So many people have asked me how married life is so far. And my response has been that it’s great – nothing has changed. Or rather, it hadn’t, until last week.
Last Tuesday was the first day that our new house cleaners came. And all the sudden, married life is looking like a huge improvement over non-married life!
Let’s be honest: We both hate to clean. Unfortunately, I also hate living in a messy/dirty apartment. It gives me anxiety like nothing else in the world. Nate? Well, he doesn’t notice so much. So guess who gets mad when dust and dirt start to accumulate?
Yeah… cleaning is really the only thing we ever fight about. Starting off our marriage by removing that whole issue seemed like a great idea, so my wonderful husband hired us a cleaning service.
When I got home on Tuesday night, our house was not just clean, it was immaculate Our cleaners went above and beyond. Our shower was sparkling, our tea kettle was scrubbed til it shone, and my necklaces were laid out in a nice display instead of piled in a heap. Life-changing. And it turns out I actually have a nice collection of necklaces – who knew!
I was a little worried I’d feel judged by the cleaners for not taking care of things myself, but it was quite the opposite. With a clean house, I feel like I’m winning at adult life, even though I’m not the one who did the cleaning. It’s the best thing ever.
Guys: Get your wife a house cleaner. But only if you’re ready to commit to the expense for life. Because I don’t think I can EVER go back.
So yes, married life is different. It’s a lot cleaner, and that is making me oh so happy.
Other than that, I’m still adjusting to “married” things like having a new name, and I’m still surprised when people refer to Nate as my husband! Wearing my wedding ring was the quickest adjustment – more diamonds is not a problem, surprisingly :) I’m still working on changing my name on official documents, which I think will literally take years, but all the new sparkles – rings and a clean house! – are easy to get used to.
OK, that all has very little to do with coconut almond butter. To keep it short and sweet, this is my new favorite spread, and it couldn’t be easier to make – half almonds, half coconut, a drizzle of maple syrup, and a sprinkle of salt. It mostly tastes like almond butter, but the coconut gives it a tropical feel that I think we could all use this time of year! I’ve been stirring it into my oatmeal (with leftover carrot puree from last week’s risotto – try it!). I also got weird with it and some strawberry jam…
And I highly recommend trying that, as well. See, more strawberry jam in my life!
Last but not least, did I mention that I’m running a race this weekend? It will be my fifth half marathon and third time running The Other Half. With the wedding just a few weeks before the race, I wouldn’t say I made my training as much of a priority as I have in the past… I did get all my long runs in, but skipped a few mid-week workouts. Oops! It’s the first time I won’t be aiming to PR, especially since the course is quite hilly. Instead, I’m hoping for my “Moab PR,” which should (fingers crossed!) be no problem, since I’ve shaved 10 minutes off my half marathon time since I last ran this race. I’m sure it will be painful, but I’m looking forward to the gorgeous views and spending a night in Moab – one of my favorite spots.
So you all have a race recap to look forward to, since I haven’t been spending quiiiite as much time in the kitchen lately as I’d like. Good thing winter’s a-comin’ and I’ll want nothing more than to snuggle up by the stove for hours on end!
In the meantime, we eat almond butter. Enjoy!
- 2 cups raw almonds
- 2 cups shredded coconut
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- kosher salt to taste
- Preheat oven to 350. Spread almonds on a baking sheet. Toast until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add to a food processor along with the coconut. Process until drippy, about 5 minutes, scraping down the food processor as necessary. Add maple syrup and salt and process until smooth again. Enjoy!
Coconut anything is amazing. As is anything to do with someone cleaning your house for you! I’ve only had a house cleaner once… and it was when we were moving out of our apartment. She did an incredible job and was super affordable. I kind of want one all of the time now! Nate is a smart husband ;)
I highly recommend it, especially with a pup!
Yeeeeeah you’re a wife!! So, so exciting! I’m glad you came home to a spick and span house – there’s nothing like a nice clean home! This coconut almond butter…sigh…I want to guzzle it!
I am loving everything with almond butter right now :)
Congratulations and best wishes on being newly married. Yeah, I remember that hiring house cleaners is also one of the first things I did for my wife when we were first married. It made her so happy, and I’m happy that she’s happy. This coconut almond butter looks amazing. Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks Joshua! You’re a smart husband :)
Having a house cleaner is a wonderful thing. I am living in Asia, and it’s just normal (and very inexpensive here). It’s so nice getting to come home from work and do things I want (like blog and cook!), without having to worry about chores.
I’ve added coconut oil to my homemade AB before, but never shreds– I think I would love the texture here! Looks amazing!
Such an interesting cultural difference! Or just a difference in the cost of labor :)
The coconut definitely adds to the texture a bit – you get a few of those chewy coconut shreds. I think you’ll love it!
Homemade nut butters are the bestest. I dump them into smoothies, shakes, porridge… basically everything. And you’re right, a little extra shiny is always easy to ‘adjust’ to :)
I’m loving homemade nut butters recently. I think PB is next on my list!
That’s awesome that Nate hired a cleaning service! That’s one of things we argue about most too and for the same exact reasons you stated. Messy houses just don’t seem to bother men for some reason.
And you know my almond butter fiend self would be all over this coconutty version. Now I’m picturing it inside of a chocolate candy mold…mmm. Trick or treat! :)
It shouldn’t make me feel better that other couples argue about this too… but it kinda does!
Umm you may have just convinced me to make “hiring house cleaners” one of my life goals! It may sound weird, but some chores are kinda relaxing to me…MOST having to do with cleaning, though, are not ;P
Love this idea for a homemade nut butter! I bet it’s delicious and I’m alllll about the texture.
I don’t mind some other chores, but cleaning is the worrrrst. Although if you want to come do my laundry for me, I won’t say no! :)
Congratulations! I got so sick of that question — “How’s married life?” It’s like, well…since we were already living together and making major purchases together, being married is pretty much the same as living in sin :)
I am liking this house cleaner idea, though. Maybe I will start hinting about Christmas presents ;)
As an aside, my almond butter never gets “drippy.” Am I not processing it enough? Should I be soaking them or something? Help?
Hmmm processing longer may be the answer. Are you using a blender or food processor that’s not too powerful? That may be the problem. I also find that mine only gets drippy if it has no sweetener. It’s hard to get it back to that same state once you add sugar/honey/maple syrup.
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. I’ve never made my own nut butter before (although I’ve made jams) and this recipe inspired me to try! It’s also wonderful because my daughter is allergic to peanuts and this means I can use safe nuts to make my own nut butters, yay. I didn’t have quite enough almonds, so I used half pecans (toasting them separately) and since I adore the taste of toasted shredded coconut, toasted that too. It is heaven! I made the batch last week and it’s almost gone already. I kept most of it in a big jar in the fridge, and a smaller jar in the pantry (like you have pictured) because I wanted it to stay fresh, but it hardened in the fridge (and I enjoyed it at room temperature more). But now I know it’s so yummy, I can just keep the whole thing in the pantry because it won’t last more than a couple of weeks! I think this would make a great gift for the holidays too. Thanks again, love your blog.