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Before & After Renovations

A New Era (And Meet My Favorite Room)

Moving day!

We're moved in!!! Mostly. Our kitchen is still a construction zone, the toilets and showers are giving me sass, and I've been wandering around at 3am every night hanging things, so I am a puffy exhausted mess - but all of the bedrooms are more or less set up, we have a usable dining room, I know what day the trash gets picked up, et cetera. And the Wifi is functioning (!), hence my ability to write this post.

(BY THE WAY. 99% of the reason I've been able to do all of this while also being a working mother and maintaining a marginal degree of mental stability is Duckbill. It's a personal assistant service. Go get your free month with code RAMSHACKLE and thank me later.)

ENTREES

Surprisingly Speedy Chicken-Ginger Broth (For Ramen Soup)

During quarantine, I got really into making my own ramen. I made it in the biggest possible pain-in-the-butt way that I could, because honestly: What else did I have to do? Might as well spend two days making soup!

Except I don't always want to spend two days making soup. Sometimes - like last night - I want truly excellent ramen, except I want it now.

Enter: This absolutely spectacular (ifIdosaysomyself) broth, which blends in hints of lemongrass and ginger to make it a perfect, ever-so-slightly-spicy base for noodles. It's about two hours start to finish (much faster than most stock recipes), because of a little secret: While it tastes 100% homemade, it actually involves a little cheating (ssh).

Decor

Preteen Boy’s Room: A Makeover

First of all, I almost sobbed typing the word "preteen" into this post's title, because I had flashbacks to this. He seemed so. big.

Moving on, so I don't watch that video again and start crying.

The thing about my son's room in our last place was that it was...how do I put it...

...

...

...awful.

Eat

How To Make Your Own In ‘N’ Out Burger (Except It’s BETTER)

Oh my god, you guys, I have unlocked the code for how to make an In 'N' Out burger at home. This is excellent news, because the closest In 'N' Out to me is at least fifteen minutes away, and when I want In 'N' Out I want it NOW, and without having to interact with other humans in the process, thank u. Also, you can see I didn't take very good pics of this particular recipe, because I was busy eating it. Will update later.

OK, let's break it down. Please go for the highest-quality ingredients you can find; it really makes a difference. (Also, it should go without saying, but this isn't In 'N' Out's *actual* recipe; this is my own take on it, but honestly, I can't taste any difference other than liking mine even more. Which is crazy.)

What You Need:

Eat

Breaking News: Children Are Annoying Sometimes

Everyone in this family has an unfortunate Sugarfish habit.

When I was about thirteen, I announced to my family that I was a vegetarian. I'm pretty sure I gave them a song and dance about loving animals, cows are our friends, etc etc, but really: I was mostly just trying to be irritating, because thirteen.

A few weeks ago, my ten-year-old announced that he is a vegetarian, and shan't be consuming meat anymore. "No meat at all?" I inquired.