Dear Marktopus, thanks for waiting on me hand and foot this week. I don't deserve it. Hey Amazon, I may have been seen doing a huge jump in the air because I was so excited to get the book above in the mail from you today. Can't wait to start this process of trying to learn how to sew. Joel/Bugsy/Dad/ Papa, Apologies in advance for not simply going with Dad. Tomorrows your BIG (fill in the blank). I'm not sure how old you are turning...but, I hope you have a grand ol' day. I can't put into words how thankful I am for you. You taught me how to ride a bike, work a saw, give grace to others, cut a bell pepper, think before I act, ski down a black diamond, and even fly an F-16. Maybe that last one is a stretch...Dear Steph King, I just ignored your phone call. Please forgive me. And to my other half...could you teach me that dance move from SYTYCD? You know...the cat daddy. LU!
{hey pops. i met you around this time. thanks for shaving off that mustache.}
{dad and his other half...way before the littles came}
I went to the grocery store to pick up the things needed for tonight's supper (because I just decided this morning what we would be having). When I got there, I decided, why not take a stab at cutting open a chicken all on my own? It was an experience.
Here's what I started with...
And a good 20 minutes later, here is what I ended up with...
8 good pieces of chicken to work with all thanks to this book. I air sealed everything but the chicken breasts and started marinating the meat for tonight. In case you would like to try out this delicious meal, here's what you do!
Check out epicurious.com for the recipe we used and then go to the grocery store and get the goods. Instead of quartering the chicken, we just used the breasts. So, you can just buy some boneless, skinless chicken breasts (which you probably have on hand in the freezer). We also didn't get shiitake mushrooms because they were a little on the pricey side. We stuck with cremini mushrooms! Besides that, we followed everything to a T.
I start my job in August. Until then, I have my days free. I wake up when Mark does. He heads out for work and I am home to clean, cook, craft, read, and relax. The Lord blesses me with an insane amount of time to brew some good coffee, crack a couple eggs, and bust out His Word when I start off my day.
Despite the "insane amount of time" that has been given to me, this usually doesn't happen. Instead, I wake up when Mark does. I go back to sleep when Mark leaves. I wake up an hour or two later. I make a latte. I have some cereal... I definitely don't dig into the Word.
Isn't it funny how I was longing for this time when I had a job of teaching and planning a wedding; yet, when the time comes I don't embrace it? I am thankful for this time of rest the Lord has provided me, but this time needs to be used in a way that honors and glorifies Him...only in Him will I find rest that will sustain.
Crazy how the weekend flies when you're lying around your house.
I know. Normally the saying goes "...when you're having fun."
We did have fun...but most of it involved just laying around! It was our first weekend in a couple weeks to just spend time at the home. I loved it. Mark made it a great start to the weekend by bringing me a home a flower he picked from outside.
{love you}
We enjoyed a night of making pizzas and watching 127 hours. The pizza was delicious. All the veggies and meat are under that monstrous amount of cheese you see.
The weekend was made even better when I saw sweet Steph King for a minor moment at church on Sunday. Seeing familiar faces of people who know me is good for my soul. I loved it. Can't wait to see her more.
Hope all of you had a good weekend! Get excited for a good recipe coming on the blog later this week.
Woo-Hoo! It's Friday! I am so excited for the husband to get home and get this weekend started. This is one of the first weekends in the last month that we have nothing planned outside of Houston. Even though I have loved traveling and seeing friends get hitched the last couple weekends, I am excited to be at home with my other newlywed half :)
We finally got some frames up in the living room. I painted the last little thing to complete it today, so I figured I'd share. Sorry for the bad picture quality. I am using my i-phone for all the pictures...hence the bad quality.
I bought the bike print soon after we got married. It doesn't quite fit in the ikea frame...but I still like it. One day I'll try and matte it myself so it fits properly. for now, this will do
the rental print was given to me by mom last christmas. i am so glad she figured out etsy and snuck into my favorites :) Once again, the ikea frame isn't perfect. I'm thinking of getting some blue fabric and putting it in the background behind the white matte. I'll chop off the white edges of the rental sign too. But for now...
chevron stripe was painted today on a little canvas then put in. it isn't completely perfect, but it's much more fun painting it yourself :)
this was our save the date for our wedding. it feels like ages ago that i sent this the mail, but it was just months ago. crazy.
and the last frame is a part of a card i wrote mark when he was in houston and i was in college station.
I love having things from the past up on the walls...
even if other people don't get it :)
I can't wait to add on to this!
I'm imagining a pretty fun collage on this wall.
One step at a time though...
Can't break the bank.
So much of me wants to break down walls and put in shelving...I have to remind myself that this is just a temporary place. Rental Sweet Rental. While I am making it into our "home", I think I'll save the big renovations/projects for when we have a "home sweet home" that we own.
For now, I'll just keep collecting ideas and saving up money for said ideas :)
Hey Husband. Thanks for coming home from work early yesterday so we could die in spinning class together.
Dear Spinning Bike, Why does your saddle have to be so darn uncomfortable?
Why hello there Cone-head...
Thank you for always making me laugh....and for always including others in on the fun.
Miss and love you big brother.
Dear CStat Folk. Most of you have moved away from Aggieland. But just for old times sake...I say let's repeat this.
Dear Milton Vincent, Thank you for challenging me. I'm sharing a little bit of your book, A Gospel Primer, to my 10 followers because my prayer is that this becomes my prayer and theirs as well. Madre, get out your magnifying glass. The print is tiny.
