Q. Hi Jordan,
My name is Alexis. I’ve been a reader of Ramshackle Glam since the beginning…and I have an easy and a tough question for you:
Easy: What is your recommendation for an easy, healthy, very few ingredient dinner that I can make for us semi-regularly? We don’t want to end up dying from boredom eating chicken breast, brown rice, and steamed vegetables night. after. night. We need a lot of help there!
Tougher: Any advice for learning to live [with my boyfriend]? I never even had a college roommate so I’m still a little stumped at this whole thing. I’m assuming that time and experience will be the ticket but if you have any advice, I would appreciate it immensely.
Anywho, thank you for such a fun blog! I really do enjoy reading your posts. I really love watching your videos. I thought the big gold branch decal was really pretty!
Hope you’re doing well,
Alexis
A. Hi Alexis! First, here are my staple recipes (the ones I have in constant rotation) – all really easy!:
Kendrick’s Chicken & Peas, Please
Pappardelle w/ Sweet Tomato Sauce, Asparagus & Ricotta
Mom’s Chicken Stew with Biscuits
And of course you can always click HERE for all my recipes.
Now for your second question: on a practical level, I’d say to make sure you each have your own little corner of the world – Kendrick has full reign over our office (you’ve never seen it photographed on my site because it’s his, and I want him to feel like it’s his private space), and I have a spot on the dining room table that’s more or less my work space, and I can put anything I want there without worrying it’ll be moved.
Emotionally, here’s the thing: when two people start coexisting, they have to adapt to each others’ little weirdnesses, and it can be tough, but you have to remember always that you are on the same side – you’re not trying to “win” anything. Kendrick is a total meanie in the morning, and I love waking up and going straight into chatter, but I’ve had to adapt and learn to keep my mouth shut for half an hour or so. And he’s had to adapt by drinking some coffee immediately upon waking so that if there’s something that I simply have to tell him he won’t grump at me. 😉
When you first fall in love with someone, or first start living with them, everything is new, and exciting, and it’s hard to imagine that anything about them could ever drive you crazy. But you know those endearing quirks (the socks under the coffee table, the refusal to change the toilet paper roll, the habit of falling asleep on the couch, or whatever)? They will drive you crazy. And the important thing to remember is that it’s all just stuff…it’s just the messiness of another human being, and it doesn’t matter. Let the small things slide, and focus on the fact that you are a team, and you are building a life together.
xoxo
j
