

praying for our friends and family in Northern California

playing on the living room floor daily

having dozens on nonsensical conversations a day as the tiny one expands his "vocabulary" of noises and almost words

marveling at his growth, and him reaching milestones on time and ahead of schedule

embracing the idea that he will be mobile soon

celebrating birthdays, both annual (mine) and monthly (baby's)

thinking about when we should try for the next one

shaking my head in disbelief that I am already considering when to add to our family

emptying boxes upon boxes upon boxes

listening to podcasts almost every morning of the week

crossing things off our summer bucket list.

documenting life via instagram.  

cooking again

loving this season of our life

The Best of 27!

Today is my birthday. Today will also be a pretty normal day. Just me and the baby relaxing at home while Berkeley is off fighting wildfires. Lately, I have been working on a "Best of" post that has a list of all of our favorite spots in Flagstaff and after remembering Elise Blaha Cripe's birthday posts, I thought it would be fun to do a Best of 27 post! So in honor of making another trip around the sun, I wanted to celebrate the moments and things that made 27 such a great year.

experiencing the warm fuzzes, butterflies, and all kinds of excitement seeing Berkeley the first time after finding out we were expecting Tiny Krueger.

finding the perfect pizza.

planning and hosting a bridal shower and bachelorette party in Las Vegas.

celebrating so many weddings in the last year!

sharing our big news with our close family and friends!

waking in the middle of the night dreaming of a baby blanket, making said blanket, and then wrapping the baby in it to bring him home.

seeing Tiny Krueger during the one and only ultrasound we got. It was beyond magic.

feeling the little flutter of kicks while driving up Snowbowl Rd (and every kick after that).

sitting behind the goal box at an Avalanche hockey game with Berkeley.

singing with my mom and sister along to the radio while driving to Phoenix.

dancing at the Annual Great Gatsby party.

eating dinner with "the guys" at Altitudes after Brewhaha.

finding my favorite ice cream treats in California!

being surrounded by our Fire Family as they showered our growing family!

triple date night at Charley's with the Bonesses and the (soon to be) Knights.

"weekly" visits to the midwives and their amazing support and encouragement during those final weeks.

the many, many walks around the neighborhood, downtown Flagstaff and Target.

experiencing a full moon, earthquake, torrential rains, hail and snow all in the week we were waiting on baby.

Berkeley being the best support imaginable during the 40 hours in the hospital before Teddy was born.

hearing my son cry and feeling the warmth of him squirming on my body instead of inside my body.

watching my parents trying to put together a pack n play in our living room in Flagstaff. It felt so good to have a deep belly laugh after a tense two weeks!

having a full week of just the three of us before Berkeley had to return to work.

watching the bond between Berke and Teddy grow so deep.

the morning when the baby was smiling and "talking" to Berkeley's photo on the bookcase in Flagstaff.

pulling down the driveway in California and surprising my dad for his birthday.

introducing Teddy to our California family!

pulling up to our new home, being there when Berkeley got off of work and having dinner as a family of three again.

drinking prosecco and eating homemade chocolate cake on Saturday to celebrate my birthday before Berkeley left for California.

Honestly, I think 27 was my best year yet and I cannot wait to see what 28 has in store for me!

Week in the Life 2015 | Photos and Words

Another year, another go at Ali Edwards' Week in the Life. My original plan for documenting this year was to utilize Instagram much like I did for Day in the Life. Taking the photos and getting the details of the little stories of our last week living in Flagstaff. I am not sure if I will be incorporating this year's Week in the Life into some sort physical project just yet, but for now I like the idea of focusing on one story and photo from each day of the week. 

Monday 5:38am // Flagstaff // The baby stirs and gets brought to the big bed for an early morning nursing + cuddle session. He drifts back to sleep and I check emails and read blogs while trying to ignore how bare our room feels now that moving is officially underway.

Tuesday 9:43am // Flagstaff // Making my second cup of tea this morning. Hoping I can enjoy it before it goes cold like the first one did. 

Wednesday 7:13am // Flagstaff // We had a rough start this morning that put a tail spin on the rest of the day. As a result not much documenting (or anything else for that matter) has happened today.

Thursday 4:28pm // Springerville // Home.

Friday 1:34pm // Springerville // I am feeling so blessed that this is home for us. This is our new normal. Trading in "city living" for a backyard surrounded by 37 acres of grazing land, and street noises for the sounds of life in the country. 

Saturday 6:38am // Flagstaff // I have been waiting all summer for this to be what most of our mornings look like. Daddy + Baby + Mama. The funny thing is that I used to be so terrible at sharing a bed yet it has been the one thing I have looked forward to since Berkeley started his position in Alpine. I'd say the baby is happy about it too! 

Sunday 5:53pm // Flagstaff // This day has been incredibly full and draining, both physically and emotionally.  Taking a moment in the warmth of the evening sun and silence of a sleeping baby to embrace this weekend of huge change. I admit I cried a little earlier in the day as I pulled up in the rain and saw our furniture being loaded into the moving truck.