Preaching the gospel to myself each day nourishes within me a holy brazenness to believe what God says, enjoy what He offers, and do what He commands. Admittedly, I don't deserve to be a child of God and I don't deserve to be free of sin's guilt and power. I don't deserve the staggering privilege of intimacy with God, nor any other blessing that Christ has purchased for me with His blood. I don't even deserve to be useful to God. But by the grace of God I am what I am and I have what I have, and I hereby resolve not to let any portion of God's grace prove vain in me! And to the degree that I fail to live up to this resolve, I will boldly take for myself the forgiveness that God says is mine and continue walking in His grace. This is my manifesto, my daily resolve; and may God be glorified by this confidence that I place in Him (page 52).
A Gospel Primer is an incredible book. I highly encourage each of you to purchase it :)
Boy Roomie, I love that the first thing you want to do when you get home is lay on the couch and just be for a moment. Thanks for reminding me that it's ok to take a moment and be still. In fact, it's good. Oh, and I love that I'm your roomie. Who knew having a boy roommate would be so fun?!
Thank you Bon Appetit for always producing such delicious meals.
Every time Mark goes to the grocery store he makes some comment surrounding scallops. He loves them. So, when I went to the grocery store yesterday I knew I had to do something with scallops...but they are just so darn expensive. So, I found this great recipe on Bon Appetit that uses both scallops and shrimp! Score!
Here is what the Mr. and I had this evening! Enjoy :)
As the title explains, this meal has two parts. Actually, I made it into three parts. I am just going to share part one and two though. So....here goes!
Part One: the Salsa
Part Two: the Seafood Goodness
Here goes Part One! Get out those ingredients. Here's what you need, friend.
{mango. jalapeno pepper. avocado. shallot. some limes. fresh mint}
{step uno}
dice up the whole thing. there's a better way to dice a mango than how i did it. i wasn't thinking at the time.
here's a how to video on a simple way to dice up a mango. you won't even need a peeler. so great.
{step dos}
{step tres}
the easiest way to seed out the jalapeno - cut jalapeno in half. take a spoon. scrape out the spicy seeds. then slice it vertically and horizontally to dice.
{step cuatro}
you'll end up with around 2 tablespoons
{step cinco}
{step seis}
{step siete}
i added some salt and pepper to taste.
mix everything up and set in the fridge to chill.
it can be in there up to 2 hours before eating.
Part Two!
Even though the chalkboard is oh so fun. I had to give it a rest. Mark was going to be home soon and I needed to get this dinner cooking. So, without the chalkboard, here are the ingredients you need.
2 shallots
2 limes
1/4 cup tequila
2 garlic cloves
2 tsp. ground cumin
olive oil
3/4 lb. shrimp
1/2 lb. sea scallops
green onions
{step uno}
de-vein and peel the shrimp. if you're like me and can't stand the tail, go ahead and take it off.
like that.
all until you get a whole big bowl of your uncooked large shrimp...
set them aside for later
{step dos}
clean those mussels.
oops.
those aren't mussels.
but oh how i love mussels.
clean the scallops.
then, take off the muscle of the scallop
notice that hanging part of the scallop up there?
it's the muscle. you can eat it. but it's tough and chewy.
take it off. use a paring knife to start and then it'll rip right off.
Do this to all of them. I placed mine in a bowl as I did the shrimp.
set on aside.
{step tres}
Marinade making time. All of the following things will be whisked together to make a marinade.
dice up the shallot. you'll want to dice long ways, but not all the way to the end.
then you'll have some love to still hold on to and keep it intact.
then carefully.
carefully.
cut through the shallot as the picture shows.
I did this three times.
the picture shows the middle cut made.
the final cuts makes those dices look amazing.
side note: this is the way to dice onions. it makes life so simple. but, yes. you still cry. onions just have a way of doing that. that's why shallots are fun. they don't make you cry. and they taste so darn good.
squeeze out the lime juice till you have a 1/4 cup.
smash that garlic up. I use a knife and the palm of my head to crush it and then put in a garlic press to do the work. you can always mince it yourself using a knife :)
add in 2 teaspoons of ground cumin.
pour in a 1/4 cup of tequila.
this tequila was a wedding gift to Mark from his sister and brother-in-laws wedding. So, thanks Omar and Joanna for stocking our cabinet with special Mexican Tequila...otherwise, I would have had to go buy some, which I probably wouldn't have done.
And there you have your marinade.
{step cuatro}
take that marinade and pour it into your shrimp and scallop bowl.
mix it around a bit and let it chill in the fridge for 30 - 60 minutes.
{step cinco}
take out the green onions.
discard the darker green part.
slice up the white and pale green part.
set aside.
{step seis}
take out the scallops and shrimp and drain them. you will want the drained mixture to go in a small sauce pan.
put that sauce pan on the stove top and let it boil. once boiling, set it aside.
you'll want the drained and semi dry scallops and shrimp separate and set aside as well. .
{step siete}
heat some olive oil over medium-high heat in a sautee pan. place the scallops in.
keep them in for about 1 1/2 minutes on each side.
they should just be starting to brown.
take them out, juice and all, and set in a bowl to the side.
{step ocho}
drizzle in some more olive oil in the same pan.
over the same medium-high heat.
now toss in the shrimp and the green onions.
stir it around for about 3 minutes.
{step nueve}
put in the scallops and the boiled marinade.
let it simmer for about 3 minutes.
the kitchen is smelling oh so good.
the nueve steps are worth it.
you're ready to plate it up.
unless you just want to eat it out of the pan.
but, trust me.
it's so much better when it's plated.
i threw in a part three by cooking up some buttery, cheesy quesadillas.
it went well and i definitely suggest it.
please don't let the many many steps overwhelm you (i don't know why i put the steps in spanish. i just started to and then didn't go back.) this thing is so easy to make and oh so delicious! we didn't even have any leftovers.
i have a feeling i will make that avocado-mango concoction quite a bit this summer.
any thoughts on what you think it would be good with?
