Cox & Kin

There's just something about the starting of a week. Mondays have a way of setting the tone - the turning of the page in your planner, a new rhythm, a quiet invitation to begin again. Around here, food is one of the ways we anchor that feeling. Whether it's a tried-and-true favorite (like the sausage gravy recipe I told you about last week) or something new we're experimenting with (like Mads learning to make her own Spanish Rice), a good meal has a way of pulling everyone together.  So today, we're starting something new at Cox & Kin: a weekly series we're calling Monday meals.  Every Monday, we'll share one recipe - sometimes a family classic, sometimes a new dish we've fallen in love with, sometimes something simple and comforting that fits right into the flow of everyday life. No seasonal limits, no strict themes. Just the meals we actually cook, enjoy, and return to again and again.  Some weeks it might be a cozy dinner.  Some weeks a breakfast we c...

Some recipes are written on index cards stained with years of use. Others are tucked into cookbooks with notes scribbled in the margins. Then there are recipes like GG's sausage gravy, recipes that live in memory, passed from one pair of hands to another and stirred often enough that no one needs to write them down. GG, whose name was Dorothy but whom we all called GG or Grandma, was my husband's grandmother. When I think of her, the first things that come to mind are card games around the table and her ability to cook amazing meals without ever measuring a thing. She had a way of knowing exactly how much flour, milk, or seasoning was needed without looking at a recipe. To this day, I still find that impressive. One of the recipes she taught me was her sausage gravy. What makes it special isn't a secret ingredient. It isn't a complicated technique. What makes it special are the memories and love attached to it. I can still remember her teaching me how to make it. ...

There's a special kind of magic that happens when the house gets quiet, the coffee table fills with scraps, modge podge, and the girls gather around with that spark in their eyes. You know the one... the "we're about to make something" spark that all girly crafty girls get. Last night, we leaned fully into that feeling and spent some time crafting D&D journals using the junk-journal method, and honestly, it was perfect.  We started with simple composition notebooks - nothing fancy, nothing expensive. Just the kind of blank slate that practically begs to be transformed. Then we pulled out all the things that brought us joy. If you are wanting to make your own, here are a few ideas you can use:  scrapbook paper old book pages stickers washi tape bits of ribbon fabric scraps stamps glue scissors little trinkets ink pads glitter At the end of the day, it's all about using what you have that speaks to you and what your minds eye likes on the page. Each of these thi...

If Night 1 was the spark, Night 2 was the moment the flame finally rose - bright, loud, and impossible to ignore. There's a different kind of anticipation that comes with the second night of SummerSlam. You're not just watching matches; you're watching stories reach their breaking point. You're watching rivalries settle, champions rise or fall, and the last echoes of summer wrestling ring out beneath the lights.  As always, we gathered for our PLE tradition - me, Ryan, Mack, and Mads all crowded around the coffee table here at home, snacks within reach and the room buzzing with anticipation. Angel and Chris joined us through Discord in our "In the Ring" channel, delivering their live play-by-play reactions and match predictions in real time. It's our ritual for every pay per view, and it makes each moment feel bigger, funnier, and more electric than watching alone ever could.  Coming into Night 2, the atmosphere felt charged - like every unfinished thread ...

SummerSlam always feels like the true heartbeat of wrestling season - the moment when storylines collide, rivalries peak, and the energy in the arena becomes its own living thing. Night 1 carried that familiar electricity, the kind that makes you lean forward before the first entrance evwen hits. There's something special about settling in for the opening bell, knowing you're about to witness the beginning of a two-night storm.   Before the first match even started, the tone was set: loud crowd, bright lights, and that unmistakable SummerSlam buzz.  There's nothing quite like the start of a two-night SummerSlam, and our home felt alive with it. We had our whole crew gathered - me, Ryan, Mack, and Mads all squeezed around the coffee table, snacks piled high, everyone buzzing with predictions and pre-match hype. Angel and Chrhis were right there with us through Discord in our "In the Ring" channel, firing off their live play-by-play reactions and bold match calls be...