I'm here!

And you are too, thank you! It is so funny to me that I have a blog now. There have been so many people and factors that contributed to this creation. To find the exact moment that started this would be hard, but moving to Colorado was a pinnacle of my life in several ways. Walker and I moved to Denver in July 2018 after I graduated from UT. We were one of the few in our friend group that rented a house instead of an apartment, and we didn't have roommates at the time, which made our place the "go-to" spot to hang out on weekdays and weekends. I joke that our house was like the coffee shop couch in the show Friends. People were always at there, almost all of our friends had a copy of the key, and all of the moments made that rental house a real home. My parents and Walker's parents definitely passed on some sort of love-to-host gene, because both of us absolutely love having a full house. I feel normal when surrounded in commotion and chaos and noise. My mom also passed on a persistent "need to feed" obsession to me. You're in my house? Do you want food? A drink? No? How about some fruit or a La Croix? Yes, I know that's a food and a drink... but these are real questions that my mom asked me as a kid after I answered no, and now I find myself asking everyone that walks in the door. I started cooking with the expectation of guests almost right after we moved. We made fast friends through work, sports, and connections from Texas. The funny thing about Denver is that almost everyone we have met has moved from somewhere in the US with little to no family or friends here, so our friends have turned into a sort of family. Holidays spent together, weekends, weekdays for that matter, birthday dinners. Lots of opportunities to share meals together! I've learned a lot in the past two years. I love to be together around a table, I love how it feels when someone comes over and eats a home cooked meal for the first time in a while, and food is my way of saying I love you, and I'm happy you're here.

I started my Instagram page, @ninasnomnoms, at the suggestion of one of my good friends. It is supposed to be for sharing pictures of meals I make, and nothing else has really changed. Yes, I do cook daily, and it's my favorite time of day. Also, I'm happy you're here.